By RAY McNULTY, Scripps Howard News Service

The NCAA says Bobby Bowden played no role whatsoever in the academic cheating scandal that involved 61 Florida State University athletes in 10 sports from the fall of 2006 through the summer of 2007.
Didn't arrange it.
Didn't endorse it.
Didn't even know about it.

It's not just the economy.
It's not just that silly World Baseball Classic, which proves nothing, except that the greedy suits that run baseball always can find ways to put a few more bucks in their coffers.
Yes, they're factors, the sick economy and bogus WBC.
Significant factors.

You know what was missing from last week's Honda Classic? Other than Tiger Woods? A statement.
A loud, unmistakable statement to the world's No. 1 player from any of his supposed challengers, guys like Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els and Camillo Villegas, even Rory McIlroy, the 19-year-old phenom who is being hyped as golf's next great thing.

-- Editor's note: Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers sports columnist Ray McNulty covered the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies in the 1990s.

Newspapers didn't send out teams of reporters to investigate the use of steroids or other illegal, performance-enhancing drugs.
Not in the 1990s.

As Sergio Garcia waded through a sea of autograph hounds at PGA National, where he played his way onto the Honda Classic leader board Thursday's wind-blown first round, he looked entirely comfortable with his lofty place in the game.

Nat Moore probably knows more about the Miami Dolphins than anyone who has ever played for them.
He's a Tallahassee native who played at the University of Florida and still lives in South Florida, where he spent his entire 13-year NFL career catching 500-plus passes for more than 7,500 yards and 74 touchdowns for the Dolphins.

A few weeks back, when talking about his son's autism, Ernie Els said the challenges of raising a child with the brain development disorder often rips apart marriages.

Two of baseball's $100 million men play for the New York Mets.
Carlos Beltran signed a seven-year, $119 million contract in 2005. Johan Santana signed a six-year, $137.5 million contract in 2008.

So, how much golf have you watched these past eight months? The British Open, perhaps? The last couple of rounds of the PGA Championship? Maybe a few hours of the Ryder Cup? The game just hasn't been the same without the world's best player -- hasn't been as interesting, hasn't been as compelling, hasn't been nearly as much fun.
That's not just my opinion.

Driving home in my Ford F-150 pickup after Sunday's rain-shortened Daytona 500 -- the climax of DirectTV SpeedWeeks at Daytona International Speedway -- I was listening to SIRIUS NASCAR Radio's post-race, call-in show.