Monday Sports 4/15/19
15 April 2019 Sports
Sports from Wayne Mausser
Tiger Woods rallied to win the Masters for the fifth time Sunday coming back from a two-shot deficit. Woods had gone nearly 11 years since he won his last major and 14 years since he won his last Masters. He made it worth the wait, closing with a 2-under 70 for a one-shot victory.
It was the first time Woods won a major when trailing going into the final round, and he needed some help from Francesco Molinari, the 54-hole leader who still was up two shots heading into the heart of Amen Corner. Molinari’s tee shot on the par-3 12th never had a chance, hitting the bank and tumbling into Rae’s Creek for double bogey. Until then, Molinari had never trailed in a round that began early in threesomes to finish ahead of storms.
And then it seemed as though practically everyone had a chance.
Six players had a share of the lead at some point on the back. With the final group still in the 15th fairway, there was a five-way tie for the lead. And that’s when Woods seized control, again with plenty of help.
Molinari’s third shot clipped a tree and plopped straight down in the water for another double bogey. Woods hit onto the green, setting up a two-putt birdie for his first lead of the final round. Woods followed with a tee shot on the par-3 16th that rode down the slope next to the cup and settled two feet away for his final birdie.
That gave him a two-shot cushion, and no one was going to catch him. Dustin Johnson, Zander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka finished a shot behind and four players finished two strokes back.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 17 rebounds in just 24 minutes, and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks showed they were serious about making a playoff run with a 121-86 rout of the Detroit Pistons in Game 1 on Sunday night.
The MVP candidate ran and dunked all over the Pistons, who only really caught him when center Andre Drummond shoved him to the ground with both hands late in the third quarter after Antetokounmpo grabbed an offensive rebound with Detroit trailing by 41 points. Drummond was given a flagrant 2 foul and ejected. He threw a kiss to the Fiserv Forum crowd as he was escorted off the court.
Antetokounmpo struggled at the foul line, making only 5 of 12 attempts, but was 9 for 17 from the field and 1 of 5 from 3-point range.
Seven Bucks players scored in double figures. Eric Bledsoe had 15 points, and Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton each added 14. George Hill scored 16 points off the bench.
Luke Kennard paced the Pistons with 21 points off the bench and Drummond had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Reggie Jackson also had 12 points. Detroit played without forward Blake Griffin, who sat out with a left knee injury. Game two is Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
Jhoulys Chacín struggled with his command in Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the Dodgers, throwing nearly half (31) of his 63 pitches for balls. It made for a short day for the right-hander, who exited with one out in the third inning after allowing six runs. Chacin got the first two outs of the first inning before loading the bases on a pair of walks and a base hit. Two of those runners scored on an Alex Verdugo base hit that got through an infield shift.
The Brewers offense which had tagged Dodger pitching for a combined 12 runs and 21 hits in winning the first two games scored only one run Sunday on an eighth inning sacrifice fly by Eric Thames. The Dodgers countered with 11 hits and two home runs, by Joc Pederson and Alex Verdugo.
The Brewers return home for a series beginning Monday night against the Cardinals. Dakota Hudson starts for St. Louis against Milwaukee’s Wily Peralta. First pitch is at 6:40 from Miller Park. The game can be heard on AM1100 and 98.3Fm, WISS.
Right-handed reliever Jeremy Jeffress is set to join the Brewers on Monday when they return to Milwaukee and will be activated either then or on Tuesday, manager Craig Counsell said before Sunday’s series finale with the Dodgers.
Jeffress, who dealt with shoulder weakness during Spring Training, made his fourth rehab appearance with Triple-A San Antonio on Saturday night. He threw one inning and struck out two batters while allowing a pair of hits, including a home run.
Green Bay Packers legend Forrest Gregg died last Friday after a battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Vince Lombardi referred to Gregg as “the best player I ever coached.” Gregg played for the Packers in 1956 and from 1958-1970. He played his final season with the Dallas Cowboys. The All-Pro “ironman” tackle played in 188 consecutive games.
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