John W. Scherer Blog April 8, 2005

Augusta Blog
I finally did it! When it comes to the sport of golf, the center of the universe is Augusta, GA, site of the annual Masters Golf Tournament. I’ve always wanted to come here and watch the very best in the game try to best an often unpredictable and fabled course. Will it be Phil, Tiger or VJ? Or will an un-known “master” Augusta? It will be terrific to see six-time winner Jack Nicklaus play.

How fast are the greens this year? Just ask Tiger. He found out Thursday, putting above the hole on 13. His putt missed and just kept on going. The only thing his ball didn’t come across on its long journey into the water was Little Red Riding Hood!

The history and tradition here at Augusta National is so thick, you can cut it with a sand wedge. (And many do!) It is absolutely spectacular.

Now I know what Fred Astaire meant when he sang… “Heaven… I’m in Heaven!”

Tar Heels Win the Big Dance
Here’s to Roy Smith and North Carolina for beating an awesome Illinois Team in the NCAA Championship Game Monday. It was a game full of surprises and some suspense. No one would have believed they’d have Illinois down by 17. But despite Illinois tying the score late, the Tar Heels finally won 75-70. Coach Smith had been to the final twice before with Kansas, but got his first NCAA Championship coaching North Carolina.

On the women’s side, Baylor beat Michigan State 84-62. Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson became the first ever to win a national championship as both a player and a coach.

Congratulations to both programs. Their championships, like all good things in life, are the result of hard work and determination.

Poetic Justice
During his horrible regime, Saddam Hussein murdered tens of thousands of Kurds. This week the Iraqi Parliament elected Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as the new Interim President. The proceedings were piped into Saddam’s jail cell. What goes around comes around.

And on a side note, I’ve seen several reports about a lot of bickering in these early days of Iraq’s new Parliament. If you want to see real bickering, just go to Washington DC. But that’s the nice thing about democracy: people are allowed to bicker.

Respect
Millions of people are pouring into Rome and the Vatican to pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II. Rome’s population is around 3-million people, but it’s expected that another 4-million people, including 200 heads of state, will have come to Rome this week. People waited an average of 12 hours in line to view the Pope’s Body at St. Peter's Basilica. Officials finally asked people to please stop coming; there were simply too many to handle.

Retraction
A few weeks ago, I talked about American Idol Judge Simon showing signs of mellowing. But did you see him this week? Ouch! For better or for worse, the old Simon is definitely back!

LA Television Appearance
I’ll be in Los Angeles next week to tape a broadcast for Los Angeles CityView 35 and PAX 30, called Wired For Seniors. The show will air several times in June, and as we get a firm schedule of airdates we’ll alert you right here!

Site o’ the Week
Here’s a time saver for those of you who want to Google and Yahoo at the same time!

http://yagoohoogle.com/

Ok, I’m going to watch some golf. And I mean GOLF!
My Cyber Door is always open. E-mail me at CEO@videoprofessor.com

John W. Scherer
CEO and Founder
VIDEO PROFESSOR Inc