Spring Confluence

   



                                                                   Spring Confluence

     It is April 3rd. Tonight is the night of the NCAA Men's National Championship. Earlier today, most Major League Baseball teams began their seasons--with the notable exception of the Yankees among 5 other teams, who lost to Tampa Bay yesterday. Yes, it is Spring--MLB baseball games now count. .

     Spring has plenty of meaning. This is a time of change--when the weather begins to shed winter and lead up to the warmth of summer. Flowers bloom, rain falls instead of snow. People come out of winter jackets and end their hibernation. Winter sports say good bye at the collegiate levels; the professionals have found a way to extend their playoffs into June and sometimes beyond the beginning of Summer. Spring college sports have already started in earnest as they head towards their playoffs at the close of the academic year. High school spring seasons have also commenced in New Jersey.

     Last week major college basketball said sayonara on a number of levels--the College Insider Tournament was won by St. Peter's University from Jersey City with a victory on the road at Texas-Corpus Christi. T.C.U. won the National Invitational Tournament over Georgia Tech at Madison Square Garden. On the women's side, yesterday, South Carolina defeated Mississippi State for the NCAA Women's crown; Mississippi State had somehow overcome the invincibility of the UConn Huskies, ending the record win streak at 111 victories by securing an improbable overtime win after losing the UConn by 60 points last season. Michigan won the Women's N.I.T.

     College hockey still has to determine a champion. The Frozen Four is ahead starting this Thursday in Chicago with Minnesota-Duluth playing the Harvard Crimson and top seed Denver meeting Notre Dame. The Final is set for April 8. Then Winter Sports will be finished. At last.

     So until we get through Saturday, the overlap between seasons is really a misnomer as far as the colleges go. College baseball and softball began in February--some teams have played 15-25 games. College lacrosse squads have almost played half of their schedules, many times in frigid weather in February and March. Baseball, softball and lacrosse also have sojourned to the warmer South, the Southwest or California to play. Tennis teams at least played indoors for those months, if they hadn't joined the other sports in vacating the cold weather.

     As far as I am concerned, there are too many baseball games in a season, largely a result of playing away from home in the midst of the winter. The NCAA Division I Baseball Championships in Omaha, Nebraska occurs way after school has let out--as the playoffs start in late May or early June. The other Divisions are not immune from this. Even lacrosse championships are held during Memorial Day weekend.

     Then again, isn't MARCH Madness ending tonight--in April.  Gonzaga comes into the game at 37-1 while North Carolina resides at 32-7. That amounts to nearly a half of an NBA season--and tonight in Oakland the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards are contesting their 77th game, with 5 more games left on their schedules. The pros don't have to attend classes; most of the college basketball players do...and had to take final exams in December. They play in three of the four seasons--Fall, Winter and Spring. Too much travel and too many games. The same applies to the Spring sports players, who can vie in Winter, Spring and Summer. A myriad of games happen before Daylight Savings Time starts.

     But as a fan, I get to experience the best of all worlds in my retirement. The weather is increasingly better, so I can now walk outside in less than a parka. And watch college basketball wind down tonight, and hockey later this week. Sandwiched between Yankees-Rays telecasts on Sunday and Tuesday, and the Mets opener at Citi Field versus Atlanta.  Plus a bevy of other MLB telecasts on ESPN for good measure.

     I like this particular time of the year when the collegiate Winter ends and the professional Spring commences. Better than when college football concludes in January and pro football in February. That's right--February--about half of Winter has been consumed.

     At least the MLB playoffs and World Series are still in the Fall--the first week of November is not exactly baseball weather up North yet it is still in Autumn. Then again the NBA and NHL seasons are underway and college and pro football have or are nearly reaching the halfway points in their respective seasons. Thankfully baseball does not run beyond the onset of Standard Time. Close, but not yet beyond it.

     I think I have been way too analytical. The Tar Heels and the Bulldogs, both number 1 seeds, are at the ready, making this just the 8th time in NCAA history number 1 seeds have met in the Championship round. Two schools, one a highly-regarded public institution of over 30,000 students located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with a blue blood basketball pedigree seeking its 6th title in 11 tries, is taking on a worthy challenger from Spokane, Washington, a Jesuit Catholic liberal arts university with a total enrollment of 7,500 making its first ever championship game in any sport. The head coaches are friends, the result of a joint coaching staff trip to a Mississippi casino in 2009 prior to UNC beating the Bulldogs. Carolina is the top rebounding team in the nation. Gonzaga is number 2 in field goal defense. Both scored 77 points in winning semi-final matches on Saturday. Two schools. 2537 miles apart. Two coaches with the highest winning percentage among active coaches. Both from small towns in their school's state. Ramses the Ram versus Spike the Bulldog. All in the University of Phoenix Stadium in suburban Glendale. Deciding who really is the best team in the land. Such drama.

     For this evening I can let Winter fade out 13 days into Spring. Hours before that, 13 days into Spring, I can watch the Mets. Tomorrow I can focus completely on baseball. While watching my daffodils open and my grass grow greener. And wait until November when we can do this all over again.