"The Stack" 4-6-17
Dustin Johnson fell on some stairs at the home he is renting in Augusta on Wednesday putting his status for the Masters which start today in doubt.
With Dustin Johnson's injury, does this give guys like Jordan Spieth a better chance and make someone like Spieth the favorite now?
The Stack is back on this Thursday and we really don’t have a whole lot to talk about today. Working on our belated MLB season preview. That will be unveiled Friday, Saturday or early next week. Won’t be quite as extensive as other previews, but you should still take a look nonetheless. We won’t be talking about a guy named Lance ticking off a bunch of Raptors Tuesday night, but we still have other things to discuss so let’s get right to it and see what’s in “the stack” for today, Thursday, April 6th:
Dustin Johnson slips on stairs, status for Masters uncertain
It was not a good day for The Masters on Wednesday and the tournament hasn’t even begun yet. First off, inclement weather forced the stoppage of the fan favorite par 3 tournament. Then the hottest golfer arguably in the world right now, Dustin Johnson, slipped on some stairs at the home he is renting in Augusta and hurt his back. His status for the Masters according to his agent is very uncertain at this time. If Johnson’s back is stiff that is obviously going to affect his game. No one is playing better golf right now than Dustin Johnson. This was by far his best chance to win a green jacket and now we wait to see if Johnson can even go on Thursday. Fortunately for him he is in the last group to tee off so that will help him get the necessary treatment, but who knows how his back and body will respond. His swing will suffer. His power could suffer. Not good news for Dustin Johnson.
Masters preview
Dustin Johnson was going to be my pick to win it all. I’d love to stick with him, but his injury has scared me away regardless of if he can fight through it or not. That leaves me with Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. Defending champion Danny Willett is a nice story, but he isn’t going to win. Spieth and McIlroy are the two young faces of golf. One of them needs to step up and win this tournament. Spieth won it a couple of years ago and was set up to win it again last year before he choked in the final round. A wild card is Phil Mickelson. With the weather having some gusty winds today and Friday, veteran players may be at more of an advantage than some of the younger guys who haven’t played Augusta as much. Mickelson at 46 would tie Jack Nicklaus as the oldest players ever to win The Masters. I’d love to see him do it, but I’ll go with Spieth who will exercise the demons of last year and come away with a second green jacket.
Predicted winner: Jordan Spieth
Lynch visits Raiders
Marshawn Lynch appears closer to coming out of retirement and he wants to play for the Oakland Raiders. Lynch met with the team on Wednesday. The Raiders had talks with the Seattle Seahawks who still own Lynch’s rights since he never signed his retirement papers. The dialogue went well. That will mean that Oakland will have to compensate Seattle one would think in terms of a contract. Lynch grew up in the bay area and went to school at California so playing for the Raiders would be somewhat sentimental. The question is if this is a good addition for the Raiders. How effective will Lynch be? I think it’s telling that they would rather have a guy who didn’t play football at all last year versus someone like Adrian Peterson who has dealt with injuries two of the past three years. A deal with Lynch is likely. Bet that it will happen sooner than later.
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Coming up Friday or Saturday: 2017 MLB season preview
