Let the Madness begin; Let Tiger stay away

Let me begin by addressing the yearly excitement that is March Madness, which begins tomorrow. To answer your questions, YES I did fill out a bracket, and YES I am a homer (I picked Syracuse to win). To me, filling out a tournament bracket is like pulling off a band-aid - the longer you mull it over and think about it, the tougher and more painful it becomes. So, I go over the matchups and take approximately 10 seconds to decide a winner. In previous years, I have stewed over my picks, gone back and forth on winners and losers, looked at potential upsets and point spreads, and I have concluded that it is all garbage. No one knows for sure what's gonna happen, and sometimes the best decision is the impulsive one.

Let's continue on to a couple intriguing storylines...

I honestly thought Cornell would get a better seed, but 12/5 matchups historically have provided many upsets. Not saying the Big Red are gonna make a run, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Temple is a tough first round opponent, however, and the Owls have something to prove after not getting a #3 or #4 seed.

A team I have more confidence in is Richmond. I watched the Atlantic-10 tournament finale, which pitted the Spiders against Temple. Although they lost that game, Richmond can play. They are tough on the boards, and have (as Dick Vitale would say) a "PTP'er" (Prime-Time Player) in Kevin Anderson, who was named the A-10 Player of the Year. I really wouldn't be shocked to see the Spiders in the Elite Eight.

Another team I really like is West Virginia. I think much of America is forgetting that the Mountaineers just won the Big East Tournament, and are playing great basketball right now. WVU is battle tested coming out of the Big East, they have a proven leader in Da'Sean Butler, and are riding a huge wave of confidence after beating one of the hottest teams in the country, Georgetown. I picked them to upset Kentucky and make it to the Final Four.

- Tiger Woods announced earlier this week that he will return to competitive golf at the Masters. Upon hearing of this news, I said aloud "great...so much for watching the Masters."

Tiger is single-handedly sabotaging arguably the best golf tournament in the United States. There will be other professional golfers walking Augusta National in April (heck, there could be a million other golfers for that matter) but no one will notice them. Phil Mickelson could sink a hole-in-one, but everyone would be too busy watching Tiger tie his shoelaces.

I feel bad for everyone else who will be participating in the Masters. Not only will the golfers have to worry about putting the ball in the fairway, they'll have to worry about answering all of the Tiger questions. Their focus on winning a major will be strained by someone who already has 14 of them. Their preparation will undoubtedly have to include extra media attention - to know what to say, how to be politically correct, how to applaud Tiger's return.

I feel bad for anyone who ends up winning the 2010 Masters that isn't named "Tiger." Sure, you won the 2010 Masters, but no one is going to remember your great shots, your clutch putting, or your nerves of steel. People are going to remember the 2010 Masters because of Tiger's return to golf. They might as well put an asterisk on the green jacket along with the words "Tiger's first tournament back."

There is one thing Tiger himself can do to get back on my "happy" side: call a press conference sometime between now and the start of the Masters, and answer questions/provide explanations. If Tiger were to do that, maybe the media attention at the tournament would be slightly less. Maybe everything wouldn't be about Tiger. Maybe the Masters could just simply be The Masters. And maybe I could enjoy watching it.

USA, Canada will bring back the NHL

In 1998, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back. Their legendary (although steroid fueled) home run race captivated our country, and was the springboard that launched Major League Baseball out of the hole it had dug itself during the 1994 strike shortened season.

Sunday's hockey game between the United States and Canada will do the same for the NHL.

Not too long ago, there was no hockey in America. The lockout that cancelled the 2004-2005 season left hockey enthusiasts wondering if the sport would ever rebound, and put the sport in jeopardy of being removed as one of the "big four" in the United States (basketball, football, baseball, hockey).

Hockey returned for the '05-'06 season, but it wasn't the same. Gone was ESPN's hockey game coverage (Sportcenter still showed highlights, however brief), and mainstream media seemingly didn't care that the Carolina Hurricanes hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2006 (does anyone remember OLN??).

Since that time, the NHL has been gaining steam. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have provided the league with superstar appeal and intrigue, and Detroit and Pittsburgh have added excitement, suspense, and star-power to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Sunday's game was what put the NHL over the top of the mountain. Everything leading up to yesterday helped inch the NHL closer and closer to the peak, and USA/Canada provided the necessary shove over the top.

Yesterday was not comparable to Lake Placid in 1980 (nothing will ever compare to that game), but it was a start to a new era of hockey. Look at the star power that yesterday's game had - Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Jarome Iginla, Chris Pronger, and Rick Nash for the Canadian team (those are just a few), and Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, and Patrick Kane for the Americans. The point I'm getting at is that hockey at its highest level was on display yesterday. The excitement and suspense added to the intrigue of the matchup, and I don't doubt that the NHL will reap the benefits going forward.

In 1998, McGwire and Sosa were the heros. In 2010, Ryan Miller and Sidney Crosby have to be considered the heros. Miller has become the face of the United States hockey team, and has let the world know that he is currently the best goaltender on the planet. Without him, the U.S. team wouldn't have come close to the gold medal game. Crosby is Canada's favorite son. He's not "The Great One" but instead he's simply "The Next One," which is a title that adequately salutes his skill and ability without unfairly comparing him to #99. He needs a new nickname though - despite being only 22 years old, "Sid the Kid" seems far too juvenile for someone who has already hoisted a Stanley Cup and won a gold medal.

Four years after the strike-shortened season, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back. Five years after a cancelled season, the NHL is back...thanks to the Olympics.