Masters

Phil Mickelson won the Masters on Sunday with a dominating three stroke win over Lee Westwood. He had a birdie putt on 12 and a clutch second shot from the pine needles on the 13th hole. This win had huge significance as he has had to take care of his wife and mother as both have been battling breast cancer. You could say this win was "for the family" as Jim Nantz put it. It was also his first major since he melted down at the US Open in 2006. Many had wondered if he would go into a downward spiral as far as the majors were concerned after that collapsed. While I would like to see him win a US Open, no matter what happens this will always be significant and he will definitely go down as one of the best in the game with four majors, three of which are Masters titles.

Tragedy in Poland

Condolences to the people of Poland and those of Polish descent on the death of their president Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 42 government officials. It happened near the site of the Katyn massacre, where Polish soldiers were killed by Russians. They were going there to mark the 70th anniversary of the massacre. My initial thought on the tragedy was why there were so many government officials on board. One has to wonder about the continuity of the Polish government.

Family in town

The family came to town this weekend. Although they missed the cherry blossoms the weather more than made up for it and they always appreciate being in DC and seeing the monuments. It is something you do not get to do in Northern Massachusetts. We saw the monuments and Ted Kennedy's grave as well as ate at our favorite restaurant, Old Ebbitt Grill. It seems like many of the stuff we do is deja vu but at least we have set plans. I myself don't have time to plan an elaborate trip. We capped it off with dinner at Crystal City Sports Pub and watched the Masters. More on that in a later post. Weekends like this go too fast but we can always look forward to the next one.

Confederate History Month

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell declared April to be Confederate History Month in order to celebrate the fight of the Confederacy for states rights and sovereignty and have a slave economy. First of all acknowledging this dark moment in our history is taking a huge step back in a state that is making a lot of progress. Secondly, in his declaration he failed to mention slavery which implied that he is recognizing their right to have a slave society. Slavery was huge stain on American history and should not be celebrated or recognized by any administration. Great job taking us back, Governor McDonnell.

Opening week of baseball

Spring is here and baseball is back! Everyone is optimistic about a trip to the World Series. October is a long ways off but not time to worry about that-after a long winter we can enjoy nice weather and being outdoors!

National championship game

The national championship game in men's basketball featured Cinderella Butler, playing in their hometown taking on perennial power Duke. It seemed as if the stage was set for a historic finish with a mid major conference finally winning a national championship. Butler stayed with Duke for the entire game and had a chance to win with a mid court buzzer beater attempt which rimmed out. Duke won 61-59 to give Coach K his fourth national title. While a lot of people are were heartbroken, Butler set the bar for mid majors and they will continue to be a major factor in the NCAA Tournament. I believe that someday one of them will break the glass ceiling and win a championship.

Week in review

Sorry for the lack of posts. It has been a busy week. Here is a recap of various news events that have happened over the past week.

Obama Allows for Offshore Drilling-This doesn't surprise me. Although he broke a campaign promise, he did not break another that being reaching out to Republicans. I believe some steps need to be made to reduce our dependence on offshore drilling and this, unfortunately for environmentalists, is one of them. While he had a victory on healthcare, nothing is guaranteed for votes on energy and other initiatives that he wants to get through. He will most likely need Republican votes in order to get these done.

West Virginia mine tragedy-This is sad with 25 miners dead. Although mine safety has come under scrutiny there is little that you can do to ensure safety that far deep into the earth. One will wonder if this century Americans will reduce their dependence on coal.