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So the first major of the year is upon us. For many of us, the Masters hails the start of our season and has done for a long while.
It’s in this week the green keepers get the mowers out and shape our fairways for the coming months. Preferred lies are gone with the winter and the back tees are freshly prepared for the Spring medal.
Augusta will be as always, beautiful, for that is what they do. The Dogwoods and Azaleas will flower on day one, the greens will be 13 on the stimpmeter and the Tournament will run like clockwork.
There will be hard luck stories and moments to treasure. Roars will echo around the property as will sighs, and Tiger will win again, probably.
For those who have only seen this magical green paradise on television, I can tell you that it is much hillier than you would think.
It’s a fairly easy course from tee to green, but its defence is the slick putting surfaces than can reduce even the most talented golfer to tears. It is so well-presented, the first time I played it, I thinned every iron shot because I did not want to scar the fairways!
I stayed in the Butler Cabin which is situated by the 10th tee, and dined in the clubhouse. Myself and Bruce Critchley were guests of a member by the name of George Whisler. It was a memorable two days, and I felt hugely fortunate to have experienced it.
So will Tiger secure the first of what many believe will be a calendar Grand Slam? The odds say he will.
Here are my tips, and I would prefer that you just read them and not back them given my dreary record down the years.
At 22/1 Reteif Goosen is good value. Having struggled over the past two seasons, I have seen the old Goosen in recent months.

skysports.com

With his contribution to the Super Bowl pool long forgotten, Stephen DeAnda knows it’s time to kick $5 into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament office pool. (Illustration by Nacho L. Garcia Jr. / El Paso Times)
With his contribution to the Super Bowl pool long forgotten, Stephen DeAnda knows it’s time to kick $5 into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament office pool.
“It’s something I look forward to ever year,” said DeAnda, who manages a local tire company. “All our employees look forward to it. It’s great for morale because everyone talks about why they made certain picks.”
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will begin Thursday — though there is a play-in game tonight — but the real March Madness began weeks ago as college basketball fans started to think about one of the most hallowed March traditions, the office bracket pool.
“The popularity of office pools during the NCAA basketball tournament is amazing,” said Rosario Kaufman, office manager at an El Paso car dealership. “Its funny because some people, mostly the men, get really into it and and spend days analyzing the field. Me? I just go by gut feeling.”
Sunday, the NCAA filled out the 65-team field that will lead to the promised land of the Final Four on April 5 in San Antonio. The championship will be April 7.
You can almost guarantee that millions of Americans had their brackets e-mailed or faxed to the person in charge of the office pool long before that.
Kaufman, who is in charge of the $10-a-bracket pool, doesn’t remember who won the NCAA
tournament last year (it was Florida), but she does remember who won the office pool.
“It came down to our general manager and one of the sales guys,” she said. “It was fun watching those guys going at all the way up to the championship. It was good, clean fun.”

origin.elpasotimes.com

The selection committee has seen all the tape and made its choices. North Carolina (32-2), Memphis (33-1), Kansas (31-3) and UCLA (31-3) captured the NCAA March Madness No. 1 seeds on Sunday.
Those teams will share the bill with 60 others, and all of them will fight for the NCAA championship, which will be decided when the tournament finishes on April 7 in San Antonio.
Games start this Thursday. You can see the full bracket by clicking on the graphic below:

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I’m getting so excited for the Academy Awards–I was on the red carpet earlier this morning. The carpet itself is covered in what looks like giant swaths of Saran Wrap and the huge Oscar statuettes are under giant clear plastic garbage bags.
But the pre-Oscar excitement is palatable. Even though the carpet is covered with a huge plastic tent–it’s expected to rain on Sunday–it’ll still be crowded with diamonds and couturs, and glamorous, no matter how wet it is.
SO–want the inside scoop on who to pick in the Oscar pool?
For months people have been saying that “No Country for Old Men” is the frontrunner for best picture. Maybe it’s fatigue with the amazing but incredibly violent film, but now I’m hearing that “Juno”, the heartwarming pic about a pregnant highschooler, could have a surprise win. It’s the “Little Miss Sunshine” nomination of the year — which was nominated last year for four different categories and won in two but didn’t get the prize for Best Picture.
Expect “Ratatouille” to win best animated picture. Best song is a toss up between the soulful “Once,” and one of the funny and cheery songs from Enchanted– either “That’s how you know” or “Happy Working song.”
George Clooney is pushing for best actor–check out this week’s cover of Time magazine but there’s big support in Hollywood of Daniel Day Lewis’ performance in “There Will be Blood.” Philip Seymour Hoffman was brilliant in “Charlie Wilson’s War,” but I’m guessing best supporting actor will go to Javier Bardem.
I think best actress will either go to Julie Christie (in respect for her body of work) or Marion Cotillard–who’s almost over exposed at this point. Ruby Dee is a frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “American Gangster,” but I can also see the Academy really going for Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of a Bob Dylan figure in “I’m Not There.” “Sicko” will likely get the prize for Documentary Feature. I’m rooting for “Across the Universe” to win costume design, but it could also go to “Elizabeth” or “Sweeney Todd.”

cnbc.com