Rozner: Johnny Miller changed golf broadcasting for better

It isn't just that Johnny Miller left golf broadcasting Saturday that is so disconcerting.

It's that there are so few like him anywhere in sports.

Miller spent the last three days in Phoenix alternating between laughter and tears on NBC and Golf Channel, but it was all tears as he rode off into the desert sunset Saturday.

It was a reminder that most sports broadcasts are akin to spending a day with CNBC, which roots for the Dow and apologizes for corporate debt, government debt and the Fed balance sheet, openly begging for low interest rates, the crack cocaine of the S&P.

Most sporting events, local or national, are similar, with a premium on cheerleading and a dearth of honesty.

During the summer of Cubs baseball in 1994, a disgusted Harry Caray famously bellowed, "Boy, oh boy, what a lousy ballclub."

Can you imagine an announcer today offering such truth? Caray couldn't possibly get hired in this environment.

There are a few left around sports, but Miller's retirement leaves us minus one of the best in any game.

He's followed in the NBC booth by Paul Azinger, who has done some fine work, and has shown a willingness to criticize his brethren. Time will tell just how candid he can be.

And it's not just about criticism. When Tiger Woods was on a historic run last decade, Miller was right there in front, explaining why no one would ever again match his greatness.

But Miller was also unafraid to tell the truth, even about Woods when he was struggling with injuries, personal scandal or the latest of so many swing changes.

Now, the PGA Tour has never been in better shape, with Woods having returned and with so many extraordinary players in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

There are yet another 50 capable of winning every week and dozens who come off the Web.com Tour each season with the ability to get it done, witness Cam Champ and Adam Long already this wraparound season.

The game is stronger than ever as the Tiger Wave continues, a generation of great athletes having chosen golf over traditional sports because Woods made it cool to be a golfer.

Golf broadcasting doesn't need cheerleaders or someone selling the game. The players and the quality of play do that and it's disrespectful when broadcasters - in any sport - treat fans like they're stupid.

Such a shame for us that Miller exits now at age 71 after three decades as NBC's lead analyst, but so wonderful for him that he can focus on his two dozen grandchildren.

It's hard to imagine the Ryder Cup without him, Miller always willing to take on the American side, especially when they were playing poorly, or when they gave away the tournament, as the U.S. did at Medinah in 2012.

While Miller's vocabulary seemed so shocking, it was only in the context of an era in which selling the product and making excuses is most of what broadcasting has become, as if fans watching at home can be fooled into thinking something is good when it isn't.

Miller has used words like "choke" and "gag," which players don't appreciate, but a broadcaster's job isn't to make friends with players and he wasn't trying to hurt feelings.

His obligation was to you, the fan, and the job was to explain, entertain and - when possible - teach you the game.

A 25-time winner on the PGA Tour with two major titles, Miller won 8 times in 1974 at the peak of his career and is in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Miller's 80-percent win rate (12-for-15) with a lead after 54 holes is second only to Woods (96 percent) all time. The man fired a record 63 in the final round to win the U.S. Open in 1973 at - of all places - Oakmont.

But he also knows what it feels like to give one away on Sunday.

He has had injuries, the yips and he has choked down the stretch, so he spoke from experience when he talked on Sunday at a major championship about what it takes to get to the finish line.

He dissected pressure into millimeters, the difference between flush and snap hook, square or slice. He was a first guesser, forecasting poor club selection or shot shape, and patting players on the back for being aggressive if it was a "green light special."

In the last couple years he has criticized the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, not to single them out but merely to point out a bad shot at the worst possible time.

At the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, when Phil Mickelson was 0-3 heading into singles, he said of the erratic left-hander, "If he couldn't chip, he'd be selling cars in San Diego."

At the 2006 Ryder Cup at K Club, Miller said, "This is probably the worst Ryder Cup team we've ever fielded." That made a lot of people unhappy, but Team USA was pounded 18½ to 9½.

And at the 1999 Ryder Cup, before Justin Leonard recaptured the Cup with a half point on that famous 45-foot putt, as Leonard struggled to an 0-1-3 finish, Miller said, "My hunch is that Justin needs to go home and watch it on television."

Brutal, yes. Unfair, no.

There is a talent to telling the truth and not have it appear as if a comment is made merely for clicks or likes or ratings, and Miller was able to do that because of his knowledge, playing prowess, desire to articulate what he was feeling and commitment to giving the fans a full dose of honesty.

Thanks, Johnny, for being genuine.