NFL Draft First Day

            On an interesting first day of the 2011 NFL Draft, Cam Newton of Auburn was taken first overall. Newton, the controversial quarterback, was my absolute least favorite player in the draft. I'm not a fan, and I think he will be a bust. Von Miller of Texas A&M, a linebacker, was taken second overall by the Denver Broncos. Nick Fairley of Auburn, a defensive tackle, was taken twelfth overall by the Detroit Lions, who will boast the most powerful defensive line in professional football with Fairley joining Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril. Mark Ingram, the Heisman Trophy winner from 2009, was drafted by the New Orleans Saints, who traded for the pick with the New England Patriots, who seemed destined to pick Ingram with one of their two first-round picks.
            I was surprised that the Tennessee Titans selected Jake Locker with the 8th overall pick. Locker was projected to be selected in the late first round or early second round, and choosing him this early is either a move of genius or a really dumb move, only time will tell.  One of the biggest surprises of the first round was that Da'Quan Bowers, who many earlier in the month had as the projected 1st or 2nd overall pick, wasn't even picked in the first round.



Biggest Steal: Nick Fairley: DT Auburn
Selected 13th overall by the Lions

Biggest Bust: Cam Newton: QB Auburn
Selected 1st overall by the Panthers

Biggest Loss: Jake Locker: QB Washington
Selected 8th overall by the Titans

Timbers Tuesday

How 'bout the Timbers? I have immediately jumped on the Portland Timbers bandwagon, and will use this segment to highlight and showcase their play. They have won two straight games, each at Jeld-Wen Field, their home stadium, and have improved to two wins, two losses, and one tie on the season. The Timbers beat FC Dallas 3-2 on Sunday, and the Chicago Fire 4-2 last Thursday. They are starting to improve and hopefully will become a contender come playoff time, but their best test will be when they play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Galaxy are, in my mind, the best team in Major League Soccer. I believe that they could even compete with some teams over in Europe. However, these teams that they could compete with are not the best teams in Europe, not even close. If the Timbers win, it will be a huge morale boost. Although the Timbers aren't the most athletic team in the world, they play very much as a team, and I think they could go far this year.

Special Edition Saturday Special

Game 1. Los Angeles Angels vs. Chicago White Sox: The pitching duel was great, but Dan Haren prevailed. Haren, the Angels pitcher, out-dueled Mark Buehrle while only allowing two runs. Mark Trumbo hit a home run for the Angels, and Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu drove in two other runs. Alberto Callaspo drove in the fourth run for the Angels, while A.J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez drove in the two White Sox runs. Haren got the win, Buehrle, who gave up all four Angels runs, got the loss, and Jordan Walden got the save. The Angels won their fifth straight game and improved to 10-5, while the White Sox lost their fourth in a row and are now 7-8 overall.

The Masters Final

             On the final day of The Masters, there were runs, slumps, and anything else you can imagine. South African Charl Schwartzel came out with the victory, his first major, shooting -14 overall and -6 on the final day. Rory McIlroy, the leader after 54 holes, had the lead until the 10th hole, where he shot a triple bogey. After that he bogeyed the 11th and finished with -4 overall, tied for 15th. Tiger Woods and Geoff Ogilvy each shot -5 on the final day, and finished tied for 4th at -10. Adam Scott and Jason Day, both Aussies, tied for 2nd with -12. Defending champion Phil Mickelson finished with -1, and K.J. Choi shot -8 for the tournament. Schwartzel, the victor of the tournament, has a bright future ahead of him, although I think that Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, and Dustin Johnson, the other "young guns" of golf, will win more championships and majors. This was arguably the most competitive Masters ever, and Schwartzel really deserved it. If the other majors are anything like the Masters, then we are in for a great year of golf.

Saturday Special

        Game 1. New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Russell Martin hit two home runs and Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano each added another to lead the Yankees to victory, 9-4. Martin hit one in the fourth inning and one off former Yankee pitcher Alfredo Aceves in the seventh inning. Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury each drove in a run and Dustin Pedroia drove in two for the Red Sox in a losing effort. Ivan Nova, the Yankee starter, gave up all four of the Red Sox's runs before he was replaced with David Robertson, the pitcher that got the win. The loss was given to Clay Bucholz, the Red Sox pitcher who gave up four runs. 
      
        Game 2. Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays: A.J. Pierzynski drove in two runs and Gordon Beckham and Brent Morel each drove in one more and the White Sox went on to win 4-2. Felipe Lopez hit a home run in the ninth inning for the Rays to narrow the deficit to 4-2. The White Sox, however, were able to hold on for the win. Ben Zobrist got a double and an RBI for the Rays. Philip Humber pitched well for the White Sox, only allowing one run before getting taken out of the game, and got the win. Wade Davis got the loss for the Rays, and Chris Sale got the save.

The Masters Moving Day Leaderboard

         Here is the leaderboard for The Masters after Saturday.
        
         Leaderboard:
         1. Rory McIlroy: -12
         T2. Angel Cabrera: -8
         T2. Jason Day: -8
         T2. K.J. Choi: -8
         T2. Charl Schwartzel: -8
         T6. Adam Scott: -7
         T6. Luke Donald: -7
         8. Bo Van Pelt: -6

         Other Notables:
         T9: Tiger Woods: -5
         T9: Fred Couples: -5
         T14: Y.E. Yang: -4
         T18. Phil Mickelson: -3
         T18. Lee Westwood: -3
         T24. Jim Furyk: -2
         T30: Trevor Immelman: -1
         T30. Sergio Garcia: -1
         48. Ernie Els: +5

Masters Leaderboard

Just thought that I'd show the leaderboard of the Masters after an exciting day one.            
           
            Masters Leaderboard:
            T1. Rory McIlroy: -7
            T1: Alvaro Quiros: -7
            T3: Y.E. Yang: -5
            T3: K.J. Choi: -5
            T5: Matt Kuchar: -4
            T5: Ricky Barnes: -4
           
            Other Notables:
            T14: Phil Mickelson: -2
            T24: Rio Ishikawa: -1
            T24: Tiger Woods: -1
            T31: Lee Westwood: E
            T31: Steve Stricker: E
            T49: Anthony Kim: +1
            T93: Martin Kaymer: +6
            96: Tom Watson: +7