2008 MASTERS® PREVIEW EXTRAVAGANZA

It's here: The Masters® tournament is finally here! Yeah, I'm excited.

I have to admit, my brain/this blog has been hockey-centric lately, so I didn't have too much time to whip up an "extravaganza" preview for you. But before the hockey games start I will of course be watching THE MASTERS®, the greatest golf tournament we've got. So let's break it down:

TV SCHEDULE
4/10 - 4:00-7:00 pm: 1st round (ESPN/ESPN HD)
4/11 - 4:00-7:00 pm: 2nd round (ESPN/ESPN HD)
4/12 - 3:30-7:00 pm: 3rd round (CBS HD)
4/13 - 2:30-7:00 pm: Final round (CBS HD)

Yes, those asshats at ESPN (Endlessly Self-Promoting Network) decided to crash the party and stick their dick in the mashed potatoes by broadcasting the first two rounds this year. (Please god don't screw it up please god don't screw it up please god don't screw it up.) The Masters seem to have a lot of control over the broadcasting and marketing of their tournament, so hopefully it will not change too much. If there are scrolling scores on the bottom of the screen, Sportscenter teasers giving me the latest arena football news, and Stuart Freaking Scott on the course wearing a pimp suit--goddammit I'm driving to Bristol and fucking shit up (and kidnapping Dana Jacobson if I have to). Regardless, its placement on ESPN should guarantee the ratings go down.

ONLINE SCHEDULE
Amen Corner Live
Thursday and Friday: 10:45am - 5:45pm ET
Saturday: 11:45 - 5:45pm ET
Sunday: 11:45 - 5:45pm ET
Hole Nos. 15 and 16 (New for 2008)
Thursday and Friday: 11:45 - 6:45pm ET
Saturday: 12:45 - 6:30pm ET
Sunday: 12:45 - 6:30pm ET

CBS Sportsline Video - Masters Live (Amen Corner)

DIRECTV SCHEDULE
The best innovation this year is DirecTV assigning 4 separate (SD/HD) channels showing different views of the tournament: the regular broadcast, "Today's Highlights", Amen Corner, Holes 15 & 16. This is very cool, but a mere baby step towards the genius idea I had a few years ago: devoting a separate channel to each hole. That's when I will officially dump cable and switch to DirecTV.

FIRST ROUND TEE TIMES (EDT)
Some interesting pairings:
10:23 a.m. Z. Johnson (2007 winner), L. Donald, G. Ogilvy
10:34 a.m. M. Weir, P. Harrington, J. Singh
10:45 a.m. T. Woods, A. Cabrera, S. Appleby
1:19 p.m. A. Scott, P. Casey, R. Goosen
1:30 p.m. V. Singh, S. Stricker, S. Cink
1:52 p.m. E. Els, S. Katayama, J. Furyk

THE FIELD
The winner will come from the above threesomes I highlighted, specifically the three I would pick would be Woods, Scott and Goosen. (Three I would not pick: Cabrera, Casey and Katayama). If I had to bet, I'd be stupid not to go with Mr. Tiger Woods, who has played ridiculous golf (even for him!) in his last 10 tournaments.

Let's tee it up for THE MASTERS® (registered trademark used with implied oral consent)!

LEADERBOARD

Doc Sports 2008 Masters Odds
Sportbet.com (via Wager.ca) Masters Odds
TIGER WOODS -120
PHIL MICKELSON 850
VIJAY SINGH 1200
ERNIE ELS 1800
GEOFF OLGILVY 2100
PADRAIG HARRINGTON 2400
RETIEF GOOSEN 2600
ADAM SCOTT 2800
JUSTIN ROSE 3400
KJ CHOI 3800
JIM FURYK 3800
LUKE DONALD 4200
STEVE STRICKER 4600
HENRIK STENSON 4600
SERGIO GARCIA 5000
RORY SABBATINI 5800

THE COURSE
Name: Augusta National, Augusta, GA
Par: 36-36-72
Yardage: 7,445

Hole/Name/Par/Yards
1) Tea Olive - Par 4, 455
2) Pink Dogwood - Par 5, 575
3) Flowering Peach - Par 4, 350
4) Flowering Crab Apple - Par 3, 240
5) Magnolia - Par 4, 455
6) Juniper - Par 3, 180
7) Pampas - Par 4, 450
8) Yellow Jasmine - Par 5, 570
9) Carolina Cherry - Par 4, 460
10) Camellia - Par 4, 495
11) White Dogwood - Par 4, 505
12) Golden Bell - Par 3, 155
13) Azalea - Par 5, 510
14) Chinese Fir - Par 4, 440
15) Firethorn - Par 5, 530
16) Redbud - Par 3, 170
17) Nandina - Par 4, 440
18) Holly - Par 4, 465

Hole-by-hole videos
WEATHER FORECAST - AUGUSTA, GA
THU: Mostly sunny, 80. Winds 5 - 8 mph.
FRI: Partly sunny, 83. Wind S 5 - 11 mph.
SAT: Mostly cloudy, 73. 40% chance of showers.
SUN: Partly sunny, 67.