The Sports Report, by Caela
Countdown to the 2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics are in London, England; they start on July 27th. There will be 216 countries represented from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. The estimated 10,500 athletes will be competing in the following 26 sports: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Canoe Slalom, Canoe Sprint, Cycling-BMX, Cycling-Mountain Bike, Cycling- Road, Cycling- Track, Diving, Equestrian (Horse) Dressage, Equestrian Erecting, Equestrian Jumping, Fencing, Football (Soccer), Gymnastics-Artistic, Gymnastic-Rhythmic, Gymnastic-Trampoline, Handball, Field Hockey, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Synchronized Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Water Polo, Weightlifting, and Wrestling. In the next Summer Olympics there will be 27 sports because the Olympic committee is adding Golf to the Olympics. The 2016 Olympics are in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There are less than 90 days to the Olympics. The American athletes to watch are Michael Phelps (Swimming), Natalie Coughlin (Swimming), Shawn Johnson (Gymnastics), and Nastia Liukin (Gymnastics).
The 76th Masters
This year’s Masters is one to remember for years to come. Going into the Masters the big stories were about Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy. The stories were, can Tiger win his fifth Masters and 15th major of his career, can Phil tie Tiger and Golf Legend Arnold Palmer with 4 Master wins, and can Rory McIlroy redeem himself from last year’s 80 in the final round to blow a 4 shot lead. None of these things happened in the Masters this year, but it was a great battle to the end between Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Watson. Bubba Watson beat Louis Oosthuizen in a two hole playoff to win the Masters on Easter Sunday. I am going to follow these five men and whoever has the lead after each round, but first I want to tell you a little bit about Bubba. Gerry Lester Watson Jr. aka Bubba a nick name his father gave him after professional football player Bubba Smith. Bubba has a sister Melinda Watson Conner, his parents names are Gerry Lester Watson Sr. and Molly Marie Watson. Bubba is a Christian; he participates in the Players Daily Devotional. Bubba is married to Angie who has been diagnosed with an enlarged pituitary gland which makes her quite tall she stands at 6ft 4 in. She also is unable to conceive children, because of this they decided to adopt. That had to wait till the winter of 2011-12, because Bubba’s father became ill and died on October 15th 2010 of throat cancer. On March 26th 2012 they adopted a one-month old baby boy named Caleb, one week after they tried to adopt an infant girl that fell through at the last moment. Bubba had three professional wins. Now he has four wins with a win at the Masters.
First Round: The first round lead was -5 which was held by Lee Westwood who shot a 67. Tiger Woods shot a 72 for even par tied for 29th, Phil Mickelson shot a 74 for a +2 over par tied for 40th, Rory McIlroy shot a 71 for a -1 under par tied for 11th, Louis Oosthuizen shot a -4 under par 68 tied for 2nd, and Bubba Watson shot a 69 a -3 under par tied for 3rd.
Second Round: Fred Couples shot a 67 for -5 to be the second round leader. Tiger Woods shot a 75 +3 over par for the round and the tournament, Phil Mickelson shot a 68 -4 under par for the day -2 under par for the tournament, Rory McIlroy shot a 69 -3 under par for the round -4 under for the tournament, Louis Oosthuizen shot a 72 for even par to stay at -4 under par for the tournament, and Bubba Watson shot a 71 for -1 under par for the round -4 under par for the tournament.
Third Round: Peter Henson shot a 65 -7 for the day -9 for the tournament and the third round lead. Tiger Woods shot a 72 even par to stay at +3 over par, Phil Mickelson shot a 66 for -6 under par for the round to go to -8 for the tournament, Rory McIlroy shot a 77 +5 over par for +1 over par for the tournament, Louis Oosthuizen shot a 69 -3 to go to -7 under par for the tournament, and Bubba Watson shoot a 70 -2 under par to go to -6 under par for the tournament.
Fourth Round: The final\fourth round Tiger Woods shot a 74 +2 over par to finish the Masters at +5 over par, Phil Mickelson shot a 72 even par to finish the Masters -8 under par, Rory McIlroy shot a 76 +4 over par to finish the Masters at +5 over par. Louis Oosthuizen shot a 69 -3 under par to go to -10 tied for the lead, and Bubba Watson shot a 68 -4 to also go to -10 also tied for the lead and to send it to a playoff.
Sudden Death Playoff: Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Watson replayed the 18th hole. They both made par to send it to the second playoff hole at the 10th. Off the tee Louis hit the ball left of the fairway and Bubba hit it to the right of the fairway. Louis’s second shot missed the green, but Bubba’s second shot was an incredible shot from the woods that landed about 10 feet from the hole. Louis three putted for a bogey, and Bubba two putted for par to win his first Major Championship and the 76th Masters.
Well a very big congratulations to Bubba Watson on his first Major and becoming a dad. God Bless.
The National Hockey League (NHL) Playoffs
In the NHL there are two conferences with three divisions in each. The Eastern Conference has Atlantic, Northeast, and Southeast divisions. The Western Conference has Central, Northwest, and Pacific divisions. The top eight teams from each conference go to the playoffs. The top eight teams from the Eastern Conference are the (1) New York Rangers, (2) Boston Bruins, (3) Florida Panthers, (4) Pittsburgh Penguins, (5) Philadelphia Flyers, (6) New Jersey Devils, (7) Washington Capitals, and (8) Ottawa Senators. The top eight teams from the Western Conference are the (1) Vancouver Canucks, (2) St. Louis Blues, (3) Phoenix Coyotes, (4) Nashville Predators, (5) Detroit Red Wings, (6) Chicago Blackhawks, (7) San Jose Sharks, and (8) Los Angeles Kings. In the first round of the playoffs the (1) team plays the (8) team, the (2) team plays the (7) team, (3) team plays the (6) team, and the (4) team plays the (5) team.
First Round: Rangers V.S. Senators: The Rangers won game one 4-2 to lead the series 1-0. The Senators won game two 3-2 in overtime to tie the series. The Rangers won game three 1-0 to take the series lead at 2-1. The Senators won game four 3-2 in overtime to tie the series at 2-2. The Senators won game five 2-0 to lead the series 3-2. The Rangers won game six 3-2 of the series to tie the series and to force game seven. The Rangers won game seven 2-1 to knock out the Senators and win the series 4-3.
Bruins V.S. Capitals: The Bruins won game one in overtime 1-0 for the series lead at 1-0. The Capitals won game two in the second overtime at 2-1 to tie the series at 1-1. The Bruins won game three 4-3 to take a series lead at 2-1. The Capitals won game four 2-1 to again tie the series this time at 2-2. The Capitals won game five 4-3 to take the lead at 3-2. The Bruins won game six in overtime 4-3 to force a game seven and tie the series 3-3. The Capitals won in overtime 2-1 in game seven to win the series 4-3 over last year’s Stanley Cup winner.
Panthers V.S. Devils: The Devils won game one 3-2 for a series lead 1-0. The Panthers won game two 4-2 to tie the series at 1-1. The Panthers won game three 4-3 to take the series lead at 2-1. The Devils won game four 4-0 to tie the series again at 2-2. The Panthers won game five 3-0 to take the lead at 3-2. The Devils won game six 3-2 to tie the series at 3-3 and force a game seven. The Devils won game seven in the second overtime 3-2 to knock out the Panthers and win series at 4-3.
Flyers V.S. Penguins: The Flyers came back from a 3 goal deficit to win in overtime 4-3 to lead the series 1-0. The Flyers won game two 8-5 to lead the series 2-0. The Flyers won game three 8-4 to lead the series 3-0. The Penguins won game four 10-3 to make the series 3-1. The Penguins also won game five 2-1 to force a game six and make the series 3-2. Game six was won by the Flyers, they won 5-1 to win the series 4-2.
Canucks V.S. Kings: The Kings won game one 4-2 for the series lead 1-0. The Kings won game two as well at 4-2 to make the series 2-0. The Kings won game three 1-0 to take an even bigger lead at 3-0 for the series. The Canucks won game four 3-1 to keep the season alive and to make the series 3-1. The Kings won game five 2-1 in overtime to win the series 4-1.
Blues V.S Sharks: The Sharks won game one 3-2 in the second overtime to take the series lead 1-0. The Blues won game two 3-0 to tie the series 1-1. The Blues won game three 4-3 to take the series lead at 2-1. The Blues won game four 2-1 to make the series 3-1. The Blues won game five 3-1 to win the series 4-1.
Coyotes V.S. Blackhawks: The Coyotes won game one in overtime 3-2 to lead the series 1-0. The Blackhawks won game two in overtime 4-3 to tie the series 1-1. The Coyotes won game three in overtime 3-2 to make the series 2-1. The Coyotes won game four in overtime 3-2 to go 3-1 for the series. The Blackhawks won game five in overtime and they won 2-1, because the game went in to over time the Coyotes and Blackhawks tied the record for the most overtime games in a row in the playoffs. The last time this happened was in 1951 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadians. The Coyotes won game six, which did not go in to overtime, 4-0 to take the series 4-2.
Predators V.S. Red Wings: The Predators won game one 3-2 to lead the series 1-0. The Red Wings won game two 3-2 to tie the series 1-1. The Predators won game three 3-2 to lead the series again 2-1. The Predators also won game four 3-1 to take a 3-1 series lead. The Predators won game five 2-1 to win the series 4-1.
So the Rangers will play the Capitals in second round. The Flyers will play the Devils in the second round. The Blues will play the Kings in the second round. The Coyotes will play the Predators in the second round. Good luck to the rest of the teams and may the best team win.
Opening week of Major League Baseball (MLB)
Opening day of the MLB was April 4th. The first game of the season was between St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins formally known as the Florida Marlins. The Cardinals won 4-1 for their first win of the season. There have been 340 games from April 4th to April 30th. In the MLB there are two leagues the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). In both leagues there are three divisions East, Central, and West. Here are the standings for both leagues. In the AL East the Tampa Bay Rays are at the top with 13 wins and 7 losses, the AL Central the Cleveland Indians are at the top with 10 wins and 8 losses, and the AL West the Texas Rangers are at the top with 15 wins and 5 losses. In the NL East the Washington Nationals are at the top with 14 wins and 6 losses, the NL Central the St. Louis Cardinals are at the top with 13 wins and 7 losses, and the NL West the LA Dodgers are at the top with 14 wins and 6 losses. So that is where the MLB stands after its first month of the season. Enjoy the rest of the season.
Caela’s byline: I am the oldest of six children. I am a Christian. I love watching movies, playing on my computer, and I love watching sports. I want to go to Syracuse University, and eventually become a sports journalist. My favorite sports are hockey, football(soccer) ,and golf.