Photo from Google Images
The sun shines longer and the weather is getting warmer. This is one of the most exciting times in the sports calendar. Baseball is back, March Madness crowns a champion, it’s Masters week and you can’t leave out Wrestle Mania 34. My favorite Pat Riley quote describes this time of year perfectly; “I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony, I know what to do, I just don’t know where to start”.
For the first time since 1968, Major League Baseball scheduled all 30 teams to play on Opening Day. (Due to the weather in Detroit and Cincinnati, they had to postpone their games.) The first game was on ESPN in Miami where the Marlins hosted the Cubs. The weather looked beautiful and the Cubs Happ went yard on the first pitch of the game. AH! The boys of summer are back! I have missed them and those pants that spend extra time in the dryer. My Texas Rangers looked rusty as they started 1-3 to their rival and defending World Series Champions; the Houston Astros.
Baseball is a long season and it just got longer. March 29th is the earliest start to a MLB season and the regular season will end on September 30th. The longer schedule is part of the collect bargaining agreement to give teams additional days off throughout the season. There is nothing better than a day at the ballpark.
The Final Four wasn’t the four teams that most brackets picked to be playing. According to the people’s bracket on ESPN, the most picked final four teams were UVA, UNC, Villanova, and Duke. Of those most picked teams, 53% of brackets picked UVA to win it all. (Yes, ESPN called this “the people’s” brackets, but it sounds more like an ACC bracket. Yuck!) Loyola-Chicago became the Cinderella story of this year’s tournament. As a Tennessee fan, I hated it! Sister Jean sold her soul to the devil for that final four run! How else can you explain kids who average eight points a game to somehow put up 24 points? Michigan finally stopped Loyola and I hope I never have to see those awful Harry Potter scarfs ever again! Villanova put a beat down on Kansas as the two number one seeds matched up. Monday night at 9:20 Michigan takes on Villanova to see who will cut down the nets in the San Antonio, TX.
In the women’s bracket, UConn lost back-to-back final four games on a buzzer beater! Last year Mississippi State’s Morgan Williams had the magic shot and this year it was Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale. In the Championship game, Ogunbowale struck again as she hit the buzzer beater to give Mississippi State back-to-back National Championship game losses. I felt so bad for the Dogs. Head coach, Vic Schaefer put the loss on himself by saying (when) “you’re up five with 1:40 (left), it’s my job to get them home, and I didn’t get them home. I’ll wear that, maybe for the rest of my career.” As an SEC fan and a women’s basketball fan, my heart breaks for Mississippi and those four seniors.
The greatest golf tournament in the world starts events on Wednesday. Is there a sports venue more beautiful than Augusta National? The answer is no! Tiger Woods is back and with the best golfers in the world, all are in contention to take home that iconic green jacket. As of Monday, here are top favorites according to Vegas.
1) Rory McIlroy: 19-2
2) Bubba Watson: 10-1
3) Dustin Johnson: 11-1
4) Justin Thomas: 11-1
5) Tiger Woods: 12-1
6) Jordan Spieth: 13-1
7) Phil Mickelson: 15-1
8) Rickie Fowler: 35-2
9) Justin Rose: 25-1
10) Alex Noren: 25-1
The young generation and those old guys (Michelson) who are pushing the senior tour are all expected to make this one of the best Master’s tournaments in history. Download the Masters app so you don’t miss any of one of the most prestigious events in all of sports. I’m rooting to Tiger make it to Sunday and for Dustin Johnson to win and cement his name in history forever.
WrestleMania 34 is on Sunday night and Rowdy Ronda Rousey makes her WWE debut. In one of most high profiled matches, Rousey will team up with Kurt Angle to take one Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. McMahon’s parents mortgaged everything they owned to put WWE on the map and make WrestleMania 1 happen. Now, 33 years later, WWE is a billion-dollar company that is broadcast in 180 counties and in 25 languages. The New Orleans Superdome is sold out and I’m rooting for Rowdy Ronda Rousey to take down McMahon and show the WWE she is still the baddest women in the ring.
The NBA and NFL are in full swing to playoffs. College baseball and softball are great games and college football is ready for the spring game. It’s a great time to be a sport fan!