So it Begins...Again

I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I’ve been waiting for this day a long time. The start of a much-anticipated new season, a chance for redemption, optimism renewed, excessive use of clichés. For me, this is in many ways the most exciting day on the sports calendar.

Yes, that’s right – it’s NHL opening night!

Actually, that’s not what I’m excited about. I will admit that I’m greeting this new NHL season with as much interest as I’ve shown in the sport since NHL ’94 was regularly parked in my Super NES, but my real excitement has to do with today’s 4 p.m. first pitch, Game 1, Braves-Astros. A chance, for the 10^th year in a row since the championship season of ’95, for the Braves to make another run at the title, to shut up all of you disrespectful louts who have dared utter “Buffalo Bills” over the years, you detractors who run your yappers about the lack of fans in the stands at Turner Field, who always pick against the Braves to win. And on that subject…

A friend of mine pointed out yesterday that it’s getting a wee bit stuffy on the Houston bandwagon. Seems the Astros are everyone’s edgy pick to win the World Series. Sorry, but I just don’t see it. (And I’m fully aware that has something to do with the fact that I don’t want to.)

In closing, it begins now – and by “it” I mean the Braves-Astros series, and my blood pressure rising to perilous heights from its normally innocuous level. We Braves fans keep a cool demeanor during the regular season, but once the playoffs start, every opposing base hit is cause for full-scale panic. That sound you hear come game time is me screaming at the TV. And the sound you hear after that is me explaining to the neighbors that, Really, everything’s fine – there is no domestic disturbance. If, after that, things go suddenly quiet, it means most likely that the Braves have lost and I’m curled up in the corner, sucking my thumb and humming myself a lullaby.
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-Speaking of Houston (great transition, right?), an interesting NBA trade went down yesterday: Rafer Alston was dealt from the Raptors to the Rockets in exchange for Mike James. At first glance, I like this deal quite a bit for the Rockets. I just think Skip’s a better, more dynamic player. Mike James isn’t bad; he’s just not exactly brimming with potential. This trade tells me two things: 1) The Raptors have had enough of Skip’s complaining, and 2) the Rockets are more worried about Bob Sura’s recent knee surgery than they’re letting on. The most obvious question here: How will Jeff Van Gundy make a team of Rafer Alston, T-Mac, Stromile Swift and Yao unwatchable? I don’t know how, but rest assured – he will.

-During Game 1 of the Yankees-Angels series last night, Fox showed footage of Vlad Guerrero earlier this year at Yankee Stadium chucking a ball from the left field foul line over the right-center field wall. Pretty sick. Made me think they should have some kind of distance throwing contest during the All Star festivities, which, the more I think about it, is a horrendous idea. No one would want to do it for fear of injury, and the fools dumb enough to compete would most likely annihilate their labrums trying to uncork the best throw. Those obvious concerns aside, I’d tune in to watch such an event. Wouldn’t you?

-Call off the search – I found Frederick Weis.