PGA Tour First Major: The Masters

The 79th Masters is upon us signaling that spring is officially here.

The Masters is the only major championship played at the same course every year for the PGA Tour, so what makes it so special. Let me tell you that Augusta National is more perfect than any artist could paint or even imagine. Each and every year the course is in perfect condition, the tournament only lets the top 100 players in the world participate, and its the only tournament you can drink a beer for $4.00 while on the grounds.

Each and every year this tournament never lets us down. It brings us the excitement of the Super Bowl, the anticipation of the Kentucky Derby, and the intenseness of the Daytona 500 all in one weekend. This year is not different.

Tiger Woods is in the field for the first time in over 90 days after taking a leave of absence. Rory Mcilroy is the favorite with his impressive play this year. Jordan Speith the young gun of the tour is another player to watch out for, especially after his second place performance last year at this tournament. Two time Masters winner Bubba Watson is another hands on favorite not only as the defending champion but the the champion the last two out of three years. Don’t forget about Phil Mickelson, the 43 year old lefty still has plenty of game left in him. Phil has been the most consistent player on tour this year with three top 5’s in seven tournaments.

The Masters a tournament like none other will be no different this year. The field is wide open and ready to hold the drama that is Augusta National.  It has been called the most emotional golf tournament to play, and that goes the same for the ones viewing it.

Playoff Penguins

When the Pittsburgh Penguins started the season they came in with a healthy roster and a new head coach and general manger. The playoff flakes over the last few seasons were looking brighter than ever, until recently.

The playoffs are quickly approaching and the Penguins have yet to clinch a spot. (Scary, I know) After a devastating losing streak the team hasn’t been able to sync into a pattern of success.

The Penguins are loaded with talent with forward, Sidney Crosby on the roaster and defensemen Evgeni Malkin. The roaster is filled with high scoring and talented players. Marc-Andre Fleury dominats in the goal most nights.

Yet the Penguins haven’t been able to keep a successful lead giving up 3-0 leads in overtime more than any other team in the league.

The main issue for the Penguins this season has been injuries. Crosby’s left wing Pascal Dupis is out indefinitely again with now blood clots after missing most of the 2014 season with a torn ACL.

Top Defense men Kris Legtang is out with a massive concussion after  a hard hit into the boards. Malkin has been on and off the roster with smaller injuries but has played in the last two games.

Yet at one point the Penguins were only dressing 6 of their defensemen. With defense flaking and the new management the team hasn’t been able to become cohesive enough to clinch.

With the amount of talent on the roster and being home to the best player in the world the Penguins shouldn’t be struggling to enter the playoffs. The new management seems to be holding the team together.

The Penguins have 2 regular season games left to clinch. Basically only needing to win one of the games in regulation to clinch the spot.

Until then their ticket sales for playoffs have been great! Lets just hope they don’t have to refund anyone.

Its a great night for hockey.

Home Run Derby or Opening Day?

Opening Day is like Christmas morning for baseball fans. They run down the stairs to see what players, games, and luck Santa left for the season. When Opening Day comes around, every team has the same chance as slates are wiped cleaned from the previous year.

The Boston Red Sox opened on the road this year in Philadelphia. Playing in a National League park means that there is no DH and the pitchers have to hit. But this didn’t prevent the Sox from coming out with an 8 – 0 victory.

Indiana Final Four Stirs Boycotting

Indianapolis, Indiana – Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on April 2, 2015. The controversy stirred behind this bill comes from the permission of discrimination against LGBT individuals. It took an uproar and travel ban for the Governor to sign a revised bill. And the timing of all this preceded the NCAA Final Four hosted by Indianapolis.

Connecticut, New York, and Washington were three of the states that recently lifted their travel ban. Uconn men’s basketball coach, Kevin Ollie, would be under refusal to travel to Indiana for the Final Four and the conference for National Association of Basketball Coaches. In a statement from UConn President Susan Herbst about the attendance of Uconn coaches.

End of an Era

The National Hockey League (NHL) is known as a high paced, physical sport that allows fighting with a the consequence of a penalty (an average of five minutes) for players involved.

This aspect of hockey may soon be a trend in the past. There has been a lawsuit filed against the league from twenty-nine players that have suffered prolonged concussion symptoms from the game. Although the athletes are aware of the physical play of the game, there have not been sufficient help for players that receive head injuries.

The NHL filed a motion to dismiss the charges from the previous players of the league. There have been talks in recent years about the type of play that is overlooked by referees and the league and how it is affecting the players. The most common injury sustained by a hockey player is a concussion. Whether it is from a hit, puck to the head, or a fight, concussions are common throughout the game.

The NHL’s reasoning for attempting to dismiss the lawsuit was based off of three grounds: claims were time-barred, were not pled with particularity and the league contested jurisdictional rules on one of the claims.

This lawsuit was filed in October and will continue to be a lengthy process, however, the rules of hockey could eventually be altered in favor of the plaintiffs and the health of the players throughout the league. Some alterations will be the care that the league offers when it comes to head injuries to try and prevent longterm affects of concussions.

Find players that are involved in the lawsuit here.

All in a year’s time

UConn basketball fans woke up this morning with their team still holding the reigns as defending champions of the Men’s College Basketball world. However, when those same fans go to bed tonight, they will instead be the fans as just another team after a disappointing season.

Many will remember the Huskies starting last year’s March Madness as an unimpressive seven seed, quickly impressing everyone they faced. Many will remember players like Shabazz Napier and DeAndre Daniels coming up with big play after big play during their six-game streak.

And unfortunately, many will also remember UConn’s NIT first-round exit just a few weeks ago.

Husky fans have been blessed during the past few years with undersized, yet dominant guard play such as Kemba Walker in 2011 and Shabazz Napier in 2014.

Connecticut fans were hopeful Ryan Boatright would be able to play Superman like the ones before him, but despite a still impressive year, proved he wasn’t able to do it by himself.

UConn finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 20-15, going 10-8 in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The Huskies went into the conference tournament winning their first three games before losing to SMU in the conference championship.

With that loss and UConn’s tough regular season record, the Huskies were bounced from any chance they had to compete in March Madness. Instead, the Huskies played in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), however, lost to Arizona State in their first-round game.

Moving forward, the Huskies will lose Boatright, however, younger players like Daniel Hamilton and Rodney Pervis depicted with more experience they can take over the spotlight.

After a disappointing year, UConn fans are hoping to get back to their traditional winning ways next season, ultimately watching their team raise another banner into the rafters in 2016.

Why Geno Auriemma Should Take His Own Advice

Geno Auriemma caused a stir on Wednesday when he expressed his dissatisfaction with NCAA men’s basketball during a Final Four teleconference. The UConn women’s head coach blasted college basketball from a spectator’s perspective, calling the men’s program “a joke.”

“Forget that I’m a coach, as a spectator, watching it, it’s a joke. There’s only like ten teams, you know, out of 25, that actually play the kind of game of basketball you’d like to watch,” Auriemma said.

While he did comment that women’s basketball is “behind the times,” all the focus has been on his harsh critique of men’s college hoops. Ironically, Auriemma’s words can be reflected onto his own team perfectly.

Bruins Still In Playoff Race

The Bruins had a busy weekend that featured back to back games. Yesterday the B’s hosted the first place New York Rangers at the TD Garden. The Bruins knew it was a must-win situation, as is every game for the rest of the season.

 

Zach Trotman

 

Just 1:39 into the first period, Milan Lucic put the B’s up one to nothing when the puck deflected off his skate and past Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist who was making his first start in over a month due to injury. Lucic would strike again just eight minutes later to put the B’s up 2-0 and assert their dominance over the blue shirts. With just five minutes remaining in the first period Carl Soderberg completed a nice move for the third goal of the period.

The bruins would go on to win the game 4-2 over the Rangers and slid back into a playoff spot with five games remaining.

Why we must hate Kentucky

After their dominating performance over West Virginia on Thursday, the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats continue their streak of 38-0 this season. While seeing the Wildcats dissemble the Mountaineers 78-39, I said to myself, “No way anyone can beat them.”

On Thursday, they looked like an absolute unstoppable force, throwing punch after punch to the face of West Virginia. However, that only makes rooting against them that much easier.

I would like to think I’m not the only one watching these games thinking how badly they would want Kentucky to fall, but I’m left thinking “Why?” For me, it comes down to two main reasons…

Fantasy Baseball 101: Strategies for the Season

Weeks of preparation and planning to come up with the best strategy can only mean one thing: fantasy baseball is here.

Fantasy baseball gives die hard fans the ability to play general manager for a season and run their dream team, usually with a witty name that’s often a play-on-words of a baseball player. This is my second year of doing fantasy baseball, and although last season I crashed and burned very early, I have higher hopes for myself this time around.