By Tim Stannard
  
Tiger and 86 others tee-off for the Masters
 
Time to put down those side-swiping, soul-sapping mobile devices for the next four days as golf is suddenly vaguely interesting again.
 
And that isn’t just the opinion of the mealy-mouthed Sports Burst but the global media situation concerning the sport as Tiger Woods is back…again…but properly is this time by all accounts and is tackling the Masters at the Augusta National, a venue now celebrating a six-year anniversary for allowing women and their uppity ways to be members of the golf club.

 
At 10:42AM ET, Tiger Woods will be teeing off with two others (who might as well be invisible as far as the TV cameras will be concerned) as part of a comeback from sustained back injuries that has gone reasonably well so far, although to expect a first major win in 11 years for Tiger might be a little hopeful.
 
Instead, the usual suspects will be in the hunt including the US pair of Dustin Johnson and Jordan Speith. Sports Burst is rooting for Fred Couples, never too late at 58 for a first major win. Or maybe even the preppiest-sounding player on the course - Bryson James Aldrich DeChambeau. Sadly, no Fred Funk this year.
 
 

Arsenal Moscow to another level against CSKA
 
For those who missed out on Wednesday’s Champions League shenanigans – Liverpool ambushed Manchester City (and the team coach before the game) and Barcelona romped over Roma with two own-goals – there is more European action to be had. Yes, it’s the Europa League. And yes, that means another installment of Thursday night football for Arsenal, the team that time forgot.

 
 
The Gunners are now at the quarterfinal stages of the Europa League and are hosting CSKA Moscow in a first-leg clash, before heading to Russia next week at a time when the two host countries are getting on so famously.
 
Arsenal continue to be one of the main favorites for the competition, along with Atletico Madrid who should have a gritty 1-0 win against Portugal’s Schhhporting. And that will be live on beIN SPORTS CANADA at 3:05PM ET / 12:05PM PT. Those with turtlenecks will be tuning in for RB Leipzig hosting Marseille while Lazio against Salzburg may not have too many hits.
 
Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT for the best action from the day’s football fun.
 
 

Mourinho’s fishing expedition at Stamford Bridge
 
Time for some TRANSFER TRACKER gossip.
 
Jose Mourinho might well be fishing at Chelsea again this summer with the Manchester United manager selling Juan Mata and bringing in Chelsea’s sprightly Willian, in a deal that could cost around $35 million.
 
There could be an inter-Serie A swap for midfielder with Napoli’s Jose Callejon heading to Milan and Suso taking the reverse route. However, Suso might find a new manager in charge in Naples with a story that Monaco have offered Maurizio Sarri the role of manager with the current coach, Leonardo Jardim expected to take over Chelsea, once Antonio Conte either quits or is sacked.
 
And here’s potentially a big one – should Massimo Allegri leave Juventus this summer, then a ready-made replacement could be found in the form of former player and current France boss, Didier Deschamps who may be ready for a second stint of charge of the Old Lady, after a year spent leading the team out of Serie B during those fun match-fixing punishment years. “We’ll see later, but I always pay a little more attention to Juventus,” was the Frenchman’s hint.
 
 

France shuns USA in World Cup bid
 
Here’s a story that might well give some concern to those running the Tri-Nation bid for the US, Canada and Mexico to host the 2026 World Cup. The president of France’s federation has told L’Equipe that his country will be shunning the North and Central American trifecta and voting for Morocco, the other official bid in the running. “France only has one vote, but perhaps we will give momentum in Europe to choose Morocco," claimed Noel Le Graet, in a traditional nose-thumbing to the USA.
 
What should have been a slam-dunk for the shiniest bid, is now looking increasingly precarious with Morocco’s stock rising ahead of the vote set to take place on June 13th, the day before the World Cup kicks off.

WHAT IS SPORTS BURST?
 
The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. Sports Burst is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.