This time of year is about the time that I really start to wish I was Jim Nantz for a few weeks. Sure, there are plenty of people whose shoes I would not mind being in, but the run Nantz goes on in March and early April is incredible. Not only does he call every weekend of the NCAA tournament, including the Final Four and National Championship, but the very next weekend he’s greenside at August National. Outside of the fact that he has to spend the first four weeks with Billy Packer, I’d say life is treating him pretty fairly.

On a serious note, I believe the Masters weekend to be every bit as enjoyable as the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament. This year, there are several storylines to pay attention to.

First and foremost, as always, is Tiger Woods. Tiger has won three of the four events he’s played in this year, and won four of his last five in 2007. The scariest part, similarly to Michael Jordan, is that he’s never satisfied. Somehow, Tiger is convinced that he can play better, which is unfathomable to the average person that has played a round of golf. After watching the Sunday Conversation on SportsCenter with Tiger and Scott Van Pelt, it is clear he is determined to win the four majors in one calendar year, and quiet anyone that will not accept his run of four wins over two calendar years as a Grand Slam.

Speaking of Nantz, his college roommate at the University of Houston, fan favorite Fred Couples, is looking to break Gary Player’s record of 23 consecutive cuts made at the Masters. Couples will forever be linked to Augusta, not only for that record, but for his win there in 1992, when his ball famously stayed on the bank at 12, rather than rolling into Rae’s Creek like so many others. After problems with his back last year, Couples was sidelined for nearly the entire year, but has played well in his return to the tour this year. He last made a serious run at Augusta in 2006, before giving way to playing partner Phil Mickelson on Sunday.

Defending champion Zach Johnson is not to be forgotten either. A relative no-name at this time a year ago, Johnson held off Tiger, Rory Sabbatini, and Retief Goosen by two strokes. Johnson has stated that he will follow the same game plan that brought him victory in 2007, by choosing to lay up on Par 5’s, and effectively eliminate the possibility of bogies. Not a long hitter by any means, Johnson took advantage of the colder weather last year, which kept the ground hard and his ball rolling on fairways. If it is a warm or rainy weekend in Georgia, long hitters such as woods and Geoff Ogilvy will have a decided advantage over the style of Johnson.

Finally, it will be interesting to see how Phil Mickelson plays. Largely inconsistent over the past year or so, Mickelson has won the previous two Masters’ Championships played in even years. As a fan, I would enjoy nothing more than Phil and Tiger playing in the final group on Sunday.

-Nicholas King