OK, before we get started, we all know who won the weekend, right? This one has to ranks as the most clear, “Who almost won the weekend?” we’ve ever had on a Monday.
Way to go Sergio, that was fun.
From the “Talks too much” studios, it’s time to make the dough, nuts.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook takes a shot over Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic (15) during the first half of a basketball game Sunday, April 9, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey) (Almost) Weekend winners
* Congrats to Jason T. for his first win in the Masterfully Mastering the Masterful Masters contest. He had four inside in the top seven, the second best entry ever, trailing only the one Spy submitted a few years ago that 1, 3, 4 and 5. Jason T., who finished with a mind-numbing 14 points, got a big boost from having the duo in the final group in Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose. He, like most had Rory, who finished seventh. But the big mover was Matt Kuchar, who was 5 under on the back Sunday to move into fourth. Jason, shoot us an electronic mail, and we will discuss your prizes.
* Speaking of Kuchar, dude made a 1 on 16 and it was every bit as cool as you would have imagined. Then it became more cool because Kuchar signed the ball and handed it to some little fellow in a throwback Sam Snead cap. It also begs the question, “How full must your trophy case be if you make a final-round ace at Augusta National and you give the ball away?”
* Speaking of the Masters, kudos to the Augusta National folks. Well, for a lot of reasons, but on this Monday, major props for handling the potential rule nightmare on Sergio’s ball in the straw left of 13 quickly and properly and efficiently. And if someone called in with that – and you know they did – well done ANGC officials for acting with diligence and promptness, because nothing would be worse than that changing the outcome of Sunday afternoon at the Masters.
* Russell Westbrook. Dude is the complete package right now. He went 50-16-10 for his 42nd triple double of the season to set the single-season mark. Earlier in the weekend, Westbrook passed the thresholds to guarantee that he is the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for the season. He has 2,553 points, 859 rebounds and 832 assists, meaning that if plays each of the last two games and somehow goes triple-zeroes rather than triple doubles, he’s still there. Congrats, MVP. Job well done.
* Jarrett Stidham. Yes, it was a spring game. Yes, it was against Auburn’s second-string secondary, which ranks somewhere between Swiss cheese and your dad’s socks in the “Have Holes” department. Yes, it was in a game where pressure on QBs was dialed back. All of that is dually noted, and for Auburn fans, it still does not matter because when he had time, Stidham made throws not see by an Auburn fan base in quite some time. He was 16-of-20 – two of those were drops – for more than 260 yards and threw several deep, sideline passes that were 100-percent on the money.
Weekend losers
* There were a lot at Augusta. Yes, Sergio won the tournament, but you can make a hard argument that Justin Rose allowed it to slip away. There also were the disappointing finishes from some big-name, one-name participants such as Jordan, Rickie and Phil. But if we’re going to pick one, we’ll go with Bubba for being Bubba. After missing the cut, here’s what Bubba offered as seriously as a tax audit: Bubba Watson after probable missed cut at #themasters: “Golf is tough; I don’t know if you’ve ever played it. But writing articles is easy.” Of course he later offered the obligatory, “Just kidding LOL.” Bubba in a lot of ways will be his generation’s Fred Couples, in both the good and bad ways.
* Cleveland Cavs. In a position to all-but secure the East’s No. 1 seed on Sunday, the Cavs allowed the Hawks to come back from a 26-point, fourth-quarter hole. Who knows, maybe this Cavs team flips the switch come Saturday when the playoffs start, and let’s face it, the East is not overly tough. But we believe there are at least three teams – Golden State, San Antonio, and Houston – who would exploit the Cavs’ defensive holes whether LeBron starts doing LeBron things or not.
* NFL. Man, to be a $10-billion enterprise, the tone-deafness of the entire NATIONAL Football League is staggering. Less than a month after announcing that a franchise can move to Las Vegas, and that Sin City would get consideration for a Super Bowl in the early 2020s, the league announced that it was disappointed that several current and former players participated in an arm-wrestling event in a Vegas casino. Does Roger Goodell even come into the office any more?
* True love. Something sounds a little fishy in this story, right? OK, Janet Jackson married a Qatari billionaire and signed a pre-nup that would give her $500 million if they stayed married for five years or longer. She announced their split this weekend, five years and two months after they were married. Ah, who knew the sound that wedding bells make is also CHA-ching.
* Uh, the Braves are 1-5. Because we are a numbers guy, well, at this pace, the Braves will finish 27-135. Boy that new stadium better be sweet.
Sergio goes the spoils
There had to be so many thoughts for the aging Spaniard Sunday afternoon.
It was on Seve’s birthday. It was a moment he has long dreamed of and long ago admitted he did not think would ever come. It was a moment that has defined so many – both in history and in infamy – golfers through time. And for Sergio Garcia, it was a moment best described by the simple statement, “Now I will forever be called Masters champion.”
It’s life changing for guys who already have live-changing money and opportunities. It’s career-defining for guys who already have million-dollar careers almost all of us would kill to have.
It, simply put, will be the first sentence in a career that until Sunday was defined by what could have been, what should have been, and sadly, until 24 hours ago, most of us – including Sergio – never thought would have happened.
In our view it happened for a lot of reasons.
First, let’s look at the math. This was Sergio’s 74th major championship start, third longest streak ever for someone with a win, behind Lee Westwood (75) and Jay Haas (87). It was Sergio’s 19th Masters start, far and away the longest winless streak before landing a green jacket. It was, as Weeds pointed out, just another in the crazy, upset-filled year of sentimental stories in sports that have consumed us.
Second, it happened in the most comfortable emotional vacuum for a player that has been his own worst enemy for most of his career. He got to play in the final group with his very good friend Justin Rose. The groups of big guns in front of him faltered early and were non-factors late. That allowed it to be the two European friends and longtime Ryder Cup teammates theoretically playing match play to decide the biggest tournament in the sport.
Finally, that setting – the match-play format – allowed Sergio to take the momentum in a strange turn of events on 13. Garcia went left of left, in the straw to the left of the water on the reachable par 5. He took a drop, punched out, got up and down from 100-or-so yards for par. Rose goes behind the green in 2. His approach rolls 4 feet by and he misses the birdie and what could have been a two-shot swing that would have stretched Rose’s lead to four with five to play kept them even. Then Sergio birdies 14 and eagles 15 and it’s on.
They each missed very makeable birdies on the 72nd hole, and to tell you the truth, we thought that was the end of the Sergio salvation story.
But, again, timing and grace intervened and Rose blocked his tee shot on the first playoff hole and opened a relatively pressure-free crack which Sergio smashed through with the angst and eagerness of a player who had been waiting for this moment for all of his life.
Congratulations, Sergio, and thanks for sharing that with all of us.
This and that
* Speaking of the Masters, here’s a great quote, courtesy of TFP all-around ace and Press Row co-host David Paschall, from Phil Mickelson on Sunday about anyone ever shooting all four rounds in the 60s: “I think it will happen, but you will have to have the right conditions. It will take a little bit of rain and very little wind, and then I think it will happen. We just had some challenging conditions these first couple of days, but I loved it. The course setup was a 10 all week. I didn’t play the way I wanted to, but the opportunity for guys out there was there. It was set up perfectly to identify the best players.”
* MaxPreps announced their boys’ basketball All-American teams. The listing is here. Couple of interesting things there: Of the 50 players, only four are from the state of Georgia. Also, the diversity of locales of these players is noteworthy. The commitments/signings of the first team are two undecideds, Oregon State, Missouri and Oklahoma. Through the entire list, there are players going to Dayton, Butler, Oregon State, Illinois, Auburn, Western Kentucky Iowa State and Rhode Island. Not on the list is Georgia, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Michigan and a slew of other big-profile programs.
* Not sure if you saw this, but the Woodstock (Ga.) police are looking for Otis Nixon. The former Braves outfielder, whose home-run-denying catch at ol’ Fulton County against Andy Van Slyke still ranks as one of the best in Braves’ history, has been missing since late last week.
* Tim Tebow homered again with his single-A club Sunday. He has two in 13 at-bats, which ironically is one shy of the total the previously most famous athlete moonlighting in baseball, Michael Jordan, had in the entire 1994 season with Birmingham. He is 3-of-13 with five RBIs, five Ks and 13 runners left on base.
* Enjoyed this story from Mean Gene Henley, International man of intrigue and TFP UTC beat ace, about Josh Phillips making the transition to football from hoops. It was a good weekend for the Mocs, considering the crowd was nice for the spring game, and there were a couple of quarterbacks who delivered a couple of very nice deep throws.
Today’s question
OK, we’re ready. Winners and losers. Release the hounds.
Did you know that the Titantic set sail on this day in 1912? Wonder how that turned out?
Did you know on his day in 1849, some dude named Walter Hunt patented the safety pin but sold the rights for $400? Here’s betting Mrs. Hunt was not best pleased with that decision.
Did you know that Sam Kinison died 25 years ago today? Yes, there is an entire generation who does not know what they missed with Kinison’s over-the-top comedy. (Side question: Man, the stand-up routine on HBO used to be a staple. Now, it’s pretty rare, right?)
On the birthday side, John Madden is 81 today, Steven Seagal is 66 and Haley Joel Osment is 29. But forget birthdays and commemorations. This is Sergio’s day.
Does his win crack the Rushmore of the modern-era Masters finishes? Go.