Judge Orders John Daly to Pay $272K in Lawsuit Against Newspaper

In the scheme of things, 2009 has probably been one of the most uneventful years of John Daly's professional life. He's not regularly drinking himself stupid (or the target of subsequent interventions); he still doesn't have his PGA Tour card, but he has lost weight, narrowed his focus, and despite recent trouble with enormous immovable objects and tour buses, he's playing relatively well in Europe. It's a start.

But with a history as extensive as JD's it's hard to escape the past. And this week, a judge ordered the two-time major winner to fork over $272,000 in legal expenses for the unsuccessful defamation lawsuit he filed against the Times-Union and its parent company in 2005.

A couple of thoughts: first, there is speculation that Daly is broke, and that has a lot to do with his recommitment to the game. The threat of losing everything is funny like that. Unfortunately, getting an invoice for more than a quarter-million dollars doesn't help.

Second, Daly, could have avoided the court ruling. In fact, he could have made a few bucks in a settlement.

Daly sued Morris [Publishing Group], the newspaper, Jacksonville.com and former columnist Mike Freeman for a 2005 column that accused the golfer of smacking women and a thug lifestyle. He turned down a $5,000 settlement proposal from the newspaper, a reasonable offer in light of the facts, Carithers said in his order.

I have no idea if Daly smacked women, but he's definitely the walking embodiment of what it means to be a thug. The Loudmouth couture, the endless Diet Cokes and smokes -- he's a pimp. I don't want to get sidetracked, and I understand that "thug" has racially-tinged connotations, but JD qualifies? Really? Man, the requirements for thuggery have really gotten lax.

The bigger issue, though, is that Daly, in trying to prove a point, ended up on the wrong end of a $272,000 court decision. Clearly, God still hates Big John.