March Madness – Bracketology and Other Chides of March Trash Talk

Spring is in the air! And, thanks to the Bush EPA, a whole bunch of toxic substances are in the air with it. But, for the moment, lets leave the real work aside and get our swerve on again with the trash talk. There is a lot of ground to cover with March Madness in full swing, MLB opening day a heartbeat away, the stretch run in the NBA at hand and, my own pet favorite, the start of the Formula One Grand Prix season. Here is a very brief rundown; we will fill in the details together in the comments.

The Madness: Ya gots ta love March Madness. It may not be the biggest sporting event in the world (although it seems to be getting there fast), but it is awfully special. The energy and passion of the kids, before they turn into cynical and self centered pros, is really special. Every year there are shots and storylines that become the stuff of legend. As you all know by now, there is no joy of the Big Dance in Sun Devil Country, but the future is looking very bright and they will be there next year. I will be riding the Kevin Love Boat with UCLA all the way. Bracket up and tell why your team is better.

America’s Pastime: I predict this is the year we end the curse. The curse of suffering the incessant high and mighty chatter from the Beantown Batfans that is. The Shill is gone baby, or at least on the shelf for a good long time anyway, and the Sawx have never won a thing without him. That is my story, and I am sticking to it. As you might would guess my hopes ride with the Baby Backs of the Diamond variety. Young solid talent everywhere, deep farm system, and good pitching (I again want to thank Freepatriot for giving us Dan Haren, a very shiny gift. Really, you should not have been so generous). In the Senior Circuit, I think the Padres, Cubbies and Mets are going to also be very good. Especially the Mets now thaqt they have added Johan Santana, and the early reports on the newly rehabilitated Pedro Martinez are that he is looking scary good already. In the Designated Ringer League, of course there are the aforementioned Red Sawx and the Team That Fired Torre. Also looking strong are the Halos, Mariners, Tigers, Indians and Jays. Whose balls and strikes are you arguing?

NBA Stretch Run: I love the NBA. Had season tickets to the Suns for almost 15 years, but i gave them up in 2002. It just isn’t the same without Barkley and Jordan; not to mention Magic and the Bird. The game is still just as good or better, but the magnetic personalities today do not measure up to those that are gone. The Celtics and Pistons look to be the cream of the crop in the East, and if it is anybody but those two for the Eastern Conference crown, I’ll be shocked. Teh Western Conference? Whoa Nellie, we got us a real donnybrook going on out here. Eight teams within four games of each other. The Lakers were looking pretty scary for a bit, but an injury to Gasol and the announcement that Andrew Bynum won’t be back before the playoffs, and that is a bad time to reintegrate a major player, have brought them back to earth. The road to the conference crown still runs through San Antonio until somebody proves otherwise, but I am going out on a limb and saying that it is now or never for the Phoenix Suns and they are going to get it done in the west. What say you?

F1 Grand Prix Circus: Befitting one of the most erudite blogs on the web, we got yer Formula One trash talk right here. All you NASCAR lugnuts can drive around in circles elsewhere, cause this is about the most popular and sophisticated motorsport on the planet. And it ain’t even close. For those of you not familiar with F1, you are missing out. The whole incredible scene surrounding the F1 circuit is known by aficionados as "The Circus". The rich and fascinating history, national passion of the fans and manufacturers, the spectacle, the technical sophistication and the driver skills are unmatched. If you want to get a taste, and a pretty good look at what it’s all about, rent or find a copy of Grand Prix, the 1966 classic by John Frankenheimer. It is quite simply the best movie about motor sports ever made, a great flick and a hell of a good story to boot.

Last year, up until the last race of the season, it looked like Lewis Hamilton, the Brit rookie wonder driving for McLaren-Mercedes, was going to take the crown. F1 is the absolute best of the best, and rookies just don’t do that; but man is this kid good. Scary good. Smooth too, and that is critical in the Grand Prix circus. However, due to a string of mechanical and freak events, Ferrari ace Kimi Raikkonen claimed the Driver’s Championship by a single point over Hamilton by winning the last race of the year in Brazil. I gave a link above to the official F1 website if you are interested. The first race of the 2008 Circus was down under, and Lewis Hamilton picked up where he left off last year by winning the Australian GP. This weekend is the Malaysian GP. Coverage in the US is provided by the SpeedChannel on cable and their coverage is quite good, check your local listings. If you want more info, just use da Google, you will find plenty because Formula One is the biggest and most popular spectator sporting series/league in the world (yep, you read that right), or ask a question in comments and I’ll try to answer. Strap in and fire up the engines!

Well, thats it for now. We have a lot of sports trash to catch up on. So put the beer on ice, fire up the grill and, for godsakes, put a hat on! Play Ball!