The Fives: April 9th, 2010

Five observations from Thursday in sports…

1.    I think the best thing that has happened to Tiger Woods in the last 5 months was actually getting out on the golf course.  To be able to focus on just his golf game, and not have any reporters or paparazzi around, was probably very therapeutic.  It’s not going to surprise me in the least if he goes out and wins a 5th green jacket this weekend.

2.     Butler probably made the 2nd best decision in school history yesterday by signing Brad Stevens to a huge 12 year extension.  The question now is, how long will Stevens be content to stay at Hinkle Fieldhouse before he is tempted by a big time program to come take over?  (The best decision, by the way, was hiring him in the first place.)

3.    Speaking of coaching, you have to wonder how short the list is (or if there’s anyone left on it) for the Oregon coaching job.  Maybe Dino Gaudio (who just got fired by Wake Forest) is the best candidate out there.  It looks like slim pickings, though.

4.    I’m starting to really believe this will be Chipper Jones’s final season.  If he is hurting himself on a hard swing in the 3rd game of the season, third base will become a liability for the Braves this year, and that can’t have too many injuries if they want to compete with the Phillies in the NL East.

5.    Huge win for the Bruins last night over Buffalo to help their playoff chances, but they did not clinch which means 4 teams for the final 3 spots in the Eastern Conference should make for some good hockey this weekend.

Five top performances from Thursday…

1.    Fred Couples:   7 birdies and 1 bogey for a -6 (66) for the 50 year old to lead the Masters

2.    Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 1B:   4 for 5 with a home run and 4 RBIs in DET’s 7-3 win over KC

3.    Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets SF:   31 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast in DEN’s 98-96 win over LAL

4.    Eric Staal, Hurricanes C:  3 goals and 2 assists in CAR’s 5-2 win over MON

5.    Bronson Arroyo, Reds SP:   1 run on 4 hits with 6 K’s in CIN’s 2-1 win over STL

Five events to watch on Friday…

1.    Golf:   Round 2 of the Masters (Live coverage starts at 4:00 PM on ESPN)

2.    MLB:   Braves at Giants, 4:35 PM (only unbeaten team left plays home opener)

3.    NHL:   Flyers at Rangers, 7:00 PM (Biggest game of the season for these two teams)

4.    NBA:   Raptors at Hawks, 7:30 PM (Must win for TOR’s playoff chances)

5.    NBA:   Suns at Thunder, 8:00 PM (2 teams trying to improve their seeds in the West)

Have a good day.