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Masters Week Somehow Never Gets Old, JJ Spaun Loves The Elements, Scottie Scheffler Acquires More Dad Strength

We made it, everyone. The greatest week in golf is finally upon us, and in just a few short days, the 90th edition of the Masters will get underway from Augusta National. It's the one event in sports that never loses its mystique, intrigue, or charm, and it's the golf tournament we hold most sacred. Yet, when we're asked the simple question of why that is the case, there isn't a de facto answer, which, oddly, may be exactly why so many cherish the Masters as much as they do.Scottie Scheffler understands the Masters and Augusta National quite well with the two green jackets sitting in his closet. He enters this week actually flying under the radar – at least in Scheffler terms – thanks to a few out-of-character weeks and welcoming his second son into the world late last month. Scheffler may not be getting great sleep with two little ones in the picture, but it's safe to assume his mind is at peace, which makes for a very dangerous No. 1 player in the world.As for the golf actually played this past week, JJ Spaun did it best at the Valero Texas Open. The conditions were terrible and the 17th hole was a drivable Par 4 – two things Spaun loves – so it should come as no surprise that he was the last man standing on Sunday afternoon.Thoughts, concerns, or comments about Par Talk? Have some Masters thoughts you want to get off your chest? You can reach out via email at [email protected] or on X @itismarkharris. The exclusivity of it, the golf course itself, the familiarity of it all, the history and tradition, you can go on and on about all the factors that make the Masters so special. The most fascinating aspect of the psyche of it all, for me at least, is that even as we all get older, the excitement never goes away. In fact, it's only gotten greater as the years have gone on, and there isn't another annual sporting event in the world that can say the same.Each year, we all watch the Super Bowl, the NCAA Tournament, the World Series, the college football title game, the Stanley Cup Final, (maybe) the NBA Finals, and any other major sporting event you want to toss in there. For me, every one of those events has lost some of its charm and overall sense of excitement as I've gotten older. I'm aware that all of the events listed are team sports, but they're still among the biggest sporting events the world has to offer. The Masters is a golf tournament played every April on the same golf course featuring the smallest field of all of golf's major championships, yet myself and most others out there seem to get more amped up for this event as the years pass by. Nobody has an answer to why that is. You could ask 50 people what makes the Masters so special each year and get 50 different answers.I think it has a lot to do with how perfect Augusta National is, how quintessentially American the golf tournament is, the Southern charm of it all, and how all the countless factors cause some sort of never-ending chemical reaction in our brain that feels like a 96-hour dopamine hit.Whatever it is, we love it as a sports world as a whole, which can't be said about any other event we witness year over year. The weather in San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open was horrible all week, which naturally led to JJ Spaun and Robert MacIntyre rising to the top of the leaderboard. As a Scottish fellow, MacIntyre was born with the ability to play in gusty winds and spitting rain, but if we've learned anything over the last year or so, Spaun absolutely loves the elements on a Sunday afternoon.The similarities between Spaun's U.S. Open win at Oakmont last year and his win at the Valero – his first since becoming a major champion – were borderline scary.The weather during the final round of last year's U.S. Open was awful, which Valero checked that box throughout the week as well on Sunday, but then you had a drivable Par 4 17th hole at TPC San Antonio just like you had at Oakmont.Spaun drove the 17th green at Oakmont during the final round en route to a comfortable birdie that gave him breathing room playing the final hole. He went on to make a 65-footer for birdie to slam the door shut on none other than MacIntyre, who finished solo runner-up. During Sunday's final round at Valero, Spaun stepped up to the 17th tee, drove the green, and knocked in a 10-footer for eagle, giving him the luxury of only needing a par on the tough Par 5 closing hole. It wasn't quite a rinse and repeat situation from Oakmont, but it was damn close.Spaun likes what he likes. He likes playing golf in bad weather and winning the Valero Texas Open. Of his five professional wins, two are at the Valero while the other is a U.S. Open. It's certainly not a bad resume, but it's a unique one as well.He entered Valero week without a Top 20 to his name this season, but found a way back into the winner's circle.Scottie Scheffler and wife, Meredith, welcomed their second son to the world in late March, and the young man has already done something most adults never will: visit Augusta National.Scheffler shared with Golf Channel on Sunday that he has the whole crew with him in Augusta this week, and the PGA Tour reported that the entire family of four, including Remy, who is less than two weeks old, was out on the grounds of the golf course.Scheffler now has the pleasure, yet challenge, of wrangling two kids under two, and his first start as a father of two little ones just so happens to come at the Masters may not seem ideal, but he'd probably like to have it no other way.Scheffler has made it clear that golf is just a game, and his job, while his family and faith sit high above it on his list of priorities. Some players hit a bit of a lull in their careers when dad mode gets fully activated, but Scheffler appears to be very much in his element being dad and playing golfer.The man already has superpowers with a golf club in his hand, and who knows, keeping the golf on the golf course and flipping into dad mode the moment the clubs get tossed in the trunk may unlock even more.He enters Masters week having not played since The Players in early March. Scheffler is still the favorite to win what would be his third green jacket since 2022. 

Read moreMasters Week Somehow Never Gets Old, JJ Spaun Loves The Elements, Scottie Scheffler Acquires More Dad Strength

NASCAR's Tone-Deaf Easter Reversal, Libs Panic Over Controversial Jesus Car & Race Wife's Dark Side Revealed

What a RACE! We've had some decent ones to start the year, but yesterday? Goodness gracious. Put her on the Mount Rushmore of All-Time NASCAR races … ever! No notes. 10/10. Perfection. Bristol delivered. It always delivers, but on this Easter Sunday? She rose from the dead and blew our minds. Amazing. OK … has the bit gone too far at this point? Probably. But, it's one of the rare off weeks in NASCAR, which means I'm gonna need to fill some space today. So, yes, I vamped just a bit longer than normal, and ran the same joke I always run on our bye weeks. Whatever. Just let me have this one. No, there was no Cup race this weekend because NASCAR … quietly? … fixed one of its most controversial problems this season. Should there be a Cup race on Easter? There has been the past few years after decades without one, and I'm not sure how I feel. We'll dive in here in a bit. What else? I've got Daniel Dye quitting after the NASCAR #MOB freaked out because he used a "gay voice" on live stream, rising (that putting it lightly) gas prices starting to impact race teams, and a Good Friday paint scheme has the LIBS in shambles. Oh yeah! I've also got a new NASCAR drama series coming to AMC that will undoubtedly piss off a purple-haired Starbucks barista who accidentally clicks on it. So, you know, that's nice. Whew. That's weirdly a lot of stuff for a Monday with no Cup race. This is why we win awards, you know. While the rest of the woke media is sleeping in today, we're up GRINDING our tails off for you guys. Choose your fighter. Four tires, enough fuel to get us to Bristol (but not too much because times are TOUGH), and maybe an updated TV Guide for our older folks in class so they can find the new NASCAR TV show this fall … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘We’re Just Gonna Throw Stuff At The Wall Today And See What Sticks' edition – is LIVE!I'm not trying to get anyone fired up today, but sometimes, the #content just lends itself to it. Some weeks, we all get along just fine. Other weeks, we're ready to rip each other's faces off before 8 a.m. on Monday. This one, it appears, is one of those weeks. There's A LOT of weird tension right now. Let's go ahead and spin the wheel, and start with … This paint scheme, illustrating the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ – which was run by Garrett Smithley in the Busch race Saturday at Rockingham. Yes, there were races this weekend! Just not Cup ones. Garrett, how's that Chevy looking?!Today is Good Friday. You can’t have the Resurrection without the Crucifixion. Honored to be racing this special scheme to tell the Easter Story on our racecar.I'll tell you what, 90% of the comments under that tweet are positive, which was nice to see. Stunning. RARELY do you get that sort of agreement out of the internet nowadays. Sure, there were some haters, like Jessicahellcat from above, but I'm sure she appreciated Bubba's BLM scheme a few years back. So, even stevens!Garrett, by the way, finished 29th. Not the best look for our Lord and Savior, but it's the thought that counts!The good news for those who did NOT like Garrett's scheme is there's a new show coming out that should make you all feel a lot better!And by that, I mean AMC is basically coming up with their own version of Yellowstone, but making it about a NASCAR driver. Should do well in blue states!Amazing. I knew the SECOND I saw Dennis Quaid as the lead actor, the replies were going to be … something. And buddy, they were! The left HATES Dennis Quaid. Hollywood doesn't love him, either. He's a Trumper. He was literally flying with Trump, for some reason, while we launched our initial attack on Iran in February. What a time to be alive. And now AMC has ordered a new NASCAR drama called "Thunder Road" with Dennis as the lead. By the way, it sounds promising, and I don't say that often anymore, because TV nowadays is generally awful. But …The show is described as "a multi-generational saga of the Whitlock family, whose legacy in stock car racing is as deep as the family’s ties to the southern hill country roots that shaped them," per the official logline. Quaid will star as Duane Whitlock, a.k.a. The Wrecking Ball." He is described as "a NASCAR legend" and "a towering figure who built a racing empire from a legacy of moonshine runs and dirt tracks… and refuses to let it die. This is a story about a blue-collar dynasty at the edge of extinction — and the old king fighting to hold onto his crown.I mean … I've certainly heard worse ideas for a show. Shockingly, Taylor Sheridan is NOT writing this one. Hookstead will be crushed!OK, let's get to a couple quickies because it's a long drive to Bristol … and gas ain't cheap!"We actually have a group text, it's called the ‘traveling group text’ for Kaulig Racing where we plan our trips accordingly," Rice told Sirius XM last week. "If we can wait a day and pick up more stuff in a day, we'll do that. I was talking to our truck (hauler) drivers and saying, ‘Hey, watch fuel prices to make sure that, since we’re only going to Rockingham, do we need to fill it all the way up?"Will the fuel prices come down? We keep our eyes on that. We look for ways that we can find locations that sell it a little bit cheaper. Every dollar matters with us and in the Truck Series."As Trump so elegantly put it on … EASTER SUNDAY … "Open the F----- Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell!"Next? Remember last month when that very same Kaulig Racing suspended driver Daniel Dye because they thought he was being homophobic on a live stream? Well, he's recently been reinstated … and promptly quit:Yeah, I'm not gonna rehash that whole incident. I wrote about it plenty last month. But, that's the video. That's it! That's why NASCAR benched Daniel Dye. And I'm not a Daniel Dye fan. Believe me. But come on. What are we doing here?Anyway, he's now a free agent. Step right up! Hey, not all at once! Form an ORDERLY line!Finally … let's end the day – and start the week – with a question. Did y'all miss having a NASCAR Easter Sunday race yesterday?The NASCAR world is fairly divided on this one. Some think we should corner the market and dominate Easter in the way the NFL dominates … pretty much every other holiday. I'm in the other camp. NASCAR tried to have an Easter race for the past few years, and having NONE for decades, and it flopped. Sure, you could argue that the Bristol Dirt was a bad place to test it out, and maybe you'd be right. But, I think in this sport more than any other, Easter is a big deal. Dale Jr. said as much years ago. I mean, did you see the paint scheme I just talked about? I'd leave it alone. I'm glad NASCAR did.OK, that's it for today. Honestly, I think we nailed it. Sometimes, I dread these off-week classes. They can be tough. Not today. Good work, everyone. Take us to Bristol, Sam Busch!

Read moreNASCAR's Tone-Deaf Easter Reversal, Libs Panic Over Controversial Jesus Car & Race Wife's Dark Side Revealed

Megan Rapinoe Rejects Basic Biology While Reacting To Olympics Much-Needed Ruling On Trans Athletes

Beginning with the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, biological males will not be allowed to compete against biological females. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled that men will compete in men's events and women will compete in women's events. Nothing about that is or should be controversial for anyone living in reality. For Megan Rapinoe, who is among those who subscribe to the idea that feelings matter more than facts, and we can quite literally just make things up as we go, biological males being told that they can't compete against females is wrong.In Rapinoe's world, the transgender athlete – a biological male in this instance – matters more than the biological female competing in the women's category. I'd say make it make sense, but you can't.The former U.S. women's soccer star reacted to the IOC's recent ruling about biological males being banned from competing in the women's category in an extremely predictable fashion during a recent episode on her ‘A Touch More’ podcast. "Unfortunately, we have to say that all in the same breath as a really horrible rule came out from the International Olympic Committee," Rapinoe said as she praised the transgender community. "They announced a new policy that they’re calling, I can’t even believe that they’re calling it this because it has nothing to do with protecting women, I feel like two people, who played at the very highest level for every competition that you possibly could, don’t agree with this and never felt like this was an issue at all, ‘The Protection of the Female [Women’s] Category.’"Rapinoe saying that the ruling "has nothing to do with protecting women" is factually incorrect in the most literal of ways, but again, feelings matter more than facts.READ: Left-Wing Media Outlets Share Absurd, Blatantly False Posts About Trans Athletes Being 'Banned' From OlympicsThe IOC approved the "Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women's) Category in Olympic Sport" in March, and the new rules establish a standardized sex-testing process across all Olympic sports."Male sex provides a performance advantage in all sports and events that rely on strength, power and endurance," the IOC's announcement read. "To ensure fairness, and to protect safety, particularly in contact sports, eligibility should therefore be based on biological sex."With the rare exception of athletes with a diagnosis of Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS)… no athlete with an SRY-positive screen is eligible for competition in the female category at an IOC event."Rapinoe completely rejects the policy solely rooted in biology, which should come as no surprise, given that she admitted that she doesn't believe, or at the very least, understand basic biology."We already know that biology, as much as we want it to be just nice and clean and tight and perfectly in one category and another, it’s not," Rapinoe explained. "We know that. So, now what we’re doing is subjecting everybody, all women and all people who are identifying as women to this really invasive testing that only to me says like, ‘Oh we’re just trying to whittle it down to a certain type of woman.' Is that what we’re doing? That’s really the whole game here."The proper reaction to Rapinoe's comments here is to ask one simple question: What in the actual hell is she talking about?We already know that biology isn't "perfectly in one category?" Who is we? All we know about who that ‘we’ consists of is that it doesn't include anyone with a shred of common sense."This committee is framing it as based in science, which it’s not," she continued. "This will ultimately just prevent people from competing within the women’s category that they feel like they have an unfair advantage. It’s just really hateful."Keeping biological males out of women's sports is not hateful; it's necessary. The fact that we're living in a time where the governing body of the Olympics has to issue a formal ruling stating biological men can't compete against women is insane, but then again, Rapinoe's comments prove we're dealing with insanity.

Read moreMegan Rapinoe Rejects Basic Biology While Reacting To Olympics Much-Needed Ruling On Trans Athletes

Rory McIlroy Breaks Down Pivotal Moment He Ignored His Caddie During Final Round Of Masters Victory

It felt like every shot Rory McIlroy hit during the final round of the 2025 Masters was a pivotal one, but there is one in particular that came before he had even made the turn that victorious Sunday afternoon that undoubtedly stands out. If McIlroy had listened to his caddie, however, we would've never seen the golf shot.McIlroy, holding a three-shot lead at the time, tugged his tee shot left on the Par 4 7th hole. When he arrived at his golf ball, he was met with a wall of pine trees between himself and the green. He appeared to be completely blocked out, with the lone window being a low one where he would simply advance the ball up the fairway and hope to make a par the hard way.As it turns out, that's the exact route McIlroy's longtime caddie and close friend, Harry Diamond, told his boss to take. McIlroy ignored him, which led to him producing one of the most impressive shots in recent Masters history. In the recently released Amazon documentary ‘Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait,’ the now five-time major champion gave insight into the conversation he and Diamond had before he pulled off the shot of a lifetime."Seven was a tee shot all week that I struggled with. When I was walking up to it, I'm just like, ‘Please have something. Some sort of shot and some sort of gap,’" McIlroy explained."The one thing Harry and I always say to ourselves is, 'All I want is a backswing and a gap.' Harry was begging me, he was like, 'Just chip it out, we can make four [par] this way.'"I'm like, 'No, no, I've got a gap I can see a gap here.' He's like, 'What are you talking about? There's nothing there.' I'm like, 'No, no, I can get a 9-iron up, and I can do this."He did it, indeed. McIlroy did not make the birdie putt, but made a comfortable par on the difficult Par 4 that kept his round on track. McIlroy's 1-over 73 that Sunday afternoon led him to take on Justin Rose in a playoff, which he won with a birdie on the 18th hole to complete the career Grand Slam.

Read moreRory McIlroy Breaks Down Pivotal Moment He Ignored His Caddie During Final Round Of Masters Victory

Bryson DeChambeau Steps In After Asterisk Talley’s Emotional Interview, 'Little Meltdown' At Augusta

Everything was going so well for 17-year-old phenom Asterisk Talley during Sunday's final round of the Augusta National Women's Amateur. She then arrived to Amen Corner, and became the latest addition to the long, long list of players who left golf's most famous stretch of holes searching for a prayer.Talley began the final round with a one-shot advantage and made easy work of her opening 10 holes on Sunday, sitting at three-under on the afternoon. Her first bogey came at the Par 4 11th, but still had one hand firmly on the trophy as she stepped to the tee on the Par 3 12th.She would eventually walk off the 12th green with a quadruple bogey seven, suddenly finding herself in a battle to keep her name on the first page of the leader board instead of cruising to the biggest win of her young career.READ: Golf World Makes Excuses For Golfer’s Insane Pre-Shot Routine At Augusta National Women's AmTalley put her tee shot into a back bunker on 12 and proceeded to hit two consecutive shots from the sand trap into the water. It was a difficult moment to watch, and certainly one to live for a teenager on the grandest of stages on the most famous Par 3 on Earth.Talley ultimately finished T-4 in the event, six shots back from winner Maria Jose Marin, who carded an impressive final round 68. To her credit, Talley spoke with the media after not having anywhere close to her best stuff on Sunday, and was understandably emotional while speaking about what had transpired throughout the day and her great support system on and off the golf course. She referred to her quadruple bogey on the 12th as a "little meltdown," proving she wasn't being too hard on herself.Bryson DeChambeau, who hails from California as Talley does, was on the ground of Augusta National on Sunday and chose to hang around after she signed her scorecard and gave her emotional interview. The two-time U.S. Open champion shared some words of wisdom for the young golfer who has quite the future ahead of her."The way it turned out, it’s not going to define her," DeChambeau told The Athletic after he spoke to Talley. "It’s a moment for her to really learn. Obviously, I’ve had difficult moments in my career, and if there’s anything I can do to support her, that’s what I’m here for. That’s why I’m here to support. Obviously, ANWA is a huge event now. It’s really transforming the game, and that’s what really matters here today."Talley also shared that Annika Sorenstam had talked to her after the final round on Sunday, and said that the legend had called her the best player in the field.

Read moreBryson DeChambeau Steps In After Asterisk Talley’s Emotional Interview, 'Little Meltdown' At Augusta

Xandra Pohl & Her Girls Are On Island Time, Kylie Beck's Preparing For The Draft At The Beach & UConn Moves On

UConn is headed to their third National Championship in the last four years after beating Illinois. The 71-62 score suggests that the Fighting Illini had a chance at sending the Huskies home.

Read moreXandra Pohl & Her Girls Are On Island Time, Kylie Beck's Preparing For The Draft At The Beach & UConn Moves On