March is Mad

Happy St. Patricks Day friends. Even a cranky ole' Irishman such as myself can let ya pretend to be Irish today, after all everybodys Irish on St. Paddy's day. Amy brought home a wonderful Jiggs dinner from Dorr St. Cafe. Man it was tasty. And the weather? What unbelievably beautiful weather we've enjoyed these past few days. It's supposed to be 65 again tomorrow according to ABC 13. I did see some colder temperatures in the seven day forecast, but I'm gonna enjoy the shorts weather while its here.

Let's take a little journey into today's blog shall we? One of my favorite times of the sporting year headlines today's maniacal rant. Our good friend March Madness. In all reality I'm not much of a basketball fan but I do prefer NCAA men's over the NBA any day of the week. It's been a long time since the NBA marketed to my demographic. I love me some March Madness though. I usually start getting excited about it right around Big 10 Tournament time. I'm a Big 10 fan through and through. Although I'm a huge Ohio State football fan I do favor the University of Illinois Men's basketball slightly more than the Buckeyes. Unfortunately the Fighting Illini aren't dancing at the big ball so its Ohio State all the way and I truly like their chances. Evan Turner is the next great thing coming out of college men's hoops.

I'm not much of a sports gambling type of guy. I buy the occasional lottery ticket and I truly enjoy playing my Texas Hold Em poker, but I just don't gamble on sports much. My typical sports bets tend to be a cup of coffee at Bigby's. I always figure if I lose its well worth it to "endure" good company and conversation while enjoying some good coffee, truly a win-win all the way around. However I do make exceptions. I normally buy a few squares during Super Bowl week and I normally enter into a couple of March Madness bracket picking polls. Much will be said over the next week or two about people being unproductive at work due to following the Men's basketball tourney. I don't know if I truly buy this. Being a slightly larger than most, sports fan, I become distracted at work no matter what sport is playing. Let's be honest I will totally hold down a conversation about NASCAR if it keeps me from having to work. I don't know a lot about racing but it beats work every time. Lacrosse? Crew? Tennis? I've talked about them all while on the time clock at the job. March Madness is just about the only thing that distracts me, although minimally, from my real spring obsession; St. Louis Cardinals baseball.

I love the fact that the tournament style of NCAA men's basketball offers the potential for "Cinderella" teams. Remember Loyola Marymount? Gonzagas runs through the tourney? Remember George Mason? Southern Illinois? Davidson? The potential for upsets throughout the tournament always adds a little excitement as we meander through early spring Ohio weather. This year I really like Ohio States chances to make a long run. I think Michigan State could be a sleeper and I'm picking Richmond as an unexpected team to go far. I look forward to constant coverage of the games and being able to watch a lot of college sports these next couple of weeks. I don't really care how much money it costs employers for us to be excited about all of the hoopla. If the average working "Joe" didn't have something to get excited about long-term productivity would drop off exponentially. Feel free to go Mad folks, March is upon us.

In case you were wondering, the St. Louis Cardinals are shaping up pretty nicely to take the NL Central again this year. I think our pitching staff is comparable to just about any out there and a line-up anchored by Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday should provide for an exciting summer. I said March Madness distracts me from baseball, not that it makes me forget about it. At my very core I am a die hard Cardinals fan who bleeds Cardinals Red all year long. Ask my first wife who was royally pissed when I explained why she should never again ask me why I loved the Cardinals more than I loved her. My answer? I've loved them longer and they've treated me better. Women and their general overall lack of understanding when it comes to men and sports. Luckily I date a wonderful woman who tolerates my fanaticism. Good day all. Celebrate away on this St. Patricks Day. I will still be Irish tomorrow.