God willing, I'm not anywhere near kicking the bucket. I didn't see the Jack Nicholson movie, The Bucket List, but thought the premise was cool. Well, as a lifelong Reds fan, every Opening Day I gripe about how I didn't get to go. 34 Opening Days went by and I never got to go to one. This year was different. One of my buddies called me on Friday with an extra ticket. I had to strike a deal with my boss to let me leave work early to go, but it was all worth it. Even gloomy, annoying rain couldn't dampen my day. I was always told how special Opening Day is in Cincinnati. I knew that already. But after experiencing it today, I can honestly say it truly is special. It's more than just another game. Do I wish the Reds had won the game? Sure. That would've been more special. Do I wish the game hadn't been delayed an hour due to rain, sure. But none of that took away from being able to scratch something off my bucket list.

A couple thoughts on the game. 1.) The Reds offense cannot strikeout 10 times and expect to win games. It's been an ugly trend for a couple years and it's got to stop. 2.) The rain really took some of the specialness out of the pre-game ceremonies. By the time the tarp was rolled off the field, they started honoring all of the deceased Reds who had passed away like Bob Howsam, Chief Bender and of course Joe Nuxhall. However, we all wanted more honors for Nuxie and the entire thing seemed so drawn out, and quite frankly, we were all ready to play ball at that point. Then, they rightfully honored Matt Maupin and lots of other local soldiers. Again, it could've been more touching but it seemed so drawn out and lack poignancy. 3.) I've had all I can take of "Team Lachey." I'm thrilled this chorus won money for Children's Hospital, but do I need to hear 3 songs from these people? 4.) Hats off to Todd Portune. He threw a strike (from the front of the pitching mound) in the first pitch. After last year's debacle/embarrassment of Mark Mallory throwing like a girl to the dugout, Portune represented well, especially considering the man has battled a spinal tumor and paralysis. As someone with a disability myself, I was very proud and happy for him. 5.) Corey Patterson is a fantastic defensive center fielder. He made two run saving plays that Freel, Griffey or even Hopper wouldn't have made.

It's Opening Day in Cincinnati and in this city, there is no better day. Major League Baseball has done what it can to destroy the day (playing in Japan, Sunday Night Baseball), but the day is still all about tradition.  The Findlay Market Parade kicks things off to start the day. There is the all-morning, all-afternoon tailgating and bar parties, and of course there is the game.

This year though there is something a bit different. For the first time in my memory, the day does not fall on the same day as the college basketball championship game. To me it has always been like Christmas, the ballgame in the afternoon and the the title game at night. With March ending on Monday and April's first day being Tuesday, things fell differently this year.

The men's title game will be played next Monday on April 7th.  Though I am bit disappointment to have this much aniticipated day split up, at least I have something to look forward to next year and at least this year I won't pass out during the title game.

Let's take a look at some pitchers that generally get off to both fast and slow starts:

APRIL GOOD PITCHERS
Josh Beckett – Boston: 12-3
Eric Bedard – Seattle: 11-5
Mark Buehrle – Chicago White Sox: 11-4
Chris Capuano – Milwaukee: 12-4
Roy Halladay – Toronto: 13-3
Aaron Harang – Cincinnati: 12-5
Tim Hudson – Atlanta: 11-5
Cliff Lee – Cleveland: 7-3
Greg Maddux – San Diego: 11-4
Mike Maroth – Kansas City (AAA): 11-3
Pedro Martinez – N.Y. Mets: 8-2
Mark Mulder – St. Louis: 9-1
Curt Schilling – Boston: 10-4
Brandon Webb – Arizona: 13-4
Dontrelle Willis – Detroit: 11-5

APRIL BAD PITCHERS
David Bush – Milwaukee: 4-11
Matt Cain – San Francisco: 2-8
Aaron Cook – Colorado: 3-8
Zack Greinke – Kansas City: 1-9
Paul Maholm – Pittsburgh: 3-7
Kevin Millwood – Texas: 5-12
Oliver Perez – N.Y. Mets: 5-12
Andy Pettitte – N.Y. Yankees: 4-12
Ben Sheets – Milwaukee: 3-9
Josh Towers – Colorado: 3-11
Kip Wells – Colorado: 3-8
Barry Zito – San Francisco: 3-12

For the first time ever the Final Four will include all four #1 seeds. North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA, and Kansas had few challenges on their path and all found their way to San Antonio. Now, the blowout weekend of action from the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 sets the stage for one of the most intriguing Final Fours ever seen.

North Carolina vs. Kansas and Memphis vs. UCLA, it doesn't get any better than this.

I picked Kansas over UCLA and missed only one game on my bracket. If Kansas beats UCLA, I'll win my office pool. That said, it could easily be North Carolina over Memphis, or Memphis over Kansas, or even UCLA beating Carolina. That's the point, this Final Four is wide open.

VegasInsider.com gives the slight edge to North Carolina, listing them as a 8/5 favorite. The three other teams are all listed as a 12/5 choice. That's about even as it can get. Ironically, UCLA opened as the favorite with 9/2 odds, UNC and Kansas were 5/1 and Memphis 6/1 on the website. Caesar's Palace has installed Memphis as a one-point favorite over UCLA and the casino has North Carolina laying three points to Kansas.

The oddsmakers see it pretty much the same way the AP writers did in their final poll of the regular season. They had North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA, and Kansas #1 through #4 respectively.

In recent days I have asked the writers at GetSportsInfo as well as some of my opponents in a few fantasy leagues to give me their predictions for the upcoming baseball season. They were asked to give each division winner along with their choice for Wild Card teams. They also listed MVP's, Cy Young Winners, Rookies of the Year and comeback players. Finally I asked them to tell me how many home runs Barry Bonds will hit and how may games they think Roger Clemens will win.

Here are the results of the 15 responses I received:

AL East - The Red Sox were the overwhelming favorite, garnishiing 12 votes. Three respondents chose the Yankees.

AL Central - The race in the middle of the country looks to be much closer. Detroit received eight votes to seven for Cleveland. Twelve of the voters chose both of these teams to make the playoffs, either through winning the division or the Wild Card.

AL West - In another two-team race, the Mariners edged the Angels by a vote of 8 to 7.

AL WC - As mentioned, most chose either the Tigers or Indians to grab the final spot. The Mariners, Red Sox and Yankees each got one vote.

In total, only six different teams were chosen to win the four playoff spots in the AL.

NL East - The Mets won this vote count with 11. They were followed by the Phillies with three votes and the Braves with one.

NL Central - Like the Mets, the Cubs dominated this choice with 11 votes. The Brewers picked up three and the Reds one.

NL West - Things get complicated out west. The Diamondbacks win with eight votes. They are followed by the Dodgers with three, and the Padres and Rockies each with two.

NL WC - Eight different NL teams were chosen to win the Wild Card. Not surprisingly, seven of the votes were for teams from the west.

In total, 10 different NL teams were voted to make the post-season. So, things are much more open in the Senior Circuit.

MVP - Both Miguel Cabrera and David Wright received seven votes to win their respective MVP Award. Second in the AL was Grady Sizemore with three votes. Prince Fielder and Matt Holliday received two votes apiece.

CY Young - Justin Verlander beat C.C. Sabathia 6 to 4 in the voting for the top pitcher in the AL. Johann Santana won with 10 votes in his new league. 

Rookie of the Year - Evan Longoria and Jacoby Ellsbury dominated the AL voting with Longoria winning 6 to 5. In the NL, former Japanese star Kosuke Fukudome won the most votes with five. Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto was second with three votes.

Comeback Player - Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano garnished the most votes from anyone in this category with four. Rich Harden picked up three votes. Nick Johnson led everyone in the NL with three votes. Andruw Jones and Kerry Wood each received two.

Barry Bonds - Although he does not have a contract and may be in some serious legal trouble, seven different respondents think the Home Run King (ouch!) will add to his total this season. Three people think he will hit 15 home runs and one even suggested 24.

Roger Clemens - The Rocket has a lot in common with Bonds these days, both in and out of baseball. However, only two people think the 'retired' pitcher will win a game in 2008.

COMPLETE PREDICTIONS (pdf)

With the rest of my fantasy team getting into action on Monday, it's time to offer up my All-Sleeper Fantasy Team for 2008:

1B: Conor Jackson - ARI
Has displayed an increase in power this spring and figures to be a great late-round steal

2B: BJ Upton - TB
OK, so he's not a sleeper. Still, many casual players will pass him by. Enjoy the 2B-eligibility while it lasts.

3B: Hank Blalock - TEX
He's going to hit cleanup for the Rangers; he finished with a 900 OPS in 58 games last year after returning from injury.

SS: Rafael Furcal - LAD
Another guy coming off an injury-riddled year that is going to come at a big discount.

OF: Josh Hamilton - TEX
This guy is for real and if he can prove to stay healthy could be a top 10 outfielder for sure.

OF: Ryan Church - NYM
Finally gets a crack at 500 AB's. He has nice pop in his bat and could help in the power catagories.

OF: Corey Patterson - CIN
Has landed the starting job in center with Reds; Griffey's injury history offers some security and ballpark brings upside.

C: Geovony Soto - CHC
The kid tore it up during his cup of coffee last year and is worth a shot if you wait around for a backstop.

SP: Matt Cain - SF
Wins are going to be hard to come by in San Fran this year, but Cain is a great guy to have as your No. 2 pitcher.

SP: Zack Greinke - KC
The kid is still only 24 and seems to have found his stroke. He's eligiblie in most leagues as a SP and RP.

RP: Matt Capps - PIT
The best of the no-name closers this year after closing down the door in 18 of 20 tries in '07.

The Reds' roster continues to dwindle closer to the mandatory 25-man limit it must be at by Monday. The team reassigned three more players on Saturday. Jim Brower, Jolbert Cabrera and Jerry Hairston Jr. are now out of the mix. That leaves the number at 28, but Mike Stanton has already been told he will be cut and catcher David Ross is likely to start the season on the disabled list which means one more pitcher will likely be moved.

Cabrera had the best spring of the bunch, hitting .296 while driving in 14 runs. Hairston was signed after camp broke, but the veteran played well in his limited as he also hit. 296 with 6 RBI's. Brower, who has played with the team in previous stint, was hoping to make it back at 35. He will have to get it done in Louisville now, and hope an opportunity arises.

Alll of these moves also are just another inidicator for how good the Reds' depth this season, particularly in the bullpen.

For the last few years my family has celebrated the coming of spring with something we like to call Baseballius. The holiday combines some of the traditions of Easter with the start of the baseball season. Instead of a giant rabbit hiding colored chicken eggs in the backyard, we have the San Diego Chicken leaving packs of baseball cards in the living room. The kids leave their baseball gloves for the Chicken to fill with Cracker Jacks, Big League Chew and sunflower seeds. On Monday afternoon we will celebrate the first pitch with a Baseballius Feast. The meal includes hot dogs, bratwurst, nachos, dough pretzels, cotton candy and antacids. Plenty of beer is served for the adults with root beer for the children. The day eventually ends with everyone passing out on the couch during a late west coast game. But the best part of the holiday is that there are still 161 games to go!

Play Ball!!!

I've said lots of things about my disdain for the Xavier basketball program (mostly their fans), but honestly, Sean Miller and his team should be very proud for a successful season. No failures here. 30 wins and an Elite 8 are very, very respectable, especially for a mid-major program like X. That's two Elite 8 appearances since 2004. The Musketeers just ran into what has to be one of the best coached and most talented teams in the country. UCLA just showed why they were a #1 seed and why they've been to three straight Final Four appearances. The Bruins are just more talented and at a different level than Xavier.

To Sean Miller and Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell and Josh Duncan, I say, be proud of what you've done this year and over the last couple. You had a great season. To the Xavier fans, I say up your nose with a rubber hose. Okay, I had to take a little shot there, but for I am quite relieved that X didn't get to the Final Four. 

UC--LA, UC--LA! 

With the controversy in Dallas this week over whether bloggers should be given credentials to Mavericks game, and the ongoing disagreements about whether blogging is really reporting, I find it interesting that those on the "news reporting" side never feels the need to shine the magnifying glass on their own.

Take, for instance, some of the reports on the coaching search at Indiana University.  Here's a report from 1:30 this morning from Foxsports.com reporter Jeff Goodman:

Indiana offered its men's basketball coaching job to Tony Bennett one day after his Washington State team was knocked out of the NCAA tournament, a pair of sources told FOXSports.com.

But, ESPN.com's Andy Katz begs to differ:

Indiana is hoping to name a men's basketball coach by next Thursday...according to a source with first-hand knowledge of the school's search process. ..[t]he source also said a published report Saturday morning that Indiana had made an offer to Washington State head coach Tony Bennett was inaccurate. Indiana has not offered anyone the job, according to the source.

So, basically, one of the two is completely wrong.  One would think they're not lying - one of them probably just has a bad source - but whomever ends up being wrong ought to be called out and held accountable for their mistake.  Otherwise, the inaccurate reporting is just going to continue.

Now, my money is on Katz being right.  Why?  Because Goodman has a history of being wrong on reports related to Indiana basketball.  On Thursday, February 21st, Goodman wrote on Fox's website that former IU coach Kelvin Sampson had been told on that morning that he would no longer lead the program (quote courtesy of Inside The Hall):

Sampson was informed early Thursday that he will no longer be the coach at Indiana, numerous sources told FOXSports.com.

But here's where it gets interesting.  When you click on the link embedded in the Inside The Hall post, it takes you not to that article, but to one that was updated the next day.  Yes, the evidence of Goodman's incorrect writings has been erased, and replaced by a "cleansed" version.  And what was in this cleansed version?

Sources have told FOXSports.com that Sampson will not be coaching the Hoosiers for at least the remainder of this season...[i]nitially on Thursday, two sources told FOXSports.com that Sampson would be immediately terminated. However, one of the sources later backtracked, saying Sampson would either be fired or suspended. The second source steadfastly maintains that Sampson will be fired.

So, on Thursday the sources said that Sampson was already fired, but the next day those sources said that he "would be" fired?  Either Goodman's trying to cover for an incorrect source, or he just flat-out misrepresented what his source told him initially so he could get the "big scoop".  No matter where the truth lies in this, it'd be nice if there was some sort of transparency in the reporting.

So the next time one of the "establishment" reporters starts to rip on bloggers as being a bunch of unprofessional kooks writing in the parents' basement, I'd like for them to also tell us when they plan on starting to police their own.

Friday night marked the end of the tournament for the Big Ten and it wasn't pretty. Michigan State and Wisconsin got beat by a combined 35 points to Memphis and Davidson respectively.

The so-called power conference failed to get a team into this weekend's Elite Eight. Its a fitting end to a conference's season that was mediocre and disappointing. Indiana fell in the First Round to Arkansas and Purdue lost a heart breaker to Xavier in Round 2.

Davidson started the night off by becoming just the ninth No. 10 seed to advance to the Elite Eight, not just by upsetting Wisconsin but by dominating them, 73-56. Tournament sensation Stephen Curry continued to dominate by scoring 33 points to lead the Wildcats' assault.  But on this night his defense did the drilling, holding the Badgers to 23.8-percent shooting in the second half and generating 18 points off turnovers for the game.

Many felt that Michigan State would give Memphis a run for their money, but the Tigers were not among the believers. Memphis got out of the gate quickly and never looked back. Freshman Derrick Rose bolstered his case for being the top pick in this summer's NBA draft by delivering a 27-point, five-assist effort to lead the No. 1 seed to a 92-74 win. The Tigers' defense was tenacious, holding Michigan State to just 20 points in the first half and clamping down on the Spartans' top shooter Drew Neitzel (6 points, 2/8 from the field).

At least the Big Ten still has Ohio State alive in the N.I.T.  However, it is pretty sad when that is the conference's best post-season achievement.

Though my heart will be the Muskies tonight, here's one edge I will definitely concede to the Bruins:

The Reds got closer to solidifying their bullpen on Friday when they optioned LHP Bill Bray to Triple A Louisville.  Bray has pitched well for most of his limited action this spring, but manager Dusty Baker would like to see him go to Louisville and build up his endurance and prove that he can be used a few days in a row.

The bigger statement comes with the release of veteran Mike Stanton, who is guaranteed $3 million this season and a $500,000 option next year. By eating $3.5 million and opting to go with the best arms, the Reds are showing they believe they can win this year.

The team also sent Rule 5 left-hander Josh Capellan back to the Red Sox. The team claimed him off waiver from the Giants earlier this spring and since the Reds aren't keeping him on the 25-man roster they had to offer him back his original team, Boston, for $25,000.

Matt Belisle, who entered camp as a favorite for the Reds' rotation, has been slow to recover from arm problems and will likely stay in Florida for an extended Spring Training. 

The moves leave only one spot left in the bullpen and it appears to be down to two darkhorses Jim Brower and Mike Lincoln.

First basemen Andy Phillips was also reassigned to Louisville.

OK, now that we've all gotten through the Xavier/West Virginia game, I think we need to have a serious, hardcore intervention with a certain segment of Cincinnati.  Yeah, I'm talking to you, group of 20-something yayhoos in the corner of the bar last night, wearing your UC sweatshirts and cheering for WVU (or really against Xavier).  And I'm talking to you, dad that was sitting next to me with his family, wearing a UC hat and telling his 3 year old to say "Go Huggs".  And I'm talking to everyone out there that's still holding this dual association of sorts.

This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.  Enough already.

Do I need to hold the mirror directly to your face to show you how ridiculous and borderline embarrassing you looked?  You went to a bar to root against a team, in a game where your "team" wasn't even involved in, while wearing your team's 3rd party apparel?  How freaking sad is that?

I've been out for BCS Championship Games when OSU was playing, and I swear I don't remember seeing anyone wearing a Michigan jersey and getting up on tables shouting down the OSU fans.  That probably didn't happen because they knew how silly that would look, and it would serve as a reminder of how their team didn't get the job done against their chief rivals, and they were looking for someone else to do the job for them.  And I would certainly hope that, if the Browns ever make the Super Bowl, there won't be Bengals fans watching in bars in their Bengals jerseys, as if somehow the Browns loss would be the Bengals' win.  Somehow this was not getting processed here.

Look, I'm aware that you're upset over how Bob Huggins got fired, and I'm aware that you're bitter with the way Nancy Zimpher has treated the basketball program in general, and you think she's responsible for what's happened over the past few years, and you want to hold that over the school's head.  And I get that to an extent.  Well, let me rephrase: I got it when it first happened.

But people, it's been three years.  We're grownups - or at least we should be.  It's time to move on.

Understand, I'm not trying to paint the whole fan base with a broad brush - I know plenty of reasonable UC fans who are supporters of the school and appreciate what Huggins did, but aren't feeling the need to continually rehash the whole thing.  And I write this from the perspective of an Indiana grad that still buries his head in bewilderment when fellow alums rail on about Bob Knight's firing a mere 7 1/2 years ago, and sometimes feel the need to ask them if they're also still bitter about the whole coal-to-electricity conversion thing as well.  But for the love of God, enough is enough already.

So I'm issuing this challenge to all conflicted UC/Hugginites: pick a side.  I'm not saying you have to hate WVU, but this sports bigamy has just got to end.  Either you're finished with UC and Huggins is your guy, or you're going to stick it out with UC through thick and thin.  But no more of this "well things didn't really go that well this season for us, and the CBIT loss kinda sucked, but if Huggins beats X then it all works out."  You've had three years to figure this out - no more fallback plans, it's time to make a decision.

Mark Twain is reported to have said "When the world ends, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always 20 years behind the times."  How about we all agree to do our little part to change that, and let the past be the past, and move forward?

Danica Patrick is all up in arms because the IRL is going to add weight to her car so that all the cars have the same weight.

Jockey's have this done in horse racing to even the playing field.

Danica is acting like she is being punished and that because she isn't as strong as the bigger drivers that she should be given an advantage by having a lighter car.

What advantage is she losing?  She hasn't one a race to date and I seriously doubt she ever will.

Danica is the Michelle Wie of the IRL and I for one think she should just shut her pie hole.

If she looked like Roseanne Barr she wouldn't be getting any air time.