I've always felt that the Easter Bunny never gets enough credit, and that's simply because he's competing against the Big Kahuna, Mr. Jolly Ole Saint Nick. But if you take a step back and think about it, the Easter Bunny is a pretty impressive guy. He brings individual kids little baskets full of treats with no help from reindeer or a sleigh—the guy's a freak. To be perfectly honest, I'm dumbfounded by the whole situation.
But I digress.
With so many great sporting events happening on this holiest of weekends, I find it only fitting to create an Easter Basket of my own.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Changing of managerial guards, overpaying players, and creating new ballparks were the main storylines this year in the MLB offseason. If you're a Miami Marlins fan, well then you got a little taste of everything. Their new $515 million park will open its gates with newcomers Ozzie Guillen, Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, and Mark Buehrle. They have certainly created a splash—a financial one if any—down in South Beach.
Above all, everyone seems to be in love with their new uniforms. Me, not so much. What's with the Halloween color scheme? I feel like I need to turn the brightness down on my computer when I watch their games. I guess they're going off the trendy florescent Miami scene, kind of like with those pink and orange jerseys the Miami Heat wear, but I don't get it. Am I missing something? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
Frozen Four
The site of this year's main NCAA event is traditional hockey hotbed Tampa Bay, Fla., and the four teams left are Union, Ferris State, the University of Minnesota, and Boston College. Here are a few players to watch this weekend:
Forward: Erik Haula, University of Minnesota. The "Finnish Flash" is fun to watch and will be the key if the Golden Gophers want to find success this weekend. Haula leads everyone in the Frozen Four with 48 points this season. On top of that, he has registered six goals in his last five games. He's getting hot at the right time and poses the only real speedy threat to those stifling BC Eagle defenders.
Defenseman: Chad Billings, Ferris State University. He's everything that the Bulldogs could ask for from a captain: he scores (he's third on the team with 29 points), he holds the opposing team's best line off the score sheet, he's the quarterback on the power play, he has an NHL slap shot, he blocks shots, and he delivers bone-crushing hits. He just flat out has good style on the ice. Sounds like a stand-up guy.
Goalie: Troy Grosenick, Union College. The sophomore from Brookfield, Wis., has been one of the biggest surprises in college hockey this year. His 1.64 goals against average leads the nation and his ability to make acrobatic saves often end up being game-changers, just ask UMass-Lowell.
Winner: Boston College looks unbeatable. In fact they haven't lost a game since January 21! All four lines can score, their defense is rock solid, their power play and penalty kill units are tops in the nation, goaltender Parker Milner is coming on strong and making saves when needed, and 14 Eagle players are going for their second national title. Need I say more?
Prediction: Boston College beats Ferris State in the championship, 5-2.
The between period interviews
I'm not sure why I love them as much as I do, but as soon as the period is over I'm the guy grabbing the popcorn and cranking the volume at an uncomfortable level to the point where everyone in the room is looking around wondering, "Yo, what's this guy's deal?"
It's like the players aren't even listening to the question being asked; they're just so fired up to have scored and be on national TV.
Heaven forbid one of the announcers asks a player the question, "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, where do you stand on Mitt Romney's foreign policy?"
To which the player—who let's say happens to be from New Jersey—will wipe the sweat off his face, throw on a thick Canadian accent as if he been drinking a pint of maple syrup with his pancakes every morning for breakfast since he was six years old, and give a response along the following lines:
"Well you know my two lineys were just jamming away in the corner and working real hard cycling the puck, and I just sort of plopped myself in front of the net and just put myself in the best position to score. I gotta give credit to Sully, he came walking out of the corner when he saw me all alone and I just threw it on net and luckily it went in."
Classic.
"A tradition unlike any other"
I'll be interested to see how Rory McIlroy is going to respond at this year's Masters Tournament considering everything that happened last year. On the Sunday of play, he saw his four-shot lead heading into the back nine disappear quicker than students bailing from a Crack House party when the cops show.
Golf is such a mental game that no one will really know how he'll do until we see him out there, but in three tournaments this year McIlroy has finished in the top 10 every time. With a swing that only God could rival, it seems only right that a nice Irish Catholic chap dons the green jacket on Easter Sunday.
Jam of the Week: The boys threw this one on the lax warm up over the weekend and needless to say I'm hooked. The song is "Cry," by Bingo Players. It's compelling and rich.