The Key for the week of April 8, 2025
It was a win—until it wasn’t
Ben has watched the replay of the NCAA Championship Game a dozen times, and still can’t figure out how Houston didn’t win that game. Two crucial turnovers in the final minute sealed the fate for the Cougars and gave Florida its third national championship. Meantime, seven was not the lucky number for Houston: It was the seventh time the Cougars had been to the Final Four, and the seventh time they have gone home empty handed. Houston may have won their moral championship Saturday night by defeating Duke in another improbable ending. No matter—in USA Today’s way-too-early 2025-26 season poll, Houston is at the top of the poll, with Duke second. All this dependent, of course, upon who transfers and who leaves early for the NBA draft.
A tradition unlike any other
It’s Masters week, and the azaleas are out at Augusta National. Tradition runs deep in the South—how deep? The Masters higher-ups already have asked Jason Day to tone down his wardrobe. He’s a brand ambassador for Malbon Golf and as such, wore rather bright lettering with the sponsors name across his golf togs. Last year, he had to take off his sweater vest to remove the lettering. This year, Augusta wanted to see what he was wearing beforehand. The first round of outfits wasn’t approved. This year he’s promised to be more toned-down in his sartorial choices. Ah, the Masters.
Reds Reaching for Respectability
After another stumble at Milwaukee, the Reds have a strange schedule blip to go out to the West Coast for one series (with the Giants) before they come back home this weekend. One bright spot at the beginning of this season—Hunter Greene is pitching like the ace he is for this staff. An almost-complete game showing to start the San Francisco series bodes well for the rotation—now the Reds bats need to catch fire. Interesting that Terry Francona is bringing back two of the final spring training cuts—Noelvi Marte and Will Benson—to fire up the offense, now that Matt McLain is back on the shelf with that hamstring issue. Yes, the season is young, but the Reds are tied for the division basement with their focus firmly on the Central-leading Cubs.
Ben’s Best Bet
Let’s go back to Augusta, where defending champion Scottie Scheffler comes in as the favorite to repeat, according to BetMGM. Rory McIlroy is right behind Scheffler as the second favorite, and it’s been more than 10 years since he has won a major. Coming off McIlroy won last month’s Players Championship in a three-hole playoff, and that just might be the momentum he needs to end the major drought. Might be worth it to put a quid or two for the Northern Irishman to slip on the green jacket again.