The end of March to early April is one of the busiest times of the year on every sports calendar. This week offers March Madness Final Four in college basketball, Opening Day of Major League baseball and the favorite event for most golfers, The Masters.
Basketball: This year, the Final Four teams standing in the March Madness tournament are Kansas, Villanova, Michigan, and the underdog team of Loyola-Chicago. Loyola-Chicago actually won the National Championship in 1963 before the NCAA tournament was as big as it is now. If they can go all the way, it would be one of the biggest upsets in basketball history. I don't expect this to happen though. I think the winner will be either Kansas or Villanova.
Baseball: Opening day for the Phillies has them starting out playing away in Atlanta. These first few weeks are going to be telling on where the Phillies' season will go. The chatter from the Phillies organization, that they are good enough to make it to the playoffs this year, is a bit of wishful thinking on their part. I think their pitching staff is still questionable outside of Jake Arrieta and Aaron Nola. This puts a lot of pressure on a very young offense. Being the diehard Phillies fan that I am, I will be cheering as hard as anybody for this to actually happen. Go Phillies!
Golf: Next week in the golf world it's all about The Masters in Augusta. My favorites for the tournament include three great golfers. Dustin Johnson (who had to withdraw just before the tournament last year); Bubba Watson (who has won two tournaments already this year, so he's on form); and Jordan Spieth (who has a crazy good record at the course from past years.) The course is beautiful and always offers great rounds to watch.
Yeah, I know the betting favorite is Tiger Woods, but I am thinking he will not win. I do expect that he will do well with four wins from previous years. It is great to have him back on the tour but the Tiger frenzy is a bit much. Just like his old video game says, "No pressure."
For a few years now, on the Sunday before The Masters, there is an event called The Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals. This is for kids from the ages of 7 to15. My neighbor, Sawyer Brockstedt, is in the 11 to 12-year-old girls division of the tournament. This is an incredible achievement.
This event will be broadcast on the Golf Channel on Sunday starting at 8 am. We will definitely be watching and wishing her well!
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
