It's green jackets week
Payday for Vlad Jr.
Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.
This is one of my favorite weeks in sports. The NCAA national championship games in men’s and women’s basketball are played, baseball season is in full swing - even with torpedo bats - and my favorite golf tournament, the Masters, unfolds at Augusta National Golf Club. That’s living high off the hog, as far as I’m concerned.
A couple of notes to the novices covering golf for the various sports blogs and podcasts. The Masters tournament is not part of the PGA Tour! Repeat: the Masters tournament is not part of the PGA Tour! I have read a number of pieces that proclaim it is. Far be it for me to sound like a golf expert. I am not, but I do know this, the Masters and the PGA Tour are separate, as is the U.S. Open and PGA Tour. Got it?
As of this writing, defending champion Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to add a third green jacket. Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau are the other favorites. For what it’s worth, I’m picking Schauffele.
For one of the few times we will get to witness the PGA Tour defectors to LIV Golf on the same course competing. This is a big deal. Golf’s TV ratings have tanked since the split, and from what I’ve been reading, the two sides are not as close to a deal as has been publicly declared.
Some other Masters notes;
First place prize money for the first Masters in 1934 was $1,500
Scottie Scheffler collected $3.6 million for last year’s win
If you win the Masters, you automatically qualify to compete in subsequent Masters for the rest of your life
There are 17 living Masters champions who will not participate this year: Tommy Aaron, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Mark O’Meara, Craig Stadler, Ian Woosnam, Charles Coody, Raymond Floyd, Larry Mize, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Ben Crenshaw, Trevor Immelman, Jack Nicklaus, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods.
Augusta National is one of the toughest courses on which to compete. Even the top amateurs find it a challenge
The Masters board orchestrates every last detail, including what can and cannot be said on the broadcast. The legendary Jack Whitaker was banned by CBS from covering the tournament for six years for referring to the Masters “patrons” as a “mob.” The Masters poo-bahs said using “mob” was a no-no and Whitaker, one of the medium’s greatest broadcasters, must walk the plank. It’s not fans, crowd, spectators or gallery. It’s “patrons,” and don’t you forget it, buster! At least the green jackets graced Whitaker with a get-out-of-jail card. CBS was also told to throw Gary McCord to the wolves for stating the 17th green was so fast it was “bikini-waxed.” He also said for approach shots that went behind the green, the players would be stuck with “body bags.” McCord never broadcast another Masters.
Of course, CBS was going to bow to the green jackets. The other networks beg to televise the tournament but only CBS has had the honor, willing to grovel to hold on to golf’s crown jewel.
Enjoy the tournament. I can hear the CBS Masters theme song ringing in my ears right now. My only desire is to be a fan at the tournament, no matter how much bikini-wax is put on those greens. You can forget the body bags.
Blue Jays extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Although not official, it appears the Toronto Blue Jays have reached agreement on a contract extension with star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Even MLB’s website is reporting the signing, so it must be true. Here are the details:
14-year extension worth $500 million
None of the money is deferred
Largest contract in Blue Jays history
Guerrero Jr. would have been a free agent at season’s end
His first season was 2019. At the time he was the number one prospect in baseball
Toronto was determined to get this done, especially after losing out on free agents Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Roki Sasaki. This is also a big victory for the loyal, Toronto fanbase.
Big market clubs such as the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers were supposedly going to make a run at Guerrero but we will never know.
Actually, I never thought multi-billionaire Steve Cohen was going push for Guerrero, as much as Mets fans salivated for Soto and Guerrero in the same lineup. Cohen learned his lesson with the Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander contracts and I believe he is taking a wizened approach to building the Mets into perennial contenders, no matter his portfolio. That is why he hired David Stearns to run the baseball operation.
The Pirates finally smarten up
The tone-deaf Pittsburgh Pirates finally corrected the error of their ways, after stupidly removing a sign honoring the late Roberto Clemente in favor of a beverage ad down the right field line. Roberto Clemente Jr. posted on X about the slight to his Hall-of-Fame dad:
The Pirates move also led to trolling on social media. Here is what the AA Hartford Yard Goats posted:
The late Clemente and his family have a big following in Hartford.
The Pirates seemingly poured gasoline on the fire, announcing the Clemente sign was “put in place prior to the 2022 season and was never meant to be a permanent tribute, simply another cap tip to the ‘The Great One.’ We apologize that we didn’t directly communicate that fact to the Clemente family and our fans.”
Well the fans communicated the fact they were fuming and by Sunday, Pirates president Travis Williams announced the sign would return, taking full responsibility:
“When we added the advertisement to the pad, it was an oversight not to keep the No. 21 logo. This is ultimately on me, not anyone else in the organization. It was an honest mistake. We will be adding the No. 21 logo back on the pad.”
Good move by the Pirates. The last thing this declining, legacy franchise needs, is a public relations fiasco such as this one.
That is going to do it for this week’s newsletter. Look for more content throughout the week. Thank you for subscribing. It means so much to me.
DAN