March Madness

March is a time for madness. This much we know. Madness as in, 48 college basketball games in four days. Madness as in playing two regular season baseball games in Japan at 3am Pacific time, then having both teams return to playing exhibition games for a few days, then back to regular season games. With all of that over, however, I'm going to be your guide to the upcoming madness the last few remaining days of March will provide. So, pack your bags and come with me on a journey. 

With the NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Championship breaking records for longest name and attendance, the tournament will move into regional action. The most interesting matchups include Washington State-North Carolina, Louisville-Tennessee, Stanford-Texas, and Wisconsin-Davidson. That last game features probably the best story of the tournament so far, embodied by Stephen Curry of Davidson. Curry is averaging 35 points through his first two games, and there's no reason to expect he won't be around that total again on Friday. In addition to the rather interesting pronunciation of his first name, Curry also could be the first one man team to advance to the Elite 8. If you saw his performances against Gonzaga and Georgetown, you'd have noticed that his teammates valuable services exist mainly to support his heroic efforts. As an "underdog" fan, I'll be pulling hard for Davidson to continue its run, in the fleeting hope that they knock off North Carolina in the Final Four. 

Baseball is back! And by back, I mean the Red Sox and A's are back and the rest of the teams are still basing their decisions on statistics racked up against pitchers like Byung-Hyun Kim. 

In any case, while the return of America's pastime to the forefront of television consciousness is most welcome, I can't help but feel that some teams still think they're in spring training. For your consideration, I submit the Florida Marlins. While teams not expected to compete such as the A's, Giants, and Pirates are at least throwing out promising starters such as Joe Blanton, Barry Zito and Ian Snell for opening day duty, the Marlins are starting...Mark Hendrickson. The same Mark Hendrickson that last season was beat out for starts by Brett Tomko. With Miami-Dade County committed to building a new stadium, the team rewards this development by starting Mark Hendrickson. Good luck creating excitement for baseball in South Florida. 

All that being said, we're hurtling towards exciting finishes in both college basketball and professional basketball, with classic matchups possible in both championships. North Carolina and UCLA are both favored to return to the championship game, and while not necessarily rivals, they are two of the most storied programs in college basketball history. Meanwhile in the NBA, the Celtics and Lakers are at the top of their respective conferences. Even though the Eastern Conference looks more and more like North Dakota High School Basketball each day. Both of these matchups have as much intrigue and excitement as the "Lost"-"CSI" battle on Thursday nights. 

So as you navigate through the raging waters of March sports, look for Stephen Curry, Mark Hendrickson, and the entire Western Conference to add more madness to an already crazy month. In closing, I'll give you my Fantasy Baseball tip of the week, pick up Willy Aybar, the starting third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays. I feel like he'll be entrenched in that spot for a long, long time.