Good Neighbor Blogging - The Georgia Sports Update

Georgia is on my mind.

It hit me this morning that several thoughts in my blogging head were all Georgia related. The Braves are always at the forefront, but after a weekend of watching Augusta events and last night's playoff berth for the Atlanta Hawks, I decided to devote this morning's posting to the Peach State.

The Master's

I had the weekend all to myself as Martha took the kids (and even the dogs) to visit her mom in Virginia. What a great weekend to be a bachelor - Master's weekend! I settled in on Saturday to watch Tiger, Phil and...Trevor Immelman?

Instead of being excited about Sunday afternoon in Augusta, I was looking for something to do. This year's Master's was a big bummer. Phil fell apart on Saturday and never really recovered. Tiger failed, once again, to make any type of charge from behind. I love both of them, but this year's tournament was there for the taking and neither was able to do it.

Without either of the superstars in real contention, I pledged my allegiance to Nashville's Brandt Snedeker. The former Montgomery Bell Academy and Vanderbilt golfer was likable and seemed somewhat at ease under the pressures until the back nine on Sunday when he hopped aboard the bogey train. Classic Commodore - early success that falls apart in the end. Bobby Johnson and Kevin Stallings know this tale all too well.

You know who Snedeker reminded me of? Tom Watson. I came up with that all on my own.

As for champion Trevor Immelmen, color me unimpressed. I do like his pre-shot routine of focus and finding a spot in front of his ball, but his overall game left me bored. He had no personality throughout the championship.

Which brings me to this: is it sacrilege to make criticize the Master's? I love it, but some of the tournament is just silly. Listening to Mike Tirico do his best Jim Nantz ("Saturday...at the Master's") was nauseating. I pictured Hootie Johnson standing beside Tirico nodding approval with each dramatic pause before he said, "a tradition unlike any other...The Master's." I guess I always assumed the whole thing was Nantz's schtick, but it must come from greater powers if Tirico had to puppet it as well.

What other tournament besides the Master's subjects us year after year to the same highlights of tournaments past? As a huge Greg Norman fan, I'll admit that watching Larry Mize's chip or Norman's historic collapse against Faldo year after year puts me in a sour mood. Beyond that, however, do we need to watch the same highlights (Nicklaus's putt, Mickelson's celebration, Tiger's chip) over and over? There are fantastic moments in other tournaments that are not replayed ad naseum like those from Augusta. For example, how often does the PGA Championship replay Bob Tway's chip or Corey Pavin's fairway wood? The Master's has lots of history - we get it.

Finally, we haven't had an exciting Master's finish since Tiger in 2005. The last three have all been snoozers. Why? It is probably cyclical, but I wonder if the course itself is part of the problem. Sacrilege, I know. The hole locations are so tough that hole after hole requires a safe shot to avoid bogey rather than an aggressive one to make birdie. It is awfully hard to catch up making pars, but the course kills these guys whenever they try to step on the gas. I'm not sure what the solution ought to be (a few easier pin placements on Sunday?), but three straight years of boring finishes are a problem.

Atlanta Hawks

Good news - The Hawks are going to the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Bad news - The Hawks play the Boston Celtics in the opening round.

I cannot decide how I feel about this Hawks team after watching them 8-10 times over the course of the season. There is some young talent on the team that shows promise, but nothing that points toward future championships. Joe Johnson is an excellent, under-rated player on the wing. Josh Smith, at times, is a real force on the court as a finisher and rebounder. Beyond that, the Hawks are a bunch of good, not great players. I like the promise of Al Horford, the defense of Josh Childress, the leadership of Mike Bibby and athleticism of Marvin Williams, but I don't love any of them.

Atlanta has been a miserable franchise for years because of awful draft picks (say it with me...the team that needed a point guard and passed on both Chris Paul and Deron Williams) and awful management. I was once a big Hawks fan, even after the Dominique era. Atlanta was a real contender for a few years with the Mookie Blaylock, Steve Smith, Christian Laettner, Dikembe Mutombo, Lenny Wilkins combination. They were a #1 seed one year. I would love to see them return to past glories, even if those glories were marginal. Hopefully this year will be a start, but I imagine the Celtics will finish the series in four games.

Atlanta Braves

The question coming into the season was whether or not the Braves aging pitching staff could make it 162 games without falling apart.

Verdict? 13 games into the season and we have seen Smoltz, Hampton and Glavine all dealing with injuries already.

The Braves are a frustrating team because of the nagging feeling that they could make an October run if everybody stays healthy, but the reality that there is no way it will happen. Mother Nature has taken its toll on Chipper, Hampton, Smoltz and Glavine. They are still effective, but the grind of the season is too much for them.

I'm afraid the opening chapter of this season's story has foreshadowed the end of it - injuries, close losses and suspect back-end starting pitching will waste big years from the prime talent to cost the Braves a spot in the post-season.

I know, I know - you are tired of my gloomy Braves attitude. Frankly, I'm tired of it too. I like this team more than quite a few of the playoff teams from the past. I like Kotsay more than Andruw, Escobar more than Furcal, Tex more than LaRouche, McCann more than Estrada and Hudson more than Ortiz. In a seven-game series, the Braves will be tough to beat. I'm afraid, however, they are not built for the long haul and will be watching rather than playing in October.