Under Further Review – Douglas Smith with Editor Bill Morphy. Regular contributors include Jordan Moss, Rob Wagner, Howard Steiss, Ian MacPhee, Dave Kittle, Peter Hucul, Ted Tait, Bill and Glen Myles, Frank Sullivan, Mark Hughes, Iqbal Grewall and Charlie Frenette.   

Spanning the digital ether to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… This is Under Further Review.

The 90th Masters – Winning a major is never easy. No one knows that better than Rory McIlroy. It was another roller-coaster final round at the Masters before McIlroy emerged to capture his second straight green jacket. Rory joins Jack Nicklaus (1965-1966), Nick Faldo (1989-90), and Tiger Woods (2001-2022) as the only back-to-back champions in Masters history.

What may stand out as most surprising is McIlroy only needed to play level par over the weekend to win the tournament. Rory held the biggest 36-hole lead ever, a six-shot advantage. His second round 65 included nine birdies and a closing stretch of six birdies in the final seven holes. It was as good a stretch of golf as you could ever hope to witness. Rory’s struggles off the tee caught up to him on Saturday. By the end of round three, his lead had evaporated, setting up the Sunday drama. McIlroy’s putt from off the green to save par on 16 will be remembered as a key to the victory.

Scottie Scheffler rallied on the weekend and finished just one shot back in solo second. Scheffler is the first player going back to 1942 to play the final two rounds bogey-free. He went 11-under on the weekend. Final round co-leader Cameron Young deserves kudos. He was 4-over after the first seven holes on Thursday. Justin Rose held the lead after his opening nine holes on Sunday before fading. Rose came apart with bogeys on 11 and 12 and a 3-putt par on 13.

The two Canadians to make the cut, Nick Taylor and Corey Conners, both collapsed on Sunday. Taylor shot 77 and fell to T41. Conners shot 75 and dropped to T49.

Footnotes: Why does Jordan Spieth keep getting all kinds of TV air time? Spieth hasn’t won a tournament in four years.

The par three 12th hole at Amen Corner can often make or break your fortunes at the Masters. How tough is it? There hasn’t been a hole in one on the 12th hole since Curtis Strange in 1988.

Join the Club – Want to become a member of Augusta National Golf Club? There are 300 members at Augusta and a membership costs only $40 thousand dollars with annual dues of only a few thousand. A drop in the bucket considering the monied membership. The membership fee is nothing compared to other top clubs which can cost upwards of half a million dollars.

The process for membership to the world’s most exclusive golf club is fairly straight forward. Once a membership opportunity becomes open, you need to be nominated by a current member and have the nomination reviewed by executives on the Augusta board.

This year, Augusta welcomed four new members including former NFL quarterback Eli Manning who joins brother Peyton who became a member in 2016. Also added were three heavyweight corporate executives, Andy Jessy (Amazon), Ed Bastien (Delta) and former CBS Sports boss Sean McManus.

Masters Notebook – The Masters is truly a tournament like no other. The Old Boys Club that controls the Masters has a firm grip on every facet of the tournament.

CBS has been granted exclusive rights to the TV coverage for the past 71 years on an annual handshake deal. The Masters triples the viewership of any other tournament. Reports estimate the Masters may leave as much as $125 million on the table each year as part of the television agreement. However, the arrangement gives the Masters complete and total control.

In exchange for domestic broadcast rights, CBS has to do pretty much anything the Masters wants including limiting commercials to four minutes per hour. If an announcer even thinks about using terms like ‘fans’ instead of ‘patrons’ or ‘sand traps’ instead of ‘bunkers,’ they could be banned from announcing the tournament ever again.

It’s helped make the Masters the premium brand in golf. In case you haven’t noticed, not a single corporate brand is showcased anywhere on the course. What the Masters gives up in TV rights fees, it’s more than recouped in merchandise sales. It’s estimated the Masters earns over one million dollars per hour from merch sales. A garden gnome that costs $60 in the gift shop can sell for a thousand dollars on the secondary market.

One thing is certain – no other sporting event can match the aura and prestige of the Masters.

To LIV or Not to LIV – The results tell the story. Moving to LIV Golf has been a big mistake for many of the world’s top golfers.

Jon Rahm made the cut at this year’s Masters right on the plus-4 cutline but finished T38. Bubba Watson missed the cut at plus-5. Bryson DeChambeau was in more sand than Lawrence of Arabia and missed the cut at plus-6. Cam Smith finished plus-7 and hasn’t contended in a major since joining LIV. Coming into the Masters, Dustin Johnson had missed the cut in five of his last eight Major appearances. In contrast, Brooks Koepka has slowly begun to regain his form after returning to the PGA Tour this season. He finished T12.

The Great Golf Ball Debate – It seems every year at this time there is talk of regulating the golf ball to rollback distance for golf’s biggest hitters. Problem is, nothing is ever done. It’s the responsibility of the game’s governing bodies—the United States Golf Association and the R&A. They were supposed to impose restrictions on the golf ball by 2028 but that’s now been delayed until 2030.

Frankly, the debate has become tiresome. How long does it take to study, discuss and debate the issue? In the opening round, McIlroy averaged 341 yards off the tee. At his annual pre-tournament news conference, Masters Chairman Fred Ridley weighed in on the issue, “Regulation of the golf ball is not an attempt to turn back time or stifle progress. It is an effort to preserve the essence of what makes golf the great game that it is.”

“Until recent years golf has been a game of imagination, creativity, and variety,” Ridley said. “The game has become much more one-dimensional. As players drive the ball prodigious distances and routinely hit short irons into par-4s and even some par-5s, this issue goes beyond competitive impacts. Increased course lengths results in more time, more cost, and more environmental concerns.”

To emphasize his point, Fred Ridley referenced 19-year-old Jackson Herrington who earned a spot in the Masters via a runner-up finish at last year’s U.S. Amateur. Herrington noted that he can carry his tee shot past the fairway bunker on Augusta’s first hole and over the left fairway bunker on the fifth. Both require carries of 325 yards. Ridley joked that “we can make changes, but there’s not much we can do to make changes on No. 1, unless we tear down the Eisenhower Cabin (located behind the 10th tee). And we’re not going to do that.”

It’s time the governing bodies figure this out. Forget about the commercial interests, the integrity of the game is at stake. Golf courses have become indefensible. Quit making excuses and do something!

Club Foote – The Canucks season is mercifully nearing an end. Club Foote has secured the worst record in the NHL and hold the best odds of winning the draft lottery on May 5 at 25.5 percent.

No member of the media has a closer ear to Canucks ownership than Gary Mason of the Globe and Mail. In a recent article, Mason intimated that changes in the front office and behind the bench have not been ruled out. It does appear as though Jimmy Rutherford will remain in place as head of hockey operations and oversee a full review at season’s end.

If changes are made, the most likely scenario would see the Canucks promote Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra and GM Ryan Johnson to replace Adam Foote and Patrik Allvin. If Foote is removed, it would continue the constant turnover behind the bench. Since December 2022, the Canucks have drilled through Travis Green, Bruce Boudreau, Rick Tocchet and Foote. Malhotra would make it five head coaches in three and a half years. That says more about the Canucks dysfunction than anything.

The Canucks top four highest-paid forwards, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Jake DeBrusk and Evander Kane, are a combined minus-129 this season. Their combined salaries are $28 million. Three are on long-term deals. The future looks bright.

Capital Gains – What can you say about the Ottawa Senators? Back on January 12, the Sens were dead last in the Eastern Conference. On January 24, they were nine points out of a post-season spot with the worst save percentage in the NHL. Since then, Ottawa has the best record in the league and the team has morphed into a dark-horse Cup contender.

The Senators lead the NHL in players with 10+ goals and 100+ hits. They play a brand of tight-checking, playoff-style hockey that no team wants to face. The Sens have corrected two big weaknesses. On January 24, Mike Yeo took over the penalty-killing unit. The Sens were 31st in the league at the time. Since then, the penalty-kill is sixth-best. Goaltending had been a glaring weakness all season. Since his return from a mental health leave, Linus Ullmark has gone 14-4-3 with a .904 save percentage.

The Sens playoff surge is a testament to the team’s resilience considering the massive string of injuries along the blueline. Travis Green has done a remarkable coaching job. He should be a Jack Adams Trophy finalist as coach of the year.

The Dead Things – It’s ten years and counting for the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings now hold the distinction of the longest active non-playoff streak in the NHL.

This was supposed to be the year the Red Wings would break the drought. They were in a playoff position for 148 days this season but still found a way to fall short. Steve Yzerman has been general manager of the Red Wings for the past seven seasons. Detroit fans booed the team off the ice when they were officially eliminated on Saturday against New Jersey. Are changes coming?

Yzerman has had plenty of time to build the roster. He’s failed to find a center to slot in behind Dylan Larkin. Larkin faded badly down the stretch after getting injured at the Olympics. It’s time to move on from Michael Rasmussen. He’s scored six times all season and is without a goal since January 4. J.T. Compher has eleven goals. Marco Kasper has eight. Not exactly a Murderer’s Row down the middle.

The roster is badly flawed and that’s on Yzerman. The Wings lack the kind of physicality needed for a long playoff run. With the emergence of Buffalo, Ottawa and Montreal in the Atlantic Division, the Wings playoff drought may not end any time soon.

NHL Notebook – The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired an agency led by Neil Glasberg to spearhead the team’s search for a new GM. One of the names to emerge is Sunny Mehta, an assistant with the Florida Panthers who’s considered a top data analyst. Guess who serves as Mehta’s agent? Yes, Neil Glasberg. If Glasberg steers Mehta to the Maple Leafs, he’ll earn a fee as part of the search group and a fee as Mehta’s advisor. Talk about a conflict of interest.

Not sure what the big deal is with Mehta. He’s an analytics guru but has no experience in contract negotiations and no background in scouting. Don’t see how he’s qualified to take over the GM job in a hockey cauldron like Toronto. Considering the success of Bill Zito and Kent Hughes, the Leafs should be looking at one of the top agents in the business to run the hockey club. Pat Morris and Pat Brisson are the first two names the Leafs should be looking at.

The Leafs better move fast if they plan to axe Craig Berube at the end of the season and go looking for another coach. With Pete DeBoer joining the New York Islanders, it leaves Bruce Cassidy as the top coaching candidate on the market. Cassidy has a .632 career winning percentage. Pretty obvious he gets results.

One of Brad Treliving’s worst mistakes during his GM tenure with the Maple Leafs was getting only top-5 protection on the deal with the Bruins for Brandon Carlo. The Florida Panthers wisely got top-10 draft protection when they acquired Seth Jones from Chicago. It’s now a silver lining for the Panthers who will likely retain the pick this summer and add a high-end draft prospect. Florida’s 2026 first-round pick will now turn into an unprotected 2027 first-round pick for the Blackhawks. The 2027 first-round pick owed to the Bruins from the Brad Marchand trade now becomes a 2028 unprotected first-round pick.

Has there ever been a season with so many deserving MVP candidates? Hard to choose between Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini is the first teenager since Sidney Crosby to score over 100 points. The Kid has more than doubled the scoring total of his closest teammate.

Never in a million years would we have predicted a playoff spot for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Speaking of coach-of-the-year candidates, look no further than Pens rookie head coach Dan Muse. The guy has performed miracles.

Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield has eight overtime goals this season. Makes you wonder how many more goals Gretzky and Lemieux would have scored if they had regular season overtime during their career.

The Seattle Kraken have been a picture of mediocrity since entering the NHL in 2021. The Kraken been unable to land any generational talent to change the fortunes of the franchise. Ron Francis has been ousted as president of hockey operations. Co-owner Tod Leiweke promises changes but talk is cheap. The Kraken are still a long way from relevance.

Once the dust clears, you would have to think Gavin McKenna remains the consensus choice as this year’s number one overall draft pick. Most draft insiders believe he’s reestablished himself as the top selection. Credit McKenna for making the move to U.S. college hockey to challenge himself further. With NIL money, McKenna may have earned more this year at Penn State than he will earn next year in the NHL. The maximum base salary for an NHL Entry-Level Contract (ELC) for the 2025-26 season was $950,000. Reports suggest he pocketed more this year with the Nittany Lions.

Carleton Street Cash Box – Remember when Harold Ballard was owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs? The media called Maple Leaf Gardens ‘The Carleton Street Cash Box.’

Fast forward 50+ years and nothing has changed. The Leafs are intent on monetizing anything they possibly can. Whatever can be sold will be sold.

How far will the Leafs go to make a buck? If a young fan (ages 8-12) wants to stand on the ice and wave a flag before a Leafs home game, the price tag is $956.83 and that doesn’t include the price of admission, which is required. You can hit the Leafs goal horn if you like. That’ll cost you $63.79. Snapping a selfie on the ice after the game will run you $95.68 per person. The Leafs even advertise the opportunity to stage surprise wedding proposals at Scotiabank Arena.

During Keith Pelley’s tenure as president and CEO of MLSE, the Leafs launched a “Fan Access” program with a variety of options. You can sit down for dinner in the Leafs dressing room. That “experience” will run you $1,000 a person (up to a maximum of 10 people). Yes, the Leafs dressing room is literally for sale. An “ultra-premium dining experience” in the ownership lounge is available at $1,000 a head.

Winning has always been secondary in Toronto. That’s a big part of the problem. The Leafs have already announced a ten percent ticket hike for next season on the heels of what can only be described as an absolutely disastrous season.

Sweeney the Swindler – Unlike the Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins have effectively navigated through a retool phase. Bruins GM Don Sweeney has made a series of lopsided trades that have helped the Bruins rebuild their roster and get back into the playoffs. Here’s a summary of Sweeney’s best moves.

Pavel Zacha from the New Jersey Devils for Erik Haula – Zacha has become the Bruins No. 2 center and has already hit a career-high 30 goals. He led the NHL in goals in March with 13. Zacha plays on both of Boston’s special teams and is an effective 200-foot player. Haula now plays for Nashville.

Fraser Minten, a conditional 2026 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-rounder from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Brandon Carlo – This deal has turned into highway robbery. Minten is just 21 and has quickly moved up the ladder in Boston. It looks like he will become a shutdown center. Minten kills penalties and works the bumper on the second PP unit. Some think he could be a future Bruins captain.

Meanwhile, depending on how the final standings play out, the Bruins are sure to land a high draft pick either this year or next as part of the deal. Carlo has been largely ineffective in Toronto and will be a UFA after next season.

Marat Khusnutdinov, Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Minnesota Wild for Justin Brazeau – This deal fell under the radar but its delivered big dividends for the Bruins. Khusnutdinov is now the Bruins’ No. 1 left wing and is a sneaky dangerous offensive threat. Brazeau scored one goal in 19 games for the Wild. He signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins last July.

Hampus Lindholm from Anaheim for Urho Vaakanainen, a 2022 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick and John Moore – Lindholm is an anchor on the Bruins blueline and the team’s No. 2 defenseman after Charlie MacAvoy. None of the players the Ducks drafted (Nathan Gaucher, Damian Clara, Stian Stolberg) has appeared in the NHL.

Mark Kastelic, Joonas Korpisalo and a 2024 first-round pick from the Ottawa Senators for Linus Ullmark – Kastelic is a decent fourth-line winger. Korpisalo has been a solid No. 2 goalie. He’s signed through 2028 at $3 million per season. The Bruins used the first-round pick to draft Dean Letourneau who exploded for 22 goals this season as a Boston College sophomore. When not injured or taking himself out of the lineup, Ullmark has been a picture of inconsistency in Ottawa.

Frozen Four Notebook – The University of Denver is once again the champion of U.S. college hockey. The Pioneers captured their third national title in five years with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Wisconsin in the Frozen Four final. Denver now has a record 11 national championships. Coach Dave Carle can write his own ticket if he wants to make a jump to the NHL. A five-year, $25 million dollar contract is probably waiting.

The Badgers were looking for their first title since 2006. Victoria native and UFR subscriber Ryan MacMurchy was part of that Badgers team. Had to be tough for Ryan to see Wisconsin fall short.

Meanwhile, Michigan forward Michael Hage has made the surprise decision to return to college next season. Hage was expected to leave Michigan and sign with the Montreal Canadiens, potentially even being available to join the Habs for the post-season.

The Canadiens 2024 first-round pick will now return for his junior year and should again be a big part of Team Canada at the World Juniors.

Hobey Baker finalist T. J. Hughes has signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche after completing his college career. Hughes was considered the top college free agent. The Michigan captain and Big Ten Player of the Year had 57 points in 40 games this season. The 24-year-old center should have a good chance of cracking the Avs lineup next season.

Blue Jays Notebook – It’s been a season from hell so far for the Blue Jays who have now dropped four straight series. Injuries have rocked the team with 10 players hitting the injury list headed by Alejandro Kirk, George Springer and Addison Barger. It’s left a massive hole in the lineup. On Sunday, the Jays went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Many of the Jays were already having slow starts. Kazuma Okamoto is on pace to strike out over 200 times this season which would be a new Blue Jays record. The record is 170 jointly held by Jose Bautista and Matt Chapman.

The weekend starters, Patrick Corbin, Eric Lauer and Max Scherzer combined to allow 19 runs in 11.2 innings. Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios and Shane Bieber can’t return quick enough.

As we predicted, the Blue Jays send struggling lefthander Brendon Little to Buffalo to try and get him sorted away. Little surrendered 10 hits and earned 10 runs in 3 and 2/3 innings before being dispatched to the minors. His fastball was running at the same rate as the speed limit in a school zone.

Random Leftovers – The Toronto Raptors have clinched a playoff spot for the first times in four years. The Raptors will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening round of the NBA playoffs. The NBA play-in tournament opens Tuesday night with Philadelphia facing the Orlando Magic in the East and Phoenix taking on either Portland or the Los Angeles Clippers out West.

Can you imagine what Willie Mays would earn today on the open market if he were a free agent? The ‘Say Hey Kid’ was a legitimate five-tool player. New York Mets owner Steve Cohen foolishly agreed to pay Juan Soto $51 million per season just to satisfy his ego and ensure Soto no longer remained a Yankee. Soto is no Willie Mays. His only elite tool is power. Can’t hit for average. Can’t field. Can’t throw. Can’t run the bases. Willie did it all. Can’t imagine what he could command.

YouTube Music Video of the Week – The Crashlanders are an emerging, young funk and soul outfit from Montreal fronted by vocalist Gustave Savignac. They can be heard on the club scene around Montreal. Here’s a three-track video shot in a small Montreal apartment. Check out the song “On My Own” at the 8:44 mark.

https://youtu.be/_lYg8ff4LNY?si=Zb2d3EdKJR_g3fa5

Shelby Lynne joined Daryl Hall on Live from Daryl’s House to perform the hit “Leavin.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gKd8dWw7FI&list=RD_gKd8dWw7FI&start_radio=1

“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” is one of the most recognizable tracks in the Steely Dan songbook. Jeff “Skunk” Baxter reprised the classic tune in 2016 at the 31st Annual NAMM TEC Awards in Anaheim, California. A founding guitarist of Steely Dan, Baxter had an unmistakable sound. This special performance features Kipp Lennon on vocals, Nathan East on bass, and CJ Vanston on keyboards.

Originally released by Steely Dan in 1974 on the album Pretzel Logic, “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” remains one of the band’s most recognizable recordings.

https://youtu.be/nmeKc23IViQ?si=dBjjecheYkgv4syZ

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