Timing is everything, from NFL playoffs to the Rolex 24 and replacing legends | HEY, WILLIE!

It's been a while since we cleared the virtual mail bag and heard from the various precincts out there.

Sometimes you're surprised by the clear thinking and sound logic you can find in that weathered sack of crumpled correspondence.

And sometimes not ...

HEY, WILLIE!

I don't understand why the NFL can't switch the starting time for playoff games based on weather and location.

Doesn't make sense to me that the game in Detroit's domed stadium started at 3 p.m. while the outdoor game in Buffalo started at 6:30.

Seems like there was plenty of advance notice to make that decision.

BAFFLED

HEY, BAFFLED!

We’re still asking such questions?

Fox, NBC, CBS and ESPN set their schedules months ahead of time. A year or so, in fact.

They’re not going to totally upend their programming schedules just because it’s an unusually cold winter day in Kansas City, Buffalo, or wherever.

Nor should they. My goodness, have you seen how much they pay for the TV rights? Their CFO has a wad of commas in his financial tool box.

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HEY, WILLIE!

So are we now going to call it the Rolex 23.5 hour race?  Pretty embarrassing for one of the most expensive watches on the planet.  

I'm not saying the Action Express team would have won with one more lap, but sports-car racing at Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans, etc., is replete with last-lap bumping, mechanical failures, driver errors, and heartbreak for the leader. 

Great race, though.

GREG

HEY, GREG!

More like Daytona 23.95. But I haven’t done the specific math.

Frankly, I thought it was rather commendable when IMSA fell on the sword the day after the race, admitting how they messed up the whole “next-to-last, oops-it’s-actually-the-last-lap” situation.

In terms of national and international interest, we’re not talking about the Daytona or Indy 500. They could’ve just let it fade away, and no one outside of the paddock would care.

Overall, though, a wonderful show. And yet another “record crowd,” in case you haven’t heard!

HEY, WILLIE!

Thank you for your (Jan. 19) piece on comparing Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Just to correct one thing, unless you were only counting tournaments after Nicklaus turned pro and joined the PGA Tour.

You wrote, "Nicklaus’ first top-five in a major was a win (1962 U.S. Open)." But he came in second in the 1960 U.S. Open (Palmer famously won that with a last-round 65). Ben Hogan told Dan Jenkins afterwards, “I played with a young kid (Nicklaus). If he'd known how to win, he would've won by seven strokes.”

Jack also tied for fourth in the 1961 U.S. Open. Those two top-fives are included in Jack's 56 top-fives.

MICHAEL

HEY, MIKE!

You’re right and wrong. Yes, I was only talking about Jack and Tiger as professionals in majors.

But in listing their career top-fives in majors, I included the two Jack had as a chunky amateur. The total, as professionals, should be 54 for Jack, 33 for Tiger, who for the most part either won majors or went ho-hum.

As amazing as Tiger was in the decade from 2000-09, check out Jack during his 30s, from 1970-79. In the 40 majors, he not only had eight wins, but finished outside the top 10 just five times, with 28 of those 35 top 10s being fifth or better. As a capper, at 40, he won two majors in 1980.

HEY, WILLIE!

While it was unfortunate, and unfair, that Phil Bengtson's head-coaching debut followed Vince Lombardi's magnificent reign in Green Bay, he benefited from the low bar set by Clive Rush and John Mazur in Boston/Foxborough. 

And his abysmal term in Foxborough opened the door for Chuck Fairbanks, Ron Meyer, Pete Carroll and The Two Bills (Parcells and Belichick). 

And 11 Super Bowl appearances.

DONNIE

HEY, DONNIE!

My goodness, poor ol’ Phil had to follow Lombardi in Green Bay as the bulk of those great Packers were aging out. He’d been Lombardi’s defensive coordinator for the entirety of the team’s legendary ’60s dominance.

And now you’re blaming him for the 1970s Patriots?

He relieved John Mazur as interim coach in 1972, after a six-game losing streak, and went 1-4 to end another miserable season in Boston.

He basically disappeared after that, and what a shame. Phil not only epitomizes the dangers of following a legend, but as we’ve seen time and time again, the dangers of a defensive or offensive coordinator being hired as a head coach.

It’s a different world in the big stool as opposed to being a wingman.

Also, I'd forgotten that Bill Belichick followed Pete Carroll as Patriots head coach in 2000. Now they're both in the soup line down at the mission.

Clive Rush, by the way, left football shortly after his firing in Boston, then resurfaced in 1976 as head coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. His team was 8-1 with two games remaining when "player unrest" led to his firing. Do your own research, but trust me, it's not a feel-good story.

— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Frozen NFL playoffs, abbreviated Rolex 24, a Jack Nicklaus correction