The Masters POTW: Justin Rose vs. Adam Scott

Welcome to our Picks of the Week game! Rules are simple: Each week Bernardo and I will select one golfer entered in the current tournament. Whichever golfer finishes highest earns one of us a point. Exceptions: 3 points if our golfer wins the whole thing, Major Championships are doubled (so that's a possibility of 6 points), and tied finishes result in 0 points. Oh, and once we use a golfer, we can't use him for the rest of year. We're doing this until the TOUR Championship. Bernardo has won this 2 times in a row, so let's see if he can go for the three peat! 

 VS    

JJ: We're finally at Masters week, folks! The most anticipated golf week of the year is upon us, and I can't wait for coverage to start tomorrow. With that said, let me get right down to my pick. For the first major of the year (worth double the points!), I'm going with Justin Rose. The dude from England is 7 for 7 in cuts made here, and has finished in the top-25 the past 3 years. So he's obviously comfortable here. If his putter can heat up, then look out. We all know he's one of the more consistent ball strikers in the game right now, so if he can start sinking putts, then I wouldn't be surprised to see the 32 year old putting on the green jacket with Bubba's help on Sunday. Good luck Justin!

Bernardo: The Masters is finally upon, including the media hype that comes with this week. For this major I’m going with Adam Scott. I feel he is ready to leave his mark and why not here. Winning the first Green Jacket for his country will be a great incentive for the Aussie. He’s finished in the top 10 in his past two appearances here. He definitely has the game and composure to post four solid rounds.  Best of luck mate!

JJ's used: Brandt Snedeker, Jason Dufner, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel, Retief Goosen, Jason Day, Charles Howell III, Ian Poulter

Bernardo's used: Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson, Aaron Baddeley, Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker, Brian Davis

Getty Images

Valero Texas Open: Laird's Last Minute Invite

Folks, we are now officially at Masters week! Arguably the greatest week in golf is upon us, and we fortunately got one more invite for the party. That invite goes to Martin Laird.

Martin shot a final round 63 (!) to win the Valero Texas Open by 2 strokes, claiming the trophy over a hard charging Rory McIlroy, and punched the final ticket to Augusta National.

Starting well back to start the day, it was hard to see Laird making a run, with Billy Horschel and Rory McIlroy commanding most of the spotlight for the week. But, that's what the Scot did, tying the course record and ending the American PGA Tour winning streak of 14 to come to an end.

Winning for the first time since 2011, this could be a sign of good things to come for Laird. He's peaking at the right time for Augusta, and with a very wide open field this week, he might just have a chance at the first major of the year. His putting is solid enough that he may be putting a green jacket on a week from now. You just never know.

Congrats Martin! 

Getty Images

Valero Texas Open POTW: Ian Poulter vs. Brian Davis

Welcome to our Picks of the Week game! Rules are simple: Each week Bernardo and I will select one golfer entered in the current tournament. Whichever golfer finishes highest earns one of us a point. Exceptions: 3 points if our golfer wins the whole thing, Major Championships are doubled (so that's a possibility of 6 points), and tied finishes result in 0 points. Oh, and once we use a golfer, we can't use him for the rest of year. We're doing this until the TOUR Championship. Bernardo has won this 2 times in a row, so let's see if he can go for the three peat! 

JJ: We're now 1 week away from The Masters, which means this is the last possible chance for players to get competitive rounds under their belt. And although the Valero Texas Open doesn't boast an "Augusta-like" course like the Shell Houston Open did, it's still a very good tournament and set up. So, for this week, I'm taking Ian Poulter. Even though he added this course at the last minute, his game has been decent enough that I think he'll be able to contend this week and get himself ready for Augusta.

Bernardo: This week I'm going with Brian Davis. Its been a rough season so far for Davis but he played well at the Shell Houston Open last week, hopefully he will exhibit similar results this week. Good luck chap! 

Last week recap: Charles Howell III (JJ’s pick) narrowly beat out Steve Stricker (Bernardo’s choice) to earn JJ a point.

JJ's used: Brandt Snedeker, Jason Dufner, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel, Retief Goosen, Jason Day, Charles Howell III

Bernardo's used: Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson, Aaron Baddeley, Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker

Getty Images

UEFA Champions League: Today's Fixtures

After a week long international break, players have returned to their clubs to fight for league points and domestic competition trophies. Well, in addition to that, we also have the biggest club competition of them all returning today: the UEFA Champions league. With the final 8 set to showdown for the next month, European soccer is reaching it's peak point of the season. Just in case you haven't heard, the teams (and their opponents) are as follows: PSG vs. Barcelona, Juventus vs. Bayern Munich, Galatasaray vs. Real Madrid and Malaga vs. Borussia Dortmund.

Today's fixtures are the juicer ones of the bunch: PSG-Barca and Juventus-Bayern. Keep reading to get our preview of how these matches will go down.

Match 1: Paris Saint Germain (Home) vs. FC Barcelona - 11:45 AM PST

The French giants face off against the Spanish stars in this game of epic proportions. Stars will not be lacking in this match, as Leo Messi & Zlatan Ibrahimovic are set to lead each of their respective teams to victory. Let's see how they match up head to head:

GOALKEEPING: Barcelona = PSG. Both keepers (Valdes for Barca and Sirigu for PSG) are 3rd on the depth chart for the respective teams, and aren't exactly world beaters all the time. Whoever has the better individual game may decide the result of this match.

DEFENSE: PSG > Barcelona. I am a fan of Pique, Alves, and Alba, but they've been exposed a few times this season, and with them playing away from the Camp Nou, I think they could struggle in a game where the counter for PSG could be crucial.

MIDFIELD: Barcelona > PSG. This is a no-brainer here. FCB possess the best midfield in the world, and it will be fight for PSG to win possession in this part of the field.

OFFENSE: Barcelona > PSG. Also another easy choice. I know that Ibrahimovic has had a fantastic season, but Messi has been spectacular like always. And when you have him, it's hard to bet against him.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-2. Barca with 2 big away goals by Messi to head into the Camp Nou confident.

Match 2: FC Bayern Munich  (Home) vs. Juventus  - 11:45 AM PST

The German league champions go up against the Italians in another huge game. With some already hailing this as the best quarterfinal matchup, let's see how they stack up against each other:

GOALKEEPING: Juventus > Bayern. Neuer's good, but come on, Buffon is legendary. Unless Buffon has a bad game of sorts, Juve's nets should be in good hands.


DEFENSE: Bayern > Juventus. Juve boasts a strong defense, but Bayern's back 4 combined with their home fans will be tough to handle.

MIDFIELD: Juventus > Bayern. One word: Pirlo.

OFFENSE: Bayern > Juventus. When you smash a decent team like Hamburg 9-2 (!!!), I'll definitely give you the edge offense wise. That obviously means you're doing something right.

SCORE PREDICTION: 2-1 Bayern. Their home crowd and offense will be too much for La Vecchia Signora, who will look to even the score back in Italy.

--

So there's our predictions for tonight. What do you think will happen? Let us know in the comments!

Photo via wallpaperswide

MLB: Opening Day

Today is April Fools day. A day I despise and could really do without. There's nothing that could really every get me excited about today, unless...

it's Opening Day for the MLB, like it is this year! Since these two events are going down on the same day, I have reason to be excited, and many of you baseball fans should be too. Since we have 12 games  (click link here to see them all) going on today, there isn't an excuse to not watch some baseball alllll dayyy longgg.

Personally, I'm a Yankees fan, so I'll be watching them (hopefully) take down the Red Sox in about 90 minutes to start off the season 1-0. My Yankees have a lot of problems right now and didn't make the normal moves in Free Agency like we're used to seeing, so it will be interesting to see how this line up and pitching rotation holds up. It will also be weird to not see Derek Jeter starting on Opening Day because of his ankle. Nonetheless, I'm still very pumped to get things going today.

What baseball team do you support? Who do you think is going to win it all this year? If I'm being unbiased, I think the Angels will take it all this year. Lets us know your opinion in the comments!

Photo via examiner