We pause this morning to remember the life and heroism of Charles Coolidge.
We do it as simply and honestly as we possibly can and offer a heart-felt "Thank You, sir."
Job well done, and life well lived.
From the satellite studios off the Georgia coast, roll that beautiful bean footage.
Masters
Welp, as to be expected, you guys rock. I could be talking about the excellent - and courtesy - comments you guys and gals have been offering this week, but I'm not.
Nope, this rocking is about the record-setting number of entries that have rolled in. Not sure why. Not sure if it's repeatable.
I am sure we are all locked and loaded for something that feels familiar, even if it's a green-clad facsimile rather than the whole Masters main course.
(Side question: Which way on a Thursday, but here goes, knowing Augusta National and that price literally is not a concern, which items fill your Champions Dinner menu, considering you need an app - or two - a salad, a main course - or two - and a couple of sides and a desert? Whatcha got?)
Also, not sure why it took this long to find the light of the news cycle - or simply put, maybe I missed it because we are bouncing between history tours and beach-filled afternoons with a CoCola mixed in here and there - but did any of you guys see Fred Ridley's comments?
The Masters chairman gives a Monday state of their little corner of the union address, and in his opening comments, Ridley went Bryson DeChambeau with a 48-inch driver and 4.5-degree loft on the Georgia voting law.
This single sentence, and don't for a second believe the order is by accident, is about as perfect as the Masters greens.
Ridley said "No one should be disadvantaged in exercising that right [to vote], and it is critical that all citizens have confidence in the electoral process."
While the middle is declining in population in this partisan world, it certainly is gaining in terms of angst. Check my email, I'm either a wannabe Trump lover or not Trump enough or whatever the RINO - Republican in Name Only - tag that comes along.
What a collection of horse feathers. I am an American who is fiscally conservative and want a better country for my kids. Right now, I'm not sure my generation has lived up to its end of the bargain.
Sure, we're better off in a lot of ways, but in a lot of the fundamental ones, we've back-tracked.
We hate too quickly. We condemn with too much venom. We argue just to argue, and we shout when silence would be prudent.
Most of the time, I'm not going to change Chas' mind or he's not going to change mine. But we can listen. We can see points from the other side, because while we may be at opposite ends of the locker room, we're still all on the same team.
To that end, here's Ridley continuing his perfect analysis of this entire deal in Georgia at the moment - and again, there are only two reasons this has not been a bigger deal around these parts, either I didn't see it or the news cycle doesn't want to share it because it's impossible to argue about:
Ridley, delivering thoughts as perfect as Tiger's chip in 2005, on the talk of boycotts (yeah, good luck with that one at Augusta National, friends): "There have been calls for boycotts and other punitive measures. Unfortunately, those actions often impose the greatest burdens on the most vulnerable in our society. And in this case, that includes our friends and neighbors here in Augusta who are the very focus of the positive difference we are trying to make."
Because I was curious I looked it up. According to census data, 57.2% of the 197,888 who live in the Augusta-Richmond County area are Black, or roughly 113,192 people. How many of those folks' livelihoods depend on what happens every April at Augusta National? Half?
And one more from Ridley, this one as on point as Jack's tee shot on 16 in '86: "I think there's a resolution, and I think that resolution is going to be based on people working together and talking and having constructive dialogue because that's the way our democratic society works. We would like to encourage people to talk, to communicate, to let the democratic process work. And hopefully, these fundamentals that I've stated are so important to us and I think everyone in this room, can be achieved."
And if Verne were here, he'd certainly give that a, "Yes SIR."
Masters, part II
OK, back to the contest. Sorry, seriously, I apologize that this is the first I am seeing of Ridley's right-on riff about the topic du jour in my home state. (Hmmm, that sounds good, I think I'll have that. Side note: We got asked a few mailbags ago about the movies I quote the most, and leaving Dumb and Dumber off that list was a mistake. Because I use that 'soup du jour' line a lot, as well as 'So you're saying there's a chance' and a slew of others.)
So, as to be expected there are a bunch of the record-setting 82 entries with DJ and Bryson on the list.
The next most common entry appears to be Jules' fav Jordan Spieth, which is understandable considering the hot-sreak on which he enters. Since the start of February, here's Jordan's finishes in stroke-play events: T4, T3, T15, T4, T48 and 1. In that run he's 61-under par through 432 holes and has cashed checks worth $2.75 million. (Wow, Jordan's making Fat Vader kind of money.)
But, you guys have heard me wax on and on about this little event enough. A whole bunch of you talented folks sent entries with your reasoning. I tried to respond to as many of them as I could, but my email comes in waves, especially, it seems, when I'm near waves.
I enjoyed all of the analysis, and copied a couple to share with you folks. The identities have been covered to protect the innocent (of whom I'm not sure there are many around these parts):
Entry 1 -
I can make an argument for each on these fellas, here we go. Play 5, count 4.
1. Dustin Johnson. Quite simply the horse for the course. Easy chalk pick, and I am not sure with the firm greens as they have on Tuesday afternoon, but Mother Nature will prevail - hopefully. DJ back to back.
2. DeChambeau. If Einstein played golf. Will be interesting just to watch this kid do his thing. New 4.5 degree driver this week will be a fun watch.
3. Patrick Reed. The "shovel" as The Pup calls him. Dude is a great player - might be a cheater - but still a good player and plays this golf course well. Underrated short game.
4. Adam Scott. Already the better Aussie than Norman here at ANGC. Always plays well here. Look for that to happen again this weekend. Will play more like the Australian courses that he plays when home.
5. Jordan Spieth. The best player in the world the last 2 months. Do not see that it will not continue this week.
And entry 2 -
As opposed to the Dave Clark 5, which I listened to as a tot almost as much as the Beatles.
My five are:
Dustin Johnson. Duh.
Rory. That's always my horse.
Cameron Smith.
Gonna go Harris English. Gotta pull for the Thomasville kid.
I want to pick Fleetwood or Cantlay or Paul Casey, but my final pick will be,
Billy Horschel. Yeah, his Masters record is not that stellar. But sometimes grinders like him get rewarded, and he did just win the WGC Match Play.
So there you go, and I agree with entry 2, and will ride with Rory over Bryson as my final pick in my 5. Yeah, it's risky considering the state of each of their games, but I'm going to ride with the guy I want to win this week rather than the guy who I hope finishes one shot ahead of Patrick Reed for DFL.
An anniversary to remember
On this day 47 years ago, Hank Aaron hit 715.
I was there. I was 3. I was sound asleep.
Vin Scully was there too, and offered these words after Aaron round the bases following his record-setting homer over the left-center-field fence at the old Fulton County Stadium.
"What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia," Scully waxed, in his perfect pitch that was poignant without being preachy. "What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol."
Man, 47 years ago. This summer's All-Star Game would have been a three-day toast to the Hammer - and it still may be in Colorado since it will be the first All-Star game since the death of the 25-time All-Star - if it had been in the ATL.
Not sure how, but in a lot of ways, even despite the records and accomplishments, Aaron's career has forever been under appreciated.
Look at the numbers - .305, 3,771 hits, record 2,297 RBIs, record 6,856 total bases, record 1,477 extra-base hits - and then remember that a lot of folks would not even have him in the starting lineup of the all-time MLB team.
What a career. What a man.
This and that
- One more Masters tidbit, according to BetMGM, the golfers that have the most bets and the most money wagered on them to be the first-round leader are Jordan and JT. Jordan is picked to be the leader at the end of today on 10.2% of all bets which is 12.2% of all money wagered. Justin Thomas is picked on 7.7% of bets and has a whooping 13.5% of the money wagered through BetMGM.com.
- Side note: In case you are wondering how Aaron was a 25-time All-Star in a career that went from 1955-75, from 1959 to '62 they played two All-Star games per season. Of all the records Aaron has, being a 25-time All-Star may be the safest.
- OK, apparently Robert DeNiro was originally cast to play the role Tom Hanks played in "Big." Hmmmmm. And there's a real chance that Aaron Rodgers, who is crushing his guest hosting role, could be the permanent replacement for Alex Trebek as the Jeopardy! host. So there's that.
- Perspective needed, or you can say half-full or half-empty depending on your viewpoint. More than 16.9 million watched Baylor beat Gonzaga for the NCAA title Monday. The good: It was far and away the most-watched non-football sports broadcast since the start of 2020. The bad: It was the second-least watched men's title game on record, ahead of only the Villanova-Michigan title game in '18 which was on the Turner Networks, and it's the least-watched title game on record to be aired on CBS.
- You know the rules. Here's Paschall's prose on the next RB up for the UT Fighting Heupels.
Today's questions
No wrong answers here, but what's your favorite part of the Masters?
I'll share mine later as to not sway the thoughts of the gallery.
As for today, other than it being 715 day, when Aaron went deep off Al Downing, and the homer was caught by Braves reliever Tom House, and waiting in the on-deck circle was, yep Spy knew it, Dusty Baker, let's review.
Side note: I love the importance and impact of Jackie Robinson Day and that no one will wear 42 in the big leagues ever again. (Side question about the side note: The last 42 ever in MLB? Yep, Mariano Rivera.) But on April 8, could every game start at 7:15 or figure out a way to honor the Hammer? Just a thought.
April 8 is Robin Wright's birthday, and if turns as Jenny and Princess Buttercup are half her Rushmore, what else makes it?
Go and remember the mailbag.