Ramblin' Thoughts On A Saturday Afternoon

 Some Idle thoughts from an idle mind.....

The Pirates have started the 2026 season on a fairly good note.  They are 8-5. The staring pitching of Skenes, Keller, Mlodzinski, Ashcroft, and Chandler had been quite good, if not very good.  New additions Brandon Lowe and Ryan O'Hearn have delivered as hoped; new addition Marcel Ozuna, not so much.  

And 19 year old rookie phee-nom, best prospect in baseball Konnor Griffin has arrived!

After getting an RBI double in his first AB, Griffin has collected only two hits since and is hitting .143, in 21 AB's in seven games.  Way too early to worry, and one thing that Griffin has shown is that he can flash the leather.  It appears that the Pirates have got their short stop for the next decade or so.

Did I say "decade"?  The other big news concerning Griffin is that he and the Pirates signed a nine year, $140 million contract  extension that will tie Griffin to the Bucs through the 2034 season.  This, of course, is completely out of character for Bob Nutting's Pirates, and it certainly is a positive development, but let's not give Nutting the Dapper Dan Award because of this.  As the owner of a professional sports team that purports to be all in on winning and winning championships, this is doing merely what you are supposed to do, something that Nutting has NOT done in his tenure as Pirates CEO.  As comedian Chris Rock says, you don't get special credit for doing WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.  

As usual, The Grandstander will wait until the thirty game mark of the season before giving a more thorough evaluation of this season's Buccos.

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We are now halfway through (now speaking in hushed, reverential tones) The Masters, A Tradition Unlike Any Other. I confess to having been glued to the early round coverage of the event on Prime and ESPN for the last two days.  What can I say?

While I have no gripe against Rory McIlroy, he's a likable enough guy, I hate to see what he has done over these last two days.  Through two rounds, he is at twelve under par and has a six shot lead over his nearest competitor.  He has threatened to remove any semblance of drama from this year's tournament.  Like I said, I have no axe to grind with McIlroy, but I hope that he comes back to the field a bit, or that three or four guys surge forward to make it interesting come the fourth round on Sunday.

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In honor of The Masters I will close with this musical interlude from well known golfer and sometime crooner Bing Crosby.  May all your shots be "straight down the middle".

The Masters 2020

 

Hello, Friends.

So it finally became time to stage The Masters for 2020 this past weekend, after a seven and one-half month delay.  The Masters is always must-see-television for golf fans, and even for non-golf fans, and especially more so in this crazy year of 2020.  However, unlike most years, this version offered very little drama or edge of the seat excitement.  World Number One Golfer Dustin Johnson  seized hold of the tournament by the end of the second round and had a four shot lead after the end of the third round.  Bogies on 4 and 5 for yesterday caused his lead to slip to two strokes early on, and that made it look as though DJ would be seriously challenged, but a birdie on number six righted the ship, and Johnson would go on to earn a five stroke victory and set a Masters scoring record of twenty under par.  He recorded only four bogies throughout the 72 hole event.  That is astonishing.

He is a most worthy Champion.

Some other thoughts and takeaways from this year's toon-a-mint....

The sight of Augusta National without fans Patrons was pretty astonishing, although we have gotten used to such sights at sports events in 2020.  If possible, seeing it in such a natural state made it - in my mind, at least - even more beautiful, even without the azaleas and other flora in full bloom as they are in April.  I suppose sports are always better when played before packed houses, so let's hope that full galleries of fans Patrons will be on hand come April, but for this one year only, I am glad we got to see Augusta National as we did this past weekend.

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Runner-up Cameron Smith finished at -15, a score that would have won the Masters in 78 previous years, and had all four rounds with scores in the sixties.  Was anyone else as surprised as I was to learn that that was the first time that that had ever happened at The Masters?

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As always, CBS coverage of this Tradition Unlike Any Other was superb, even if Jim Nantz always appears to  be close to openly weeping when talking in hushed and reverential tones when speaking of the Augusta National, Bob Jones, Alistair MacKenzie and the hallowed Traditions of The Masters.   I loved the drone shots of the golf course.  I didn't miss Peter Kostis.  I did miss David Feherty, and I liked Dottie Pepper and Trevor Immelman on the coverage.  Verne Lundquist on 16 is truly a CBS Tradition Like No Other.  I am willing to bet that he knows the contours and quirks of the 16th green better than any of the golfers who play in the tournament every year.  And Nick Faldo is always good, too.  Doesn't take himself too seriously as so many of the other ex-golfers now doing the TV gig.  I was, however, wondering what the deal was with his sideburns.  Looks like he's trying to bring back 1968 again.

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This will go down as a mere footnote to the tournament, and if it happened to any other golfer in the field we wouldn't be talking about it all.  I am referencing the 10 that Tiger Woods took on the Par 3 twelfth hole yesterday.

The five time winner and defending champion started the day at -5 and was something like T-24.  Seven shots back and with over twenty guys ahead of him, he wasn't going to win The Masters this year, and who could blame him if all he wanted to do was go out, play quickly, and get it over with.  On the infamous twelfth hole, the shortest hole on the course, he rinsed his tee shot into Rae's Creek, put it into the water two more times, and ended up with a septuple bogey 10 on the hole.  Now at this point, no one, but NO ONE, would blame him if he really did check out both physically and mentally after that.  Didn't happen though.  He played those final six holes in five under par, going birdie-par-birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie.  The mental strength it took to do something like that is as amazing and as impressive as almost anything Woods has ever done on a golf course.  If you play golf, even if you are a hacking amateur like me, you know how mentally hard it is to recover and play even decently after thoroughly screwing up on a hole.

Tiger Woods, six weeks short of his 45th birthday, is still one of a kind.

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Bryson DeChambeau was the talk of the golf world, positively and negatively, coming into The Masters.  If you follow the game, you know that he's a bit of an oddball in his approach, and he talked openly about a course like Augusta National would play like a "par 67" for him.  Karma can be a bitch, and it bit Bryson in the butt this weekend.  He finished the tourney at -2 and way down the track, and was never really a factor at all.  I softened my opinion of DeChambeau after reading the cover story on  him in the current month's Sports Illustrated, but I was still glad to see him served up some humble pie this weekend.  At the same time, I'm sorry that it turned out the way it did.  Golf in general is a lot more interesting when he is in the mix on the weekends, and this Masters would also have been bit juicier if it was DeChambeau, instead of Cam Smith or Abe Ancer, chasing down Johnson on Sunday.

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Heard this interesting tidbit on the Tony Kornheiser Podcast this morning.  Dustin Johnson now has both a Masters Championship and a US Open Championship on is resume.  How many other golfers currently active in the PGA Tour can make that same statement?

The answer is TWO.  Tiger Woods and Jordan Speith.  Are you as surprised as I was that this is such a short list?

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Finally, a $7.50 investment on Fan Duel made by me last week on Dustin Johnson to win The Masters turned into a $78.75 payout, so you know for whom I was  rooting.

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One great thing about a one-time Masters in November is that we only have to wait a little less than five months until we get to do it again!

Tiger Wins The Masters!!

Hello, friends.

If it is a truth that nothing can match The Masters for sheer self-reverential malarkey, it is also a truth that few sporting events, year after year, can match The Masters for drama and excitement.  The 2019 edition of this event may have been the most dramatic of them all, and the old canard that "The Masters never really begins until the back nine Second Nine on Sunday" was never more true than it was today.

The victory of Tiger Woods at the age of 43 - his fifteenth Major, his fifth Masters win, his first Major win since 2008, and his first Masters win since 2005 - was simply amazing.  The dramatic ebbs and flows of all of the other contenders on that final nine, which saw names such as Xander Shauffle and Patrick Cantley atop the leader board, albeit briefly, the strange and awful things that can happen to golfers on Augusta National's shortest hole, the Par 3 twelfth, were all on display, and through it all the resolute determination and sheer will of Tiger Woods, not to mention his still remarkable golf skills, shone through like a beacon.  It was an amazing thing to watch, and performances and events such is this is why people who follow sports, well, follow sports.

Two comments made by Nick Faldo on the telecast stood out to me.  As it became apparent that Woods was likely to win this event, Faldo commented about the generations of younger golfers now on Tour who came of age watching Woods play.  Whereas at the height of his powers, Woods would have to fight off the occasional Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, or Davis Love, today, Faldo remarked, Woods was fighting off - and would eventually - overcome an entire field of young guns.  Faldo also told the story of how two years ago at the Masters Champions dinner, Woods told him that he doubted that he would ever be able to play golf competitively again, much less win on the sport's biggest stages.

It was a comeback of monumental proportions, and it is doubtful that any sports story that might develop and occur over the course of 2019 will be able to top the story of Tiger Woods' win at this years Masters.

Before writing this post, I went to the Blog search box and typed in "Tiger Woods", and I found sixteen posts that I had written over the years that featured Tiger Woods.  Some of them concerned the topic of who might become the "next Tiger".  In every one of those, I came to the conclusion that we are never, at least not in my lifetime, ever going to see another Tiger Woods.  This weekend's accomplishment confirms that opinion.

Like I said, what we saw today is why we follow sports.

Michael Phelps, the Tiger Woods of Swimming, 

follows the ball on Woods' near ace on #16.

Green Jacket #5

"It still fits."

Monday, Monday.....

Sporting thoughts......

Hello, friends.

Patrick Reed wins The Masters, A Tradition Like No Other (cue schmaltzy music) (I believe I had that!), and if tradition holds that The Masters always produces great drama on Sunday, yesterday certainly fit the bill.  Leading by three strokes after the third round, Reed played the final round in only one under par and held on for a one stroke win, but the drama was provided by.... 

• Eventual third place finisher Jordan Spieth who was nine shots behind after three rounds, shot -8 on Sunday and was actually tied for the lead after his 16th hole.
• Eventual second place finisher Rickey Fowler who birdied  the eighteenth hole, which forced Reed to sink a tricky three footer for par on 18 to avoid a playoff.
• Rory McIlroy who was looking for a career grand slam and was three shots behind Reed at the beginning, had a chance to tie for the lead when he missed a makeable put for eagle on the second hole.  He seemed to lose his mojo right then, faded (+2 on Sunday) and finished T-5.

And now all of the post-Masters write ups are telling us that Reed is basically an unlikeable guy, and his victory was a rather joyless one amongst the folks at Augusta....the other players don't like him, he's estranged from his parents, he bounced through two colleges and was accused of stealing and cheating.  No word on whether or not he had anything to do with kidnapping the Lindbergh baby, but give it time.

Sometimes you just get to know too much about people.

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We all know that the Pirates, 7-2 and in first place by two games, have gotten off to their best start in a zillion years.  It's been fun to watch, I must say.  Some initial takes on the team.

Good:

• Gregory Polanco with 3 home runs, 13 RBI, and an OPS well in excess of 1.000.
• Six of the eight starters are hitting over .300
• Newcomers Colin Moran and Corey Dickerson both playing really well.
• Jameson Taillon is 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA, and a WHIP of 0.49.  This includes an absolute masterpiece complete game, one hit shut out yesterday.

Not So Good:

• Until Taillon's gem yesterday, no Pirate starter had pitched into the seventh inning, and only one had completed as much as six innings.
• The bullpen, particularly, the middle relievers, has been shaky to awful.
• A limited bench that tells you that if any of the eight position regulars goes down for any considerable length of time, it will spell big trouble for the team.
• Base running continues to be an adventure for the Pirates.  I haven't watched every inning of all nine games, but I have already seen three rock headed blunders on the base paths, one each by Polanco, Starling Marte, and Josh Bell.  I mean, what is it with these guys?

Still and all, the 2018 season, albeit only one week old, has been a pleasant surprise for the Pirates and their fans.

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The 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tomorrow night, so it's time for The Grandstander's Stanley Cup Preview.  Here it is:

The Pittsburgh Penguins to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup.  Probably will sweep all four of their playoff series.  Might be pushed to a fifth game in one or two of them, maybe.

You heard it here first, and, as always, watch, but don't bet.

Seriously, I have no idea how it will all shake out, but I look forward to the "exquisite torture" only Playoff Hockey can deliver. Remember the double overtime game seven in the conference final last year?  Exquisite torture.

And if the Pens somehow fall short this year, well, I'd say they've earned a pass from all of us after the last two seasons.

Enjoy!

The Masters 2017

As Jim Nantz would say, "Hello, Friends", and here are some thoughts from The Grandstand on the 2017 Masters.....

• It is amazing how, more often than not, The Masters is able to produce tremendous sporting drama on a regular basis.  In 2017, the Toon-a-mint evolved into a final round shootout between Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia, and it was epic to be sure.
• It did come down to a two man battle in large part because Americans Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, playing in the next to last pairing, managed to totally soil the bed linens as they played terribly (a combined +7 on the day) and never challenged the final Rose-Garcia pairing.
• Spieth took himself completely out of contention early, going +3 on the front, and, just to make the cheese more binding, when he dunked another one into Rae's Creek on the Par 3 twelfth hole, the one that did him in last year. Despite winning the Masters at the age of 21 in 2015, there now have to be a lot of demons in his head concerning Augusta National.  He is young and very talented, but if you made the case that he will never win another Masters, I don't think that I would argue against the point.
• When it became apparent that the winner would come from the final group, I began to put my rooting interests behind Justin Rose, as I've never been a big fan of Garcia's.  Still, with the way both played all day yesterday, you knew that you were going to be happy for whichever guy won, and feel really bad for whichever guy came in  second.
• As they came to the tee on the 72nd hole, my comment to Marilyn was that "I hope one guys wins it with a birdie, as opposed to one guy losing it by making a bogie."  Rose said pretty much the same thing after he bogied the playoff hole when he said that he was glad Sergio made his putt for a birdie, because then he'd have really felt bad if his bogie had cost him the Masters.  
• Great sportsmanship by both Garcia and Rose throughout the day.

And then there was the CBS telecast....

• We all know that the Green Jackets control the media that covers The Masters in a way that that not even the Kremlin controlled Pravda back in the day, but, honestly now, could Jim Nantz get any more reverential and obsequious?  He tops himself every year.  I honestly think he was about to begin to weep when he opened the Green Jacket ceremony in Butler Cabin last night.
• CBS came on the air at 2:00 yesterday, and by about 2:20 I was already sick and tired of the "Can Sergio win on Seve's 60th birthday?" storyline.  It made Joe Buck's bromance with Kyle Schwarber during last year's World Series pale by comparison.
• On the plus side, the camera work and coverage was excellent.  Is there sport more suited for High Def television than golf, and is there place more suited for it than Augusta National?  OMG, I'm staring to sound like Jim Nantz.  Somebody stop me.
• I hope you all got to watch the one hour special that preceded the telecast about Arnold Palmer and his lifelong relationship with the Masters and Augusta National and that included Arnie's final recorded interview, one that Nantz conducted in the Butler Cabin during the 2016 Masters.  It was terrific show.

We close with a final salute to the 2017 Champion.  He certainly earned it.

The Weekend That Was.....

The recently concluded weekend included the following....

• A three game sweep by the Pirates over the Braves in the home opening series of the year.  Bucs now stand at 3-2. Sorry, but The Grandstander will give no detailed analysis of the Pirates until the season is about thirty games old.
• The Masters (A Tradition Like No Other).  More on that in a separate post, but, yes, I did wear an ass-groove in the sofa watching the entire fourth round yesterday.
• A movie. In this case, "Going In Style"....

You would have had to have been living in a cave these last several months not to have seen a trailer for this one.  Three old guys, Michael Caine, Alan Arkin, and Morgan Freeman, who have just had their pension funds liquidated by an Evil Corporation, and who are getting screwed by Big Banking decide to rob a bank.  It is a comic caper, and it's great fun to see three old pros like Caine, Arkin, and Freeman together on screen.  The movie also features another old pro, Ann-Margret, and she is still as lovely and sexy as ever, at least in this particular Old Guy's opinion.  

Ann-Margret in character as Annie

in "Going In Style"

"Going In Style" is not going to make anybody's Best Ten list, but it is fun, does have a message, has a bit of a twist in the end, and, as I said, it a treat to see four actors of this caliber together on the screen.

Two and one-half stars from The Grandstander.

Sunday at The Masters, Post-Game

As I said this morning, I wore a butt-groove in the couch this afternoon and into the evening watching the final round of The Masters, and it certainly did not disappoint.  My Jason Day prediction of this morning was sure wrong, but there was drama a-plenty, and the long held cliche of "The Masters never really begins until the second nine on Sunday" was truer than ever this year.

When Jordan Spieth birdied the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th holes to take a five shot lead, his second consecutive Masters victory seemed a forgone conclusion, right?  Bogies on ten and eleven seemed to be a slight hiccup, but then the famous 12th hole at Augusta reared its head.

You know what happened.  Not one, but two shots into Rae's Creek, and quadruple bogey 7, combined with Englishman Danny Willett's bogey-free five under 67, and Willett is the new Masters Champ, so congratulations Danny Willett!  Watching Spieth implode like that was excruciating to watch, but it certainly was dramatic sporting theater.

It will be interesting to see how Spieth responds to this.  He's extremely talented, and he's only 22 years old, so most likely he will shake this off and excel, but even Nick Faldo said that this has to scar him to some degree or another.

In the meantime, the coronation of the "Next Tiger" has been postponed indefinitely.

Sunday at the Masters, Pre-Game

(Okay, before I begin, I need to address what I wrote yesterday, which was that in the final pairing of the third round, Rory McIlroy would post a better score than Jordan Spieth.  Didn't happen.  Spieth went +1 and McIlroy went +5 yesterday.  Don't ever say that I brush my bad calls under the rug.)

Here's your leader board as we await the beginning of the Final Round of The Masters:

-3 Jordan Spieth

-2 Smylie Kaufman

-1 Bernhard Langer, Hideki Matsuyama

E Jason Day, Dustin Johnson

+1 Lee Westwood, Soren Kjeldsen, Brandt Snedeker

+2 Daniel Berger, Rory McIlroy

I only went that deep on the leader board in order to show Rory McIlroy.  His +5 yesterday puts him five strokes off the lead, not an impossible lead to overcome, but he would also have to jump over ten golfers to win.  McIlroy's quest for the career Grand Slam will have to wait until 2017.

The high scores are a function of the winds that laced Augusta National over the last three days, and for me, at least, that has reduced the enjoyment of the tournament this year.  I like seeing guys making birdies at The Masters, having eagle chances on thirteen and fifteen, and going low.  I don't enjoy seeing best players in the world struggling to make par.  However, forecasts call for calmer conditions today, so that could make today a lot of fun to watch.  I plan on wearing a groove in the couch today from 2:00 until the ceremony in Butler Cabin, as I am sure many of you will.  

I believe that the winner will come from among the six players currently at even par or better:

 Jordan Spieth - I got home from Mass last night with Spieth at -5 and enjoying a four shot lead after sixteen holes.  Had he parred out, I would say that today was a forgone conclusion, but he went bogey, double bogey on 17 and 18, and now it's all up for grabs.  Of course, if the winds die down as predicted, he could shoot a 64 or 65 and slam the door on everyone else.  Still, how Spieth bounces back from that terrible finish yesterday will tell us an awful lot about how he plays the game between his ears.

Smylie Kaufman - Okay, raise your hand if you had heard of Smylie Kaufman before this week?  Oh, you folks with your hands raised?  I don't believe you.  I found this brief story on the 24 year old Kaufman this morning...

http://www.nj.com/golf/index.ssf/2016/04/masters_2016_who_is_smylie_kau.html

...and honestly, how can you not root for this kid?

Bernhard Langer - The presence of the 58 year old Langer in this group is an even bigger surprise than that of young Mr. Kaufman, and a third green jacket for Langer would be one heck of a story, but I don't see it happening.  Plus, and nothing against Langer, who by all accounts is a great guy, I don't want to see anyone supplanting Jack Nicklaus as the oldest Masters Champion.

Hideki Matsuyama - All three of his Masters rounds have been par or better.  No one else can make that claim.

Jason Day - The world's Number One ranked player was one of only five players under par yesterday.  I see him making a run at the lead today.

Dustin Johnson - As long as I have been writing this Blog, I have been predicting Majors wins for Johnson, and he always seems to fold on Sundays.  Maybe this will be his time.

PREDICTION:  I see Jason Day, in the third to last pairing putting on a big surge and pressuring Spieth.   If the conditions are mild, wind-wise, I see low scores from Spieth, Day, and Johnson.  In the end, regardless of weather conditions, I call for a win for.....

JASON DAY.

As always, watch, but don't bet.

The Masters: The Battle is Joined

Well, you want drama at The Masters every year, and you couldn't have ordered it up any better than what Round Three will serve up this afternoon.  Defending Champ and World #2 Jordan Spieth at -4 and World #3 Looking for the Career Grand Slam Rory McIlroy at -3 in the final pairing.  Oh, and don't count out World #1 Jason Day just yet.  He is currently T-15 at +1. He is capable of shooting a 68 or 69 in these conditions, and if he does, that will put him right in the thick of it.

The weather conditions, i.e, the wind, at Augusta National has really affected scoring through the first two rounds, and I believe that those conditions will continue to prevail today.  I watched a lot of the second round yesterday, and based upon the demeanor of the two players yesterday, I will offer the following prediction: At the end of round three this evening, McIlroy will be ahead of Spieth on the leader board.  That doesn't necessarily mean that Rory will lead the tournament, just that he will shoot a better round than Spieth today.

Should be fun to watch!

Arnie

If you were watching any of the Opening Round of The Masters on television yesterday, you no doubt saw the scene of the traditional ceremonial "Opening Tee Shots" taken by Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus.  Also participating, but not taking a shot, was 86 year old Arnold Palmer. It has been known for several weeks now that Palmer, due to some "health issues", would not be taking that tee shot this year, but even knowing that it was still a shock to see Palmer yesterday.  If any athlete ever seemed invincible while practicing his sport, it was Arnold Palmer, which made yesterday's ceremony all the more jarring.  

Check out the column in today's Post-Gazette by Gerry Dulac...

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/golf/2016/04/08/Gerry-Dulac-Decades-after-Masters-glory-Palmer-s-presence-at-major-much-different/stories/201604080141

....and it seems obvious, to me, anyway, from the comments of his lifelong rivals and pals, Player and Nicklaus, that they feel much the same as all of the legions of Arnie's Army must feel.

The Future of Golf, or Post-Masters Reflections

Four days after the conclusion of an amazing Masters Tournament, it's time to reflect upon just what took place and what it might mean.

First off, the wire-to-wire win for 21 year old Jordan Spieth prompted this great cover and tag line to appear in the mail box today:

Clever take on the book about Michael Jordan, and a statement that the "Spieth Era Begins Now".

First the tournament itself.  Spieth's performance was nothing short of, sorry about this, Masterful.  Only the fifth wire-to-wire win in the history of the Masters, and a tie for the all-time low score.  On Saturday, he stood up to the challenges and charges of the biggest names in the sport (McIlroy, Mickelson, and Woods), and on Sunday, every time someone looked like he would challenge him, Spieth answered with a birdie, an amazing up-and-down, or a clutch par, all leading to this moment.

Does this mean that a "Jordan Spieth Era" is now upon us?  

Well, how do you define an "Era"?  Is Spieth the next Tiger Woods?  Sorry, but no, or at least no one should be ready to declare so at this point.  Does it mean that Spieth can be a dominant player on the PGA Tour for the next 10-15 years?  It is quite possible that Spieth could indeed be just that, although, I do not think that we shall ever see anyone dominate professional golf the way that Woods did in the period from 1997-2008.  The probability of such dominance is infinitesimal, if for no other reason than this guy:

Rory McIlroy is only 25 years old and already has four majors to his credit.  And if McIlroy will prevent Spieth from being the "next Tiger", then Spieth, in turn, could prevent McIlroy from being the "next Tiger" as well.

What does excite the imaginations of golf nerds everywhere is the possibility of Spieth-McIlroy duels over the next dozen years or so that will be reminiscent of earlier days when Arnold Palmer battled Jack Nicklaus, and Nicklaus battled guys like Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, and Greg Norman.  It is a measure of Woods' total dominance during his time that there never was a real challenger to him, not even Phil Mickelson.  The idea of Spieth and McIlroy going head to head on Sundays at Augusta, Oakmont, St. Andrews and other such places over the next decade to so is wonderful to think about.

Oh, and we should also keep one other thing in mind.  Spieth could end up being a one hit wonder like Trevor Immelman, Lucas Glover, Andy North, or one of the many other golfers who have managed to win one major, and little else.  It certainly doesn't appear likely that Spieth will fall into that category, as he has already won several times on Tour and performed well in a Ryder Cup competition, but you never know.  It will be interesting to look back at the ledger at the conclusion of this Tour and Majors season and re-evaluate the possibilities.

Of course, you can't make any evaluation of the State of Golf without talking about these guys:

Phil Mickelson had a terrific Masters.  His score of fourteen under par would have won the Masters 70 of the 78 times in its history.  It appears that he has something left in the tank, at least at Augusta, and it would have been interesting to see how Spieth would have held up had he been paired with Mickelson instead of Justin Rose on Sunday.  One of those intriguing "what ifs" that makes sports so much fun to follow.  However, Phil is now 44 years old.  It's hard to win anywhere on tour at that age, much less a Major, which makes his performance at Augusta all the more remarkable.

As for Tiger Woods, he is 39 and he managed to shoot eight under par over the second and third rounds of the Masters. He also was two over par over rounds one and four.  The fact that he scraped by in one over on Sunday, when he could never find a fairway off the tee, is amazing.  He could overcome such erratic driving at Augusta, but if he drives like that at a course set up for the US Open, he won't make the cut.

The key points in the above two paragraphs are the ages of the two golfers.  In all sports, and especially tournament golf, Father Time beats all comers.  I don't doubt that Mickelson and Woods all again win tournaments here and there on the PGA Tour.  Woods may even possibly still be able to dig down and win a Major one more time, but at this point it's a long shot.  This takes nothing away from what they have been, which is two of the greatest golfers of all time (and in Woods' case, he is in the argument for THE greatest golfer of all time).  It will still be fun to see them play and watch them on TV, but I am afraid that their Days of Dominance are over.

The US Open will be played in Oregon this June, which means prime time telecasts here in the east.  You know that Fox, which is televising the Open this year, has to be licking its chops in hopes of young guns like McIlroy and Spieth going at it at Chambers Bay.  Bring it on!!

Remember, The Masters Doesn't Really Begin Until the Back Nine on Sunday

As I see it, four people have a shot at taking the green jacket tomorrow: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson, and Charlie Hoffman. Those are the four with a legitimate shot at winning, and, really, I believe that it will come down to the final grouping of Spieth and Rose. 

I don't think that 44 year old Phil can hang in again, and I can't see Hoffman holding up either. Rose has won a Major - the US Open a few years back -  and knows what it takes to do so, and Spieth should have learned how to withstand final round pressure from last year. After Hoffman, the next five golfers are ten shots out of the lead. If any of them comes from that far behind to win it will be almost miraculous. 

I am going to predict a win for Spieth, mainly because I have him as one of my golfers in the MOASP Fantasy Pool, but it will be a close win over Rose. It's not going to be the runaway that many thought it might become after the second round. It should be, dare I say it, a Barn Burner! 

You heard it here first, and remember, as always, watch, but don't bet.

A Tradition Like No Other

Cue the schmaltzy music, cue the hushed reverential tones of Jim Nantz, cue the absence of Gary McCord, cue the Green Jackets, who still think it's 1934 in America.  (Clifford Roberts is no doubt still spinning like a lathe over the fact that Condalisa Rice is a Member at Augusta National.)

It's time for The Masters!

I kid the reverence that surrounds this Tournament every year, and the self-important Green Jackets that rule over every element surrounding it, but I will be watching this weekend, as I do every year, and I count my three visits to Augusta National in 2002, 2008, and 2010, as among the highlights of my sports watching/attending life, so if that makes me a hypocrite, so be it.

Actually, this year's Masters will be dominated, not so much by who is there, than by the absence of a certain figure.  And this figure has been a dominant force in Masters for years and years, and while that figure's absence probably will not diminish this year's event, it surely will alter the event in ways not quite imaginable.

I am speaking, of course, of the Eisenhower Tree.

This huge land mark of a pine tree that sat on the left side of the fairway some 210 yards from the 17th tee for time immemorial, was lost this past winter to severe ice storms that hit Augusta.  It has played havoc with many a shot from many a golfing legend over the years, and it will be interesting to see how the overall scoring on #17 (sorry, but I can't tell you which flower this hole is named for) will be compared to Masters past.  And, surely, CBS and toon-a-mint officials will provide us with such stats.

There is probably no more difficult prediction in all of sports that to predict the winner of any given golf tournament.  I will go out on a limb and say that Tiger Woods will not win this year's Masters .  I will say this.  The 2014 green jacket will go to an American, and it will go to either Dustin Johnson or Jason Duffner.  So, there's my prediction.

Enjoy the Masters, A Tradition Like No Other.  Remember, no running and no unseemly cheering while watching.

Cue the Schmaltzy Music, It's Masters Time

Hello, Friends (as Jim Nantz would say), it is time once again for The Masters.

Before commenting on this year's event, allow me to comment on what I saw while watching the telecast of the traditional Par 3 event, held every Wednesday at Augusta National before the tournament tees off on Thursday.  All players and all past Champions are invited to play in the Par 3 event, and it is usually just a big old laugh fest, fun for fans, er, excuse me, Patrons, and players alike.  In may respects, it is the equivalent of a baseball Old Timers game, and much of the ESPN attention is focused on these said old timers, most specifically the threesome of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player.  No one needs to be told of the greatness of this trio.  The reverence with which all golfers, from the best of the current touring pros right down to the weekend hacker, hold these three guys is understandable and unquestionably deserved.  I myself stand second to no one in my respect and admiration for these guys.

That said, I don't like watching these three guys playing now for the same reason that I don't like watching baseball old timers games.  Palmer is 82, Player is 77, and Nicklaus is 72, and they looked every bit of those years watching them play yesterday.  If you were behind this threesome on a Saturday morning at your local muni and didn't know who they were, you'd be bitching to the marshals to tell those old guys to speed it up or get off the course.  It was almost painful to watch, like watching Willie Mays with the Mets.

I have read for many, many years that Jack Nicklaus has long said that he would never allow himself to become a "ceremonial golfer", and I am betting that he hates going out there year after year and playing in the Masters Par 3.  I suppose that when Augusta calls, you do what they ask because you feel you owe it to them and to the game, but,from what I've read about Nicklaus, I am guessing that he would have rather been in his office in Palm Beach than on that par 3 course yesterday.

Hey, it's great when the Pirates bring Maz out to throw out the occasional first pitch, but I wouldn't want to see him try to go nine innings and try to hit off of Justin Verlander in 2013.  Same with these guys.  It's great to have Arnie, Jack, and Gary hit those "first drives" on Thursday morning, but they should be allowed to actually play golf on their own time these days.

Now, as for the Tournament itself, how can you not pick Tiger Woods to win?  That's my pick. Now settle back, put on your green jacket, smell the magnolias, have a pimento cheese sandwich, and enjoy A Tradition Like No Other.

BUBBA!!

Congratulations to Bubba Watson on winning his first major championship today at the Masters.   I hope you all had a chance to see that remarkable, absolutely amazing shot from out of the woods onto the green on the second sudden death hole.  Absolutely no words to describe that one.  After pulling that rabbit out of his hat, he deserved to win.  Of course, you could say the same thing about runner-up Louis Oosthuizen after that double eagle on the second hole that put him in the lead right up to the 74th hole.


Anyway you look at it, an amazing Masters.  Very few of them are unmemorable.


As for my predictions, a decidedly mixed bag.  I was right in that an American won the event.  My entry of Woods-Mickelson-Bradley-Simpson-Mahan did not come through, and I will be settling family business with Big Poppy and "John Bocabella" very soon.  Hey, next time I offer you "the field", you should probably take the bet.


This morning I did predict a Mickelson victory, so I was wrong there, but I didn't I tell you to watch out for Bubba Watson?  So, I will take some credit for that prognostication.  If you don't believe me, just scroll down and check out the previous entry on this blog.


I will tell you one thing, watching the emotions being experienced by Watson both on the final green and in the Butler Cabin was really a joy.  Glad that he won!

The Masters

With hushed and reverent tones, I offer my prediction for the 2011 Masters, a Tradition Like No Other.

Perhaps one of the hardest single thing to do in sports is win a golf tournament, which makes predicting winners almost impossible, a true shot in the dark. So my prediction will be somewhat generic. I predict that The Masters (A Tradition Like No Other) will, for the first time since 1999, be won by a European golfer. It's a deep field of Euros - Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter to name a few.

You heard it here first - the Green Jacket goes across the pond to the EU in 2011.

Enjoy The Masters, A Tradition Like No Other, and remember, no running and no unseemly yelling and shouting while watching. Bob Jones would not approve.