10 Awesome Things That Happened This Weekend (4/11-4/13)

10. Phil Mickelson Misses Masters Cut
            The TV ratings were already in the toilet with Tiger Woods involved. With golf’s second biggest draw done for the weekend, this could go down as the lowest watched Masters tournament in decades.

9. Grady Sizemore Rocks C.C. Sabathia, Leads Red Sox Victory

            Granted it’s a small sample size, but Sizemore’s improbable comeback this season has been one of the underreported stories in MLB. He took full advantage of C.C. Sabathia’s diminishing fastball velocity Friday night.

8. New York Knicks Eliminated From Playoff Contention

            The best part of New York’s comically disappointing 2013-14 campaign is that their first round pick is being shipped to Denver. Even with Phil Jackson in charge, there should be legitimate concerns that Carmelo Anthony is going to bolt for another team.

7. Milwaukee Brewers Win Ninth Straight
            Hacking at the first pitch at a rate higher than any other club in baseball, the Brewers should be the official MLB team of the A.D.D. generation.

6. Chase Elliott Wins Second Straight Nationwide Race

            Instead of attending his Senior Prom, Elliott instead decided to win at the hardest track on the NASCAR circuit in his first trip there. There isn’t a more talented prodigy in any sport than the son of Bill Elliott.

5. Bruins Clinch Presidents Cup
            That’s not necessarily a good thing, as the recent Stanley Cup Playoff success of the league’s overall top regular season team isn’t that great. Boston begins their Stanley Cup march on Friday against Detroit.

4. Kevin Harvick Dominates Darlington

            Harvick is the poster child of NASCAR’s new win or go home scoring system. He’s not even in the top-20 in most points scored, but his two wins would have him seeded first if The Chase started today.
         
3. Paul Pierce Joins 25,000 Point Club
            The future Hall of Famer joins seventeen others in NBA history to reach this milestone. Big props to the former captain of the Celtics.
         
2. Pacers Regain Control of Eastern Conference
            I had a whole paragraph written mourning the inevitability of Miami making it to a fourth straight NBA Finals after stomping all over Indiana Friday night, but then an improbable series unfolded the next two days. A physically spent Heat club (even Lebron looked sort of human Saturday) lost to the Hawks, and then Indiana pulled off their biggest win of the year so far against Oklahoma City.

1. Bubba Watson Claims Second Masters Title

            Bubba’s ridiculous 366-yard drive on 13 felt like the moment where any chance another golfer had was gone. On a weekend with no Tiger and no Phil, this is the best result the PGA could’ve hoped for.

10 Awesome Things That Happened This Weekend (4/4-4/6)

10. Another Sprint Cup Race Ruined By Weather
            The rainout on Sunday made Texas the third weekend of the year impacted by rain, which is a damn shame, because the racing is as good as it’s been in well over a decade. At least Joey Logano put on a good show Monday to secure his first win of the season.

9. Rockies Outfielder Charlie Blackmon Goes Bonkers

            Going 6-6 with four doubles and a dinger, Blackmon probably helped 0.0824% of fantasy teams across the country with his massive stat line on Friday.

8. Chris Johnson Released By Tennessee Titans

            To the uninformed NFL fan, it’s hard to believe that CJ2K is on the scrap heat just five years after setting the record for most total yards from scrimmage.

7. Connecticut and Notre Dame Will Play For Women’s Title Again
            At some point, don’t other colleges have to catch up to these two in recruiting? The women’s pool does appear to be getting a little deeper, but the sport can really take off when there are finally some squads capable of taking down the top two programs. Connecticut is probably going to win by 15 points or more Tuesday night.

6. Derek Jeter Now Eighth On All-Time Hit List
            Jeter passed TECMO Super Baseball great Paul Molitor with two singles on Sunday. If he’s healthy for the majority of the season, there’s a chance he finishes his career sixth on the all-time hit list.

5. 18-Year Old Chase Elliott Wins First Career Nationwide Series Race

            The son of 1988 Winston Cup Champion Bill Elliott, Chase took command for good with a power move off turn four on Kevin Harvick. Between him and Kyle Larson, the future of NASCAR finally looks bright.

4. Timberwolves Knock Off Heat in Double Overtime
            In what will go down as a disappointing 2013-14 campaign, it was good to see the Timberwolves finally win a close game on the road.
          
3. Boston Bruins Clinch Top Seed in Eastern Conference
            Seeding isn’t as big a deal in the NHL as it is in other sports, but of all the teams in the East, Boston appears to be the best built for a deep playoff run.
         
2. UConn Keeps Slaying Giants, Knocks Off Florida in Final 4
            It looks more and more like the Huskies were undervalued after spending their first season playing in a conference devastated by the break-up of the Big East.

1. Aaron Harrison Delivers Another Dagger, Puts Kentucky Into Championship Game

            How many more backbreaking 3s does this guy need to make before we can get a defender to put a hand in his face? Allowing him to get a shot off while protecting a 2-point lead was a fatal error by Wisconsin.