March sadness brings April gladness

march madness is almost over. another year, another busted bracket. thanks arron afflalo for not heeding my plea not to suck. and thanks roy hibbert, acie law, and the entire oral roberts team for choking when i needed you the most.

ncaa tourney time is both the greatest, most disappointing, and then greatest again time of the year for me, speaking strictly in terms of sports. i love the excitement of the first two rounds, when cinderellas and wannabes step up to the big boys. some slay goliath (thanks VCU) and some come up juuuuust a bit short (seriously, hometown Xavier, how on earth do you blow a game like that?!?!). but as quickly as the buzz comes, it goes away, always waiting till next year when my bearcats remember that they're actually a D-1 basketball program. and just when march turns into sheer disappointment, i remember that april is lurking in the shadows, waiting to erase the sadness the previous month had brought.

for all intents and purposes, the college basketball season is over for me and now, so is the month of march. i really don't care who wins monday night. instead, my march bracket sadness is giving away to my april baseball gladness. my beloveds on the north side of chicago open the season tomorrow in the city of my birth, and for the next 7 months, i'll follow every win (few), loss (many) and injury (infinite) my team endures. i'll pray for rain when we're behind, an opposing injury when we're ahead, and for a miracle to reach the series. i'll tell everyone to wait till next year when, once again, we come up painfully short. i'll pick my b-team to root for in lieu of my boys in blue. and i'll get ready to do it all over again next april, once my march sadness has subsided.

oh yeah, the shield, sopranos and entourage all return this week too. welcome to april, the month of gladness.