Opening Day

I can’t wait for the Major League Baseball season to start next week (Go Royals!). But Tuesday was opening day for another sports season that I anticipate almost as much as the beginning of baseball season. That’s right: the first fishing trip of the year!

My tackle box has been packed and ready to go since early January (no joke). I would have been on the shore of a pond back then, had it not been 10 degrees outside with six inches of snow on the ground. Despite the conditions, I thought rather seriously about breaking through the ice just to see if the bass were biting. So when late March rolled around, I couldn’t wait any longer. When I saw the weather forecast for this week, I called my fishing buddy and made plans for Tuesday night.

When we got to our favorite fishing hole near Maize about 5:30 Tuesday afternoon, we were greeted by 35-mph winds, which carried away our hopes of catching much. After spending 15 minutes ducking behind the car while battling the wind to get our rods rigged up and lures tied on, we threw out a few casts. To our surprise, we started pulling in some nice crappie. And after about half an hour, the largemouth bass started biting. It was on! Two hours later, we had caught and released 18 fish between us.

So, if anyone needs to find me on a warm evening or pleasant Saturday morning in the next several months, check the shore of the nearest lake or pond.

A 96-team tournament: Umm, no!

There’s been a lot of talk lately about expanding the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to 96 teams. Does anyone else think this is a bad idea?

The powers that be – mainly NCAA administrators, so-called “power conference” officials and some university presidents – want to expand the tournament in order to expand lucrative TV rights deals and grow licensing agreements. But they’re thinking with their pocketbooks, not their heads.

You don’t have to be a college basketball fan to know that the tournament is a big deal. People love this stuff. It consumes much of America (and American TV time) for more than three weeks, bringing beneficial publicity and great opportunities for success to smaller schools and lesser-known athletes in particular. But it’s just fine the way it is. Need proof: Look no further than the drama, and plethora of great finishes and upsets in this year’s tourney.

It’s working, so why change it? Adding another 31 teams cheapens what it means to make the tournament, not to mention that it would prolong a sporting event that sometimes feels like it takes six months to play anyhow.

There are plenty of opportunities for teams who don’t make the Big Dance to play in the postseason, with the tradition-rich NIT and newer College Basketball Invitational. And if the NCAA tournament is expanded, just to make sure no team is left out, I’m sure plans are already being made for a new postseason tournament – the I Couldn’t Care Less Classic. My sources say that organizers for the new ICCLC have already arranged a sweet TV rights package: Games will be aired on a small Guatemalan television station between 3 and 6 a.m.

College basketball and March Madness are great the way they are. Like my dad says, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!”

A 96-team tournament: Umm, no!

There’s been a lot of talk lately about expanding the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to 96 teams. Does anyone else think this is a bad idea?

The powers that be – mainly NCAA administrators, so-called “power conference” officials and some university presidents – want to expand the tournament in order to expand lucrative TV rights deals and grow licensing agreements. But they’re thinking with their pocketbooks, not their heads.

You don’t have to be a college basketball fan to know that the tournament is a big deal. People love this stuff. It consumes much of America (and American TV time) for more than three weeks, bringing beneficial publicity and great opportunities for success to smaller schools and lesser-known athletes in particular. But it’s just fine the way it is. Need proof: Look no further than the drama, and plethora of great finishes and upsets in this year’s tourney.

It’s working, so why change it? Adding another 31 teams cheapens what it means to make the tournament, not to mention that it would prolong a sporting event that sometimes feels like it takes six months to play anyhow.

There are plenty of opportunities for teams who don’t make the Big Dance to play in the postseason, with the tradition-rich NIT and newer College Basketball Invitational. And if the NCAA tournament is expanded, just to make sure no team is left out, I’m sure plans are already being made for a new postseason tournament – the I Couldn’t Care Less Classic. My sources say that organizers for the new ICCLC have already arranged a sweet TV rights package: Games will be aired on a small Guatemalan television station between 3 and 6 a.m.

College basketball and March Madness are great the way they are. Like my dad -- who happens to be a huge college hoops fan -- says, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!”

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

The moment I’ve waited all winter for is finally here. Pitchers and catchers report to the Kansas City Royals’ spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz., today. That means no talking about anything related to football for the next two months (ESPN, I'm talking to you!).

Spring training. The time of eternal optimism for baseball purists and long-suffering Royals fans like me. As I’ve said for the past decade or so, this is going to be our year … well, at least until reality sets in when the season starts in early April.

Chances are it’s going to be a mediocre season at best for the Royals. Sure, Zack Greinke is coming off of last year’s incredible Cy Young season, but I worry that being the official ace of the pitching staff will be too much for his somewhat fragile emotional state. We need Gil Meche to earn his paycheck this year, and for Luke Hochevar to finally have that breakout season that’s he’s supposedly been on the verge of for the past couple of years. The bullpen is going to be shaky at best (provided Joakim Soria stays healthy). I still think we need to sign or trade for another solid starter and a top setup guy.

The offense and defensive picture looks better, as does the team’s depth, but the fact that we have about 137 second and third basemen and outfielders vying for playing time may hurt the team’s chemistry. The other question will be this: Can Trey Hillman finally learn to leave the batting order alone long enough to achieve consistent offensive production?

Okay, that’s enough optimistic pessimism about my favorite team. I really do hope the Royals are better this year, but I find that if I don’t set my hopes too high, I won’t be (as) disappointed.

And speaking of not wanting to be disappointed, the Shocker men’s basketball team had better beat Evansville at Koch Arena tomorrow night, and make it look like they’re doing it with one hand tied behind their backs.