sugar pill

so it's st. patrick's day, 2008, which seems like a good enough day to get back in the game, i think... so, in honor of the ncaa tournament, the sox impending title defense, the celtics pure awesomeness and the test said awesomeness is about to endure, the bruins falling apart like clockwork and the fact that i won't be ingesting a single drop of booze today on the biggest drinking day of the year, let's embark on the first set of rules of 2008, shall we?

Rule No. 1 - the ncaa tournament is the best sporting event of the year, every year... just watching some of the conference tourneys over the weekend reminded me (as if i needed to be reminded) that the intensity level, the passion and the will, no matter who is playing and how good the teams are is impossible to match... of course, the super bowl or a particularly good nba or mlb playoff game features much of the same, but those events involve professionals making millions and millions of dollars and as easy as it is to become emotionally invested in the players and the teams, you know somewhere in your head that they have a good chance to be back in a similar scenario somewhere down the road... most of the kids playing in these hyper-important college hoop games will never play organized basketball again once they graduate - to many of them, the endgame is right there in front of their faces... watching georgia and that big, slow kid named dave bliss manning the pivot yesterday, getting by less on athleticism and talent than on sheer force of will as he snatched rebounds from and blocked shots by arkansas players stronger, quicker and faster than he, basically putting his sub .500 team on his back for the fourth time in three days knowing all the while that a loss would mean the end, is what this time of the year is all about... and that was a silly conference tourney final... what will it be like for bliss and his boys on thursday when they're a 14-seed and have to play No. 3 xavier, a team some of the "experts" are picking to make it to the final four? i have no idea and that's the beautiful thing? no one knows a thing about which upsets are going to happen where and when, or what games will come down to a desperation heave or which team (if any) will pull a george mason from two years ago and beat the likes of michigan st., north carolina and connecticut and make the final four as an 11-seed? i can't wait to find out...
Rule No. 2 - It's way too early to predict what kind of season the red sox are going to have, which means that it's also way too early to worry about them... sure, when one of the most newsworthy items of spring training concerning your favorite team is the release of the backup catcher, things are likely just fine... but i haven't forgotten that we live in boston and that means people go bananas over beckett's back spasms or colon's getting bombed by the yankees in an exhibition game (by the way, is it too early to start referring to colon as el guapo II?)... look, other than feeling concern about waking up at 6 a.m. to watch "opening day" from tokyo next week, is there really anything to worry about right now? sure, the depth of the pitching staff might be a problem down the road, five hugely important guys (lowell, beckett, youk, okajima and papelbon) had career years last year, making the chances of them doing it again seem slim and there are a couple of other minor issues... but look at the positives: lugo, coco, manny, drew and dice-k were all down to varying degrees relative to their career numbers last year and the team still won the whole damn thing... plus, there's always papi, now healthier than ever and primed to do his thing, papi styles... and don't forget the manager, only the best man for the job this franchise has ever had, no matter what any morons on sportsradio say, and now being paid accordingly... there should be nothing but optimism right now, folks - and besides, who in the hell isn't psyched to hear jerry remy say matsuzakar and okajeemer direct from the press box of the tokyo dome?
Rule No. 3 - the celtics are awesome, there's no way around it... i've been as critical of the team and the coach and the GM as anyone over the last three years, but really, how can i possibly say anything negative now? it sure helps to have future hall-of-famers, all-stars, former all-stars, great, unselfish role players, experienced veteran bench guys, recent pickups with gigantic balls and amazing young talent at your disposal, isn't it? doc rivers looks like the coach of the year with this cast that soon-to-be executive of the year danny ainge has assembled, a statement i wouldn't have made at any point during his time here before now for fear of being institutionalized... ray allen out a couple games? so what? defending champion spurs up 20 in the first half at home? who cares? lose to utah at home by 18? blip on the screen... look, i'm not going to anoint the celtics as champs-to-be just yet - i still worry about detroit despite its penchant for thinking it can flip the switch at any moment and succeed (newsflash: it can't) because of the experience factor in the playoffs, and i worry perhaps even more about cleveland thanks to that pretty good guy they have who led his team of flotsam to the finals last year... that being said, if boston returns to the finals for the first time since 1987 and wins banner 17, i've reached the point where i won't be surprised in the slightest, a somewhat frightening thought, but at the same time, a rather comforting one...
Rule No. 4 - the bruins suck... don't let the possible playoff berth (which they are naturally trying their damndest to fritter away) fool you... i've said it before and i'll say it again - the boston bruins will never, ever win a stanley cup as long as jeremy jacobs owns the team and that's very sad considering how great a sport hockey can be and how much the team used to matter around here... so when they lose in five games to ottawa or montreal in the first round or don't make it at all, don't say i didn't warn ya...
Rule No. 5 - this blog is fuckin sweet and if anyone reading stays with me, you will see why... i'm through with these long, long stretches of not writing on here - i'm back and i'm in it for the long haul so i hope you visit me again - cheers!