Johnny, where was your favorite word?

Has NBC's Johnny Miller gone soft? When Europe Ryder Cup rookie Rory McIlroy hit a pitiful wedge shot from the fairway to the 18th green in a match that he and Graeme McDowell were trailing, Miller's response was this: "That's crazy to hit that shot."

Ordinarily, Miller would have you used a word with which he has been closely associated, "choke." Was he intentionally avoiding it, even though a wedge from the fairway by one of the best players in the world was woefully botched with the match hanging in the balance?

McIlroy's shot went into a bunker and essentially ended the match, Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar winning, 1-up.

-- John Strege