By Rebecca Silberman

Maroon-News Staff

At times like these, when snow drifts clog the lower fields and joggers are a rare sight on Broad Street, I am sustained by the philosophy that it is always baseball season. At the (glorious) end of last season, most sighed, rolling up their jerseys and packing away the Cracker Jacks. But, me, I refocused, reviewing the past season’s stats and rallying for a busy offseason of gloating and trade-watching.

In mid-February, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training, I too shake off hibernation. As I always do, I immediately flipped to ESPN and watched with glee as the players reported to the practice fields. My usual spring training regimen is a stiff workout and not recommended for amateur fans, but I have conditioned myself to thrive under the pressure of daily forages through the newspaper and internet for news from down south, constant evaluation of new talent and endless speculation about my boys’ prospects for the season. It’s a tough process, but from this boot camp I will emerge with the necessary facts memorized and my heckling skills honed for the year ahead.

By Anthony Chang

Maroon-News Staff

I don’t regard any part of the year as a “down” period for sports. Right now, the NBA is in its stretch run with many teams jockeying for playoff position. The Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and the Charlotte Bobcats are all within one game of one another, so that is something to keep an eye on for the rest of the season. One particular team of interest is the Cleveland Cavaliers. The reason is simple: “Get a ring for the King.” LeBron James is due to become a free agent this summer and if the Cavaliers want to keep him, I believe they need to win the championship this year. Some other interesting storylines are: Can the Lakers repeat? Are the Celtics too old?

Besides the NBA, baseball season is right around the corner. Spring Training games start next week. The Yankees look loaded for another run at the World Series. However, the road will not be easy as many contenders also improved their rosters. The Phillies added Roy Halladay to their already formidable roster. The Boston Red Sox never stand pat when they know the Yankees are making adjustments to their roster. The Yankees are still the defending champions, so until proven otherwise, they are the odds-on favorites to win the World Series again.

By Kyle Blum

Maroon-News Staff

This isn’t a down period. For those of us who will be filling out a March Madness Bracket (not for money of course…gambling is illegal), the next two weeks are crucial to our success. Though early season play matters, if you want to get a sense of how a team will play in the tourney, you need to watch them in early March. This is when the contenders will either stumble (Kansas, Kentucky) or rise to the challenge (Syracuse). It’s the time when teams in the top 20 show signs of being potential bracket busters (Tennessee, Ohio State, Oklahoma State). You could just put through chalk (top seeds) in the first round of the bracket, or you could watch the mid major conference tournaments to see who is for real and who is over-hyped. How good are Gonzaga, Butler, UConn, Louisville, Cal, Clemson? These are the questions you’ll need to be able to answer if you’d like to win your pool. If you would like to be the person raking in the cash (metaphorically speaking) when the nets are cut, keep your TV on and don’t miss a second of the action.

By Ed Boulat

Maroon-News Staff

“Down time” in the sports year just means there is a whole lot right around the corner. Which means this is not the time to pick up squash or start doing your English reading. No sir. Not with the NCAA Basketball Tournament coming up, not with the NBA Playoffs looming, not with MLB talk picking up again and certainly not with the World Cup a few months away. Did I mention that the UEFA Champions League is in the knockout stages? Down time means that, although no trophies are being handed out, a lot of things that will determine who wins those trophies are going on. So, before you go for that walk outside or decide to do your dishes for the first time this year, you might want to check out LeBron, and see if he’s dunking on four opposing players on the way to his first NBA title, or how Barcelona is looking on their way to defending their Champions League trophy. You might regret it otherwise.