The Faces of Opening Day; Bountygate's Smoking Gun

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Today in sports: Opening Day across America, a smoking gun in the New Orleans Saints bounty investigation, and the president candidates weigh in on the Masters.

Big news folks: the president of the United States, via White House press secretary Jay Carney, says he thinks women should be admitted to Augusta National, the fancy-schmancy golf club that's hosting the Masters this weekend, and creating controversy in the process. For his part, Augusta president Billy Payne has said membership will accept female members when they feel like it, which is never. The issue has added import this year because IBM, a major Masters sponsor, has a new CEO -- Virginia Rommety -- and the company's last four CEOs (all men) have been offered membership. [AP]

Baseball's opening day technically took place last week at 6 a.m. EST in Tokyo, but the first batch of stateside games took place Wednesday afternoon in ballparks across the country. What better way to celebrate the annual start of Spring than with a photo tour of the various folks who are skipping work and cutting school in order to root, root, root for the home team?

In Cincinnati and Detroit, chilliness was the name of the game, based on the preponderance of stocking caps and bullpen jackets in wire photos.

In New York, the Mets retired the number of Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, who died last month at the age of 57.

On Opening Day, hope spring eternal, even at Wrigley Field.

[photos via Reuters]

There's a highly-NSFW recording of former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams making the rounds in which the Bountygate suspendee is allegedly heard instructing players to injure members of the San Francisco 49ers prior to this year's NFC Divisional playoff game. The audio was obtained and posted by documentary filmmaker Sean Pamphilon, who had access to the team this year for an upcoming documentary detailing former Saint safety Steve Gleason's battle with ALS. Williams has already admitted running a bounty pool during his time in New Orleans and been suspended indefinitely by the league, but the audio -- which includes phrases like "Kill the head, the body will die" and instructions to "kill" 49ers running back Frank Gore -- makes it hard to imagine a swift reinstatement in his future.  [theusof]

Ho, boy, remember Linsanity? Of course you do. It was back when a backup New York Knicks point guard named Jeremy Lin moved off his cousin's couch and made everyone believe in the fast-break offense again. Happened in February. Anyone? Regardless, it seems Lin may soon be getting the inspiring sports documentary treatment, if the fine folks at CAA are successful in their pitch. We shall see. It would certainly help things if the Knicks could go on to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, rather than fading into obscurity and being eclipsed by the romping, stomping Milwaukee Bucks. [Los Angeles Times]

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by Angela Maria Cecora against Oscar De La Hoya, in which she claims the boxer assaulted her in 2001.  [New York Post]

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