Tiger Woods is on the prowl at Augusta National, plus the Lakers hit a new low

Happy Wednesday, all.

Let’s get right to it.

Good morning to everyone but especially to…

TIGER WOODS (AND GOLF FANS EVERYWHERE)

Don’t get your hopes up too much yet, but maybe — just maybe — allow yourself to believe. Tiger Woods is practicing at Augusta National in hopes of playing in the Masters, which starts next Thursday. The news comes just days after reports that Woods was walking Medalist Golf Club — a popular course for professionals — with caddy Joe LaCava.

It’s been nearly 18 months since Woods last played in an official event. A short timeline of that stretch:

It’s important to not get too far ahead of ourselves here, but his presence at Augusta would be a massive win for the sport, says our golf reporter Kyle Porter:

• Porter: “The 15-time major winner has always insisted that he only plays golf tournaments to win them, but he’s also admitted that it took him months and months of building up before he was ready to win the 2019 Masters. He must know that he doesn’t have a realistic chance to win this year’s Masters, which would insinuate that he’s there for the festivity of it rather than to slip on a green jacket. That’s to be celebrated, of course, because a tournament with Tiger Woods in attendance is always better than one in which he’s absent…“

We’ll know in the coming days what this exactly means for the tournament itself, but for now, it serves as another significant step in what has been a challenging, lengthy recovery for Tiger.

Honorable mentions

And not such a good morning for…

THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS

In a season full of embarrassing lows for the Los Angeles Lakers, they hit a new one last night: their place in the standings. With last night’s blowout loss to the Mavericks, the Lakers have fallen to a tie with the Spurs for 10th in the Western Conference. Because San Antonio holds the tiebreaker, if the playoffs started today, not only would the Lakers miss the playoffs, they would miss the play-in as well.

Of course the playoffs don’t start today (the regular season ends April 10) but the Lakers’ chances to turn things around are dwindling while the injury bug just won’t go away. The team got both good and bad news on that front last night:

• Anthony Davis, who hasn’t played since the All-Star Break, is expected to return Friday. But…
• LeBron James, who missed last night’s loss, is out through at least tomorrow’s game against the Jazz.

Even if James is back by Friday, the Lakers’ margin for error is razor-thin, and they need their two superstars to return to form ASAP. Los Angeles is 4-11 in March; only the Thunder and Trail Blazers are worse.

Anyway, here’s what the “race” for the play-in looks like:

• 7. Timberwolves
• 8. Clippers (6 games back)
• 9. Pelicans (10.5 games back)
• T-10. Spurs (11.5 games back)
• T-10. Lakers (11.5 games back)

Remember, these are the same Lakers that had the second-shortest odds of anyone to win the title this preseason. 

Not so honorable mentions

NFL is adopting a new overtime rule for the playoffs 🏈

Yesterday, team owners passed a new overtime format for playoff games that ensures both teams touch the football:

• If the team that possesses the ball first in overtime scores a touchdown, the other team will have a chance to match that.
• If the second team also scores a touchdown, the game becomes sudden-death.
• Previously, if the first team to possess the ball in overtime scored a touchdown, the game was over (this format will continue in the regular season). The new rule is just for playoff games.
• This rule change comes months after an instant classic AFC Divisional Round game between the Chiefs and Bills in which Patrick Mahomes and co. forced overtime late, won the overtime coin toss and scored a game-ending touchdown on their ensuing drive.

I expressed my thoughts on why overtime needed a change shortly after that game, and I’m glad it’s changing (even though three teams voted against it). In fact, I wish it would apply to regular-season games, too.

I won’t bore you with my reasons for why this change was necessary, but basically if your support for the old rules was “defense matters,” then why shouldn’t both defenses matter? Now they will… in the playoffs, at least.

USMNT can qualify for 2022 World Cup tonight; seven teams secured bids Tuesday ⚽

The day the United States men’s national soccer team has waited for since missing out on the 2018 World Cup has arrived: The U.S. can clinch a trip to the 2022 World Cup tonight against Costa Rica.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Didn’t the U.S. blow an opportunity like this during the last qualifying cycle? The answer is yes… and no. Back in 2017, the U.S. only needed a tie against Trinidad & Tobago to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Somehow, the U.S. lost 2-1 to miss the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

So, yes, there are some demons. However, the requirements are even lower this time around: The U.S. will qualify for Qatar 2022 as they don’t lose by six goals or more. And that seems like a pretty reasonable ask, don’t you think? While it’s not 100% guaranteed yet, it’s all but finished. They’ll just need to wait until after the match — which you can watch on Paramount+ — to officially pop the champagne.

Meanwhile, seven teams did officially clinch their trip to Qatar yesterday:

• Ghana
• Senegal
• Poland
• Portugal
• Morocco
• Tunisia
• Cameroon

You can keep track of every qualified team here.

MLB players chasing milestones: What’s at stake for stars this season? ⚾

For a long while this offseason, it looked like we’d have our second shortened season in three years. After COVID-19 cut the 2020 season to 60 games, the lockout looked like it might have a similar effect this season. Luckily the sides came to an agreement earlier this month, and we’re getting a full 162-game slate.

So, who has the most to gain from a full season? Well, how about the best (when healthy) pitcher in the game, Jacob deGrom? This will be a crucial year for him to build to his potential Hall-of-Fame resume, writes our MLB expert Mike Axisa:

• Axisa: “The pandemic robbed deGrom of 18-20 starts in 2020 and injuries limited him to 15 starts in 2021, or half a season. DeGrom will have to take the Sandy Koufax path to the Hall of Fame. The Johan Santana path won’t be good enough. Johan dropped off the Hall of Fame ballot in his first year of eligibility. DeGrom is unlikely to get to 200 wins or 3,000 strikeouts, so he’ll need a peak so great it’s undeniable. The more he can actually pitch while in his peak, the better his chances of being voted into Cooperstown. A full 162-game season in 2022 gives deGrom a fighting chance.“

I really enjoyed this article and learned a lot about the milestones within reach (including the next members of the 500 home run club) as Opening Day nears.

What we’re watching Wednesday 📺

🏀 Heat at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Costa Rica vs USMNT, 9:05 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+
🏀 Suns at Warriors, 10 p.m. on ESPN