If you're a sports fan, it's hard to find a week better than this one.
You start with the men's NCAA championship for the gamblers and tack on the women's championship for those that prefer sports to be associated with sportsmanship. Add on the excitment of opening day, when hope springs eternal for every team, and throw in the opening day of the Masters, for those who prefer a sport that a "normal person" with an exceptional mind can win at. For baseball's most loyal fans, Extra Innings finally agreed to a deal with the local cable companies, meaning local Yankee fans won't be stuck turning in to listen to the Pinstripers on the radio all summer.
All that's well and good, but here in New England it feels as if the future of the entire MLB season will be decided today when Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound for Boston. If he lives up to the hype, he gives Boston baseball's best rotation. If he turns bust like Josh Beckett...well, I can't afford seats at Fenway anyway, so I guess it'll be ownership that has to kick away that 100 million.
I think Matsuzaka will be much closer to what's advertied than a bust. His command in Japan was outstanding, and he excelled in strikeout-to-walk ratio until the end of spring training. His elite ratios should make him an excellent number three. The problem for Boston occurs if Curt Schilling falls apart due to age and Beckett continues to try to beat every batter with his arm rather than his head. And just so you know, I think both of these things are likely. At the same time, there's no other team in the AL that looks more capable (New York's rotation, sans Clemens is weak; Detroit is injury-prone; Oakland still can't hit) so it should be an interesting summer.
Dice-K takes the mound at 2, and I've got work at 4, so I'll try to check in before then. Send me your predictions about Matsuzaka and let me know what you'll be watching today.