The 2nd Week of April

                                                       The 2nd Week of April

     The weather seems to be changing --for the better. Minus the blip I saw in Pittsburgh this past Friday when the Atlanta Braves met the Pirates in the Bucs' home opener, replete with snow squalls and wind in upper 30 degree temperatures, it appears that baseball will now be played in more Spring-like conditions.

     The Yankees limp home to New York for their home opener minus at least 2 key starters, catcher Gary Sanchez and shortstop Didi Gregorius. Yet, even with the underachieving 2-4 record and Passover looming tonight, Yankee Stadium will be abuzz with a near capacity crowd cheering on its heroes.

     As much noise as will be generated in the Bronx this afternoon, it will be nothing compared to tonight in Chicago. The World Champion Chicago Cubs (that has to be repeated to be believed given the Cubs' historic World Series-winning drought) will unfurl the championship banner which will fly over Wrigley Field forever. This is so historic that ESPN has decided, along with Major League Baseball, that the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers merits a national TV audience.

     There will also be some significant fervor in Cleveland on Tuesday as the defending American League champion Indians begin their home schedule with the Chicago White Sox in town for a later afternoon start. The Indians are playing good baseball at the beginning of the 2017 campaign, a sign that they have suffered no ill effects from the oh-so-close loss to the Cubs in an epic game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

     Other than the 6-1 record the Arizona Diamondbacks and the 5-1 start the Minnesota Twins sport at this early point in the season, there are few surprises going into week 2 of the 7 months baseball needs to complete 162 games per team. Yes, the opening week for the San Francisco Giants (2-5) and Seattle Mariners (1-6) could have been better, but one week is not necessarily determinative of how the remainder of the schedule will turn out. Once the hoopla of Opening Day (or Night) fades and the weather is much more Summer-like in August and into Labor Day we, as fans, will have a true barometer of how our teams will fare.

     So be happy in Philadelphia as the Phillies could actually score 12 runs at home against the Washington Nationals, a team that most experts believe will challenge the Cubs for National League supremacy. Your team has not yet become mediocre as in past seasons. Ditto in Tampa Bay, as the Rays have streaked out to a 5-2 record for a team picked to finish either 4th or 5th in the American League East. Do not despair in Toronto, for the Blue Jays are probably not as bad as the 1-6 record indicates. There is a whole lot of baseball to be played. After all, it is only the 2nd week of April.

     Correspondingly, the National Hockey League completed its 82 game regular season last night. The Stanley Cup playoffs begin on Wednesday night with 5 contests, followed by 3 more on Thursday. Eight First Round matchups which can go as long as 7 games, narrowing the tournament down to 4 teams in each conference. Somewhere in June we should have the Stanley Cup Finals series and a 2016-17 champ. Playoff beards traditionally grown by the players will be more gruff as their team goes deeper into the quest for the Cup.

      One of the three local teams, the New York Rangers, qualified to start playing towards the Cup. They open the first series in Montreal against the Canadiens. Not much is expected from either team. An interesting series involves the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins with their star-studded lineup led by superstar Sidney Crosby, encountering a very good Columbus Blue Jackets team. Boston-Ottawa and Toronto--Washington complete the Eastern Conference series. With the latter series, it will be interesting to see how the Maple Leafs do against the Capitals. Will new star Auston Matthews lead the upstart Leafs to an upset against all-World Alexander Ovechkin and the Caps, who have historically "choked" come playoff time?

     The Western Conference series are very competitive. Calgary-Anaheim, St. Louis-Minnesota, Nashville-Chicago and San Jose-Edmonton could go either way, as all teams are truly capable of  making the second round. Of note, the NHL scoring leader came from the Edmonton Oilers, with Connor McDavid being the only player this season to garner over 100 points. McDavid is the third youngest player to reach the 100 point plateau, joining Crosby and the incomparable Wayne Gretzky. Thus the story line in the West is whether McDavid can lead the Oilers to the Cup like Gretzky, his famed predecessor.

     Not to be forgotten is that the National Basketball Association is in its final week of the 84 game marathon. All 8 teams in the Western Conference are set--other than the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers determining who gets to host more games in the first round, there is very little excitement, and teams will be resting players before the playoffs begin.

     It is another world in the Eastern Conference. Drama lives on here. Three teams are competing for the final two spots in the East--the Indiana Pacers (40-40), the Chicago Bulls (39-41) and the Miami Heat (39-41). The top spot in the Conference, and the home court advantage in the East is up for grabs between LeBron James' fading and perplexing Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics led by Isaiah Thomas and coached by the youthful Brad Stevens. The Cavs lost two games to the Atlanta Hawks this weekend, blowing a 26 point lead on Sunday and losing in overtime. Even if the Cavs do win the top spot in the East, the way they are playing will guarantee nothing in whatever first round matchup they draw.

     Let us not forget that the Masters golf tournament at the picturesque Augusta National Golf Club concluded with a one hole playoff  Sunday, won by Spaniard Sergio Garcia, a very, very good golfer whose quest for his first major title is now over. The Masters is always a rite of the first week of Spring, and those beautiful, blooming dogwoods are telling us that better weather has already reached Georgia.

     With the weather indeed changing--it will be in the upper 70's today in New Jersey--the three active major sports will be alive and thriving. As they always do at this time of the year.

     What more could a sports fan ask for this morning when scouring the sports pages or read blogs or watch Sports Center on ESPN--pro football?