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Japan’s Matsuyama Wins His First Major and It’s Historic at The Masters

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AUGUSTA – Hideki Matsuyama won the 2021 Masters Tournament to become the first male pro tour major championship winner from Japan. Matsuyama claimed his first major championship title and sixth win overall on the PGA Tour. He became just the eighth champion (nine instances) with an over-par final-round score.

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Special temporary member/PGA Tour rookie Will Zalatoris finished a career-best runner-up and has six Top 10s and 11 Top 25 finishes in 15 starts this season.

Jordan Spieth, the first player in Masters history to birdie No. 10 all four rounds, finished inside the top three for the fifth time in eight appearances at the Masters.

Xander Schauffele’s triple bogey on No. 16 was his first in 1,042 holes in a major championship. Despite the major set-back, he registered his second Top 3 finish at the Masters.

With a bogey-free 6-under (66), (the second bogey-free round of the week), Jon Rahm picked up his fourth consecutive Top 10 finish at the Masters (4/2018, T9/2019, T7/2020, T5/2021). Rahm now has 15 consecutive par-or-better rounds at the Masters.

Final Leaderboard from the 2021 Masters

Hideki Matsuyama 69-71-65-73—278 (-10)

Will Zalatoris 70-68-71-70—279 (-9)

Jordan Spieth 71-68-72-70—281 (-7)

Xander Schauffele 72-69-68-72—281 (-7)

Jon Rahm 72-72-72-66—282 (-6)

Marc Leishman 72-67-70-73—282 (-6)

 

Red Sox: Five in a Row and Here They Go

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By TERRY LYONS

BALTIMORE – In 2018, the Red Sox lost their opening day game and nearly all of Boston hit the panic button. Fast-forward past 2019-20 and the Sox lost their first three games of this young 2021 season and all of the New England skies were falling. Now, five games later, the Red Sox are riding a five-game winning streak and fans are checking their 2018 schedule results for comparisons to a team that went 108-54.

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Taking it to that extreme so early in the 2021 season is certainly nonsensical, but for the shear fun of it, the 2021 Sox will need to win another four straight to mirror the nine-game win streak manager Alex Cora enjoyed to start the title season after the disappointing opener.

To earn the fifth straight victory, it took 10 innings and a Rafael Devers home run in the 6th inning, a game tying series of singles and grounding into fielder’s choices in the top of the 9th, and Michael Chavis scoring a run in the top of the 10th inning on a wild pitch to seal the win. An RBI single by Christian Vázquez added an insurance run and extended Boston’s winning streak to five games with a 6-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night, April 10.

“It’s a good vibe,” Cora said. “A lot of people don’t feel like we have any superstars. This is a good baseball team. They did everything right toward the end of the game.”

For Baltimore ,outfielder Trey Mancini hit his first home run since his return from cancer surgery that caused him to miss the 2020 season. It was Mancini’s first homer since Sept. 28, 2019.

 

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook – April 11th

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Sports Notes, Thoughts, and Observations on Masters Weekend

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – This will be a column of free-flowing thoughts and observations from the past week. In honor of the Masters, I bring you a Sunday Sports Notebook “Unlike Any Other.”

“One Shining Moment” was lauded last week just before the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament came to a wonderful Final Four close with one amazing semi-final game (Gonzaga over UCLA) and an incredible display of overall offensive and defensive talent by the 2021 NCAA Champion Baylor Bears with their title win over the previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Little did we know that “One Shining Moment is actually a not-so-distant cousin to the famous Masters mantra “Tradition Unlike Any Other”  – a phrase made famous by CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz. The catch-phrase, can be attributed (once said Nantz) to the same man who was behind “One Shining Moment.” That is Doug Towey, the CBS Sports Creative Director who so sadly passed away in 2009 at the age of 61. … In the sports industry, it’s important to “Make a Mark,“and Towey did that behind the scenes at Blackrock with two iconic spring sports traditions that will – hopefully – last forever.

Speaking of “Making a Mark,” Rick Welts, the President of the Golden State Warriors, this week announced that this season would be his last with the franchise. In full disclosure, I used to report to Welts when he was the head of communications and marketing at the NBA – a bit before his promotion to the President of NBA Properties.

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In one of Welts’ senior management presentations at an internal business summit held at the Doral Conference Center in Rye Brook, NY, he noted the most important things to consider if you were to be a success at the NBA. Four of them always resonated with me and rose to the top of Welts’ list:

  1. Know the NBA’s History
  2. You’re Often Judged by the Way You Contribute to the Goals of Others
  3. Conflict is Good; Un-resolved Conflict is Not Good.
  4. Make a Mark

That, indeed, is what Welts did and will continue to do so, in some fashion, I am sure.

Winning seems to follow Rick Welts around, as evidenced by a laundry list of amazing career accomplishments. Here are a few off the top of my head:

  1. In his first sports job, as a ballboy for the now defunct Seattle SuperSonics, the Sonics won the NBA Championship (1979). More importantly, those years struck the chords for a lifetime friendship between Welts and Bill Russell, the NBA’s “Babe Ruth.”
  2. As the head of NBA Properties, the business and marketing arm of the league, Welts spearheaded the launch and marketing of the WNBA, together with USA Basketball and his staff, he planned and executed all media, marketing and PR efforts behind the 1992 USA Basketball Dream Team – from inception to the staging of the Basketball Tournament of the Americas in Portland (the USA had to qualify for Barcelona ‘92) and right up until the USOC took over marketing rights at the ‘92 Summer Games. Welts built NBA Properties and further grew its influence in Consumer Products (think NBA Hoop Cards, E/A Sports video games, apparel, you name it) into a $2 Billion operation that had a mantra of, “we’re not just in the business to sell, but more importantly to renew and improve existing sponsorships, licensees and advertisers.” … Aside from those major marks, Welts was behind the expansion of the NBA All-Star Game into a full NBA All-Star Weekend, complete with All-Star Saturday’s Slam-Dunk and popular Three-Point Shootout. … He played a lead roll in most of the NBA’s International business and marketing efforts, including the establishment of regional offices around the world. … There’s plenty more but column inches, even online, are somewhat limited.
  3. After his stint at the NBA league office, Welts took a side-step to work with Chase Carey and FOX Sports’ interests in professional sports, including STAPLES Center, the LA Dodgers and other investments but the lure of the NBA came calling and he joined the Phoenix Suns as President, and later team CEO, running the franchise’s business operations. … In 2002, when Welts joined, the Suns went 36-46 but by 2004-05, they soared to a 62-20 record under Coach Mike D’Antoni. (The Suns fell short in the Western Conference finals.)
  4. After his nine-year stint with the Suns, Welts joined the Golden State Warriors as team President in October, 2011. Of course, most credit is due to all-star level talent and strong coaching by Steve Kerr, but welts helped place an organizational foundation under the Warriors that resulted in five appearances in the NBA Finals and three NBA Championships (2015, ‘17 and ‘18).
  5. In addition to his successes around the court, Welts also made a huge mark when, in May, 2011, he announced to the sports industry and the world that he was gay, and in doing so, was the first executive in m major sports to take that step so publicly in a front page New York Times story, nonetheless. … Welts noted he received thousands of notes, emails and not one was negative in any manner. … His tireless philanthropic work and true inspiration to all in the SF-Bay area just might outshine those 60+ win seasons and three NBA championship rings.
  6. Most recently, Welts next took on one of the most difficult tasks in the sports industry as the Warriors’ lead exec for the club’s move from Oakland to San Francisco and the building of the brand new Chase Center and its surrounding, privately financed “Thrive City” multi-purpose entertainment facilities.

What’s Next or Who’s Got Next? Welts seems to be keeping it close to the vest while looking forward to a near-future, post global pandemic return to some normalcy and maybe travel to some of the spots he didn’t really get to see while on the job, whether they be Paris or Barcelona or other points in the worlds.

His interview with Mark Spears of The Undefeated touched on many of these very topics. Click HERE to read that column.

While Welts takes a well-deserved break from the pressure and running an organization in the middle to third quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic, this columnists wonders aloud what might happen if the Seattle SuperSonics franchise were to be resurrected sometime soon in the Emerald City and an ownership stake and President/CEO position came calling for a man to jump-start the expansion franchise?

To SUBSCRIBE and receive the entire While We’re Young (Ideas) sports notes column, sent once a week for your Sunday morning brunch-time enjoyment, click HERE.

UMass Takes Its First Frozen Four Title

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PITTSBURGH – The University of Massachusetts soundly defeated St. Cloud State of Minnesota, 5-0, in Saturday night’s men’s ice hockey national championship. For the UMass Minutemen, it’s was their first Frozen Four title win in program history.

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The scoring started a little over seven minutes into the first period when Aaron Bohlinger found himself on a 2-on-0 and cashed in to make it 1-0 UMass. With 1:04 left in the first 20 minutes, Reed Lebster tapped one past St. Cloud G David Hrenak to give UMass a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission.

With St. Cloud State on the power play five minutes into the second frame, Phil Lagunov dangled around Nick Perbix to score a shorthanded goal. Matt Kessel added a power play goal in the back half of the second period to make it 4-0.

UMass’ Bobby Trivigno made it 5-0 when he sniped one past David Hrenak early in the third period.

UMass was on a mission to improve one slot heading into the 2021-21 season. The Minutemen finished as 2019 championship runner-ups (2020 playoff was cancelled). They closed out the 2020-21 regular season winning the program’s first-ever Hockey East title and advanced to the championship game after an overtime thriller in the Frozen Four semifinals against Minnesota Duluth,

UMass goaltender Filip Linberg made 25 saves to earn the shut-out.

 

 

NHL: Bruins Drop Key Game to Philly

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PHILADELPHIA – Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk each scored goals but the Boston Bruins lost a key road game to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

Boston back-up goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman made his third straight start and stopped 20 shots in the loss. No. 1 goaltender, Tuukka Rask could return today (April 11).

Not only did the Bruins lose the game but they also saw one of their top defenseman go down with an injury in the first period of play.

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Cassidy said the loss of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to what the team simply listed as an upper-body injury in the first period likely contributed to the Bruins’ limitations. The 27-year- old was playing on the top pairing for the Bruins battered defensive corp, already depleted by injuries to Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo. Grzelcyk is listed as day-to-day.

“We lost another defenseman early; it’s happened to us a lot this year,” said Cassidy. “You’re leaning on other guys, a guy we rely on in Grizz – power play situations, we saw the effect of that.”

Boston went 0 for 4 on the power play, including two missed opportunities in the third period as the Bruins attempted to tie the game.

Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier scored near the midway point of the third period to break a tie and the Flyers picked up a critical 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

Flyers goalkeeper Brian Elliott stopped 30 shots for Philadelphia, which moved within four points of Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NHL’s East Division. The Bruins have two games in hand on the Flyers with Philadelphia having 16 games remaining. The two teams have completed their regular-season series.

Boston plays divisional rival Washington today.

 

Sox J.D. Martinez to COVID Injured List

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BOSTON – (Source: Official Club News Release) – The Boston Red Sox today placed designated hitter/outfielder J.D. Martinez on the COVID-19 Related Injured List. To fill his spot on the 26-man roster, infielder Michael Chavis was recalled from the Alternate Training Site. Chavis will be available for tonight’s game at the Baltimore Orioles, according to Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom.

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Through seven games this season, Martinez has hit .433 (13-for-30) with seven doubles, two home runs, and 12 RBI. Entering play today, the right-handed batter led all major league players in extra-base hits (nine) and ranked among American League leaders in slugging percentage (3rd; .867), OPS (4th; 1.335), and batting average (5th).

Dating back to last season, Martinez has hit safely in eight straight games, and has recorded at least one extra-base hit in all of his team’s first seven games of the year, making him one of five players in MLB history to do so.

This marks the first major league stint of 2021 for Chavis, 25, who began the year at the club’s Alternate Training Site at Triple-A Worcester. In 25 Grapefruit League games this spring he hit .250 (15-for-60) with three doubles, six home runs, 11 RBI,

Tatum Scores 53; Celtics Win in OT

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BOSTON – Boston Celtics all-star forward Jason Tatum scored a career-high 53 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime, to lead the Celtics to a 145-136 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. It was the first 50-point game for the 23-year-old Tatum. Boston’s Jaylen Brown had 26 points. Marcus Smart added 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds to help Boston to its fourth win in five games.

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“Scoring 50 is a big thing in this league,” said Tatum. “It’s a night I’ll always remember. First 50-point game and we got the win on top of that. Every win right now is big. So we’ll take it.”

Boston erased a 17-point deficit in the third quarter and then led by eight points in the fourth before Minnesota was able to fight back and send it into overtime. The Celtics took a 135-129 lead on a three-pointer by guard Kemba Walker.

Minnesota got within 135-132 on a three-point play by D’Angelo Russell. But Boston outscored the Timberwolves 10-4 to close-out the home victory. Center Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Russell finished with 26 points and Anthony Edwards had 24 points in the loss.

Boston finished their seven-game homestead at (4-3) and now depart for a three-game Western swing that starts in Denver on Sunday, April 11. Boston also plays at Portland and at Los Angeles against the Lakers on Thursday night.

Rose Holds Slim Lead After 36 Holes at The Masters

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the Weekend at The Masters

By TERRY LYONS

AUGUSTA – England’s Justin Rose will attempt to become the first wire-to-wire winner at the Masters since Jordan Spieth (2015). Rose followed up his opening round (65) with a hard-fought par (72) on Friday. Rose has nine birdies on the back nine through two rounds, tied for the most at the Masters in the last 30 years.

Will Zalatoris birdied his final three holes for a 4-under (68), which moved him within one stroke of Rose, the 36-hole leader. Zalatoris is seeking to become the first player to win in his debut Masters appearance since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

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Jordan Spieth (T-4) at five under (-5) leads the field with 30 greens hit in regulation, his most through two rounds at the Masters, including his 2015 tournament when he won the Green Jacket.

Bryson DeChambeau (T-17) followed his first round (76) with a 5-under (67) for a nine-stroke turnaround – his largest in a major championship between rounds one and two.

Brian Harman (T-2) at six under (138) is the only player in the field to shoot sub-70s with 69-69.

Matthew Wolff shot 76-79 (155) but was DQ’d. The Statement from Masters Tournament HQ: Following his second round, Matthew Wolff returned a scorecard with a hole score lower than he actually made on hole 17. He was subsequently disqualified under Rule 3.3b(3).

Early tournament leader Hudson Swafford at (-2 after four holes), MTC with 73-83 (156).

Defending Masters champion Dustin Johnson missed the cut after shooting 74-75. Other “big names” to MTC included: Georgia native Matt Kuchar, past Masters champion Sergio Garcia, Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day, and Sungjae Im.

Masters Leaderboard After Second Round:

Justin Rose 65-72—137 (-7)

Will Zalatoris 70-68—138 (-6)

Brian Harman 69-69—138 (-6)

Marc Leishman 72-67—139 (-5)

Jordan Spieth 71-68—139 (-5)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

36-hole cut: 54 professionals at 3-over (147) from a field of 85 professionals and three amateurs. An amateur failed to advance to the weekend for the first time at the Masters since 2015.

For complete access to PGA Tour Brunch (sent to your inbox six days a week), click HERE

Justin Rose Shot a 65 to Take Opening Round Lead at The Masters

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Rose Fires Six Under on Back 9

By TERRY LYONS

England’s Justin Rose burst onto the professional golf scene as an 18-year old with a (T-4) and low amateur honors at the 1998 Open Championship. He’s won the 2013 U.S. Open and the gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. At the Masters, he’s had a (T-2 in 2015) and an outright runner-up at the 2017 event. In Thursday’s opening round of the 2021 Masters, he shot a blazing 7-under (65), including his six under, six birdies on the Back Nine.

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Rose tied Jack Nicklaus for the most first-round leads/co-leads in Masters Tournament history. (4 times).

Rose’s round began with a bogey on the Par 4 first and one other bogey on the Par 4 seventh hole, and then the magic began. Rose carded an eagle on the Par 5 eighth and proceeded to birdie seven of the next 10 holes to finish two off the Masters/Augusta National course record of (63) – shared by Nick Price (‘86) and Greg Norman (‘96).

Rose played his first 13 Masters without missing a cut, but that streak ended in 2019. Last November he finished (T-23) and was listed as a 70-1 shot by William Hill to win this event.

Brian Harman (USA) and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama shot impressive opening round three-under (69) and stand four off the lead. Four professionals shot two-under (70) and are (T-4) after 18 holes.

Tournament favorite, Dustin Johnson shot a two-over (74) and other favorites were, at least five off the leader. Patrick Reed fared best (two-under, 70); Jordan Spieth, the winner at last week’s Valero Texas Open and the 2015 Masters champion, shot one-under (71). Spain’s Jon Rahm shot even par (72) and is T-13th after 18.

Justin Thomas is among 10 players (T-20th) after his +1, (73).

Johnson is among 22 players (T-30th) and is joined by former Masters champions Bernard Langer (1985, ‘93), Charl Schwartzel (2011), Bubba Watson (2012, ‘14), and Adam Scott (2013). Some of the PGA Tour’s highly-ranked players like Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick are also (T-30).

Masters Leaderboard After Opening Round:

Justin Rose 65 (-7)

Brian Harman 69 (-3)

Hideki Matsuyama 69 (-3)

Will Zalatoris 70 (-2)

Webb Simpson 70 (-2)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout 70 (-2)

Patrick Reed 70 (-2)

Bruins Win Three-of-Four to Tighten NHL East Playoff Race

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Bruins to Face Buffalo Sabres Six Times in Playoff Stretch

BOSTON – Since a two-game COVID+ protocol postponement stretch (March 20-23), the Boston Bruins have won five of their last nine games, including three of the last four, and have tightened the race for the NHL’s East division.

The Bruins will have an upcoming three-game stretch to refine their newly regained form before they meet the division-leading New York Islanders for back-to-back games on April 15-16. Those two games are part of a key five-game home stand for the Bruins when the face their division rival Washington Capitals and the upstart Islanders.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are also ahead of Boston in the standings and the clubs have split each of the last two back-to-backs, most recently played April 1 and 3 in Boston.

The Bruins have 18 more scheduled games left in the regular season, and because of a scheduling quirk, six of those games are against the Buffalo Sabres (9-24-6 OTL), the cellar-dwellers of the entire NHL.

The Bruins currently lead the Philadelphia Flyers by six points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.

Although he has returned to practice and travel with the club, the Bruins have not started No. 1 goalkeeper Tuukka Rask since 1-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on March 7. Since then, G Jaroslav Halak has handled the bulk of the goaltending duty, backed by Dan Vlader and, most recently Jeremy Swayman. It was Swayman who anchored the Bruins’ last two victories, both 4-2 wins at Philadelphia and Washington DC.