Let it be a weekend of golf

Despite the end of the college basketball season, the sports world continues to intrigue all as the NHL and NBA seasons wind down and biggest of all, the Masters tee off. Tiger Woods once again is the favorite and will be in search of his third straight Green Jacket.\nIf Woods were to win his third consecutive Masters, he would be the first ever; only Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus ever won it back-to-back. Tiger already has three victories this season. Odds are already favoring Tiger as Mother Nature has dampened the Augusta National course making his long drives even more significant.\nWoods is always dominant in the field and has an aura about him that possibly only Michael Jordan has possessed in the last couple of decades. As long as Tiger is within a few shots of the lead going into Sunday, he will be in contention. But rest assured, if Woods has the lead going into Amen Corner, holes 11, 12 and 13, on Sunday, you might as well have his Green Jacket ready for him again.\nDon't get me wrong, Woods will be pressed this year as several golfers have played very well thus far. But if Tiger shows up with his A game or even his B+ game, he will be very tough to contend with. Especially intriguing will be Phil Mickelson, the likeable lefty who seemingly can never win the "big one." Recent history does not bode well for Phil heading into the weekend as another sporting legend, Kansas' Roy Williams, again failed to win "the big one" in the NCAA final.\nEyes will follow Sergio Garcia throughout the weekend as the Spanish phenom has recently struggled. Garcia's top finish this year is 25th. We will see if Garcia can step up his play in the year's first major and get back on track.\nWhile the attention should primarily be focused on the golfers, you will hear about the protest by the National Council of Women's Organizations, led by Martha Burk, in regards to Augusta National not having a female member. Burk filed but was denied the right to picket at Augusta's front gate. Burk and Augusta Chairman Hootie Johnson have been at odds and trading remarks for nearly a year now.\nWhile Burk is still appealing the right to protest at the gate, groups such as a one-man representation of the Ku Klux Klan have been granted permission to picket at a location away from the front gate. That's right, the KKK will be protesting Burk's protest.\nNow just imagine the irony of Tiger sinking a putt Sunday evening on the 18th hole and making history in collecting his third straight Masters victory as the KKK has a representative outside Augusta National.