Bowa, Brackets, and I'm Back

Before I reveal some big and personal news, I'd like to mention a few things here and there.

Major League Baseball's Opening Day has finally happened. After a rain delay, the Yankees got off and rolling to the tune of a 2-1 record in their first three games against Toronto. I watched as much as I could, which was pretty much the last three or four innings of each game, and I'm pleased. Rodriguez hit a homer, Melky made some nice catches patrolling center, and the pitching looks legit. Other than Bobby Abreu, one thing that worries me is not having a day off until April 21, and that's the only day they have off for all of April. Something Michael Kay mentioned the other night was that most of their games this month are in potentially cold cities, such as Kansas City, Boston, Chicago and Detroit. Really though, I'm good either way.

Speaking of my favorite teams, the Penguins are currently the first seed in the Eastern Conference with one game to play in the regular season. That's a game I'd really like to see Pittsburgh win being that the Pens have 102 points, tied with second place Montreal. I remember last season, when Pittsburgh lost to Ottawa in the first round. I was upset, and I talked to my younger cousin, who as a sophomore in high school is the second biggest hockey and Penguins fan only to his father, my uncle. He said he wasn't too upset because the Pens showed a lot of strength and heart and that he was optimistic about next--now this--season, with having a youthful team that gained valuable playoff experience. Well, here we are, the No. 1 team, and I gotta hand it to him, he knew what he was talking about.

Final Four anyone? Ehh... With an unprecedented four No. 1 seeds making it to the National Semifinals, who really cares? Sure, we're watching the best teams, but I have a funny hunch the title game is boring and anti-climatic. I got UNC and Memphis in the title game, with Memphis winning. I say this because right before Christmas, when I knew Memphis would be a Final Four team, they were tested by playing Georgetown. After a somewhat close game, the Tigers pulled away, and that's when I thought of them as a title contender, so I'm sticking with that. Being that sports are the most fun yet most impossible events to predict, especially collegiate ones, UCLA will probably beat Kansas in a nail-biter.

A side note, ever since I got away from the high school tourney pools, I make three brackets every year, and its always just for fun, because making one and feeling confident about it is just too hard for me. I threw all three of them out last week, and yes, that's because they were utter and complete trash. I've been told that a perfect bracket has been made, but I don't believe it. In fact, until I witness the person write in all of his/her picks before the opening round, I'll never believe it. Anyways, one of my brackets featured Arizona and UNLV in the title game. I know. Stop it, I know. Seriously, don't worry about it. From now on, I'm finding the most sports-ignorant female and having her pick a bracket for me. Lord knows it'll be better than Arizona and UNLV in the title game, ever.

Back to baseball real quick. In a Dodgers game the other day, Joe Torre had to hold base coach Larry Bowa back as he argued with an umpire. I know, this is nothing new, but as I was watching Bowa act like a 9-year-old, complete with stomping and throwing the water jug across the dugout, something hit me and I became disgusted. He's a base coach, an assistant. What gives him the right to act like that? If I were a head coach, and one of my assistants acted up like that, I'd suspend him, and even consider firing him. He'd have to be a pretty close friend of mine for me to keep him on the staff after acting like that. I don't know, maybe it's just the way I was raised, but leave it to the head coach to flip out and work the officials.

Now for my personal news. I put it at the bottom because it really doesn't mean much to anyone else, but it does to me and since this is my blog, I get to tell whoever reads this about it.

After discussing things with interim head coach Pete Alfano, I'm rejoining the Hofstra cross country team. Why? Put simply, I miss it. To quote Fergie, I miss it like a child misses its blanket. Come to think of it, I was a child with a blanket, and I missed that thing a lot when I was without it, but to be real, I miss running more. Being in St. Louis for the NCAA Wrestling Championships made me realize this. I miss the preparation, the nerve-racking process before competitions. I miss starving before races, then pigging out afterwards. I miss being upset with no one but myself after races, and I miss being thrilled after a solid performance. I miss sweating. I miss a tired, sore and aching body. I miss my six pack, my chest sticking out further than my stomach, weighing 135 pounds, shaving my legs, and taking 40-degree ice baths after morning runs. I know I'm ranting, but seriously, I miss it.

My coach said he needed a senior leader on his team that is other than myself, entirely underclassmen. A die-hard Rangers fan, he described it as Mark Messier joining the Rangers to eventually win the cup in 1994. He said about how he wants this team to continue improving and to be top four in the Colonial Athletic Association on a bad year. (We were fifth last year). He described going up against Georgia State, George Mason, and William and Mary, the CAA cross country gods. He said while it's a lofty goal, it's nothing like Rocky against Drago in Rocky IV. To say the least, that moved me, and as they say, the rest is history. I'm back in the locker room, back in my short shorts, and back on the roads and I couldn't be happier. All I need now is a Rocky IV montage. No, seriously.