Weekend winners
Danny Willett. Wow. That was major calm amid the chaos. Willett was bogey-free Sunday and left with a green jacket.
Back-nine drama. We were concerned that Jordan Spieth was going to put on the blinders and cruise into Butler Cabin with a relatively easy Sunday afternoon. No. 12 changed that and for a good chunk of the back nine, there was intrigue, even with the chance of Spieth making a return charge. In the end, Willett was too strong - his chip on 17 was 1-in-100 - and Spieth was left wondering what could have been.
Mark W. Mark took home the Masterfully Mastering the Masters Challenge with a score of 26. He had Spieth (2), Dustin Johnson (4), Jason Day (10), and Rory McIlroy (10). for good measure his fifth pick was Justin Rose, so all five of his entries finished in the top 10. He's also a pretty strong 5-and-6 baseball coach for those interested. Email me about prize collection. (Note: If you have a beef with the scoring, please let me know ASAP.)
Golden State Warriors. Three days ago we wondering what to make of a team that had a monster hiccup and looked tired. A survival win at Memphis and a supremely impressive win at San Antonio later and they are one win away from history. Again.
Trevor Story. The Rookies shortstop has seven homers in six games. That's pretty stout. Story has seven bombs and 12 RBIs in 27 at-bats. Your Atlanta Braves have three homers and 16 RBIs combined in five games.
Jordan Spieth pauses on the 18th green before putting out during Sunday's final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. The 2015 tournament champion led the first three rounds and was on top halfway through the fourth before a bad stretch cost him his second green jacket.Weekend losers
Spieth. He handled the meltdown as well as could be expected. But what happened on 12 was Norman-esque, and considering he was in the hunt at Augusta two years ago, too, the hardest short par-3 on the planet has derailed Spieth's bid for Masters victory twice. How disruptive has 12 been for Spieth's aim at history? Well, he has led the Masters tournament eight of the last 10 competitive rounds. The only two he didn't was Sunday in 2014 - when he found Rae's Creek with a nine iron - and yesterday when he found it again with a nine-iron. And then again with a lob wedge, after chili-dipping a divot the size of a beaver pelt. Even at the tender age of 22, and with a long career in front of him, that second swing on 12 Sunday will be his single worst shot as a pro.
Sunday circumstances. Spieth's nightmare - bogey on 10, bogey on 11, a quad on 12 - was bad. But, since the defending champ puts the jacket on the new champ, Spieth had a front seat for the Danny Willett celebration and watching him in all the pomp and circumstance that normally seems like Augusta being Augusta Sunday was painful. Heck, even the Willett family had to feel a little bad for Spieth, who had to sit there, first in Butler Cabin and then on the grounds during victory ceremonies that were part Willett excellence and Spieth collapse.
Air traffic control in the Bay Area. Yep, here's the plane the Oakland A's chartered to get back home from Chicago. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25550141/look-as-fly-home-in-plane-with-giants-logo
Dustin Johnson. OK, a top-four finish at Augusta is nothing to sneeze at. (Tying for fourth earned Johnson a check for $413,333.33, before taxes.) But this cat has way, Way, WAY too much game to not have a major championship. Man, it's hard to watch him hit it that well and shrink that much in the moment.
Atlanta Braves pinch hitter Hector Olivera (28) fouls a ball off in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday, April 9, 2016, in Atlanta. The Cardinals won 12-2. (AP Photo/Brett Davis)Braves optimistic guy
Wow, this is already a lot harder than we may have expected. OK, yes, the Braves are 0-5. Yes, they are bagel-and-5 at home too. Well, we're committed. Now, let's go to Positive Paul for his recap of the weekend against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Hey, Braves fans, what a pleasant weekend for baseball, right? Well, the Braves remained perfectly imperfect this weekend. Five games in, they are still looking for their first win. That's OK. And the numbers are less than stellar. Team average is .198, which means you have to have elite pitching. The team ERA is 6.65, which means you need an offense akin to a slow-pitch softball team.
Where were we?
That's right the magic of misery. Stick with us and follow along.
OK, which Braves teams are more romanticized? Who played second base for Atlanta in 1999 when they got to the World Series? And who played second base in the mid-1980s when the Braves were losing 90 games a year? The first answer is Bret Boone. The second of course is Glenn Hubbard.
Now, and this is key Braves fans, we also will clear the bandwagon of fringe fans when John Hart and Co. turn this thing around in a few years. As for the bullpen on Sunday, well, it's kind of tough to be optimistic about that, considering that four pitchers combined to allow eight runs over the last four innings. One of them, Dan Winkler, actually pitched a scoreless inning, but fractured his elbow delivering a pitch. So there's that.
In closing, it's important to remember, this is a process, and a lot of time the best way to build a nice house is to completely raze the grounds. Well, it certainly feels like the razing is well underway. And going quite swimmingly. And remember, there's virtually no way this bunch can go 0-162. No way."
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) wins the three point competition during the NBA all-star skills competition in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. (Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT This and that
- The NCAA has put a three-year moratorium on new bola games. We're fine with this, especially since last year there were three 5-7 teams invited to bowl games to fill all the slots.
- This is very intriguing if you are a Titans fan. Peter King is reporting the Titans have a "solid offer" for the No. 1 overall pick.
- Former Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot and killed Saturday after an argument following a minor traffic accident. Man, we are in a bad place as a nation.
- The shadows of the Masters can be a strange place. The Braves are enjoying it. That said, Klay Thompson knows all about shadows. This weekend he made his 270th 3 of the season. That's an NBA record for players not named Steph Curry. Yes, Thompson passed Ray Allen's 269. Of course, Curry - Thompson's backcourt running mate with the Warriors - needs eight Wednesday to get to 400 3s this season.
Today's question
Weekend winners and losers. Go.
Also, where do you rank Spieth's collapse in Augusta history? What's the Rushmore of sports meltdowns?