We're still getting letters protesting Johnny Miller's "swimming pool cleaner" comment about Rocco Mediate during Open coverage. Miller also said, most of you know, that "Rocco" was not a name that wound up on the US Open trophy. A couple of those letters:

Let?s see how the double standards work from here. Johnny Miller says during the US Open telecast that Rocco Mediate ?looks like the guy who cleans Tiger?s swimming pool? and that ?guys with the name Rocco don?t get on the trophy, do they?? Let?s see if he?s reprimanded like others who have preceded him for making lame brain comments. I?ve never been a Miller fan; he?s a loose cannon during the telecasts and most of the time I zone him out when he talks. But this is going over the top. I?ve been around the Tour for 29 years and Rocco is truly one of those really nice guys that people appreciate on the tour. He actually talks to and acknowledges the crowds, something that Tiger will never do. For Miller to knock him like this shows that Miller has no class. He can speak his mind because there isn?t anyone on the air to argue with him, it?s just ?yes Johnny you?re correct?. Well let?s see how big his mouth is now.
Andrew Cohoon

Here's another from Joel Pisano of Trenton, New Jersey:

In respect to NBC's coverage of the US Open, I would ask the following two questions about Johnny Miller's remarks:

Exactly why does he think that Rocco Mediate should be cleaning Eldrick Woods' swimming pool; and

Exactly why should we not have a name such as Rocco on the US Open trophy?

It's not always, "Yes, Johnny, you're correct." After being taken to task by Richard Sandomir of the Times, Miller apologized for his remarks.

"I apologize to anyone who was offended by my remarks,'' Miller said in a statement Friday through NBC. "My intention was to convey my affection and admiration for Rocco's everyman qualities and had absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity. I chose my words poorly and in the future will be more careful.''

We also got a couple of letters about Rocco not getting enough coverage in our publications and elsewhere. Hard for me to understand that. I think Rocco got great coverage, all deserved. He's also being heavily used to promote this week's Buick Open.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: buick-open-golf.com)

Jim Fuchs of Costa Mesa says Johnny Miller was swinging over the top in his analysis of the pressure our U.S. Open Contest winner will face at Torrey Pines:

I must have misread the breaking 100 at the US Open rules. I missed the part that says if the contestant fails to break 100 he/she is either executed or loses their home or their life savings. There is no pressure on this individual. They are not expected to break 100. They probably could care less what they shoot. The contestant/entrant is no doubt looking for their 15 (or in this case 60) minutes of fame, so they should welcome the media exposure. I would think there should be a fair amount of pressure on the celebrity golfers. This might be their first round where they actually count all of their strokes. And they certainly don?t want to embarrass themselves. And of course the most pressure will be on the golfer(s) (other than Tiger) who are in contention in the fourth round and trying to win the US Open.

Point well taken, Jim. But something tells me that whether it's life and death or not, it's going to feel like that to the winner of our contest--and to the celebs for that matter. As Grantland Rice said, "Because golf exposes the flaws of the human swing--a basically simple maneuver--it causes more self-torture than any game short of Russian roulette."

You'll decide who that winner is, by the way, when voting among five finalists begins online at the end of the month.

--Bob Carney

(Illustration: John Ueland)

Veteran Don Dice of Cibolo, Texas, also writes in response to the Johnny Miller comment in March comparing the tour pro's travel, and time away from family, with that of the military.

In the March 2008 issue, I take some offense to Johnny Miller's comments about ?the hard part was leaving his family to go play golf.? He mentions the troops going to Iraq. The big difference he failed to mention is, if he misses a few putts he doesn't get paid. If the troops aren't paying attention, they come home in a bag. The gallery may be a distraction, but at least they aren't shooting at you. And by the way, the pay isn't quite the same.

When I left my family going to Korea in '53 and Viet Nam in '65, those were sad moments in our lives, but Thank God he got us though it.

Poster andybrown and reader John Gregory Vincent have also commented.

--Bob Carney

South Carolina reader John Gregory Vincent has a problem with Johnny Miller's March Column in which he compares the leaves of absence that tour players take from their families with those of military personnel.  Miller wrote:

As a tour player, by far the toughest moment was when I was packing my suitcase to head off to a tournament and my youngest son, Todd, was pulling at my pants leg, pleading, "Daddy, please don't go. Can you stay so we can go fishing?" He followed me to the car, and to this day I can still see him in my rearview mirror trotting after the car, reaching out with his hands, crying. The thought of that still makes me cry.

Many people in different walks of life go through the same thing; the thousands of soldiers in Iraq with families at home come to mind....

John Gregory Vincent thought the comparison was inapt, to say the least.

Johnny Miller's "Lesson Tee" page in the March issue caused me to write my first EVER editorial comment in my 46 years. As a retired Navy Command Master Chief and avid golfer I took exception with Mr. Miller's direct comparison of the impact on the family of the tour player heading out for the week and those of our armed service members ESPECIALLY those today, heading to war. I will concede to a 3 or 4 year-old, gone is gone, but I can assure you that even the little one's quickly learn the difference between 10 days and 10 months. As for the impact on the older children, spouses, friends and family, please. It's golf Mr. Miller. There is ZERO comparison to golf and what our service men and woman and their families are experiencing.

--Bob Carney