Happy Monday everyone, here's my Top 5 for April 9, 2012 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- Bubba Watson won the Masters on the second sudden death hole against South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen. Watson, at age 31, winning his first Major.
- The first place Mets are 3-0. The Yankees and Red Sox are tied for last, 0-3.
- FIU fired basketball coach Isiah Thomas after going 26-65 in three seasons. Said Thomas, "This is the most surprising thing that has happened to me in basketball, I've never been fired before for basketball reasons." Yup, his 56-108 record with the Knicks had nothing to do with his exit from New York.
2. Hubba Bubba
How great was that? Bubba Watson pulling off a wacky shot from the woods and then breaking down in tears after winning the Masters. And then fellow pros Rickie Fowler, Ben Crane and Aaron Baddeley were all on hand to offer their congratulations. It's one of those moments that reminds us why we love sports. It may not have been a tradition like no other, but it was a sports moment that will be forever stored in our memory banks.
3. A Kick in the Grass
So if a baseball player takes off his cap and kicks it, while arguing with the ump, he gets tossed from the game. Kick a basketball in an NBA game, you get a technical foul. So why don't they have rules like that in a civil sport like golf? Tiger Woods, Friday on 16, dropped his club and then kicked it. What a guy. What an example of sportsmanship to show kids the world over. Why won't the sports honchos give him a two stroke penalty or a one week suspension? Are they afraid to mess with their meal ticket?
4. You Say Potato...
Pitino, Petrino, what's the dif? Another college coach who is supposed to be a "leader of men" shows he's anything but. Louisville coach Rick Pitino had his little extra-marital episode in a restaurant. Bobby Petrino, the married Arkansas football coach never bothered admitting that he had a pretty young woman, not his wife, as a passenger when he crashed his motorcycle. Pitino of course kept his job because he wins basketball games. Will Petrino get the same pass at Arkansas? The Razorbacks went 11-2 last year. If he were 2-11 would he still be the coach today?
5. Mike Wallace
1918-2012
We lost one of the giants of our business. I ran into Mike a few years back at the U.S. Open. He said to me, "I was watching you the other night and I was wondering, God how long have you been doing this?" I chuckled to myself, how long have I been doing this? Mike's been broadcasting since before they invented the wheel, and he thinks I've been at it a long time? Actually, his broadcast career spanned over 70 years. Just phenomenal. RIP, Mike.
Happy Birthday: Former NFL running back, one of the Giants "Baby Bulls," Chuck Mercein. 69.
Bonus Birthday: Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. 86.
Today in Sports: 99 years ago today. Ebbets field opened in Brooklyn. 1913.
Bonus Event: Ya gotta dress uh... uniformly. The NFL decrees that all players have to wear socks. 1945.
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