The US Masters, golf’s quirky showpiece event begins on April 10th at the Augusta National Golf Club, its home since 1934.
It is the 80th year the course has been the home of The Masters, but this is the 78th edition as World War II caused a halt on play from 1943-45.
But this year something will be different, as Tiger Woods will miss the first Masters tournament in his career, dealing another blow in his quest to catch Jack Nicklaus for the most majors in a career.
But even without Tiger Woods, this 78th edition could be a vintage affair with the field that still includes a who’s who of past champions, current top players and impressive amateurs.
In the end it was a case of Goliath crushes David in the men’s ice hockey final at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, as Canada swept aside a plucky Sweden outfit in a convincing 3-0 victory. The win helped the Canadians on to secure third place in the overall medal table for the games, with only host nation Russia and cross-country skiing specialists Norway ahead of them.
Canada have dominated the hockey rinks over the past four Winter Olympics, with three Gold medals to their name. They might not have made it all the way to the top this time, but they did show enforce their credentials as the leading superpower in international ice hockey, with victories over Sweden and – perhaps most crucially of all – their neighbours and great rivals the United States. The Canadians have beaten the rest by being the best, validating the many thousands of fans who cheered the side along or bet on them to win at sites like www.bettingsports.com in the lead-up to the final.
Story of the final
For neutral ice hockey fans it was something of a disappointing end to a fascinating tournament at the Bolshoy Ice Dome, with Canada rolling over the Swedes with apparent ease. Chris Kunitz, Jonathan Toews and captain Sidney Crosby all got their names on the scoreboard, whilst after a reasonably promising start which saw Carl Hagelin hit the post with one particularly menacing effort, Sweden seldom looked likely to threaten the Canadian goal.
Drugs test controversy that mars result
The Sochi Winter Olympics was tainted by a string of doping scandals, and none could be so contentious as that which apparently harmed Sweden’s chances (slim as they may have been) in their ice hockey final clash with Canada. Vice-captain Nicklas Backstrom had proven to be a key figure in the Swedish team on their way to the final, but the star forward was ruled out of the clash by the IOC after testing positive for a banned substance. This may sound like a clear cut case, but the player’s own argument suggests that this isn’t so… Backstrom and his team insisted that the substance found in his test was simply an ingredient of an allergy pill which he had been using for many years. He told members of the press, “I’ve got absolutely nothing to hide. It was shocking to me and at the same time I’m here right now and I have to deal it.”
Sweden’s team doctor Bjoern Waldeback added, “It’s a permitted drug. We told them he had one pill per day as he has for the past seven years.”
It’s not easy to pack the punch of a sports car into a four-door sedan while keeping the price reasonable for the general public. But Mitsubishi did just that with the 2014 Lancer Evolution GSR, and after a week of testing, there is no doubt that the Lancer Evolution can run the streets with the best of them out there!
EXTERIOR
The large, rear wing spoiler on the 2014 Lancer Evolution GSR is definitely old school and adds so much style with something so simple. But so much of what you see on the Lancer Evolution GSR isn’t just for looks, but for performance as well. Further aiding the tractability cause is a set of highly adhesive 245/40R18 low-profile Yokohama Advan asymmetrical performance tires clad to lightweight 18-in. x 8.5-in. wheels with the Lancer Evolution GSR model wearing Enkei cast-alloy rims. Also adding to the sleek exterior are flared fenders, aluminum roof panel, aluminum front fenders with vents and aluminum hood with hear extractor vents.
INTERIOR
The best way to describe the interior of the 2014 Lancer Evolution GSR is modern with no frills! That’s not to say that the latest technology and comfort features aren’t present, but even with all of those extras, there is no mistaken that this car is about performance. Our test model was loaded with recaro black leather seats, power glass sunroof, heated front seats, center console upgrade, sound dampening enhancement, auto A/C with micron filter, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, high contrast sport meter gauges, color multi-information display, steering wheel-mounted cruise control and audio switches, 6.1-inch touchscreen display audio and Fuse hands-free link system with USB port. The seats are strong, but being the larger person that I am, they felt a bit small and uncomfortable at times.
With the exception of Marvel’s Captain America sequel, the directorial debut of longtime Christopher Nolan collaborator Wally Pfister, and yet another Kevin Costner sports drama, April is suspiciously lacking in many big releases. Before theater chains are inundated with all the summer blockbusters, this month’s slate is mostly comprised of smaller independent films, many of which are actually quite promising.
“CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER”
Who: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie What: Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new threat from old history: the Soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier. When: April 4th Why: The first Captain America movie may not have been one of Marvel’s best, but it was a solid and completely necessary introduction to the character that helped pave the way for the awesomeness that was “The Avengers.” And just like that film marked the beginning of the end of Phase One, “The Winter Solider” serves a very similar purpose for Phase Two. Loosely based on the popular storyline from the comics featuring the title character, Cap’s second solo adventure is shaping up to be everything fans wanted and more. The action looks fantastic and the cast is stacked – including the return of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, as well as the introduction of another famous face from the Marvel universe with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson (AKA The Falcon) – so it’s easy to see why expectations are so high.
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“DOM HEMINGWAY”
Who: Jude Law, Richard E. Grant, Demian Bichir and Emilia Clarke What: After spending 12 years in prison, notorious safe-cracker Dom Hemingway is back on the streets of London looking to collect what he’s owed. When: April 4th Why: It’s been nine years since writer/director Richard Shepherd burst onto the scene with the hugely entertaining black comedy “The Madator,” and with the exception of his underseen 2007 follow-up (“The Hunting Party”), he’s spent most of that time as a hired gun for various TV series. But he’s finally back with a new movie featuring a character that could rival Jonathan Glazer’s “Sexy Beast” for the title of Most Polarizing British Gangster, which is quite the feat considering that the British crime genre is jam-packed with loud, ballsy and over-the-top characters. Jude Law has always been one of my favorite actors, so it’s great to see him playing against type here as the larger-than-life criminal, much in the same way that Pierce Brosnan shocked audiences in “The Matador.” Though the film has received fairly mixed reviews since its UK debut, Law’s unhinged performance looks like reason enough to catch this in theaters.
“DRAFT DAY”
Who: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Dennis Leary, Chadwick Boseman and Sam Elliot What: The General Manager of the Cleveland Browns struggles to acquire the number one draft pick for his team. When: April 11th Why: Between “Bull Durham,” “Field of Dreams,” “Tin Cup” and “For the Love of the Game,” it’s safe to say that Kevin Costner and sports movies go together like peanut butter and jelly, so perhaps the only surprising thing about “Draft Day” is that it’s about football instead of America’s favorite pastime. Filmed in Cleveland where it takes place, locals are no doubt hoping that this film can provide a much-needed reversal of fortune for their precious Brownies in the upcoming season. Whether it will be any good is another matter entirely. You’d have to go all the way back to the early ‘90s to find director Ivan Reitman’s last great movie, though it’s certainly encouraging that “Draft Day” seems to be more along the lines of “Moneyball” than “Major League,” because the behind-the-scenes stuff is far more engaging than anything that happens on the field.
Sorry to break it to you, but your mobile device has a bull’s eye on it! Researchers are devising ways to hack into your device using hardware that is easy to mistake as legitimate. Imagine that you are at the home of an acquaintance, when your phone suddenly runs out of batteries. That spare charger your acquaintance gives you to charge your device could be a tool for injecting malware on your phone. Increasingly clever hacks that take advantage of our trust in others have create opportunities for hackers to steal the personal information we keep on our devices.
Software that tracks our device from remote locations can help us recover a lost phone, but that’s only the beginning of security measures that should become standard to anyone with a smartphone.
Recovery
Applications like “Prey” put a tracking system on your device. It uses geo-location and Wi-Fi positioning to locate your phone and provide remote functions like shutting it down or wiping the device. You can also program the device to take a picture of the thief. Samsung and Apple each offer similar services of their own through security pages you can access once you have your device connected to the network.
Just like a computer, network security protection is important to mobile users. Apps that watch your browsing habits in real-time and inspect files for integrity will keep your device safe from malware designed to leech your information.
