5-at-10: Masters storylines and free contest, Hall of Fame NBA exits, NASCAR's attendance ripples, Rushmore of all-time sports venues

Masters

U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka told a story Tuesday about being a kid and visiting the Masters as a patron with his dad.

He collected about 50 autographs, but said he was stiffed by his favorite player - one Phil Mickelson.

"Probably about the only kid Phil's ever turned down," Koepka shared with the media throng Tuesday at Augusta National.

"I mean, I can't believe he doesn't remember the first time he ever said no to a kid, signing an autograph," he said with a laugh. "I was like, 'Listen, man, you stiffed me, and I really didn't like you for a long time.' He was typical Phil, right back at me; I shouldn't have been there. We can laugh about it now. I've got his autograph now."

Good times.

The Masters is sports at its best. The venue. The treatment of the patrons - a younger Phil to a young Brooks not included. The pressure. The fact that this is the major that players have to go win rather than just survive conditions that can range from extreme to downright ridiculous.

Koepka's story features two of the names that could be among the best story lines from now to Sunday evening when Jim Nantz is a verbal Hallmark card and Patrick Reed puts the green jacket on someone else's shoulder. Here, in honor of Hole No. 7 - my personal favorite because it's the hole I made birdie on in my two rounds there (perfect drive, lob wedge that almost went in, gimme inside a foot that of course I putted because, duh, it's Augusta National) - are the seven best possible story lines from Washington and Magnolia.

1. Tiger. Do we even need to discuss or debate this one? If Tiger charges, this is bigger than Zion, and Zion has been the biggest non-NFL thing in sports this year. And Sweet 7-iron of Bobby Jones if Tiger wins, forget SportsCenter it becomes the lead story on the CBS News and is the best comeback story in the last half century.

2. Rory. Dude has a chance to get on one of 'those' lists. Yes, he's a future golf Hall of Famer who has made more money than any of us - 'Dro and Spy included - could spend. But if Rory wins here, he completes the career Grand Slam and joins some one-name dudes like Tiger, Jack and Hogan as well Gary Players and Gene Sarazen to win each major.

3. Phil. He would become the oldest major champ, and considering how beloved he is at Augusta, it would be magic.

4. Rickie Fowler. The flamboyant young hotshot is not that young anymore. He's a likable dude who is extremely popular among the players, and if he is in the final group Sunday, they could have a PGA players meeting with the number of his buddies who will be behind the green. But, this will be his 35th major start and he's still looking for the validation that is a major championship.

5. Koepka. His humorous Mickelson story aside, Koepka has a chance to grab the tag of the best big tournament player in the world with a run this weekend. He has three major titles - including two last year - and a green jacket would be a fourth before he turns 29.

6. Jordan Spieth. He's a former champion here - and a three-time major champ - but he's been playing like he'd be content contending for a top three in the second flight of your club championship. He has never finished worse than a tie for 11th here as a pro. Game on young Jordan.

7. Keith Mitchell. Let's go Keith, clap-clap, clap-clap-clap. Call me a homer all you want but I believe this in my should: If Mitchell wins the Masters, there's a chance we could get him to wear that green jacket and co-host Press Row with us. Let's go Keith, clap-clap, clap-clap-clap.

photo FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2009, file photo, members of Michigan State's 1979 NCAA championship basketball team, including front row from left, Jay Vincent, Terry Donnelly, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, coach Jud Heathcote and Gerald Gilkie, hold the championship trophy during a ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of the event during halftime of an NCAA college basketball game between Michigan State and Wisconsin in East Lansing, Mich. Heathcote, who led Michigan State and Magic Johnson to the 1979 NCAA championship, has died. He was 90. The school says Heathcote died Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spokane, Washington. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)

So long

On this final day of the NBA regular season, it seems that the dumpster fire that was the Lakers should take one more spin atop the news cycle.

Forget the so longs and salutations for two of the best players of this generation, the morning shows and headlines have been dominated by Magic Johnson's abrupt resignation as Lakers president.

Hey, as a player, Johnson was Magic. As a president, he was way more Earvin. And his departure, telling the media before he told Lakers owner Jeannie Buss.

Regardless, Magic is out. So are the Lakers, who will miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

It was a disaster and LeBron will wear a lion's share of it.

It will be interesting to see what the ramifications will be with a LeBron-less playoffs on the horizon.

And the future for the Lakers with LeBron becomes even more confusing in a lot of ways.

Was Magic the problem or was he just unable to fix it?

I don't know the answer to that. Neither did Magic apparently.

He was not the only Hall of Famer exiting this week.

Dirk Nowitzki announced that this will be his final season. Kudos Dirk, who is easily on the Rushmore of best foreign basketball players and best white basketball players of all time.

We mentioned this yesterday, but so long to Dwyane Wade, who will play his final game for the Heat tonight.

Getting off track

We have not talked a lot of NASCAR around these parts, but this story is a harsh and fair exploration of the sagging attendance after the parse showing at Bristol last weekend.

It also pointed out a fact that I have known - and shared - to anyone who would listen.

Here's the tweet from Clint Bowyer from April 6 that was referenced in the strong story from Jenna Fryer: "Had some curiosity after I came back from race today. Made some calls, this is what I got. Johnson City Courtyard =$319, but are now taking walk-ins at $105. Hampton Inn= $308. But will be back down to $133 on Monday. Reason he gave was "it's race weekend." Pisses me off!!!"

I know for a fact that the TFP stopped covering NASCAR because in no small part of ripple costs just like this. And when NASCAR was humming, Bristol hotel rooms were much closer to $500 a night and almost all required a three-night minimum.

So when the budgets got crunched, NASCAR - because of the large expense - was a pretty easy cut. That's 100 percent truth and I'm sure the TFP was not alone. So it happened to local and regional media first.

Now the cost of these trips are being felt by the fans too. Especially in small towns like Bristol, which gets a lot of its annual economy from the two NASCAR races there each year. (Hey, NASCAR is not the only sport that does this. The worst hotel I have ever stayed in as an adult was a Days Inn in South Bend, Ind., and it was $399 a night with a two-night minimum. Seriously, I was just surprised there wasn't a chalk outline on the carpet or crime scene tape in the lobby.)

But the ripples are real and feel like a tidal wave. To wit, from 1982 to 2010, Bristol sold out 55 straight races. And while NASCAR nor the tracks release attendance figures, if a sold-out Bristol looked like an Alabama football home game, last weekend looked like a Vandy spring game.

Sunday, Bristol did not sell tickets in the turns and closed off entire sections, and the images of the empty seats was the talking point to the point that it overshadowed by all accounts the most competitive and exciting race of the season.

This and that

- Speaking of the Masters, today is the deadline for entering the Masterfully Mastering the Masterpiece that is the Masters Challenge. Pick five golfers. Top four count, and the lowest score wins. (If you pick the winner, the runner-up, and two dudes that tied for fifth and a guy who missed the cut, the scoring would be 1-2-5-5 and your score of 13 would almost assuredly win. The missed cut would be wiped away as the top four count.)

- Rick Barnes got paid. PAY-D. And so far during this search, UCLA - which hired Mick Cronin from Cincinnati, and let's face it, if you are a destination job and hire anyone at any level from Cincinnati, that's the definition of settling - got Calipari a lifetime deal, Jamie Dixon a new deal and Barnes a monster salary. If reports are to be believed, Barnes would make more than $4 million and from figures at the start of the 2018-19 season, is now the third-highest paid coach in the sport. Seriously.

- Take a bow James Holzhauer, who set the one-day Jeopardy! record with $110,914. Yes, that screams dominance but it's even more dominant than you know. Entering Final Jeopardy in a runaway, he risked the amount to get to that exact number - way more than the previous record of $77,000 - because his daughter was born Nov. 9, 2014 (11/09/14). The large risks - he doubled-up twice on Daily Doubles and bet almost $40,000 in Final Jeopardy - should not surprise anyone who knows James. His occupation? Professional sports gambler.

- Could thios lead us toward the final run for the T-shirt cannon? Here's a story of a fan suing the Astros because team mascot Orbit fired the T-shirt cannon into the crowd and last July it broke a lady's finger. The price tag: $1 million 'that will cover two surgeries, pain, mental anguish and loss of earnings," according to KHOU 11. In the suit, she claims the team was negligent, Orbit was not properly trained and the team did not warn fans about the T-shirt canon. Sigh.

- You know the rules. Weeds writes about college hoops, we read and link Weeds on college hoops. Here's TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer wrapping the NCAA tournament.

- Consider me in on the live-action Lion King coming this summer. I am a Lion King fan. Big time. And if you do not like the Lion King, then I am sorry you lost your soul and will pray for you. Here's the full-length trailer with some big-daddy A-list star names.

- Speaking of emotional, if this Dwyane Wade video from Budweiser does not make you tear up then you need a hug, a counselor and a Co-Cola. Wow. I'm not crying. You're crying.

Today's question

On a which way Wednesday, we will start this way.

In honor of the Lion King, can you produce a better actor's voice than James Earl Jones. I'll wait.

Which Jeopardy! category would you want for Final Jeopardy if you ever got an audience with Alex Trebek?

Which Hall of Famer had a better career, Dwyane Wade or Dirk Nowitzki?

Is Rick Barnes now overpaid?

Which Masters storyline other than Tiger is the most compelling to you?

As for today, April 10, "House of Wax" - the first color 3-D movie - premiered.

On this day in 1970, the Beatles split.

In 1912 on this day, the Titanic set sail. (Most overrated movie of all time in my mind.)

Haley Joel Osment is 31 today. John Madden is 83 today. God Bless the Madden video game.

As for our Masters Rushmore this week, let's go here. Rushmore of all sports venues.

Go, and this one could be difficult.

Remember the mailbag and the contest if you are interested.

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