Watching Tiger Woods roll through the Masters was one of the greatest sports mornings I can remember. No other sport will have the most important portion of its most important event air from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a Sunday.
We all rolled out of bed as snow fell out of the April sky and watched as a Tiger completed one of the most sensational comebacks in not just his sport, but any sport.
With the Blackhawks and Bulls both in their offseason programs, and the Cubs and Sox stumbling out of the gate, I think in this area there was an even bigger focus on the Masters. I’m here to catch you up on EVERYTHING ELSE that was happening while you were napping to Jim Nantz’s soothing voice.
For starters, we finally got a first look at Eloy Jimenez’ power, as he belted two homers in Friday’s game against the Yankees. He collected zero hits the rest of the weekend, but man we finally got a look at those red-gloved hands delivering a ball into the stratosphere with near effortless power. A sight to behold. The Sox also nabbed two of three from the beleaguered Yanks for their first series win of 2019.
On the north side of town, the Cubs couldn’t find a way to beat the Trout-less Angels on Saturday. Shockingly, the back end of a bullpen comprising Tim Collins, Brandon Kintzler and Kyle Ryan are not enough to win games quite yet. The Cubs were snowed out on Sunday, which meant they got to skip the hellscape known as a Tyler Chatwood start. Yu Darvish will take the mound tonight in Miami.
The NBA Playoffs are gearing up for one of the best second rounds we’ve seen in awhile. In the meantime, you still could have found some tremendous #DivaDrama in Round 1. Kevin Durant and Pat Beverly might actually fist fight before the Warriors/Clippers series concludes. Detroit’s Thon Maker is trying so hard to make Milwaukee regret trading him, but the Bucks won by 35 and Maker bricked all six 3s he took in Game 1 Sunday.
The Stanley Cup playoffs is the greatest tournament in sports, and it pains me that my team isn’t participating for the second straight year. Upsets are aplenty, and the intensity from Round 1 to the Finals is unparalleled in professional sports. The top seed in the East went down 0-2 in the series, then lost the league MVP due to a dumb hit. The Tampa Bay Lightning now face four straight win-or-go-home games after a 128-point regular season. For reference, the best regular season of any Blackhawks championship team was a 112-point campaign in 2009-10. In no other sport does the best team in the league go down in Round 1, especially when that team seemed to be so far ahead of everyone else for five months.
But its not just that series. The New York Islanders are dominating Sidney Crosby and the Penguins despite losing a top-10 player in the league last offseason. It’s pure craziness and I can’t recommend it to you enough.
There’s plenty of storylines to jump into now that the weather is starting to turn. We talk about the summer as the doldrums of the sports year. That might be true in late June or early July, but the sports world is ripe with options in April and May. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.