Nicklaus tunes out playoffs

Besides Tiger Woods, the most important figure in men's professional golf is unquestionably Jack Nicklaus, so when Jack talks, people should listen.

PGA Tour folks, take note, because here's what Nicklaus had to say about the recently completed FedEx Cup playoffs.

"Did they play that this year?" Nicklaus told the Los Angeles Times.

"I didn't watch a second of it. Two years in a row, it was basically over before the Tour Championship was even played, and that doesn't make sense."

Woods had all but clinched the Cup in its debut last year, and Vijay Singh had it sewn up weeks before the PGA Tour Championship, leading to speculation that the Tour needs to tinker with the playoffs.

"They still have some tweaking to do," Nicklaus said. "It has a tendency to take away from the rest of the tour events. It's always, 'He's got X-amount of FedEx Cup points.' A guy doesn't give a rat about FedEx points, he cares about how he's playing."

• CREDIT CRUNCH -- Things were bad enough for the players and coaches of the French soccer club Olympique Marseille last week when they were beaten by Atletico Madrid in a European Champions League game in Spain.

But when they got to the airport to fly home, they found that their charter flight was grounded because the pilot's credit card had been rejected by Exxon and he couldn't refuel the plane.

What to do? The players and coaches passed the hat and came up with the necessary 3,000 euros ($4,090) to buy the fuel.

Marseille coach Eric Gerets, a former Belgian World Cup player, was not amused.

"I wanted to buy two cigars, but I gave 100 euros, which meant I was not able to smoke today," he said. "I felt as though I was in a film, a bad one. Had we won, I would not have cared, but because we lost it was a little more difficult to take."

• HAND IT TO HIM -- Roy Jones Jr. is generally considered to have the fastest hand speed of any boxer ever. It's what led him to boxing in the first place, he told BBC's Radio 5 Live.

"God has gifted me with incredible hand speed as a tool to be used," he said. "What else am I supposed to do but fight? There ain't no hand-racing competitions."

• BCS MATH MESS -- How confusing are the Bowl Championship Series formulas?

According to Washington Post columnist Norm Chad, "Under the BCS system, Hillary Clinton could still be our next president."

• WORSE THAN THE CUBS -- Enough, already, about the Chicago Cubs and their 100 years of futility.

To fans of soccer's Notts County, the Wrigley Field outfit is merely a newcomer to the frustration game. Notts County was founded in 1862, and 146 years later it is still waiting to win its first English league championship.

• BOOK IT -- From Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune: "Expect big discounts for 'This is the Year!' a new Cubs book on sale everywhere."

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