VIDEO: 2016 Raspberry Golf Academy Spring Break Junior Training Program

Check out my video of the 2016 Raspberry Golf Academy Spring Break Junior Training Program. I had the opportunity to film a group of nine high school golfers who spent a week at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, FL, working with the RGA instructors.

Counting down the Top 10 most bizarre things I've witnessed on the golf course

#10: The lightning bolt that struck the tree that that fell on the carts that broke the clubs, while on a weather delay at a mini tour event.

To set the scene of this bizarre tragedy, I will take you back to the summer of 2013, the wet, I mean wet, summer of 2013 in the state of North Carolina. The weekly weather delays on the eGolf Professional Tour, this time at Rock Barn Golf Club in Conover, were beginning to pile up and the frustration was building amongst the tour’s regular grinders.

This particular event happened to be a riding-event, a rare treat on the East-coast tour. With well over 100 players in the field, there was little room for sheltering all the carts once the dreaded blast of the horn sounded.

Conveniently, there was a very large tree behind the clubhouse that provided great shelter for the carts and, of course, the clubs, from the building rain. Cart after cart piled up under this savior tree, and the players gathered inside.

The covered back deck provided a great spot to sit and watch the rain fall, as I sat comfortably in a white rocking chair atop the wooden surface.

As I was sitting there, I happened to be staring straight at this large, seemingly out of place tree. Well, Mother Nature decided it was out place as well, so she struck it down with one giant flash of her might. Down went the tree, and it took several unsuspecting carts with it as it tumbled to the pavement.

Many poor golf clubs lost their lives that day, but play eventually resumed and their loss was remembered and honored by all.

#9: The country club playing partner who brought fine China with a cup of soup into the cart at the turn.

When playing in a country club tournament, you never know what you are going to get, especially when there is a blind draw for partners. Despite my professional status, the members were kind of to let me tag along for this casual weekend event.

I drew an older individual that I was not previously acquainted with, and I assume the golf course was not acquainted with him either, any golf course. He had the courtesy of letting me drive the cart, which I didn’t realize was part of his master plan until later in the day.

At the turn, this individual stopped inside the clubhouse for lunch. He did not go to the turn stand, but went to the actual dining room, and clearly did not order this meal “to go.” After waiting a bit longer that I would have liked for him to acquire his meal, he returned with a hot plate lunch with fine China that included a bowl of soup. He proceeded to eat this meal, with real silverware, as my passenger in the cart.

Have you ever had the pressure of driving a golf cart while the old man to your right tries to eat a bowl of boiling hot soup? I think not.

#8: My high school playing partner who started yelling at me and crying after I made a putt, and his coach drove him back to the clubhouse for a timeout.

We’ve all had the playing partner who talks too much, or who won’t talk at all, or the one who doesn’t understand proper etiquette, but few have experienced the crier. This is a rare breed amongst golfers that only makes an appearance once in a generation.

On this particular day, I was paired with the top player from local another high school in an after-school nine-hole dual match. On the sixth green, I knocked in about a 30-footer to save par, because it was that kind of day, and this individual was not too happy about it. He began yelling at me, saying, “You would suck at golf if you couldn’t putt,” clearly he has missed the point of this whole golf thing.

Anyway, he worked himself up so much that he began crying, and crying loudly. Loud enough that it drew the attention of his coach, who swooped in and kicked his own player off the course. Rumor has it the player was suspended for multiple tournaments, but we didn’t exactly become Facebook friends so I don’t know much beyond the crying.

#7: Staying with high school, because why not, that kid who showed up to golf tryouts with one club and a plastic bag of balls.

High school has so many wonderful memories, well not for me, but I’m sure for someone. But this memory is one that will forever make me chuckle. Day one of tryouts, which take place roughly a month before school even begins, a young, wide-eyed freshman walked toward the bag drop with his mother, ready to begin the qualifier.

This bashful adolescent did not have a golf bag, he was not wearing golf shoes, and he certainly was not sporting a golf cap. Rather, he was dressed in gym clothes with a single golf club in one hand, an iron of some kind, and a plastic grocery bag full of golf balls in the other. Maybe he was hiding his glove and tees in his pockets, but not likely.

Sadly enough, our coach asked him to leave before we could ever see the kid hit a golf ball. We might have passed on the next Tiger Woods, at least the version of Tiger who had the chipping yips a few months ago.

#6: The crazy wildlife of the links, like the iguana that tormented me after pumping back-to-back drives into the Puerto Rican water

As a freshman in college in my first semester on campus, my golf game caught fire and I was rolling through the season as the team’s top player.

St. John’s used to host an annual event in Puerto Rico, and somehow they must have made a mistake and invited my team. Anyway, round one was smooth sailing for me as I entered a par five on the back nine at three-under, unfortunately I left the hole two-over, you do the math.

This hole turns sharply to the right with water along the entire right side of the fairway. After slicing back-to-back balls well into the lumberyard, my coach was kind enough to capture this image of my one-arm finish and the unimpressed iguana.

Unlike this squirrel, that was very impressed by my spikeless FootJoy shoe and would not leave me alone. Wildlife on the golf course, you never know what you’re going to get.

#5: More from Mother Nature, this time the tornado that rolled through a college golf tournament, which is actual pretty typical college golf weather.

The scene of this bizarre occurrence was the N.C. State golf course in Raleigh. It was an unusually windy day from the start, making the conditions difficult on an already challenging track. However, it seemed to be getting more and windy as the round progressed, almost to an unnatural level.

The sky began to get significantly darker as the gusts reached an unplayable level. One of my playing partners set his ball down on the green, only to have it blow all the way off the surface into the rough.

The weather horns blew, but it was too late. That day, about 100 college golfers witnessed a tornado roll through the great state of North Carolina, hitting about a mile from our location. The clubhouse lost power, our hotel lost power, really the whole town lost power, and many people lost their homes. But the heavy stuff didn’t come down for quite a while...

If only every round looked like this beautiful moment I captured in Arizona.

#4: The cart caddie that took the cart, and the clubs, for a swim.

I was playing in an amateur event that provided each group with two cart caddies, with each cart housing two sets of precious clubs. Naturally, the volunteers for the job were older individuals, to be polite. One particular older fellow tried to park the cart at the top of a hill, before walking down to the edge of the water to help the players look for a ball. The key word in the last sentence is “tried.” Clearly he failed to lock the brakes, and the cart began heading down the slope toward definite doom.

This was the day the golf clubs took a swim, and so did one of the players to retrieve the clubs. Luckily it was a warm, summer day. Between lightning hitting trees and old men driving golf carts, the clubs don’t stand a chance.

#3: The playing partner in a mini tour event who was DQ’ed and didn’t know it, and I had to tell him to leave.

Some professional tours are operated at a higher level than others, after you hear this story, you will know where this tour ranks on the scale, although it will remain unnamed. The tournament was held at the Stonebridge Golf Club in Albany, Ga. The tour at hand has an 86-rule, meaning that if your score is higher than that overly generous threshold, you are not to return the subsequent day.

I happened to be paired with an individual whose scorecard read something well north of that mark, and the letters “DQ” were next to his name on the digital scoreboard. However, when golfers shoot a score as high as this particular player did, they tend not to look at any scoreboards. Nobody told him about the rule, thus he showed up the next day ready to return to the links.

I stared at him as he warmed up, wondering if I should say something. Clearly someone from the tour would tell him, right? Well, on the first tee, the starter has a card ready to go for this player. He was the first to play and the starter announced his name, and he addressed the ball, ready to begin his eyesore of a takeaway any moment. I then stepped in at the last instant like a white knight and saved the day for myself and the third party of the group, as I informed the player of the news.

He didn’t question my information, he simply thanked me, grabbed his antique sticks and headed for the exit.

2. The playing partner in an amateur event who walked into the woods and never returned.

Up to this point, you may have believed me, but now you are skeptical. But to those skeptics I say, who hasn’t wanted to disappear on the golf course at some point in their lives. Well, this particular person was smart enough to do it.

To give this player the proper privacy due for the legendary story he provided me, I will simply say it took place at an amateur event somewhere in Ohio. He was having a rough day, obviously, and had just hit his tee shot right into the woods. The other player in the group and myself were getting tired of helping him look for balls, and got a little lazy in providing aid this time. We both continued to our balls in the fairway and hit our shots while the third player was looking for his ball, or at least we thought he was looking.

After waiting several minutes, we walked back to his location, but there was no sign of life. To this day, I do not know what happened to this individual, your guess is as good as mine.

#1: My college golf coach who spent 36 holes picking nuts and berries for his mom in the woods, only to find that they could actually kill her.

This spectacularly peculiar event needs little elaboration. My college golf coach enjoyed entertaining himself while the lucky five souls he dragged to the links trekked around the course for those long, grueling 36-hole days. On this fateful day, my coach decided to spend his time picking nuts and berries in the woods as a gift for his elderly mother.

By the end of the day, he had a grocery bag full of goodies and a look of satisfaction on his face. That bag of random articles of nature made it all the way back to campus. However, before passing on the sack to his innocent mother, my coach developed an itch and began to have breakouts. After researching the contents of his mystery pouch, he realized he had acquired a sack of death.

In college golf, you must beware of the tornadoes and the berries, they’ll get ya’. Oh yeah, watch out for gators too!

Jordan Spieth continues dominance heading into PGA Championship

I have been playing on developmental professional tours for three years now. What if I were to tell you I have made 18 cuts in 20 events in 2015. What if I were to tell you I have 16 Top 25s and 13 Top 10s, including four wins, three runner-ups and a third. Think you might be impressed?

What if I were to tell you I did this on the PGA Tour?

Well that is exactly what a young man three years my junior has done. His name is Jordan Spieth.

In 2015 alone, the 22-year-old has earned $9,319,715 in winnings, and that doesn't include his monster deal with Under Armour. He is No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings, well clear of the rest of the Tour, and has climbed to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, only behind Rory McIlroy. Two of his four victories this season came in the Masters and U.S. Open, the two most important golf tournaments for any American-born golfer.

Spieth has had a lot to celebrate in 2015 (Courtesy ABC News)

Spieth's 2015 scoring average of 68.795 and birdie average of 4.58 per round put him No. 1 on Tour in both categories. Although he may not wow you with his distance or proximity, he has proven to be the best closer and clutch putter in the world. He leads the Tour in putts per round, 27.74, and in one-putt percentage, 44.29%.

In his last five starts he has five Top 10s, including two wins. He finished T4 at the Open Championship at St. Andrew's, just one shot back of the playoff in his effort to complete the rare Grand Slam. In yesterday's final round at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, he fired a 66 to back his way into another Top 10 in an event in which he struggled playing against the best players on the planet.

Well now that your brain is fried from a slew of numbers, it's time to look ahead to this week's PGA Championship, held at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin for the first time since 2010. Golf enthusiasts remember this as the year in which Dustin Johnson grounded his club in a bunker, costing him the title and beginning a chain of tragedies in majors.

This year, all eyes will be on Spieth and McIlroy as the young gun looks to replace the established leader as the world's best. McIlroy, the defending champion, will be making his return to golf following an injury to his left ankle suffered on July 4th. The two will be paired together in the first two rounds, along with Zach Johnson who is fresh off his win at St. Andrew's last month.

Spieth, McIlroy and Johnson have won the last five majors. The threesome tees off at 2:20 p.m. ET on Thursday. Spieth is the odds-on favorite at 5-to-1, followed by McIlroy at 7-to-1. 

Josh Smith says making $6.9 million in 2015-16 will be 'hard'

Josh Smith has had an up-and-down 11-year NBA career. Loaded with talent and with flashes of brilliance, he has yet to live up to his potential. That being said, he has made about $94 million in his career after jumping straight to league out of high school in 2004.

He spent the first nine years of his tenure with the Atlanta Hawks, but has been bouncing from team to team over the past couple seasons. Smith played for the Detroit Pistons for a year and a half, but was nearly invisible on a team with a very low ceiling. Seemingly lacking the motivation to play for a non-playoff team, Smith was sent to a power in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets.

During the off-season free agency frenzy, Smith signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, a team now looking like a legitimate championship contender. He signed a one-year veteran's minimum contract for around $1.5 million and will be receiving $5.4 million from the Pistons. If the Pistons had not let him go, he would be making $14 million this season instead of $6.9 million.

That brings us to the statement Smith made during a press conference in which the Clippers welcomed their latest signings for the upcoming season.

"At the end of the day, you know, I do have a family," Smith said. "So it is going to be a little harder on me this year. But I'm going to push through it, you know."

Despite having his salary cut in half for the 2015-16 season, his choice of words did not go over well with the general public. Saying he will have to "push through" making a mere $6.9 million does not generate much sympathy. Sorry Josh.

The Josh on the other side of this computer has to think twice before adding guacamole to his burrito.

I played in a one-day professional golf tournament this past weekend and shot 68 (-4). I netted just over $100 for the day and I was pretty darn happy. My largest check this year was nearly $4,000 and that was celebration worthy. Josh Smith will certainly not have any sympathy from developmental tour golfers. The leading money-winner on most developmental tours makes under $100,000 for the year. And that's the leader.

I get that having your expected salary cut in half can be tough, but complaining publicly about making nearly $7 million, putting you over the $100 million-mark for your career, is probably not the smartest PR move. Last I checked, most families are able to "push through" with sums far below what Smith will be raking in this coming season.

The Clippers also managed to resign free agent big man DeAndre Jordan to a four-year $87.6 million contract. Maybe if Smith is running short on cash in the near future, he can befriend his new comrade and borrow some dough. After all, he does have a family to feed.

USWNT bring World Cup to America amidst Independence weekend

Carli Lloyd celebrating one of her goals (Google Images)

American Flags waving elegantly in the breeze, people all around sporting their most creative red, white and blue outfits, the smell of the grill cooking your favorite summertime meal, and of course the fireworks lighting up the night sky.

The first week of July is a great time to be an American.

But none better than the 2015 Independence Day in terms of sense of pride for country, thanks to the captivating performance by the USWNT as they cruised to victory over the Japanese squad. This was the third World Cup title for the American women, but the first since 1999. That was the year all young men will remember as Brandi Chastain ripped of her shirt in celebration. Although the ladies remained fully clothed this time, it was a great celebration nonetheless.

The hero of the day was without a doubt Carli Lloyd, as she achieved a rare hat trick in the first 20 minutes of action. The game was pretty much over from the start as the Americans took a quick 4-0 lead in the opening half before going on to win 5-2 in the highest scoring World Cup final ever. The victory gave the squad vengeance after losing to the Japanese team in the finals four years ago. Lloyd was awarded the Golden Ball, given to the best player of the tournament.

We no longer have to talk about the 1999 team and the shirtless celebration, as we now have the 2015 team of destiny. This team was led by its defense all tournament as Hope Solo had allowed just one goal prior to giving up two in the concluding match. Yet it was the offense that ignited the championship rout over the very team that crushed their dreams in 2011.

It seems fitting that the title game coincided with the nation's most patriotic weekend. Soccer is not the sport America is known for worldwide, but the ladies are proving time and again that there is no better nation for women's soccer. Since winning the first World Cup in 1991, they have been a perennial powerhouse worldwide.

It will be difficult for the men to catch up as they have been participating in the World Cup since 1930 and are yet to win. Whereas women's soccer is relatively new worldwide and the Americans were on the scene instantly, the men's game has been an established entity since the 1800s and the red, white and blue have never been elite. We just hope for a respectable showing from the men, but the women have set the bar high yet again.

With no World Cup to watch next year in early July, it will be back to baseball. I suppose that is pretty American too. 

NBA Playoffs Predictions

Let's start with the East.

Derrick Rose goes down... Okay so we can count the Bulls out. Sure they might win their series against the 76ers but they're not beating the Heat in a seven-game series.

The Knicks got waxed by about 40 points in Game 1 against the Heat, let's go ahead and count them out.

The Pacers lost Game 1 at home to a Magic team playing without Dwight Howard... ouch. Yeah, let's count them out as well. Like I said with the Bulls, they might go on to win this series but they're not getting past the Heat either.

The Celtics and Hawks should be a very competitive series. I could see the winner of this series winning the next series as well and playing the Heat in the Conference Finals.

That being said, nobody in the East can beat the Heat. I mean they just beat the Knicks 100-67! A Bulls team with Derrick Rose possibly could have, but that didn't work out.

Now let's look at the West.

Whereas the Heat are the the only team that can make it out of the East, there are six teams that could make it out of the West-- Thunder, Mavs, Spurs, Lakers, Clippers and Grizzlies. 

What a first round series between the Thunder and Mavs, that's a Conference Finals type of a matchup. I expect the Thunder to move through the West and play the Heat in the NBA Finals, but the Mavs will not be an easy first test, as it took a buzzer-beater for the Thunder to take Game 1.

The Clippers-Grizzlies is also a very interesting series, and it is really a toss-up.

The Spurs should have no problem getting past the Jazz and the lakers should have no problem getting past the Nuggets.

Once it is down to the Thunder-Lakers and Spurs-Clippers/Grizzlies, any of these five teams have the ability to win a seven-game series. If I had to pick, I would have to go with the Thunder-Spurs advancing and the Thunder making it out the West. In the NBA Playoffs, unlike the NCAA March Madness, the best teams nearly always win.

So Heat-Thunder in the Finals... big surprise. There is no question in my mind that the Heat are the best team if they are healthy. But with a player like Kevin Durant, if a game is close he just finds a way to win and hits buzzer-beaters with ease. He is as clutch as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan when the game is on the line.

So I am going with the Heat, but saying with Durant anything is possible. Hopefully that qualifies as an answer.

NFL Draft Recap

As an Ohioan living in Northern Virginia, I consider myself both a Redskins and a Browns fan... Clearly I am no fair-weather fan. I'm pretty sure those two teams have gone through more starting QBs than any other in the league over the past 10 years, and they have really struggled offensively for years.

That being said, I am very happy with what both organizations did during the draft. Of course the Skins took RGIII with the second overall pick, and the Browns traded down to grab Trent Richardson with the third overall pick and then took Brandon Weedon later in the first round, which I thought were great moves. The Skins also drafted Kirk Cousins, an interesting pick considering they had already taken RGIII, but I was actually really happy with that pick as well. RGIII and Cousins is already better then the two options they had last year.

Aside from the Skins and Browns, I was impressed with several other teams as well.

I thought the Giants had a great draft considering they had the final pick. They took both David Wilson and Jayron Hosley from Virginia Tech and wide receiver Reuben Randle from LSU, all of whom will instantly make this team even better.

Staying in the division, I thought the Cowboys were smart in trading up to grab Maurice Claiborne, who has Derrelle Revis-like potential.

The team I believe had the best draft was the Colts. Obviously they had the No. 1 pick and were able to get the most heralded QB in NFL Draft history-- Andrew Luck. Then they took Luck's TE and favorite target from Stanford, Coby Fleener, followed by another great TE named Dwayne Allen. Then they stayed with offense and took T.Y. Hilton, a wide receiver from FIU who was one of the best WRs in all of college football that nobody has heard of. They even took another QB, Chandler Harnish, who similarly was one of the best QBs in college football that wasn't well known because he played for Northern Illinois. They drafted some serious talent on offense.

Other interesting picks came from the Lions and Broncos. The Lions picked up WR Ryan Browles. On most teams he would be the No. 1 option, but alongside Calvin Johnson he can do some serious damage. The Broncos picked QB Brock Osweiler. He will be able to learn under Peyton Manning for a couple years and then will be able to take over the team, the perfect position for a young QB.

Poised for victory in NBA Fantasy finals

I consider myself a fantasy phenom. I play fantasy football, basketball and baseball, and more often than not I win. Maybe it takes talent, maybe it doesn't, but I am a flat out fantasy winner.

Paul Pierce has been on fire (Google Images)

That being said, it looks like I am going to win my NBA fantasy championship as I currently hold a 200-point lead with just a few days left in the matchup. But this is no surprise.

I won my first 10 matchups of the regular season. For those of you who don't know how fantasy basketball works, there were 11 regular season matchups this year, each spanning one week. So I did lose in week 11, the final week of the regular season, but I was just resting my players for the playoffs and was satisfied with a 10-1 season (sure, let's go with that).

Anyway, my team returned to dominance in the playoffs, as none of my matchups have even been close. My team is paced by Derrick Rose, who puts up crazy numbers when he actually plays, Paul Pierce, who is having probably his best season ever, Pau Gasol, a steady fantasy star, and Josh Smith, the most underrated player in the NBA.

Also playing well for me this year has been Ty Lawson, Marcin Gortat, Gerald Wallace, Mike Conley and Lou Williams.

Unfortunately I had to drop Jeremy Lin due to his injury, but man was that a good pickup during the regular season. Although his national attention died down after the first couple weeks, his numbers remained really good. Another one of my point guards, D.J. Augustin, has also been battling injury problems all season.

My most recent waiver pickups were Clay Thompson, J.J. Hickson, Glen Davis and Kevin Seraphin. These four guys have been just playing ridiculously well lately, and have added a major boost to my team. Who would've thought that Hickson, a guy the Cavs didn't even want, would become a great player in Portland? And Thompson has been a pleasant surprise as a rookie, and is probably the second-best rookie in the league only behind Kyrie Irving.

Long story short, I am going to win yet another fantasy championship. If only I actually played for money.

Did I mention the Nationals would be good?

Yes, yes I did.

After years of losing seasons, the Washington Nationals are sitting pretty atop their division with a solid record of 12-4. They have far more talent this season both at the plate and at the mound, and it is showing.

 Strasburg continues to impress (Google Images)

In terms of offense, Jayson Werth is looking much better so far this season as he is batting .322. Ian Desmond and Adam LaRoche have also looked pretty good so far, batting .294 and .288 respectively. I am still waiting to see Ryan Zimmerman and Danny Espinosa to play like they are capable, meaning there is still room for improvement at the plate for the Nats.

The most impressive aspect of this year's team is without question the pitching. Paced by phenom Stephen Strasburg, who has an ERA of 1.08 in four starts, all five starters have played very well. Strasburg has 25 strikeouts compared to just 6 walks in his four outings and is showing no sign of elbow problems. Jordan Zimmerman is also off to a good start with an ERA of 1.29 in three starts. Ross Detwiler has been a pleasant surprise, replacing John Lannon in the rotation. He is leading the team in ERA with 0.56 in three starts.

Gio Gonzalez, the biggest off-season pickup for the Nats, has also been solid on the mound with an ERA of 2.04 in three starts. The other off-season pitching pickup, Edwin Jackson, has not been as steady, with an ERA of 4.26. This is somewhat typical of Jackson, who is a very up and down pitcher, famous for his no-hitter in 2011 with 149 pitches and eight walks. He has potential for great games but is not as consistent as guys like Strasburg and Gonzalez.

This is a talented young ball club with the potential to become even better as the season goes on. I'm not going to guarantee a World Series title or anything crazy like that, but the 12-4 record is no fluke.

Should the NBA regular season be shorter?

How many times have you heard guys saying, "we don't need to be playing our best ball right now, we need to be playing the best in the playoffs?"

The players seem to say things like that every day.

There are 82 games in standard, lockout-free NBA season, and most of the time the playoff seeds are determined long before the 82nd game, aside from maybe the seventh and eighth seeds. Only one instance in my lifetime can I recall an eight seed making it to the finals, most of the time these teams don't even really matter. Unlike the college format in which anything can happen, the best team always wins in the NBA playoffs because it is a seven-game series.

So with the playoff spots being essentially locked up weeks before the final regular season games, teams often don't even try down the stretch. Players like Derek Rose, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Dwayne Wade have been sitting out games just so they can get healthy, knowing their respective teams are already in the playoffs. Similarly, the Spurs have been sitting all of their veteran players lately just because they are older and need to be fresh for the playoffs. So what's the point of playing 82 games when the players aren't even trying right now, aside from those teams fighting for the last couple of playoff spots, which don't really matter anyway.

The answer to that question is probably money, so this isn't something that is going to change.

Regardless, I think the quality of the play would be far better if the season were only 50 games. Maybe players would actually play every game, actually play defense every night, and actually care about winning each game. People complain there's no defense in the NBA. Just watch the playoffs, these guys are freakishly good defenders, but only when they choose to be. If the season were shorter, maybe more games would be played like playoff games.

Shaping up to be best NBA Draft ever

This year's NBA Draft just might be the best draft in the history of the league.

KU's Thomas Robinson (photo courtesy Google Images)

Yes the LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony draft of '03 was pretty good. Certainly the Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and John Stockton draft of '84 wasn't so bad either, but the 2012 version is has some serious potential.

The first two picks will most likely come from the National Champion Kentucky Wildcats-- Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Both of these guys are rare talents that could be game-changers fro teams in need. Davis is a difference-maker without even scoring due to his presence on defense and rebounding, and Kidd-Gilchrist is an incredible athlete and great play-maker.

Fellow Wildcat Terrence Jones will also be a top-10 pick, as he is a load on the inside.

Baylor's Perry Jones, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, Kansas' Thomas Robinson and UConn's Andre Drummond are all big guys with incredible potential. Each one of these guys could be No. 1 picks in other years, as they have that type of potential.

But wait, there's more.

Clearly this is the year of the centers/forwards as North Carolina has three of them as well that will all likely be lottery picks-- Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson.

There's a legitimate chance that no guard is taken in the top 10 picks, that is how deep the center/forward class is this year.

But there are some solid guards as well on the big board. Florida's Bradley Beal, UConn's Jeremy Lamb, Duke's Austin Rivers, UNC's Kendall Marshall and Weber State's Damian Lillard are all outstanding prospects.

In about five to ten years we could be looking back on the '12 draft and realizing it was the best in the history of the league. There's also a chance that seven of the lottery picks will be from Kentucky and North Carolina, which as a Duke fan, makes me happy because they are no longer in college!

April is heaven for sports fans

What do the Final Four, the Masters, Opening Day for baseball, the NBA Playoffs, the NHL Playoffs and the NFL Draft all have in common?

They all take place in April.

The month started off with the Final Four, my personal favorite sporting event of the year. Although all of my favorite teams failed to reach the elite stage in college basketball this year, it is always a great even that I really enjoy. I am certainly no fan of Kentucky, but they were a really fun team to watch, and one of the best teams I've seen at the college level in a long time. It's rare that teams are that strong on both offense and defense.

The Masters just concluded this weekend, and what a show that was. Between Louis Oosthuizen holing out for double eagle and Bubba Watson hitting a snapping wedge around the trees in the playoff to capture the Green Jacket, it was truly a Masters for the ages. Check my blog below for more details about the epic Sunday.

The NHL and NBA Playoffs are both coming up soon. I am not much of a hockey fan, but I was glad to see the Capitals make the playoffs. In terms of the NBA Playoffs, I am actually really excited this year. Assuming that the Heat and Thunder don't fall to lesser opponents early in the playoffs, that will be one of the most exciting championships in a long time. Just think about a series with LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Durant and Westbrook. Wow. That is more of an All-Star game than a championship series. I can't wait.

Also upcoming this month is the NFL Draft. Assuming that the Colts don't do anything crazy and take Andrew Luck with the first pick, the Redskins will be getting Robert Griffin III, one of the most exciting and talented college quarterbacks in my lifetime. I am really happy for the Redskins and the city of Washington for finally getting someone who has the potential to turn the franchise around. They've been through more quarterbacks in the last 15 years than any franchise in the league.

So not a bad month for sports, huh?

Bubba Watson triumphs at the Masters

Wow, what a Masters Sunday that was.

Bubba Watson in his all white Masters gear (Google Images)

Unfortunately, I missed some of the early action because I was playing in my own golf tournament, but I watched all of the drama unfold on the back nine as well as the captivating playoff between Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen.

Early in the final round, it appeared Oosthuizen, a former British Open champion, was destined for the Green Jacket as he holed out for double eagle on the par-5 second, the first ever deuce on the second at the Masters. This gave him the outright lead, a lead which he held most of the day.

However, Oosthuizen's playing partner, Watson, was determined to make a charge, as he rattled off four birdies down the stretch to snatch a share of the lead. Unlike Oosthuizen, Watson was seeking his first major title.

After both players made par on the 72nd hole, the stage was set for a sudden death playoff.

The action returned to the 18th hole. Both players hit great shots but just missed the putts, extending the duel to a second hole. The contenders were carted to the 10th hole, where all golf enthusiasts were about to witness a historic scene.

Despite hitting his tee shot way right into the tress on the lengthy par-4, Bubba pulled out a wedge from 155 yards away and pictured a high hooking shot onto the green. This is a shot only Bubba could even comprehend pulling off, and he had the benefit of being a lefty. Not only did he execute a miraculous 40-yard hooking shot, but he stuck it to about 10 feet from the cup. Considering the stage, this was the greatest shot I have ever witnessed and ultimately proved to be the difference as he captured the elusive Green Jacket.

If Oosthuizen had won, his double eagle would have been eternally glorified, but rather it was Bubba's high snapping wedge around the trees in the playoff that will forever live in Masters lore.

But perhaps the greatest moment of the day was after Bubba sealed his victory and broke down in tears on the 10th green, surrounded by his friends and family. Not represented in this small gathering was his wife and newborn child. A newborn and a Masters title, not a bad Easter Sunday.

During the Green Jacket presentation and his interview with legendary CBS broadcaster Jim Nance, Bubba was once again choked up. The quote of the year was when he tried to speak but simply said, "I never made it this far in my dreams." As an aspiring professional golfer, that quote resonated strongly with me.

What a moment. What a Sunday. What a Masters.

Let's talk about Kobe Bryant

Last night, Kobe Bryant went 3-for-21 from the field, marking his worst shooting performance of his entire career. Not to mention that he was 0-15 in the first half and didn't score his first point until the fourth quarter.

Kobe Bryant was clutch again in the midst of his worst game ever.

Kobe, a 16-year veteran, plays 38.6 minutes per game on a very down Lakers team and admitted fatigue may be becoming a problem. His scoring numbers are actually up this year, but that is because he is just needed more this year on a team without lots of scoring options.

Yet, the fact that he went 3-for-21 was not the story of the game. The story was the fact that he scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead three-pointer with just over 20 seconds left in the game, giving his Lakers the win. Granted it was against the struggling New Orleans Hornets, but this game just proves what I have long thought was the case.

If I needed one player to carry my team throughout a grueling regular season- LeBron James is the guy. He is the best all around player in the NBA and really could be the MVP every year.

However, if I needed one player to get me through the playoff- Kobe Bryant. He is without question the most clutch player in the game, and has been for a long time now. In late game situations and in the playoffs, he is just money. After having the worst game of his life last night, he went off for 11 points and hit the game winning shot last night.

Clearly LeBron is the better all-around player, but will he ever be the closer that Kobe has become?

What will be interesting to see is this year's NBA Finals, which the Heat will for sure be playing in, most likely against the Thunder. I am curious to see whether Dwayne Wade or LeBron gets the call in the late game situations in a championship series. We all know this is not LeBron's strength, but it's time this guy proves he can do it.

And speaking of the Thunder, Kevin Durant is the best pure scorer since Michael Jordan, and he may be even better than Jordan in that department by the time he retires, but that argument is for another time.

Kentucky vs. Kansas - A heavyweight title fight

The past two years we have seen Butler reach the Final Four twice and VCU once. Six years ago it was George Mason that broke through and reached college basketball's ultimate stage. But for the first time since 2009, the midmajors failed to become "this year's George Mason."

Anthony Davis, Kentucky's National Player of the Year

This year, four superpowers punched their tickets to New Orleans: Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State. These are four of the most successful programs in the history of the game. These squads have combined for 13 National Championships, and Kentucky and Kansas are the two most winningest programs in college basketball history.

And guess which two moved on to the finals: Kentucky and Kansas.

Kentucky will be looking for their eighth National Title and Kansas will be seeking their fourth. In terms of tradition, there is certainly no underdog in this title fight.

That being said, there is without question an underdog in terms of current personnel: Kansas. This 2012 Kentucky squad is one of the most dominant teams ever in college basketball. Freshmen Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are likely the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, and senior big man Terrence Jones will be a lottery pick as well.

Kansas is a team that wasn't expected to do great things this year. They lost several key players, including the Morris twins, and were not ranked in the Top-10 in the preseason polls. Yet, they seem to play with great heart and passion and could perhaps be the team of destiny this year. They have come from behind in nearly every game so far in the tournament only to pull ahead in the final seconds.

The neatest part about this matchup is that the two best players in the country - Anthony Davis and Thomas Robinson - will be facing off in the championship game, a rare occurrence indeed.

Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow and all that NFL chaos

First of all, who actually cares about football right now? It's college basketball season!

Anyway, I figured I would diverge my focus for a few words on what went down during the trade deadline. So what did we learn? We learned that Tebow is so good that he is worth a fourth round draft pick. Not a first round pick, not a second round pick, not a third round pick, but the Broncos dished Tebow out like yesterday's trash for a measly fourth round pick!

And am I surprised? Nope.

Tebow and Sanchez will be teammates next year in New York.

I have never been a big fan of Tebow as an NFL quarterback. He had an all-time great college career, he is a hell of a winner, and is a great role model for his values and the way he goes about his business. However, he is not an NFL quarterback. Yes, he did have a remarkable season last year and carried the Broncos into the playoffs, what he did cannot last. Teams weren't ready for him, but now that teams know what he is going to do, he won't be able to succeed long term as a quarterback. QBs simply have to be able to throw (accurately).

Peyton Manning's future is also a big question mark, but I think the Broncos made the right decision. They had a shot at one of the greatest QBs in history, which they couldn't pass up. Tebow is simply not the QB of the future in Denver, especially with John Elway in charge (he knows a thing or two about passing). So they made a great decision. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't. But it was a risk worth taking.

As far as the Jets are concerned, they now have two bad quarterbacks to chose from. One is a great winner but not a good QB, the other is just not a good QB. I'm not sure the Jets can win a championship with either one. Yes teams have won Super Bowls based on defense, but that is rare; ultimately you need a good quarterback to be successful in the NFL. It will be interesting to see who earns the starting job or if they plan on using a two-QB system with Tebow in a Wild Cat.

Did Duke lose...?

OK so this is a little bit delayed... but I have to say a few words about Duke losing to Lehigh.

A little bit of humor to lighten the mood.

To be honest, I wasn't all that surprised. That might sound funny coming from a die-hard Duke fan, but I'm also a realistic fan more than an optimistic one. I knew Duke was not playing well at the end of the season. Even when they one games, they were just barely sneaking by and were not making it look pretty.

In my personal bracket, I picked Duke to make it to the Elite Eight before losing to Kentucky. Did I actually expect that to happen. Hell no. As a Duke fan, I felt an obligation to at least pick them that far even though I wasn't expecting it because if they happened to do well, I would look like an idiot. In all honesty I though they would either lose in the second round to Xavier or to Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen. Especially with junior forward Ryan Kelly sidelined with an injury, my hopes weren't too high.

So, a second round loss was pretty much in my mind in terms of expectations. No I didn't foresee an opening game loss to 15th-seeded Lehigh, but it was just one game earlier than what I had in my mind. Yeah it hurt at the time, but I was also glad I would never have to watch that Duke team again. Thanks fellas for putting me out of my misery early.

But that leads me to next year's team, which has major question marks. With Miles Plumlee graduating and Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers most likely leaving for the NBA, they might be in some trouble. The Plumlees and Rivers were their most consistent and most valuable players this season. Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, Tyler Thornton and Quinn Cook were all up and down all season. In big moments, it was usually the Plumlees and Rivers who kept Duke alive.

Luckily they will have the third Plumlee available next season, Marshall, replacing his two older brothers. But we haven't seen much of him yet and don't know if he can be a major contributor right away. And in terms of Rivers, there is no way to replace what he provides.

Redskins to get RGIII!

There was only one move that could have rallied all of the Washington area around their annually mediocre NFL squad-- trading up to get the rights to the second pick in the draft. And, much to my shock and excitement, they actually did it.

Robert Griffin III holding his Heisman Trophy (Photo courtesy Google Images)

The Redskins under owner Dan Snyder have tried many questionable things, 99.9 percent of which have been complete failures. There is no guarantee that Robert Griffin, III will be a successful NFL quarterback, but I think Snyder has at last made a great decision, a decision that could turn this franchise around for years to come. A potential reputation-saving decision.

I watched nearly all of Baylor's games this past season and I was thoroughly impressed with RGIII in each game. He has rare talent with his arm, his feet and with his intelligence. Yes the Redskins had to give up A LOT to get him-- three first round picks and a second rounder-- but this time it was worth it.

RGIII could be the face of this franchise for the next dozen years or so, as the Redskins have gone through about 15 starting quarterbacks in the previous dozen years. Sure they have more holes to fill than the QB slot, but this is a huge step forward. More so than anything else, it gets the fans excited about Redskins football again and ticket sales will skyrocket as a result. Also, free agents from around the league will now want to come to D.C. to get a chance to play alongside the young QB.

Just think about it this way-- the two quarterbacks currently on the Skins roster are Rex Grossman, who holds the NFL record for most consecutive games with a turnover, and John Beck, who has never won a game as a starting quarterback. RGIII may have never played an NFL game but he is a proven winner, a Heisman Trophy winner, and a likeable guy who is a popular figure among sports fans.

Top teams fall in Championship Week

Duke, Kansas and Syracuse have now all fallen victim to lesser opponents prior to reaching the championships in their respective conference tournaments.

Florida State took down Duke again (Photo courtesy Google Images)

As a Duke fan, I thought these loses could potentially help Duke move up into the No. 1 seed slot if they went on to win the ACC Tournament, but they soon fell as well. However, they lost to a quality team in Florida State, so they should remain a No. 2 seed.

Of course the Duke loss was a tough blow for me, especially now that they have lost to FSU twice this year, but this is why I love college basketball. Everybody expected Syracuse to beat to Cincinnati-- they didn't-- and everyone expected Kansas to beat Baylor-- they didn't. During Championship Week teams are so hungry to win and state their cases for the Big Dance that anybody can win, you really have to throw the regular season out the window.

The same pretty much goes for the NCAA Tournament, as the best team from the regular season rarely wins. Last year UConn won it all after a mediocre regular season, as they caught fire during the Big East Tournament. The year before Duke won it all with one of their lesser talented teams in recent memory.

That is the beauty of college basketball and March Madness-- anything can happen.

That being said, the two best teams in the country (in my opinion) are Kentucky and UNC, and they are both still alive in their respective tournaments. It's hard to imagine those two teams losing to any team other than each other, and that would be a great national championship if they were to meet in the finals. Nevertheless, I would be just as happy to see both lose in the first round, but that's just me.

Mason tumbles in Richmond to VCU, again

In what is essentially a home tournament every year for the VCU Rams in the Richmond Coliseum, they once again took down the George Mason Patriots, making that three consecutive years in which the Rams eliminated the Patriots in the in the CAA Tournament.

Mike Morrison was the best player on the court for Mason in the loss.

This years' version got off to an embarrassing start for Mason, to say the least. The Rams jumped out to an early 30-4 lead and later led 41-13 in the first half. That's a 28 point differential! Somehow, Mason actually cut it to just six points on two occasions in the second half before falling 74-64, at least making the final margin respectable.

In what is, without question, the best rivalry in the CAA, it just seems that VCU has Mason's number in March.

One year ago, the two teams met just once during the regular season, as the Patriots took down the Rams in Richmond just one week before the CAA Tournament. Yet, it was the Rams who won in the Coliseum. This year, the two teams split during the regular season, each winning on their home floor, and, once again, the Rams dominated the matchup in the Coliseum.

Whether it is in the heads of these Mason players, whether it is the overly VCU-favored fans, or maybe a combination of the two, the Patriots just can't get past VCU when it matters. The Patriots last won the Tournament back in 2008, before falling to VCU every year since.

Not only did the loss for Mason essentially eliminate them from even the hope of making the NIT, but it gave VCU a boost in their chances of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. And the only thing GMU fans hate as much as Mason losing is VCU winning.