This Vanderbilt Women’s tennis team is spectacular. They are so mentally tough and driven, and there as superb in the classroom as they are on the tennis court, and that’s an extremely high bar. 

The women did it once again. After winning the SEC regular season title with tremendously clutch victories at South Carolina and Florida last weekend, with all 3 teams heading into the weekend at 10-1, and after defeating South Carolina on Friday, being down 3-1 in the match to Florida a week ago Sunday and being down in the 3 final sets, and getting 3 victories to clinch the SEC regular season title, 4-3, over Florida at Florida. But the women were far from finished. With spectacular play from juniors Fernanda Contreras and Summer Dvorak, and the other women all playing superbly well, we defeated Florida yesterday, 4-0, to capture the SEC Tournament Championship.

It was the second year in a row the women have won both the regular season and tournament championships. Geoff McDonald and his women have done amazing things, and there’s more to come. We’ve got a team capable of winning it all like we did in 2015. The women, led by senior Astra Sharma and the amazing Fernanda, will now prepare for their exams, get healed up and then be ready to play in the NCAA Tournament. We will in all certainty host a regional with 4 teams per regional. The NCAA Championships will be played at Winston-Salem, N.C. But Geoff and the girls are only concerned with one thing, improving every day to get ready for the regional. It’s a phenomenal program and this is another phenomenal McDonald team. It doesn’t get any better than women’s tennis at Vanderbilt University. I will keep you posted on whom we will play in the regional which will almost certainly be played at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville. We are ranked 2nd in the country and defeated No.1 North Carolina earlier this season. There is massive talent in this NCAA Tournament, so we’ll have our work cut out for us. But I trust Geoff, Fernanda, Astra, Summer, Amanda Meyer, Emma Kurtz and Christina Rosca 100% to be prepared to do spectacular things in the national tournament. There an extremely special group of young women. Proud to have them representing us both in the SEC and in the national arena. If you haven’t watched our women play either live or on the computer or TV it is well worth checking them out. They are something else.

 The regionals commence Friday, May 11th. Can’t wait.

Women’s Bowling takes second national championship

I didn’t know if I would be interested in watching bowling, but after seeing our women’s program capture their second national championship, the first was in 2007, it was tremendously exciting.

John Williamson’s team was down 3-2 in the championship match versus McKendree University out of Lebanon, Illinois, the defending national champion. But with clutch strike after clutch strike, the women conquered McKendree and won another coveted national title. Led by co-MVP’s Katie Stark, who was superb, and Emily Rigney, along with the stellar Kristin Quan, who has a 3.95 GPA in Biomedical Engineering, and anchor Maria Bulanova, the team showed amazing grit, heart and such incredible concentration and resilience, to roll the strikes and save spares that looked impossible at times. 

Really a spectacular job by Coach Williamson and our awesome bowling team. Katie S is a senior, so she goes out as a champion. Rigney is a sophomore, Quan is a junior and Bulanova is a sophomore and freshman Samantha Gainor is going to be superb. So next year looks just as promising. What a team though and what an accomplishment. Maybe our women’s tennis team, our men’s golf team and our baseball team can follow suit. Super stuff by our bowling team. They deserve a ton of credit.

Baseball

We took 1 of 3 at Missouri this weekend, winning the final game of the series, 6-2. On Saturday, freshman Mason Hickman gave us an outstanding start, going 7, giving up 4 hits, 2 runs with 0 earned, 0 walks and 4 K’s. Mason was superb. Hard throwing redshirt freshman Reid Schaller closed the door on the Tigers with 2 innings of 2 hit ball, with 0 walks and 4 K’s. Reid was hitting 97. He was awesome. Our great freshman, Austin Martin, who can play 3rd, center or 1st base and is an amazingly clutch hitter, was 3 for 5 with a Ribbie. Junior second baseman Ethan Paul was 3 for 5 with a pair of Ribeyes and freshman DH Philip Clarke, another one of the extremely talented freshman class Corbs has assembled, was 2 for 4 with 2 Ribeyes. We pounded out 12 hits on Saturday after struggling with the lumber on Thursday and Friday Nights. We didn’t field it great this past weekend, but if we can get back to fielding it like we have been for most of the season, and hit the ball like we’re capable of, we’ve got a shot to be special. Our starting pitching was awesome over the weekend. Thursday Night in a 2-1 loss, sophomore starter Drake Fellows went 7, gave up 4 hits, 2 runs with only 1 earned, he walked only 1 and struck out 9. Drake was super good. We just couldn’t get more than one run home for him. Freshman Tyler Brown came in and gave us a good inning in the 8th, but we couldn’t muster any offense on a cold, windy night in Columbia, MO. , not conducive to hitting. Friday Night Patrick Raby gave us another superior start, going 7, giving up 3 hits with 1 unearned run, 2 walks and 6 K’s. Rabes, the veteran on this staff, was sensational. Tyler Brown came in and got a big out, but the rest of our bullpen struggled, and we gave up a 2 run single in the bottom of the 8th and lost 3-1. But the starting pitching was very encouraging as we move forward. 

We are now 24-16 overall, 10-8 in the SEC, and ranked 17th in the country by D1Baseball.com. We are tied with Georgia, Ole Miss and Arkansas for second place overall in the conference. No.1 Florida leads at 14-4. Florida is 32-5 overall. They’re outstanding, but if we can get hot, we can give anybody in the SEC a run for their money.

Austin is leading the team in hitting at .373. He is just a winning player for us. Phlip Clarke is hitting .299. We’re hitting .265 as a team, so we need to improve on that. I will say, Missouri has very good starting pitching, all 3 of their starters were left handers, and they were difficult to hit. They threw it hard and threw strikes. Missouri is also tough to beat at home. So I see us coming out of it our hitting slump and Saturday was a 12 hit day for the team, so that’s very promising. Rabes is 2-4 with a 2.47 ERA, Drake is 4-3 with a 3.03 ERA, and Mason is 7-1 with a 3.69 ERA. Still figuring out who can be that 4th and 5th starter for the postseason, and still working of figuring out the bullpen, but I liked Reid S as a possible closer for us. He’s got a cannon. Tyler Brown looks like he could be a stopper in the pen. Still believe in Jackson Gillis. He can be an important pitcher for us in this last month and a half. We’re still fielding at a .983 percentage and junior shortstop Connor Kaiser has not committed an error, not 1, in 151 chances. It’s amazing. Connor has a pretty good bat too and he’s having an excellent year. We’re still getting 3rd base figured out. First base is still a work in progress and center is still kind of developing. Freshman right fielder Pat DeMarco is an excellent baseball player, and junior Stephen Scott is a valuable member of this team in left, where he has really come on as a defensive player. Stephen is also very good behind the plate. Stephen gives us good power and run driving in lumber too. Sophomore Ty Duvall is giving us super work behind the plate and Ty hits it well. He had a huge 2 run triple in our 8-7 nightcap victory over Ole Miss a week ago. He was awesome in that game. Ethan hit a hugely clutch home run in the first game against a highly talented Ole Miss team, a game in which we also won, 8-7. And Austin, using his incredibly high baseball IQ and savvy, used a hidden ball trick on an Ole Miss runner at third. It was against right fielder Ryan Olenek, who had been killing us with his bat all weekend. Olenek was at third in a crucial situation and stepped off the bag momentarily. Austin, playing third, had acted like he had thrown the ball back to the pitcher, but actually had it in his glove. Once Olenek stepped off the bag, Austin snuck over and put the tag on him. It was awesome and was such a momentum builder for the team. Ole Miss is a terrific team, so taking the doubleheader from them was spectacular. Austin Martin is the most valuable player on the team at this point. He just makes so many super plays for us, both with the bat and in the field. He’s a tremendous base runner for us as well. We are a very good base running team having stolen 74 bases in 91 attempts, 81%, and lead the SEC in steals. So sometimes we need to manufacture runs, and we’ve got the ability to do that with our prolific base running skills.  

We play South Carolina this weekend at home beginning Friday at 6:30 PM CT on SEC Network+ on the computer or a Roku TV. Saturday’s game is at 2 PM CT and Sunday’s game is at 1 PM CT. SEC Network+ will televise those 2 games as well. 

So we’re getting into the last month of the regular season. We are dominated by juniors and freshmen on our roster. It’s very promising for next year, but the way these talented freshmen have developed, they were the No.1 recruiting class in the country, and our juniors, who were also the No.1 class in the country, we’ve got a shot to make some serious noise this year. Our sophomore class is pretty good too. We only have one senior on the team, left handed pitcher Paxton Stover, who can help us down the stretch. A lot of great stuff ahead for this baseball program, hopefully this season.

MLB guys

Ryan Flaherty and Dansby Swanson, Braves

Ryan is hitting .362 and is leading the National League in hitting. Mookie Betts of the Red Sox is the only player ahead of Ryan in average at .366. Dans is hitting .342 and is 6th in batting in the NL. Both are spectacularly good defensive players. The Braves are 12-8 after having won a terrifically exciting game Saturday Night against the Mets. The Bravos were down 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 9th, and the Mets had their ace reliever, Jeurys Familia on the hill. Familia has a 1.50 ERA and 8 saves and throws it 97-98. Dans led off with a walk, and then Johan Camargo laced a triple up the middle that rolled all the way to the right central field wall. Dans hauled tail around the bases and scored. After a strikeout, Ender Inciarte drove home the winning run with a bunt single as the Braves took their 2nd game in a row over the Mets, 4-3. It was incredible. The Braves are for real. They’ve got really good young pitching and they can defend and really hit. If their bullpen can hold up, this team can challenge for the division and certainly a wild card. To me, it’s about their bullpen. Can those guys get lock down as the season matriculates. The Mets are 14-6 and lead, the Phillies are 14-7 and a 1/2 game back and the Braves, at 12-8, are 2 back. The Nationals are beset by three injuries to 3 starters including the great Daniel Murphy, but they’ll get in it once those guys return later this month or early May. But the Nationals are in a little danger with 3 key players banged up. If they’re not careful, they could fall too far behind. They’re certainly a potent team at full strength. The Braves are at the Reds today. MIke Foltynewicz is on the hill. Folty is 1-1 with a 2.53 ERA. He can hit 98,99, and, at 26, is one of the young arms the Braves are counting on to help lead them to greatness in the upcoming years. Another one of those young arms is Kyle Wright, who is coming up quickly through the minors. Kyle, who was stellar in at VU where he pitched last year, should be a key part of that rotation in the future. Really like where Dans and Ryan are right now. Playing superbly well.

David Price, Red Sox

David came up just short yesterday in a 4-1 loss to Oakland. DP went 7.2, gave up 9 hits, 4 earned with 1 walk and 6 K’s. Dave had it going through 6 shutting down the A’s bats for only 1 run. But he ran into some trouble in the seventh. After striking out Jed Lowrie for the third time, Lowrie is hitting .351, DP had 2 outs and had a chance to get out of the inning with his team tied at 1 with the A’s. But his first pitch fastball was crushed by Khris Davis into the left field seats for a 3 run shot, and David fell, 4-1. He threw 96 pitches, 68 for strikes against 28 balls a better than 2:1 ratio. His stuff was electric, I just think he got a little tired out there. Manager Alex Cora could have taken David out and gone to a right hander in the bullpen, but he stuck with Dave and I’m glad he showed confidence in DP. It’ll pay off in the future. The Sox are now 17-4 and lead the AL East by 4 games over the Blue Jays, which are 13-8. They lead the Yankees by 5 1/2 games. The Yanks are 11-9.

Sonny Gray, Yankees

Sonny has been having a tough time of it lately. He got hit pretty hard against the Blue Jays last Friday Night at Yankee Stadium. He was awesome through the first 3 innings but ran into a lot of trouble and got hit very hard in the 4th. The Yanks lost 8-5 to the Jays. I still believe Sonny, who is such a bulldog, will battle back and pitch well for the Bombers. Sonny pitches this Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. Game time is 5:35 PM CT in the Bronx.

Mike Minor, Rangers

Mike pitched really well for the Rangers Friday Night albeit in a loss to the Seattle Mariners. Mike went 5.1 innings, gave up 6 hits, 1 run, earned, with 1 walk and 6 K’s. I thought Mike was awesome. He hit 93-94 and his change up and curve were both solid. Can’t remember if Mike throws a cutter or not, but I think he does. He was very effective Friday Night. Mike throws again Friday at Toronto.

Carson Fulmer, White Sox

Carson has been struggling with his control some, but is still in the starting rotation for the ChiSox as of today. Carson may pitch tomorrow or Wednesday versus the Mariners. That’s to be decided. If Carson can get his control down, he can be a very effective major league pitcher.

Pedro Alvarez, Orioles

Pedro was swinging a very hot bat for a while, but has cooled off a bit lately. Would like to see El Toro get it going again because when he does, he’s unstoppable and so good in the clutch. Believe very much in Pedro.

Walker Buehler, Dodgers

It’s Buehler’s day to go off in LA today as Walker will get the start for the LA Dodgers tonight versus the Miami Marlins. Will be pulling for Walker to have a big night in his first outing in the Bigs. Will tell you about it tomorrow.

Tyler Beede, Giants

Tyler had some struggles, so he was sent back down to Triple A Sacramento. That’s OK. Tyler can keep developing in triple A and get back to the big club sooner rather than later.

Tony Kemp, Astros

One of my favorite all time players at VU, Tony is still at the Astros triple A Fresno team, but always plays well for them and has been up to the big club, including last year, and is just an injury or 2 away from getting up to this loaded team.  The Astros are so talented that it’s really hard to break into this lineup let along their 25 man roster. But believe Tony can do it. Such a good player and an amazing teammate. 

Men’s Golf

The No.2 ranked Men’s Golf team heads to Sea Island, GA. to play in the SEC Championships starting Wednesday. There will be 4 stroke play rounds then match play for the 8 teams that emerge from stroke play. We won it last year on our way to the Final Four, and we’re hoping for the same result in the SEC’s and an even better result nationally. Theo Humphrey, Will Gordon, Patrick Martin and John Augenstein are a tremendous quartet. Mason Greenberg is a good fifth player to have on the team. Coach Scott Limbaugh has another stellar group. This could be his best team so far.  Certainly excited about what these guys can do.

Women’s Golf

The Women’s team advanced to the match play of the SEC Championships over the weekend and lost barely to Alabama, 3-2. The women will most likely play in the NCAA’s. Good stuff for the Women.

Men’s Tennis

The Men’s tennis team heads into the SEC Tournament this week at the University of Alabama ranked 21st in the country. The men have had an awesome year and look NCAA tournament bound. Maybe we can be the darkhorse and pull off a surprise and win the SEC and flourish from there on out. 

Men’s basketball

Just signed Syracuse transfer Matt Moyer. Moyer was a former 4 star and he is 6’8″, 220. Like his size. Matt will sit out in 2018-19 and have 2 more years to play for us. Like this pickup. 

Romeo Langford, the No.6 player in the country, will make his announcement next Monday Night, April 30th, at his New Albany, Indiana gym. I’d say it’s 50-50 on whether we get Romeo. Looks like it’s between us and Indiana with Kansas still a factor. If we get Romeo, we’ll be a spectacular team next year. Even if we don’t get him,  we’ll still be  awesome with 5 stars Darius Garland and Simsola Shittu coming in along with high 4 star Aaron Nesmith. Would love to add Romeo to this class along with our big men transfers who will be eligible next season, Yanni Wetzell (6’10, 235) and Matt Ryan (6’8″, 209). Add the awesome Saben Lee, super exciting Maxwell Evans, developing big man Ejike Obinna, along with bigs Clevon Brown, Djery Baptiste and small forward Joe Toye in there and we’ve got the makings of an exceptional team next season. Larry Austin, Jr. and Payton Willis transferred. Hope both those guys have successful futures. 

But I really like what this team can do next year. If Romeo signs, this team could be Final Four material. It could very well be even without him, but come on Romeo, come to the West End and play for Bryce and the Dores.

Football

Will have more on our football team next week. Coach Mason is super excited about this team and calls this his most talented team in his 5 years on the West End. He has four new coaches he’s very excited about and says this is also his best staff in his 5 years. I like our material. There’s some youth at certain positions, but it’s talented youth. Wide receiver is younger, but I really like our talent level there led by the awesome Kalija Lipscomb. Inside linebacker is not extremely deep, but we have good players there led by Jordan Griffin and Caleb Peart. Offensive line looks great and deep. Quarterback is in fantastic shape with Kyle, Deuce Wallace and Allan Walters coming in. We’ll probably need to recruit 1 or 2 QBs in this 2019 class. Running back is loaded led by the Mamba, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, the transfer from Illinois who will light it up on Saturdays in the SEC. Khari Blasingame is primed for a big year, and Jamauri Wakefield and Josh Crawford are going to be excellent this season. Running back is stellar. Defensive line is deep and big. Like where we are there. Josh Smith and Charles Wright will lead a talented outside linebacking corps. Josh is ready for a breakout year. Charles is already a breakout player for us and will be spectacular in 2018. LaDarius Wiley and Joejuan Williams are ready for huge years at safety and corner respectively. Secondary is pretty loaded. We’ve got a good return game and the kicking game will materialize this summer. The freshmen who have played in the spring and the others who are coming in this summer are an outstanding class, many of whom can contribute right away. I’ll have more coming up next week. Man, writing about this gets me ready. Anchor Down.  

David Price has been absolutely spectacular for the Red Sox. Dansby Swanson and Ryan Flaherty have been superb for the Braves. Mike Minor is excelling for the Texas Rangers. Carson Fulmer pitched extremely well for the White Sox last Wednesday. Pedro Alvarez is doing huge things for the Orioles. And Sonny Gray is gearing up for a big season in the Bronx.

Here’s a look at each player.

David Price

DP is cookin for the Bosox though he hasn’t been involved in a decision yet. In his first game against the Rays, he went 7, gave up 4 hits, 0 runs, with no walks and 5 K’s. David threw 76 pitches with 55 of them for strikes against only 21 balls. He was super sharp. The BoSox won the game 1-0. Then, last Thursday against the Rays, David’s control wasn’t as sharp as the week before, but he pitched extremely well nonetheless, going 7 again, giving up 3 hits, 0 runs, with 3 walks and 5 K’s. David threw 91 pitches with 56 of them for strikes against 35 balls. He’s hitting 94 on his hard stuff, his cutter is excellent coming in at 88 to 90 with great movement, his change up is solid and his curve has become a weapon this season. Really like where David is. He doesn’t have a decision yet, but his ERA is 0.00 and his WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) is 0.71, which is superb. David and the Red Sox have a shot to go a long way this season if their key players can stay healthy, including David. The Red Sox are presently 8-1, and ahead of the Blue Jays by 2 1/2 games. The Jays are 6-4. The Yankees are 5-5. David is on the hill again Wednesday at Fenway versus the Yankees and the super good Masahiro Tanaka. Should be a phenomenal matchup.

Dansby Swanson and Ryan Flaherty

Both on fire. Dans is hitting .382 and hit his first homer yesterday to go along with 7 Ribeyes. Dansby has found his spot on the Braves, and this season could be a spectacular one for the awesome Swanson. Ryan has also found a home in Atlanta as he’s hitting a torrid .414. Despite a tough 10 inning, 3-2 loss to Colorado Saturday Night, Ryan drove in the game tying run in the top of the 9th with a sharp line drive single to center. Both are playing terrific defense, Dans at short and Ryan at third. The Braves are 6-3 and in second place in the NL East, a very good division. The Mets lead the division at 7-1. The Braves are at Washington today through Wednesday in a key early season series. Julio Teheran faces the terrific Max Scherzer tonight, the great young Mike Foltynewicz faces the awesome Stephen Strasburg tomorrow night and Brandon McCarthy of the Braves squares off with A. J. Cole of the Nats on Wednesday. Looking forward to seeing more Dans and Flash this week.

Mike Minor

Mikey was nothing short of brilliant Saturday Night in pitching the Texas Rangers to a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Mike went 6, gave up just 2 hits, 1 earned, with 2 walks and 7 K’s. he threw 93 pitches with 54 for strikes against 39 balls. His fastball was hitting 93 and his changeup, cutter and curve were dynamic. Mike is on a pretty good team that is finding their way in the early season. Good to see Mike back on the mound competing. He’s battled some injuries but has always had awesome stuff. Mike’s 1-1 with a 2.53 ERA and an 0.84 WHIP. Mike pitches again Friday at the Astros, so a major test for the man.

Carson Fulmer

Carson got a victory in his first start this season, 4-3 over the Toronto Blue Jays at Toronto. Carson went 5, gave up 5 hits, 3 earned with 1 walk and 5 K’s. He threw 73 pitches with 48 for strikes. Carson doesn’t throw as straight line as David does. He throws a lot of curve balls and his fastball has so much movement and his balls mostly sink which makes it tough on any hitter. He’s very similar to Sonny in that he’s an awesome pitcher, but many of his pitches are so sharp turning and so sharp dropping that they are not in the strike zone. It’s just the way Carson rolls. He certainly gets the job done and is a bulldog of a competitor. The White Sox have a lot of young, promising talent and Carson will be a key piece for them this season and going forward. They are presently 3-5. Carson pitches again tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday) versus the Rays. 

Pedro Alvarez

Pedro has been terrific as DH for the Baltimore Orioles. Friday Night in the top of the 14th, Pedro crushed a grand slam to right to lead the Orioles to the 7-3 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. And yesterday, Pedro scored the winning run in an 8-7, 12 inning Orioles victory over the Yankees. He’s been superb when called upon by manager Buck Showalter. Really proud for Pedro as his work ethic is spectacular and he’s always maintained a super positive attitude even when things looked tough. El Toro is crankin.

Sonny Gray

Sonny got the victory over the Orioles on Saturday as the Yankees salvaged a game in the 3 game home set, winning 8-3 over the O’s. Sonny fought hard going 5.1 innings, giving up 4 hits, 3 earned, with 2 walks and 4 K’s. Sonny is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP, which is a lot higher than he wants, but Sonny will compete, there is no doubt about that. I really see a lot of similarities between Sonny and Carson. They just keep battling, both are bulldogs and both bring it 93-95 with hard biting curves that can be impossible to hit. I like where Sonny is, as always. Sonny will give the Yankees everything he’s got. Sonny pitches next at Detroit on Friday. 

Our baseball team

We took 2 of 3 from Georgia over the weekend which is very good as Georgia is ranked 17th in the country and are a really solid team. We’re now No.15 in the country and are 19-13 and 7-5 in the SEC. Drake Fellows, in a loss, Patrick Raby, in a victory, along with a super relief performance from Chandler Day, who struck out 9, and Mason Hickman, in a victory, all pitched well. The bats picked it up on Saturday and Sunday and that was great to see. We had some fielding issues at times, but Connor Kaiser is such an awesome shortstop. Everybody needs to start stepping up their game as it is now time to do that if we want to be an elite team come May. We play Western Kentucky tomorrow at home and No.5 Ole Miss comes to the Hawk for a weekend set. Tomorrow night’s game is at 6:30 CT on SEC Network+. Friday’s game versus the Rebels is at 6:30 PM CT on SEC Network+, Saturday’s game is at 2 PM CT on SEC Network+ and Sunday’s game is at 4 PM CT on the U. ESPNU. We just need everything to start clicking, on the mound, in the field and at the plate. This team certainly has that ability. With the No.1 recruiting class in the country as juniors and the No.1 recruiting class as freshman, we certainly have the makeup to excel. Our sophomore class is pretty strong also. We’re missing our stud right fielder J.J, Bleday, who is out with an oblique injury, that hopefully he can come back from pretty soon. But a lot of guys stepped up this past weekend and played well, particularly on Saturday and Sunday in our victories.

Men’s Golf

Our men’s golf team is presently ranked No.3 in the country and playing stellar golf. Oklahoma State is No.1 and A&M is No.2. We won the Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Georgia 3 weeks ago. We will host the Mason Rudolph Championship this weekend. No.8 Alabama and No. 12 Florida will also be competing along with 11 other teams in a 14 team field. Theo Humphrey, Will Gordon, Patrick Martin and John Augenstein are stellar for us. After this weekend, we’ll get ready for the SEC Championship April 25th-29th at Sea Island. Some great stuff going on with Scott Limbaugh’s golf team.

Women’s Tennis

Geoff McDonald has another spectacular team led by our No.2 player, Fernanda Contreras, who is ranked No.3 in the country. We are presently 17-3 overall and 10-1 in the SEC. We finished up our home slate over this past weekend and completed and 11-0 home mark with consecutive 4-0 victories over A&M and LSU respectively. Wow. Next up are road matches against No.5 South Carolina and No. 12 Florida this weekend, so some pretty stiff tests, but I have the utmost confidence in our women. They are spectacular. The SEC Championship commences April 18th and continues on through April 22nd at Knoxville. This team’s got a shot to be really special. 

 NFL and VU football notes

Jordan Matthews was signed by the New England Patriots last week. JMatt will join forces with Adam Butler on an always loaded Patriots squad which is led by the superb Tom Brady. Never thought I’d be a Patriots fan, but I am now along with being a Texans fan (Zach and Andre) and Chargers (Casey) and wherever Jay ends up. Hoping Jay will get picked up by somebody. He’s still got a lot of talent left to give to a team, and can help them win a lot of games in the right situation. His line last year at the Dolphins was less than stellar, but Adam Gase likes him and they’ve improved their line play, so maybe Gase will have Jay back at the Phins. I know Ryan Tannehill is coming back from injury, so Jay will have to beat him out or find another place to play. Injuries happen, so Jay’s got a shot somewhere. He’s a quality quarterback and has been helping our stellar upcoming senior quarterback Kyle Shurmur.

Kyle is poised for a big year. Hoping we can win several games and go to a very good bowl this season and build for a very bright future. We have good talent on offense. Defense has a lot of good players, just need to develop them in the weight room and in fall practice. Like the talent level that DMase has brought in though. We’ve got some really good freshman coming in. Deuce Wallace is an excellent backup quarterback for us and the Deuce’s future is quite bright. Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig is very high on him. We have rising freshman Allan Walters coming in this summer. Allan’s got a ton of talent. We’ll need to add one or 2 quarterbacks in recruiting for 2019 as Kyle will be graduating and hopefully getting a shot in the NFL in 2019. The offensive line looks good, we’ve got a young but talented receiving corps, the running back situation is outstanding and tight end will be solid. On defense, I look for Joejuan Williams to have a huge year at corner if the opponent ever throws his way. Our d line is developing and we’re a little thin at inside linebacker, but Jordan Griffin, Caleb Peart, and Josh Smith will be excellent players for us at linebacker. Kicking game needs to develop. We’ve got a shot to be good. I’ll develop more in upcoming pieces. 

Patrick Reed shot a final round 71 to backup rounds of rounds of 69, 66, and 67 and finished -15 to outlast Rickie Fowler by a shot and Jordan Spieth by 2 shots. Spieth shot a final round 64 and looked to have a serious chance until a bogey on 18 and stellar play by Reed on the final 5 holes kept him from capturing his 2nd green jacket and 4th major championship. Fowler birdied 18 from 6 feet to put added pressure on Reed, but the 27 year old from San Antonio,  by way of the University of Georgia and previously Augusta State, now Augusta, captured the coveted Masters.

Reed is not the most popular choice to capture the Green Jacket. He was kicked off the Georgia team for insubordination and suspended from the Augusta State team though he was let back on and helped lead them to the Division One national championship  2 straight years in 2010 and 2011. He struggled with his putting during his high school career. According to ESPN, his former coach at Georgia, Chris Haack, recalled that one of his assistants who was scouting Reed, said, “This guy hits it close all day long, but never makes anything. If he ever figures out the putter, he’s going to be dangerous.”

He certainly figured his putting out. He was masterful with his putter. Reed is not America’s champion. Most of the Masters patrons were pulling for the great Spieth, a highly popular figure on tour. Fowler, considered one of the nicest guys on tour along with Spieth, was the other player fans were pulling for. Fowler, a crowd favorite and hilarious commercial figure like his Quicken Loans, “Dude that got weird,” performance, played some stellar golf.  But Reed was not going to be denied. 

He has issues with his parents, whom his wife Justine has told everyone on Instagram, that they verbally and physically abused him. His parents have denied those accusations. Reed is estranged from both his parents and his younger sister and other family members. He’s not your classic Masters champion. When Bubba won it twice (2012 and ’14), when Jordan won it (2015), when Adam Scott was victorious (2013)  and when Sergio donned the Green Jacket last year, there was a sense of magic in Butler’s Cabin. Those players revered the championship and were honored and humbled to put on the Green Jacket. To Reed, it was just about winning another golf tournament in his own words. That’s not how you assess winning the Masters, the most coveted major championship in golf. Bubba, Jordan, Adam and Sergio were honored, humbled and felt privileged to win the Masters. It didn’t have the same feeling with Reed.

Reed earned the moniker “Captain America” for his amazingly clutch playing at the Ryder’s Cup in 2016 at Hazeltine, with his memorable 1 up victory over Rory in the singles competition which set the tone for the American victory. He’s got uncanny mental toughness and an amazing will to win. After Rory McIlory shot 65 in Saturday to put him just 2 back of Reed and in the final pairing on Sunday, McIlory said all the pressure was on Reed and challenged him on national television. Mcilroy ended up shooting 74 on Sunday, finishing -9, tied for 5th, and 6 shots behind Reed. Reed once again prevailed over McIlroy.

 Reed is not a popular guy on tour, and his Masters acceptance interview with CBS’s Jim Nantz, Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley, and Sergio, was less than impressive. His play speaks for itself. It’s stellar. But he’s not your classic Masters champion. He’s got the game to do terrific things in golf, and if he keeps maturing people will warm up to him, and maybe he can reconcile with his parents and his younger sister. That would be a major step in the right direction for this super talented young guy whom the sky is the limit for in professional golf if he can keep growing up.

Bryce Harper

One of the great talents to come into baseball in quite a few years, along with the major young talent that has flooded this great game and making it spectacular right now, is playing superb baseball right now, but made 3 mistakes last night that could cost his team a chance of winning it all if this keeps up. In the first inning, the 25 year old Harper crushed a 2 run shot into the right field seats to give the Washington Nationals a 2-0 lead over the Mets. He also posted 2 singles. But on a fly ball that was in foul territory in right field, Harper ran to it and stopped thinking he was going to run into the stands. He was about 5 feet away and let the ball drop. I can see why he didn’t want to hit the railing, but he had room to spare and he was playing at home, so he should have known he had room. I’ll give him a pass for that. It was 35 degrees and a hard night to play baseball. In a later inning with Harper on 2nd and a runner on first and no outs, the Nationals hit a grounder to third. Harper was running to third and the Mets’ third baseman missed the tag on him as Harper got around him, so Harper advanced towards third. The Mets 3rd baseman chased him and tagged him out. If Harper had just slid into third he would have been safe, but he stayed on his feet and was tagged out. Really a major mental error. It was close to the bag and the slide could have jammed his ankle, but he could have gone in head first. A play he could have made. But the most egregious mistake occurred in the bottom of the 9th inning, when, with the score tied 5-5 and after a Harper walk with nobody out, the Mets pitcher made a snap throw to first to try and pickoff Harper. The ball got by first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and went into the corner of the first base, right field side of the field. Harper took off for second and could have easily gotten to third with his 3rd base coach waving him on, but he stopped at second. It was kind of unbelievable. The Nats hitter, Matt Adams, hit a deep fly ball to center that was caught near the warning track which would have easily scored Harper from 3rd and won the game for the Nats which sorely needed it after losing 4 in a row, but Harper could only advance to 3rd, and the Mets reliever got out of the inning without giving up a run. The Mets won 6-5 in 12 innings.

Harper is an awesome player and I really like him a lot. He has 6 homers and 12 RBIs already this season. He is a spectacular talent and a hard nosed tough competitor. I think he’s a good guy too. But there is the massive contract looming after this season, some say possibly a $400 million contract, so he’s got to have that in his mind and is hesitant to get injured. He’s such a hard-working, hard-nosed competitor that I hope he gives the Nationals everything he’s got this year because they have a team that can win it all. Second baseman Daniel Murphy has been out so far this season from a knee surgery last fall, and is expected to return later this month or by the first of May and he’s a real leader and will help Bryce stay focused.

But the Mets are really strong this year and moved to 7-1 after sweeping the Nationals over the weekend at Nationals Park. The Braves look for real at 6-3 and play at Washington today through Wednesday with Julio Teheran facing Max Scherzer tonight and the great young Mike Foltynewicz facing Stephen Strasburg tomorrow night, so the Nationals really have their work cut out for them in the NL East. I see Bryce getting it together. He’s been spectacular for the most part this season, and he’s a superb baseball player. The Nationals have a chance to be a super team, but they need to get Murphy back and Harper needs his presence on the field to get him playing all out and leading this team to great things.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Can the Pittsburgh Penguins capture their third consecutive Stanley Cup Trophy, or can another team derail the 2 time defending champions. There’s a lot to like about this Stanley Cup which starts Wednesday Night and will be televised throughout the next month and a half on USA, CNBC, NBC Sports Network and NBC with the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC Sports Network and NBC. Here are my predictions for what will be a thrilling Stanley Cup playoff.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Tampa Bay over Toronto in 7

Washington over Pittsburgh in 7

going with the upset here. Pretty bullish on the Caps. They’ve beaten the Penguins in the regular season and are playing very good hockey.

Western Conference Semis

Nashville over Winnipeg in 5

Vegas over San Jose in 6

Eastern Conference Final 

Washington over Tampa Bay in 7

Western Conference Final

Nashville over Vegas in 6

Stanley Cup Final

I’m taking the Nashville Predators to bring home the Stanley Cup to a long suffering franchise that has found a resurgence the last 3 years. I like the Preds over the Washington Capitals in 6 games. The Radiators had an album a while back called The Law of the Fish. It was an awesome album, and the Nashville fans will be touting the Law of the Catfish throwing their catfish on the ice after a Preds championship. Smashville, after years of suffering through losing hockey seasons, capture their first Stanley Cup title. I like the awesome 23 year old  left wing Filip Forsberg to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Here’s a hype video for the playoffs.

Augusta National Golf Club, 7,435 yards,, par 72

Defending champion: Sergio Garcia

Weather: Sunny Thursday, Friday and Sunday, Temperatures anywhere from 70 to 78 on Thursday and Friday respectively to the low 60’s on Sunday. There will be some wind, 7-10 on Thursday, Friday and Sunday and very windy, 16-25 on Saturday. Saturday looks a little sketchy weather-wise with rain and a heavier t storm possible. No. 12 is always a key hole with the wind. The 155 yard, par 3 requires precision to hit the green and the wind is always swirling, so club selection is at a premium.  

TV: Thursday-Friday, 2-6:30 PM CT, ESPN, Highlights 10:35-10:50 PM CBS. Saturday, 2-6 PM CT, CBS. Sunday, 1-6 PM CT, CBS

As my man Walter Pittman says, the tournament will be decided Sunday on the back 9. All tough holes with high pressure every shot for all contenders. Amen Corner, 11, 12 and 13 will be extremely interesting and test the nerves of the contenders, along with the par 5 15th, the par 3 16th and the epic 18th where there will be some major drama and electricity. No. 10, the 475 par 4, is always an electric hole. Bubba Watson won his first Green jacket there in a playoff over Louis Oosthuizen in 2012 hooking a gap wedge 164 yards out of the woods to 15 feet and won the tournament with that shot, making par as Louis O. bogeyed the hole. Adam Scott sank a 14 foot birdie putt to win in a playoff over Angel Cabrera in 2013 to capture his first and only Green Jacket so far on Number 10. So a very important hole, both in regulation and as the second hole in a playoff with 18 being the first playoff hole. 

Winner

You’ve got Tiger mounting an amazing resurgence and going for his 5th Green Jacket.  Rory., who just won at the Arnie 3 weeks ago, goes for the career Grand Slam with the Masters being the only title that has eluded him. Rory’s won a U.S. Open, an Open Championship and 2 PGAs. Justin Thomas is playing superb golf as usual, though he hasn’t been that hot since the Honda in early March. But JT will definitely be a factor. Jordan Spieth is playing better after a 3rd place finish last week at Houston. If his putter is clicking he can win his second Green Jacket after winning it in 2015. Dustin Johnson has not torn it up this season though he did win the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January. He’s definitely a factor though. Jason Day is back in the hunt in majors after winning the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego  in late January. Jon Rahm is certainly a threat. He won the CareerBuilder in January. Phil, after winning the WGC Mexico Championship a month ago, has also resurfaced as a contender after not winning for 4 years. His last victory came at the Open Championship in 2013 at Muirfield, his fifth major championship.  He has 3 Green Jackets to his name. Hideki Matsuyama is always a factor. And Sergio Garcia is extremely confident on this golf course after putting on a performance for the ages last year in capturing his first major.

But I’m going with somebody else. I’ll take the 39 year old from Bagdad, Florida to capture his 3rd Green Jacket after winning in 2012 and 2014. My winner is an experienced veteran who loves this golf course and excels on it. Should be spectacular all weekend and particularly on Sunday. 

Gerry Lester “Bubba” Watson

Record:

Sweet 16: 4-4

Elite 8: 3-1

Final Four: 2-0

Overall: 9-5

Michigan (33-7) vs. Villanova (35-4)

Alamodome, San Antonio, 70,000

8:20 PM CT

TBS

Jim, Grant, Bill, Trace

Nova by 6 1/2

I really like both of these squads, particularly the Wolverines. They’ve had some tremendously hard fought victories in 80th edition of the NCAA Tournament. That 64-63 victory over Houston in the second round was classic as freshman Jordan Poole sank a 28 foot trifecta at the buzzer to snatch the victory for the Blue. It was an electric moment. They have an excellent squad. center Mo Wagner and guards Charles Matthews and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman are all tremendously talented players. Rahkman has struggled in the tournament, but he was terrific in the Big Ten tournament and is a highly capable offensive and defensive player. They have depth as well. 

Coaching is a wash. Jay Wright and John Beilein are both superb coaches for Nova and Michigan respectively. Both know how to get their teams over the top in this game. Both teams have veteran players, so both can handle a high pressure game unlike Kentucky or Duke this year. 

While my heart is with Michigan because I really like their fight, their spirit, the way they play defense and the way they shoot it, I’m going with the favorite. I like awesome junior guard Jalen Brunson and his teammates to cut down the nets for the 2nd time in 3 years. They won it in 2016 on a last second 3 pointer by Kris Jenkins to outlast a great UNC team, 77-74. UNC came back last year and won it themselves. Nova wins the championship at the Alamodome. 

Villanova 76, Michigan 68