"19 of the 28 players are either treading water or backing up as it relates to Finchem's request to circulate more frequently."

Refuting or maybe reinforcing Commissioner Finchem's assertion that there has been "movement' from top players in reaction to his hostage video plea for more starts, Steve Elling does a nice job setting things up and fleshing out with some great quotes, including a classic from Rocco.

But, as with John Strege's tabulation a few weeks ago on the eve of the Florida swing, the message is not what the sponsors would want to hear:

For the purposes of comparison, we subtracted Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh from the top 30 on the 2008 money list, since both have missed starts with leg issues that skewed their totals. Of the remaining 28 players, 12 have played in fewer tournaments than at this stage one year ago.

Another seven have played in the same number of events, meaning 19 of the 28 players are either treading water or backing up as it relates to Finchem's request to circulate more frequently.

Even in these uncertain times, some players seem slow on the uptake. Signed to personal multi-year sponsorship deals with companies and manufacturers, the urgency of the broader tour situation seemingly hasn't yet been fully grasped. Even the loss of courtesy cars at certain stops has been offset by the largesse of weekly tournament sponsors, so to some players, little has changed in their insular, self-centered orbits.