Last night on the Coach’s Corner segment following the Leafs win over Montreal, Don Cherry threw any remaining thread of non-Leaf bias on Hockey Night in Canada right out the window.

In order for the Leafs to qualify for the 2007 playoffs, New Jersey needs to beat the Islanders this afternoon.

Don opened the post-game segment saying it “wouldn’t be fair” if Devils Head Coach Lou Lamoriello didn’t start Martin Brodeur against the Islanders.

Martin Brodeur is the Devils best player and the best goalie in the NHL.

Today’s game against the Islanders is meaningless to the Devils in terms of their regular season finish and playoff position.

So what reason would they possibly have to start the 35 year old Brodeau who has already started 78 of the Devils 81 games this year, which is the most starts by any goalie in the league.

Come on Don… that was a pathetic plee for the Devils to try to help Toronto get into the playoffs.

I don’t know who is responsible for determining the TV schedule for coverage of the Masters golf tournament — CBS, Augusta National or both.

Whoever it is, for golf’s first major (of 4) of the year, the TV schedule really sucks.

Thursday, April 5: 4pm to 7pm on USA (TSN in Canada)
Friday, April 6: 4pm to 7pm on USA (TSN in Canada)
Saturday, April 7: 3:30pm to 7pm on CBS
Sunday, April 8: 2:30pm to 7pm on CBS

Only 3 hours on Thursday and Friday when the entire field is playing.  Not starting until 3:30pm on Saturday.  Come on?!?!

Yesterday being Good Friday made matters worse as I was home from work and could have watched the tournament all day.  I’m sure I wasn’t the only golf fanatic that wanted to watch, but couldn’t.  Instead, I had to watch the Golf Channel telling me, rather than showing me, what was happening.

I even tried to watch CBS’ live feed of Amen Corner on the web, but was informed its not available outside of the US. Why the hell not?  Isn’t the Internet borderless?

The Masters does not need to worry about people watching the tournament on TV instead of buying tickets.

The patron list for tickets to the Thursday to Sunday rounds has been closed for 35 years, since 1972.  A waiting list began in 1972 and was closed in 1978.  The waiting list re-opened briefly in 2000, but is now closed.

The Masters does not need to worry about selling tickets and millions of people want to watch every shot.

Why not do a deal with the Golf Channel, like the PGA Tour did this year and let them provide early coverage each day before CBS / USA takes over?  I’m sure the Golf Channel would do it in a heart beat.  They’re already broadcasting from and about Augusta basically all day, all week, they are just not able to show any actual golf.

Or why not just broadcast the entire tournament, from first tee time to final putt, on the Internet?

Both Nike and Callaway have released square-headed drivers this year.

What are the odds? 

You can’t help but wonder which company had the idea first only to have it leaked to and copied by the other?

Callaway’s is the FT-i.

Nike’s is the Sasquatch Sumo Squared.

Of course, both companies are claiming ultimate distance, forgiveness and accuracy (without mentioning the need for practice and skill).

We’ll see how many Pros put them in their bags.  Phil Mickelson and Michael Campbell are said to be testing the FT-i.

I wonder if we’ll see Tiger Woods tee up the Sumo Squared?  We might see Michelle Wie using it, but only if you watch the Thursday and Friday (pre-cut) rounds of a men’s tournament.

I will likely try both this summer, but as I just bought the Callaway Fusion FT-3 mid-way through season and like it a lot, they’ll have to be really good for me to consider making a switch.

I haven’t seen any Callaway ads for the FT-i, but Nike’s for the Sumo Squared (which I couldn’t find online) are pretty good — square tee blocks, square bunkers, square greens, squares trees, even square lily pads in a water hazard.

He started the final round tied for fourth.  In the end, Tiger Woods won the Buick Invitational by 2 strokes after a final round 66 (low score of the day) to capture his 7th tournament win in as many starts – moving one win closer to Lord Byron’s record of 11 and into second place alone on the list of most consecutive PGA Tour wins.

Of those that Tiger was chasing or tied with at the beginning of the day, Charles Howell III gave him the biggest challenge, shooting a 4 under par 68. 

Brandt Snedeker, who opened the tournament with an 11 under 61, could only manage one more under par in the next three rounds, his final round 71 put him 3 back of Woods and third overall.

Other contenders didn’t fair very well up against Tiger in the final round.

Andrew Buckle, who pulled out in front mid-round, finished with an even par 72 on Sunday, good for a tie for fourth.

Kevin Sutherland shot a 2 over 74; Bill Haas a 3 over 75; and Troy Matteson a 4 over 76.

With the exception of Howell, who had an eagle putt on 18 to tie Tiger (he ended up with a 3 putt par), most of those with a shot at stopping Tiger’s streak were rookies, near rookies and/or much lower ranked players.

No one, including me, gave any of them much of a chance at the beginning of the day.  Much better and more experienced players than them have crumbled when up against Tiger.

Is Tiger’s current streak and dominance since joining the PGA good for golf?  I think so.  Just as Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan were great for hockey and basketball.

As Tiger continues to break every record, I think more and more people will want to watch him do it.    

Particularly, when golf is not top of mind for many people in North America right now because it’s too cold/snowy to play, Tiger’s streak is a reason to be insterested even though the golf season is 3 or 4 months away.

Next stop, the Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates, where Tiger is the defending champ.

This week, Tiger Woods makes his 2007 debut on the PGA Tour at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California.

He also puts his winning streak of 6 tournaments in a row on the line as he chases Bryon Nelson’s record of 11 straight wins set more than 6 decades ago in 1945.

Despite shooting an opening round 6 under 66, he’s 5 back of the leader Brandt Snedeker who played on the Nationwide Tour last year and fired an 11 under 61 today.

It’s unlikely that Tiger (or anyone) will get this close to Bryon’s record again, so it would be nice to see him win this week.

On another note, for a course that is hosting the US Open in 2008, Torrey Pines’ website really sucks.  They should call 76design.

For this year’s Super Bowl, Doritos, Chevrolet, CBS, and the National Football League have invited consumers to create their ads.  The average 30-second ad is likely to cost up to US$26-million.

In this National Post article published on January 17, 2007, Scott Deveau reports:

CBS is offering 15-seconds of network time for an inspiring message from one of its viewers. The submissions were uploaded on to a YouTube site and CBS Web sites, before the broadcaster selected one to be aired on Feb. 4 during the Super Bowl.

Chevrolet has honed in on its target demographic, calling on college students to pitch an ad complete with story board and script that will be selected and produced by the automaker.

The NFL will produce its ad after the winner is selected by a combination of company input and online voting after open auditions were held across the United States.

Company officials for Doritos narrowed a field of more than 1,000 pre-produced, 30-second spots to five last week. The winner will be determined this Friday by online voting for the finalists on the contests Yahoo! Web site.

Oh no wait, that’s Charley Hoffman who won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Springs, California this weekend. 

But, if a replacement for one of the Hanson Brothers is required for Slap Shot 3…

Toronto scored the first goal tonight against Pittsburgh.

Bob Cole said something along the lines of: boy, they’ve looked great on this road trip and its looks like we’re in for a good one tonight.

Final score (with a late goal by Toronto): Penguins 8 – Leafs 2

Good call Bob.

I haven’t seen many Penguins games this year, but wow, if they can hold onto Crosby, Malkin and Staal – look out!

The Sens had a nice win over Boston.  They’re currently in a playoff spot, the Leafs aren’t.