JohnFMurray.com

Dr. John F. Murray, a sport performance and clinical psychologist who has consulted many professional sports teams and players, said he believes the NFL can do a better job developing psychological profiles on prospective draft picks.

“The NFL is extremely organized and thorough with the best coaches and trainers,” said Murray, who is based in Palm Beach, Fla. “The last frontier for [the NFL] is to develop the mental part of a person’s profile with sports psychologists as part of the team. You have to be able to assess to improve. Coaches are great in dealing with players, but they are not sports psychologists.”

NFL teams rely on psychological testing to varying degrees when evaluating draft prospects. Some just don’t believe in them. Others swear by them. Colts President Bill Polian credits the Missouri-based Troutwine & Associates psychological consulting firm for helping the Colts pick Peyton Manning instead of Ryan Leaf with the No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft. Manning is a potential Hall of Famer while Leaf, the No. 2 pick in 1998, is one of the biggest busts in the history of the draft.

Troutwine & Associates has developed psychological profiles for about 20 teams over the past 20 years. Most teams share the services of psychological consulting firms.

“Psychological testing is no different than the 40-yard dash; it’s a piece of the puzzle,” said Falcons General Manager Rich McKay, whose team is in a group of 14 that share the same consulting firm. “It’s not a base corp element. All you’re trying to do is make sure there isn’t an issue there.”

Some psychological tests include off-the-wall questions designed to elicit answers that might only be interpreted accurately by a trained psychologist.

“You’re assessing a person’s mental makeup,” Murray said. “There may be a question that you know as a psychologist that winners will answer a certain way 90 percent of the time. You’re looking for habits, how people deal with adversity, confidence level, are they a team player or will they be a cancer? Their intensity level.”

The New York Giants administer psychological testing. But Ernie Accorsi, their senior vice president and general manager, said he doesn’t put any value in the off-the-wall questions.

“I know psychologists love those questions, but I’m more worried about whether a guy can go out on the edge and get to the passer,” Accorsi said. “I remember when I was given a psychological test for one job. It said ‘Would you ever kill an animal?’ Well, a rattlesnake ready to bite my son, yeah. But I wouldn’t touch a puppy. So what does that mean?”

Murray and Accorsi do agree that a player’s past is more important than how he answers a question.

“I’m just a believer that the past indicates future,” Accorsi said. “People revert for the most part.”

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Earlier, Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal had shot the round of the week, a 66, to post the target at four under.

Also on that score were Americans Chad Campbell, Fred Couples and Tiger Woods, and South African Retief Goosen.

The 35-year-old Mickelson took a one-shot lead into the storm-delayed final round, having bogeyed the last hole of his third round.

And while Chad Campbell, Couples, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Rocco Mediate all made good starts to create a logjam at four under, Mickelson had to wait for his first birdie.

Mickelson shot an easy 69 – he didn’t struggle at all. But when it came at the 7th he followed it up with another at the 8th. And then his main rivals started to go backwards.

Playing partner Couples, wonderful from tee to green, missed a host of chances to keep apace, while up ahead the likes of Woods and Vijay Singh could not buy a putt.

Couples, at 46, was aiming to become the oldest player to win a Green Jacket, 14 years after winning his first. He would have been a hugely popular winner but his putter just would not follow the script.

He said: “If I had made the one at the 14th I might have made Phil work harder, but he played very well. He shot an easy 69 – he didn’t struggle at all.”

The 40-year-old Olazabal, however, was rolling back the years. A superb eagle-three on the 15th took the Spaniard to five under and within touching distance of a third Green Jacket.

But a nervous first putt at 16 led to a three-putt bogey and a return to four under.

Goosen, playing typically steady golf, joined him there soon after but is was already apparent that four under was not going to be enough to stop Mickelson.

The final group on Sunday provided the Masters champion once more
The Californian, who played with two drivers in his bag, by now had added regulation birdies at the long 13th and 15th to go four clear.

Woods, the defending champion and world number one, threatened briefly but saw eagle chances come and go at the par-fives and then three-putted the 17th. The huge putt he holed for birdie on 18 was greeted with an ironic smile.

But is was good enough to improve the four-time Masters champion’s score to four under and a tie for third with Olazabal and Goosen.

Couples – playing in the final pairing that provided the Masters champion for the 16th year in a row – would later join this trio.

One shot behind them were Angel Cabrera of Argentina and Fiji’s Singh, who led after the first round. Completing the top 10, on his own on two under, was American Stewart Cink.

Spain’s Jimenez, who went out in 33 but came back in 39, and Canadian pair Mike Weir and Stephen Ames were tied for 11th on one under.

South Africa’s Ernie Els, however, will be less happy. The world number five, a two-time runner-up here, was in great shape at the halfway stage but struggled after Saturday’s weather interruption, finishing way down the leaderboard.

I knew it was going to be a tough day – but in the end, it was real fun and I ended up playing well

But his compatriot Clark should be delighted with his best finish in a major, particularly as he claimed second on his own by chipping in from a bunker at the last.

The best-placed British player was David Howell. The Englishman finished in a tie for 19th on two over par, one shot ahead of Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, who crashed out of contention thanks to a 77.

The most spectacular crash was not Clarke’s, though. Mediate went from joint leader to nowhere by taking 10 on the short 12th. An old injury had flared up by then and he put three balls in the lake.

But the day belonged to Mickelson, the man who for so long carried the tag of “best player never to have won a major”. He has now claimed three of the last nine and the last two in succession.

In fact, he cannot stop winning. Last week he triumphed in Atlanta by a remarkable 13 shots. Nobody since Sandy Lyle in 1988 had come to Augusta on the back of a victory and won again.

“I knew it was going to be a long, tough day. But in the end, it was real fun and I ended up playing well,” Mickelson said.

And with the new rankings released on Monday, he is sure to be made the world’s number two.

The golfing public, particularly the American golfing public, could be finally getting the battle for number one that they have craved since the halcyon days of Jack Nicklaus v Arnold Palmer.

A pitch traveling at 90 miles per hour reaches home plate in less than half a second. Along the way it curves, swerves and sometimes even knuckles.

A golf ball, meantime, while smaller than a baseball, is a stationary target. No split-second decisions required. So, why then do golfers, including Tiger Woods, demand silence from the gallery while baseball players take their swings amid a chorus of cheers, boos and profanity.

“That’s a really great question,” says New York Mets reserve Julio Franco, who, at 47, is the oldest player in the major leagues and a career .299 hitter. “For me, it doesn’t make a difference what they do in the stands. You can overcome anything as long as you concentrate.”

Aside from the physical components of the game, such as hand-eye coordination, isn’t a professional golfer’s mental fortitude a big part of what sets him or her apart from the weekend duffer?

Just imagine if Tiger, who begins defense of his Masters championship today at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, contended with the distractions of, oh, let’s say Barry Bonds, whose alleged steroid use makes him the target of fan disdain wherever he goes. A fan even threw a plastic syringe at Bonds during the season-opener earlier this week.

Going Berserk

What would such a disturbance do to Tiger, who has been known to go berserk should a photographer’s camera shutter happen to click during his backswing. Tiger’s behavior is curious when you consider that his father, Earl, used to jingle keys while his son played so that background noise wouldn’t rattle him.

Anyway, Tiger and his cohorts will tell you the course is quiet because golf is a gentleman’s game. Then Tiger will hook a drive into the weeds and let loose a string of expletives.

If the golfers themselves can corrupt the gentleman’s code then why can’t fans yak while they tee off? The ability to focus on the task at hand is part of being a great athlete.

“Regardless of the sport’s culture, noise-levels, or crowd involvement, all sports ultimately come down to competition,” says John F. Murray, a sports psychologist in Palm Beach, Florida. “The team or athlete who performs better mentally — removing distractions and pressure — always has a major edge.”

Mental Toughness

No athlete performed better mentally than Michael Jordan, who was perhaps the greatest basketball player in history.

On the court, the five-time National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player would regularly sink pressure shots with 19,000 hostile fans doing everything in their power to distract him. His mental toughness was his biggest asset.

And yet Jordan couldn’t hit a baseball. From what I hear, though, he’s a pretty good golfer.

So, too, is Jordan’s former Chicago Bulls teammate, Steve Kerr, who on the free-throw line was impervious to raucous, hand-waving fans.

“It’s sort of annoying when you see a golfer get so upset over the tiniest little thing,” says Kerr, an avid golfer. “Come on, show a little toughness.”

I’d be willing to wager that, given their druthers, a good number of golf fans would rather howl and holler than walk the course in silence.

“It would be fun if they could have a golf tournament where anything goes,” said Washington Nationals slugger Nick Johnson. “I’d like to see that.”

Poking Fun

So would I. Would Tiger wilt or adapt to his surroundings? Walking 18 holes with everyman golfer John Daly would be a hoot, don’t you think? It beats waiting for Tiger to unleash his latest 300-yard drive before the fans let him know, for the umpteenth time, that he’s the man.

Hollywood has long enjoyed poking fun at golf’s love affair with stuffiness.

From Rodney Dangerfield’s character in “Caddyshack” to Adam Sandler’s portrayal of hockey player-turned golfer “Happy Gilmore,” golf’s establishment is an easy target for joke writers.

“I can’t see Happy Gilmore coming to Augusta in my lifetime,” says 38-year-old Australian pro Peter Lonard.

Understanding the golf code of conduct requires a quick history lesson. The sport’s popularity in Scotland, where the game was invented, soared during the 16th century. By that time, golf had gained respectability among high society and was even played by Mary Queen of Scots. It became the sport of choice for nobles.

Mass Appeal

While clubs such as Augusta have retained their exclusivity, golf as a whole is played by the masses nowadays. It’s the common folk out there swinging Big Berthas and Pings. The pros had better get used to it.

“I don’t think the originators of golf knew that some day their sport would be embraced by ruthless mobs,” Murray says.

And thus, golf’s growth spurt presents a conundrum for Woods, who has inspired countless hackers to pick up clubs. The problem is that the newcomers want to play on their terms, not someone else’s.

If held back for too long there’s a chance they will ditch golf and go back to yelling at the likes of Julio Franco, who is more than happy to welcome them, shutter clicks and all.

“If the fan pays his money,” Franco says, “then he can have fun.”

“Our faculty rep said to me before the game that when you start with something from scratch and you build it up to win a championship, that’s something special,” said Donovan, now in his 12th year at Florida.

For 40 lopsided minutes, the Gators (33-6) were too big, too long and too quick for UCLA, which came up a win short of its 12th national title on a night when legendary coach John Wooden watched from a hospital bed in LA after being admitted for an undisclosed illness that was said not to be serious.

Florida and Noah, voted most outstanding player in the Final Four, won by putting on a thorough display of versatility and unselfishness, a trademark of this team all season.

The Bruins (32-7) were on a defensive tear coming into the championship game, shutting down LSU’s Glen Davis in the semifinals and allowing a total of 90 points in the last two games. Florida, though, was just too much to handle.

Noah capped it off with a monster dunk with 1:09 left. When the buzzer sounded, he laid flat on his back at halfcourt and let the confetti rain on him. His teammates were in a pile a few feet away and Donovan was sharing hugs with his longtime assistant Anthony Grant.

The Gators won this by taking it right to UCLA early, looking to Noah, Corey Brewer and senior Adrian Moss down low, making the extra pass in the key and finishing with 21 assists, 10 of them from their frontcourt.

“They made it very difficult for us to get prepared,” Donovan said. “Just trying to space the floor. And you have to extra pass against them.”

It couldn’t have been what Ben Howland’s team expected had he scouted Florida’s 73-58 win over George Mason in the semis, a game the Gators won from outside and that guard Lee Humphrey ended early in the second with three straight 3s.

The scrappy Humphrey, a junior from Maryville, Tenn., and the only non-sophomore in the Gators’ starting five, did the honors again in this one, spotting up for open looks against a collapsing defense early in the second half. His first 3, 80 seconds into the half, gave Florida a 39-25 lead and forced Howland to call timeout. A sloppy offensive possession ensued, then Humphrey came back with another 3.

After Ryan Hollins’ dunk, one of the few easy baskets for the Bruins all night, Brewer hit a 3 to make it 45-27 and prompt yet another Bruins TO.

But there was no strategy to stop Noah. The 6-foot-11 son of tennis star Yannick Noah dunked, swatted shots and dominated the game, much like his dad did during his magical run to the French Open title in 1983.

Noah had five blocks by halftime, already better than Arizona center A.J. Bramlett’s nine-year-old record for an NCAA championship game. He finished with 30 for the tournament, also breaking a record previously held by Arizona’s Loren Woods.

Noah altered plenty of shots, too — enough that UCLA big men Hollins and Lorenzo Mata looked covered underneath when they weren’t. That’s what happens when you’re facing an intimidating inside presence, and Noah was certainly that.

His final block came with about 5 minutes left after the Bruins had cut a 20-point deficit to 12. Hollins tried to take it strong as a last-gasp effort to get back in the game. Noah stuffed the shot, grabbed the rebound and stood there calmly waiting for things to clear.

About two minutes later, Florida was back up by 16 and those Gator chomps were starting in earnest all around the RCA Dome.

UCLA had all the history behind it, and a pretty good team, to boot. The Bruins just didn’t have enough. Jordan Farmar, who chose UCLA over Florida, was their only scoring threat. He finished with 18 points. His backcourt mate, Arron Afflalo, finished with 10, but was shut out in the first half, while this game was getting away.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was no factor: He had six points and 10 rebounds and wasn’t nearly the presence he was in UCLA’s semifinal win against LSU.

Florida is still 10 titles behind UCLA, but this was a historic win and one that should quiet the few remaining who said it couldn’t be done in Gainesville.

Donovan brought home Florida’s first hoops title while his old coach at Providence, Rick Pitino, watched from the stands, wearing an orange tie. It was Pitino, now at Louisville, who 12 years ago urged Donovan not to take the job in Gainesville, fearing the commitment simply wasn’t there. He wasn’t alone. Not even Florida’s previous coach, Lon Kruger, said the Gators could sustain in basketball the way they did in football — and Kruger had taken them to the Final Four a few years earlier.

Turns out, there’s plenty of money, talent and support to make Florida’s “other” program run.

Indeed, Noah isn’t the team’s only star.

Humphrey ended up with 10 3-pointers during this Final Four and found himself open for most of them, thanks to a brilliant offensive scheme that had the Gators working inside and out.

Horford dominated inside, too, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Moss, the only senior on the roster, had nine points and six rebounds and did most of his damage coming off the bench in the first half. Four years ago, he was considered a star of the future. Instead, he was really a very nice piece of a bigger puzzle.

And most of all there’s Donovan. He said he didn’t want to be the focus of any of the Gators’ success, but there’s no denying he’s the one who got them here.

“I’m extremely proud,” said Pitino, his mentor. “We talked this morning and everything he said he wanted this team to do, it’s done. It’s really amazing to see.”