Golf gods put together odd year

What almost was the greatest sports story of the year was spoiled when 59-year-old Tom Watson blew the British Open. He bogeyed the 18th hole Sunday -- faltering on an 8-foot putt -- then fell apart in a playoff while losing to Stewart Cink.

After two rounds, Watson shared the lead but still was posted at 40-1 odds to win by the Las Vegas Hilton sports book. Watson was 26 years removed from his previous major title. What an unbelievable feat it could have been, and what a huge tease it turned out to be for everyone, except Cink.

Odds were not even posted on Watson before the tournament, but he would have been about a 1,000-1 shot.

Watson's major disappointment headlines a strange year in golf.

Tiger Woods has not won a major and missed the cut in the British. Phil Mickelson has been a part-time player because of his wife's breast cancer. The other major winners were Angel Cabrera (Masters) and Lucas Glover (U.S. Open).

"If, in fact, you handicapped the first three majors of the year and predicted Cabrera-Glover-Cink, please proceed to your tropical island of choice to live out your life unhurriedly," wrote Chuck Culpepper for the Los Angeles Times. "You're clearly a soothsayer, and you really don't need a regular job."

• UNCOVERING THE STORY -- Reporting from the sidelines, Erin Andrews covers about every major sport for ESPN. She is smart, has personality and is attractive. But she also has been exposed.

A private moment for Andrews became public. Video of her undressing in a hotel room has been all over the Web. The footage, filmed through the door's peephole or an adjoining room, shows Andrews naked.

Maggie Hendricks, a blogger for Yahoo! Sports, wrote: "In conjunction with ESPN and her attorney, Andrews is working with authorities to catch the perpetrators of this heinous act, but the damage has been done. Her privacy has been invaded, and the video of her naked body is out there."

But don't get too excited and jump on Google, guys, because most sites took down the video under threat of legal action. And, according to the New York Daily News, "Thousands of voyeurs got a lesson in karma over the weekend when they tried to download naked footage of Andrews -- but got a computer virus instead."

It's creepy what happened to Andrews. We can only hope the same doesn't happen to Chris Berman, Peter Gammons or John Kruk.

• MONEY FOR NOTHING -- Mike Shanahan, former coach of the Denver Broncos, will be paid $7 million this season if he does not criticize the team or take another NFL coaching job.

Shanahan had two years and $14 million remaining on his contract when he was fired. A clause in the contract allows Shanahan to be paid if he keeps quiet.

Getting millions to do nothing? Sounds like a job for David Beckham.

In related news, Beckham, the overpaid soccer "star" for the Los Angeles Galaxy, reportedly challenged fans to a fight Sunday after they heckled him for his poor play.

COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL