JOHNNY MILLER SADDENED BY NBC LOSS OF US OPEN CONTRACT

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
The lead analyst for NBC's U.S. Open coverage, Johnny Miller, said Wednesday he wished Fox Sports the best but was sad that NBC Sports won't be airing the tournament after next year. 
Fox Sports and the USGA agreed on a 12-year deal last month that awarded the rights to Fox to televise the tournament until 2026. NBC had aired the final rounds of the Open since 1995.

"The U.S. Open was always my championship. It’s what I was groomed to do, to play," Miller said during a teleconference on Wednesday. "I just always got up for the Open and loved it. You know, I’ll still love it. I just won’t be covering it."

Last month, Miller told the AP that Fox "can't just fall out of a tree and do the U.S. Open."
Wednesday, he said he hopes the network does a good job with their coverage.

"It’s something that’s pretty sad for me," he said. "All of us at ... Golf channel, but especially NBC ... put their heart and soul into it," Miler said. "That was the focal point of everything we did and I just hope that Fox does ... I absolutely wish them absolutely the best. It’s such a great championship."

Miller also had a few thoughts on how he would rank the major tournaments and the FedExCup Championship in terms of importance. Miller won the U.S. Open in 1973 and the British Open in 1976, but never won the PGA or the Masters.

"As a player if I had a choice between the British Open/Open, or the U.S. Open or the Masters, it's about a dead time now to me. You know, the PGA is obviously a really good tournament, too...They are all about the three best flavours of Baskin Robbins