Golf: It looked as if Sunday might be the day Tiger Woods would make his big comeback at the Masters. He twice held a share of the top spot on the leaderboard. But after a dominant first nine, Woods stalled on the back nine and finished tied for fourth (same as 2010). Instead, 26-year-old South African Charl Schwartzel took the title after shooting a 6-under 66 Sunday, the best final round by a champion in 22 years.
Schwartzel, who finished at 14-under 274, also became the first Masters winner in history to finish the tournament with four consecutive birdies. Up until the final hour, it was anyone's tournament for the taking. There was five-way tie atop the leaderboard at one point, and eight different players held at least part of the lead on the back nine. Entering the final day, all signs pointed to 21-year-old Rory McIlroy's capturing this year's title. He dominated the first three days of the tournament and entered Sunday with a four-stroke lead. However, he shot an 8-over 80 in the final round to finish in a tie for 15th -- 10 strokes behind Schwartzel. McIlroy was played poorly enough to make history on Sunday. His 80 is now tied for the worst-ever final round performance by a 54-hole leader in the Masters' 75-year history.
MLB: Manny Ramirez abruptly ended his baseball career on Friday. All reports point to Ramirez testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug during spring training. Instead of facing the 100-game suspension that would follow, the Tampa Bay Rays slugger decided to call it quits. In 2009, Manny served a 50-game suspension for violating the drug policy while he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Repeat offenders get double that punishment. Ramirez recently inked a $2 million, one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. ... The San Francisco Giants received their 2010 World Series rings (created by Tiffany & Co.) in a pregame ceremony before hosting the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Each white gold ring has 77 diamonds and weighs just under a carat. The first ring was given to equipment manager Mike Murphy, who has been with the team since he started as a bat boy in 1958. The Giants went on to win the game 3-2 following a Miguel Tejada two-run double with two outs in the ninth. ... The Texas Rangers' streak as the last undefeated ball club in the majors came to an end this weekend. In the first game of a double-header on Saturday (which became necessary after Friday night's game had to be postponed due to rain), the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles beat the Rangers 5-0. Texas was attempting to match a franchise-record 7-0 start, set by the 1996 squad.
NBA: The Chicago Bulls clinched the top seed in the East by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-82 Friday night. The last time the Bulls locked up the top seed in the Eastern Conference was the 1997-98 season. To put that into perspective, the 1997-98 season was Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson's final season with the Bulls. It was also the last time Chicago won a title. The Bulls will open up postseason play against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs.
NHL: With the regular season coming to a close, a couple of coaches ended their relationships with their teams this weekend. The Florida Panthers parted ways with head coach Peter DeBoer Sunday after his third year with the team. The Panthers just wrapped up their 10th straight season without a playoff appearance and finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. New Jersey Devils head coach Jacques Lemaire decided to step away from the game on Sunday. The 65-year-old Hall of Famer announced he would be leaving coaching for the third and most likely, final time. Lemaire stepped in on Dec. 23 to take over the Devils from rookie head coach John MacLean and turned the team from a cellar dwellar into a contender, getting the Devils within six points of a playoff spot before tapering off late. With the playoffs starting this week, here's a look at all of the matchups.
