The Masters golf tournament is my favorite event to watch every year because of the beauty of the second nine of the golf course. It is the reason why I like to watch all the tournaments on TV. The flowers and trees on holes 10 through 16 of the course are amazing. I know they probably cost a fortune to maintain, but it’s worth it. I don’t know how this year‘s tournament is going to surpass the drama from last year when Rory McIlroy won the tournament in a playoff over Justin Rose to complete his career grand slam. He’s only the sixth golfer in history to win all four major tournaments at least once during their career.
Last year‘s tournament finish was up in the air at least three times during the last round. McIlroy had the lead starting out the day and then lost it by the third hole. Later, he had a four-shot lead going into the back nine and lost that by the time he was done the 14th hole. Then he got the lead back on the 15th, but he bogeyed the 18th to go into the playoff. That was really fun to watch unfold.
I expect this year's winning score to be 10 to 15 under par. The weather is supposed to be perfect for all four days, being over 80 degrees for most of it.
I’m worried about the 76ers’ playoff chances this year. With three games to play, they are currently in eighth place in the tight Eastern Conference. In order to get out of the play-in tournament and finish in sixth place, they have to win their last three games and get some help to get that last seed in the regular playoffs. That's going to be tough!
The biggest problem is the fact that Joel Embiid can never stay healthy. It seems during the end of the season, when the team needs him the most, he is out with some injury. If the76ers finish in eighth place, they have to play one play-in game and win it in order to go on and play the second-seed Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs after that. It’s going to be tough for them to get to the second round of the playoffs this year. Definitely going to be holding our breaths on this one.
And March Madness is done. Michigan and UCLA won their national championships in college basketball. The Michigan men overwhelmed their opponents in the tournament with their offensive production and huge team size as well. Michigan beat the University of Connecticut by the score of 69-63 in the final, but the game wasn’t that close.
The UCLA women crushed South Carolina in their final. UCLA has been close for a number of years. They finally got over the hump and won their first college basketball national championship in the modern era of women’s basketball. Made for an exciting end to March Madness.
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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.
