So what do we do now?

This is where sports sort of hits a lull. February is a pretty bleak month in general. It's usually pretty cold, rainy and snowy, and no one wants to leave the house for more than maybe five minutes. It's a weird month as well, what with the short month, the possibility of leap year, and not one sporting event that really matters.

So what do we watch?

NCAA, it's fantastic!

There is nothing like March Madness, but before you can get to the madness you have to get through the grind of the regular season. College basketball is sort of an after thought from December through January. Only the most hard core fans (like me) are watching every game. But when February rolls around, that's when things get interesting. Over the course of the next two weeks, teams will either see their bubble burst or expand. The elites will battle it out for better seeding, hoping to avoid big showdowns in the second round, while smaller teams will vie for an opportunity to go to the big dance, perhaps for the very first time. This is when the confernece rivalries really heat up. This is when the games get a little more intense, a little more meaningful, and everyone is playing 100%.

I love this time of year because this is where you can get the "out of the blue" games, like the Maryland, Duke game from a few years ago, when Maryland blew a 10 point lead with about a minute to go, launching Duke's season and stalling Maryland's season. This is where you get the big performances from big players, like the 24 point, 15 rebound, 6 blocks performance by Hasheem Thabeet yesterday versus Georgia Tech. You begin to learn the names of guys who will become household mid way through March, and fans of certain programs will begin "scout" other teams from other conferences, as if they were dilligently putting together a report for the coaching staff.

As a Uconn fan and alum, Big East basketball is king. It's a war. You have to BE a Big East fan, I believe, to appreciate the style. It is rough and tumble, smash mouth kind of play. Teams, many times, just plain don't like each other. The players seem a little bigger, a little stronger in the Big East than in any other league. The games aren't always pretty. In fact, they are rarely ever pretty. But the quality of the competition, and the energy brought to each game is unmacthed. Plus, now that the league has 18 schools, and now that well over half of those schools are top notch programs, it is hard to find a push over game anywhere on the schedule.

For the next two weeks the Big East is going to absolutely destroy each other. This week, Uconn plays Notre Dame, a battle between two of the top four teams in the league. It should be a heated competition, a blood bath, and it should be enjoyable to everyone watching. There are only three weeks before March Madness truly kicks off with Championship week, but if you sleep on these next 8 or 9 games, as teams really position themselves for a run in March, you are gonna miss a whole lot of good basketball. And, like I said, what else, exactly, are you gonna watch?

Field of Dreams!

Okay, there isn't much here, but just the thought of pitchers and catchers makes me a little giddy, like Britney Spears at an open bar. I mean, when you turn on your television next week and you hear those first sounds, that first crack of the bat, the first pop of the glove, isn't your heart gonna race a little faster? I know mine will.

The beauty of this spring training is that there is a lot of subplots that people are gonna want to watch. Everyone is gonna be tuning in to see what Johan Santana looks like in a new Mets uniform. People are gonna be interested to see how Erik Bedard looks in a Mariners' uniform. Also, there are still trades and signings that have yet to take place. Will someone anti up and get Joe Blanton, a solid major league pitcher, only 27 years old, has a career 4.11 ERA, but that career number is inflated due to a very bad 2006. Blanton could be a welcome addition to any team's starting rotation, but how much will it take and who will be willing to pay a price for him?

What about some of the veterans? Mike Piazza is still on the market, as is Barry Bonds. So is slammin Sammy Sosa. Does anyone take a chance on any of those future Hall of Famers? How about some lesser guys, like Trot Nixon, who may not have the pedigree of Piazza and Bonds but is still a capable, solid, veteran major leaguer with big game ability. Does he land with a team?

Plus, isn't it amazing, for those of us who live in the northern parts to the country, to watch as people frolic in the warm winds of Florida for an entire month? (Note to any reporters covering spring training: I understand that exhibition games can get tedious, and I', sure there aint much to write about after a while, but please, please, please spare us the usual "God, I am so bored down here, when will the season start" columns that always seem to make their way into publication this time of year. Most of us have our 9-5 routines that we have to go to every single freakin day, getting up at the a** crack of dawn, trying desperately to convince ourselves to go to work rather than to call in sick, braving the cold February mornings just to get our 8 hours in. Sitting at Legends Field, with a cool breeze behind you, watching some rookie out fielder botch a ball in center field, as you down a free lunch and listen to some tunes in the press box, isn't exactly forcing a tear out. Enjoy your time, and your life. It aint that bad.)

NBA? Really?

I don't know, I am trying to get into the sport a little more. I feel like I owe it to the Birds and Magics and Michaels. I used to love the NBA, but now, not so much. But here is something I have found; high definition can actually MAKE you a fan of the NBA. Why? Because, for some reason, the NBA looks FANTASTIC on high def. Seriously, it feels like you're at the game. It feels like Ron Artest is going to jump through the set and kick the sh*t out of you at any second. There is no separation from the action.

Now, I am a little late to the high def. game, and I'm sure baseball looks just as good. But I was already in Bud Selig's pocket before high def. came along. He had me at collusion. But the NBA? I haven't really CARED about the NBA for years. Watching those big bastards pound each other night in and night out in the clearest possble fashion has gotten me all giddy. I have been watching the Celtics and TRYING to watch the Nets. My hope? My prayer? Now that the NBA has returned to my viewing schedule, I just want the Knicks to fire Thomas, trade Curry, trade Crawford, buy out Starbury, and draft AJ Price in next year's draft, and then trade for Emeka Okafor. Give me Uconn, NBA and I'll be buying Knick attire like it's the last wardrobe I'll ever own.