Now that finals, end-of-semester grading, graduations and summer class prep are finished, let's get back to the blog -- and mix it up just a bit.

In addition to teaching and researching this summer, I have undertaken a new project that puts me back on press row -- I will be covering the Connecticut Sun for The Athletic's WNBA vertical. 

It has been a decade since I served as a full-time sports reporter when I covered the Washington Huskies football program for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  In the 10 years since, I have earned master's and doctorate degrees, got hired and earned tenure at Quinnipiac University and had the pleasure (and pain) of teaching hundreds of students. 

I got my professional start in professional women's basketball, serving as an editor of WNBA.com in 1998 and '99. I worked for the Seattle Storm in its inaugural season -- as my friends and students know -- a short, rocky foray into public relations. (Live and learn!) 

My excitement level over the opportunity to cover the local WNBA team could not be higher. The Athletic has a unique brand of storytelling I plan to add to and enhance. 

So, with this announcement, I give you the best thing I've written this week -- my 2019 Connecticut Sun preview.  And, that will be the end of my self-promotion on this blog.  However, if you are new to The Athletic, go on over, check out the launch page and get yourself a subscription for 40 percent off at theathletic.com/wnbalaunch.  You can always follow me on Twitter, too, @mollyyanity. 

This is long, so you might want to listen to it. The New Yorker has graciously provided the audio for you.

For me, though, part of the beauty of this entire exercise is the fact I get to sit down and actually read something, then share it with you. And, -- again, at least for me -- experiencing spellbinding reporting is something I find to be absolutely beautiful.

This story made me feel -- sympathy, conflict, warmth, sadness, loss, confusion. It taught me things I didn't know. And, it made me ashamed. 

It also made me ask myself repeatedly, how did the author know what he knew? It's a question great reporters force upon us, then answer with their reporting through sources and documents. 

Ben Taub is one of the best. And, in this article, he shows us why. 

On Sunday afternoon, Tiger Woods -- the most iconic and best golfer of my generation -- won The Masters Tournament for the first time in 14 years. It was his first major championship in more than a decade. 

I'm not a big fan of watching professional men's golf despite having a healthy respect for the athletes. Personally, I love to golf, but watching it does nothing for me. But, 15 years ago, Woods made it wildly entertaining. 

In 2009, Woods'  personal life imploded, though it was first reported as a "car wreck" in his own Orlando driveway. Well, he did crash his car... at the end of his driveway... while attempting to escape his golf club-wielding  wife. Within hours, news reports outed Woods as a chronic philanderer with the details of his cheating revealing... ick. It was bad. On top of it all over the next years, he came across as an insincere, self-centered asshole at worst, an enigmatic, troubled, socially-stunted prodigy at best. 

Then... he won, again. Out of seemingly nowhere. Just like Tiger used to do -- the mental toughness, the amazing shots, the fist pump. 

Though, the sight of Woods hugging his children at the triumphant end nearly produced a gag reflex for me -- I'm just not a fan of kids as props for the cameras -- there was something about the rest of it that made me happy for Woods, that just oozed redemption and excitement. But, I couldn't shake the utter disgust, the disappointment, the "he doesn't deserve this" feelings. 

I had already spent too much time untangling my mess of feelings when I came across Sarah Spain's short, direct and perfectly-timed ESPN column. It was perfect. It's the best thing I've read this week.