Geno and his women...

Sportynation, I left work at 5 something today. Went to Harlem to get a haircut, chilled with my barbers, got my ears lowered, came back downtown, picked up a few groceries, came home, hung my clothes up, put some food in the oven, turned on the computer, and sat in amazement. My heart started racing from the pure euphoria that a child gets when he or she finally obtains that one thing that are ever so certain that under any circumstance that he or she can not live without.

The euphoria emerged from the Uconn Lady Huskies. Snap! So, it was 42-28 UConn at the half. Less than 10 minutes later the score was 72-38...less than 10 minutes later. 5 minutes later, the score was 80-40. My heart started to pump more and more. I would do little things like get a drink of water, use the restroom, sweep my room, watch and Idol performance just to see what could and would happen in such a short period of time. Geno (the head coach) and these ladies are going beast and making the usually unwatchable, women's basketball, watchable.

The Lady Huskies if successful tonight, will have 76 consecutive wins and will further increase there average margin of victory that is easily more than 37 points per game on average. This team is so stacked, loaded, dominant, and unbelievable that they have not had any single-digit victories during this run. They had a nail-biter earlier this year when they played and beat the yearlong #2 team Stanford Cardinal.

Sportynation, I am looking into Vegas sports books right now as I type this entry. I am looking for Uconn odds for any and everything. This team is like a money market account, a savings account, or owning an NFL team. It will always payback. You can't lose. Your return may not be large, but it's a return. Just do it like Nike.

This is my Minority Report! Whew let's let that heart calm down now. Geez...

The Oprah Effect? Nah the Tiggah Effect!

The Oprah Effect on CNN move over The Tiger Woods Effect on THE WORLD'S STAGE.

Sportynation, remember how I suggested that the media and the PGA tour needs Tiger Woods more than he needs them? Tiger Woods just last week decided that he would return to the PGA Tour and his first tournament would be at "The place like no other (ala Jim Nantz)...The Masters and the Masters will yet again, be a place like no other.

The Masters is is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held each year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in the city of Augusta, Georgia, USA. The Masters was started by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones, who designed Augusta National with course architect Alister MacKenzie. The tournament is an official money event on the PGA Tour, the PGA European Tour, and the Japan Golf Tour. The field of players is smaller than those of the other major championships because it is an invitational event, entry being controlled by the Augusta National Golf Club.

The tournament has a number of traditions. A green jacket is awarded to the winner of each tournament, which must be returned to the clubhouse after a year. The Champions dinner, inaugurated by Ben Hogan, is held on the Tuesday before each tournament, and is only open to past champions and certain board members of the Augusta National Golf Club. Beginning in 1963, legendary golfers, usually past champions, have hit an honorary tee shot on the morning of the first round. Such golfers have included Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, and Arnold Palmer, who has hit the tee shot the last two years. Since 1960, a semi-social Par 3 Contest, on a par-3 course on Augusta National's grounds, has been played on the day before the first round of each Masters Tournament. (Tiger will 100%, 0%, ain't no way in the world be present for this par-3 event. I just laughed uncontrollably with the thought of this. Geez Louise!



Jack Nicklaus has won more Masters Tournaments than any other golfer, winning six times between 1963 and 1986. Other multiple winners include Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods, with four each, and Phil Mickelson with two. Gary Player, from South Africa, was the first non-American player to win the tournament in 1961. The tournament organizers frequently extend the length and layout of the course to meet developments in equipment technology and player skill.

The understatement of the year is to say The Masters is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. Tiger's addition, adds to the intrigue and takes the spectacle to unfathomable levels...multidimensional levels.



There was a report the other day that stated that the Masters would be the most watched event in the United States this century since Obama's inauguration...even bigger than the Super Bowl, Mash, American Idol, and the Olympics.

The ticketing and monetary implications are ridiculous too.

Although tickets for the Masters are not expensive, they are very difficult to come by (pre-Tiger). Even the practice rounds can be difficult to get into. Applications for practice round tickets have to be made nearly a year in advance and the successful applicants are chosen by random ballot. Tickets to the actual tournament are sold only to members of a patrons list, which is closed. A waiting list for the patrons list was opened in 1972 and closed in 1978. It was reopened in 2000 and subsequently closed once again. In 2008, The Masters also began allowing children (between the ages of 8 and 16) to enter on tournament days for free if they are accompanied by the patron who is the owner of his or her badge.

Sportynation, tickets to the Masters are some of the toughest to get in all of sports. This year, that figures to intensify, with Tiger Woods' decision to make his return to golf at Augusta National.

Which means the best time to buy a ticket was probably a week ago.

According to online ticket marketplace StubHub!, here's what happened with their Masters sales the day after Woods' announcement.

* Total dollar volume sales were up more than five times the daily average.

* The average price for tickets purchased increased roughly 10%.

* Online page views for Masters tickets increased 70%, so clearly the market is active and fans are hunting.

Also, the aggregate average for all Masters tickets is hovering around $500, Stubhub! says. That gets the price back to 2008 levels. In 2009, with the economy so down, the aggregate average was $400.



Sportynation, Tiger Woods made this decision to return on March 16th and these stats were taken just the other day. The media attention, the scum, the filth, the salacious, the impractical, the manufactured outrage, and the ridiculous will be back ASAP.

Get ready. It's gonna be nuts. Happy March Madness and I guess April Madness. This is my Minority Report.