This is my first post in three weeks. Because of work, a short vacation and other distractions, I haven't written any posts since the afternoon of the NCAA Men's Championship Game, a miss-a-thon that was won by UConn. The next night, the Texas A&M Lady Aggies defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a back-and-forth, edge-of-your-seat contest to claim the Women's Championship trophy. Then, unknown South African pro Charl Swartzel avoided the pitfalls that doomed so many others at Augusta during the Masters and won his first PGA major; Tiger Woods showed flashes of his former greatness and finished in a tie for fourth at -10.
The baseball season is off and running. Defending AL MVP Josh Hamilton is lost for 6-8 weeks after fracturing a bone in his right arm trying to score from third on a foul pop-up in one of the year's biggest stories so far. The Cleveland Indians have risen as one of baseball's best teams, an amazing feat for a team picked almost uniformly to finish fourth in the AL Central.
This week's rankings had a new #1 in the MLB, dethroning the reigning Texas Rangers:
1) The Colorado Rockies (12-3); a chic pick to win the NL West or Wild Card last year, the Rockies are off and running this season, led by their two young, contracted superstars, Carlos 'CarGo' Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki. Tulowitzki, who finished fourth in the NL MVP voting despite missing 40 games with a broken wrist, was picked by many to win the award this season if healthy, and he has made those experts look like genuises with seven home runs already.
2) The Texas Rangers (10-5); last year, when Hamilton missed the final month of the season with rib injuries, the Rangers were far ahead in the AL West and on their way to their first-ever World Series appearance. So far, they're staying afloat without the uber-talented outfielders, thanks to the ball-crushing tandem of Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz.
3) The Philadelphia Phillies (10-4); that vaunted starting pitching has proven worth the hype, as the offense has struggled without Chase Utley but the team keeps winning.
4) The New York Yankees (9-5); now all but uncontested atop the AL East, the Yankees' powerful lineup and effective bullpen are looking sharp.
5) The Cleveland Indians (11-4); I'm pretty sure they had the lowest attendance in the Majors a year ago, and started with it so far, but they're atop the AL Central after an early-season sweep of the much-ballyhooed Boston Red Sox.
6) The Cincinnati Reds (9-6); They led the NL in runs scored last year, and, led by defending NL MVP Joey Votto (who is hitting .444), they look primed for another run.
7) The Kansas City Royals (10-5); Second in the AL Central in another huge surprise.
8) Los Angeles Angels (10-5); After wasting away in last-place Arizona for two years, righthander Dan Haren looks rejuvenated by competing again
9) San Francisco Giants (8-7); the defending World Champions are a step behind Colorado in the West, but still looking competitive
10) The Florida Marlins (8-6); the Marlins tend to fizzle out of competition late, but they're looking okay in the early going.
Boston Bummin'
They picked up Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. They already had Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, a healthy Jacoby Ellsbury. They got a healthy Josh Beckett to sit in the rotation with Jon Lester, Clay Buchholtz, John Lackey and Dice-K Matsuzaka. And they have a bullpen of Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard. They have the most passionate fan base in sports backing them up.
All they need are wins. At this point, the "Best Team Ever", as some were jokingly calling it, is 4-10, having lost early season-series to the Rangers, the Indians and the Tampa Bay Rays, the latter of whom has looked lost against everybody else. They keep saying its still early in the season and they'll get going, but the Yankees continue to climb the ladder and leave their hated foes behind.
Y'all Ready for This?
The NBA Finals started last night, and heads turned in alarm everywhere.
The Oklahoma City Thunder grasped a tough fight against the Denver Nuggets, 107-103.
Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer (big surprise there) to give the struggling Boston Celtics a hard-fought win (They trailed most of the game) over the New York Knicks, 87-85.
The regular season's best-team-in-the-West San Antonio Spurs lost to the scratching-and-clawing Memphis Grizzlies, 101-98.
The New Orleans Hornets send the two-time-defending champion Los Angeles Lakers a message with a 109-100 win.
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