A very special week and a handful of random notes

As sports weeks go, the one we're in the middle of right now might be my late friend Tom Kensler's favorite of the year.

Two of the events he most enjoyed covering for the Denver Post happen in this particular week. First is the NCAA men's basketball championship game. It takes place on Monday night. I don't know how many Final Fours Tom covered, but it was more than my two.

2013 in the ATL

In fact, the last time I saw him alive was the morning after the 2013 championship game, in which Louisville beat Michigan in the Georgia Done right here in Atlanta.

Strangely enough, the last Final Four I covered also was a Louisville victory, in 1986 at Reunion Arena in Dallas. I don't think Tom was at that one.

But it's the second event of the week that makes it so special. Starting Thursday, right here in Georgia, the best golfers in the world get together at Augusta National Golf Club for the tournament known as the Masters.


The Masters might be the snootiest sports event in the world that doesn't involve yachts or polo ponies. Tickets are never on sale to the public, so unless you're covering it as a reporter, the only way to watch it is on television.

Tom loved golf, and one of the greatest thrills of his life was when he started covering the Masters. Especially when he had the opportunity to play 18 holes on the media day earlier in the week. I recall Tom being about a 7-handicap, but on a new course -- an extremely difficult course -- I know he was pleased to shoot 89.

So all this week I'll be thinking about my late friend.

This week is Tom's week.

***

Random thoughts worth a few words:

Barr

-- Why is William Barr such a troll for Donald Trump? Rumor is Trump has some pretty compromising pictures of Barr with the love of his life, little sister Roseanne.

-- I have to credit my wife for this one. If Julian Assange was hiding out in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years, do you think he had a private apartment?

-- Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks is no relation to Moe Howard of the Three Stooges, but if he were, he would look up to Howard as his smarter brother. Brooks said recently that the cause of sea level rising isn't because of climate change, but of rocks and silt on coastlines and riverbanks falling into the water. Yes, he really said it.

Pence and Biden

-- Virginia basketball won its first ever national championship, and sports books in Las Vegas favor the Wahoos to repeat in 2020. Huh? Well, except for Jack Salt, they have everyone back next year. Of course, All-ACC forward DeAndre Hunter will almost certainly forgo his last two years of eligibility to be a lottery pick in the NBA drat, and Ty Jerome, second-team All-ACC, may leave as well. Virginia will still be very good, but the odds against them repeating are longer than you think.

-- I wish I could decide whether Photoshop is wonderful or horrible. I've seen two pictures in the last few days that made me laugh. I was sure both were photoshopped, but one of them may not have been. Pretty sure Joe Biden whispering in Mike (Tup) Pence's ear is faked, but the one of French President Emmanuel Macron, his wife Brigitte and their dog is apparently real.

They call it puppy love.

-- If you're wondering if anything Donald Trump can do would be a bridge too far for Republicans, we may have seen it this week. Four Republican senators -- Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota all expressed opposition to Trump's nomination of Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve Board. Does that sink the nomination? Let's wait and see.

That's all, folks.