NCAA History... MLB Opening Day

Well there are only four teams left in the mighty NCAA Men's tournament and the four remaining teams have made NCAA history. The four remaining teams are the four one seeds and it is the first time ever that all four one seeds have made it to the Final Four.

I know that seems shocking right, but it's true. I guess these four teams are really the elite teams in the NCAA or the selection committee made the right choices. I don't know if any of you remember back to the end of October when I made my preseason basketball picks, but you can check them out here and see that the first five teams I picked are either in the Final Four or played in the Elite Eight. The other three made the tournament, but let me down in the end.

What I think it came down to was the Final Four teams were just the elite teams of the nation and proved it all season long. All four won their conference tournaments and continued their march on into the NCAA tournament. UNC, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas are the best teams in the nation and now the four teams will battle it out for the right to play in the National Championship to be crowned the champion.

I know I only got two of the four right in my bracket, but when it comes down to it I'm sure there were millions out there that picked all four one seeds to make it to the Final Four for the first time ever, just because they are the best teams in the nation.

But when Saturday night comes around I think UNC will knock off Kansas and UCLA will slow down Memphis to make it to the Championship on next Monday for the right to be crowned national champion in 2008.

As college basketball and March Madness comes to a close, April approaches and everyone knows what that means. It's officially spring time and time for the MLB season to get back to the grind. Opening night kicked off last night in the Nation's Capital in the Nationals new ballpark when they faced my Atlanta Braves.

But earlier last week, the season "officially" began in Japan with Boston taking on Oakland in two games that counted towards their record, when each team winning a game. But opening day is today to begin the long regular season march from now until the end of September. I'm going to skip right into my season predictions and then I'll share some thoughts.

American League-
East winner: Boston Red Sox
Central winner: Cleveland Indians
West winner: LA-Anaheim Angles
Wild Card: Detroit Tigers

National League-
East winner: Atlanta Braves
Central winner: Chicago Cubs
West winner: Arizona Diamondbacks
Wild Card: New York Mets

World Series 2008: Cleveland Indians over New York Mets in 6 games

I'm taking a very balanced Indians team to get over the hump and make it to the World Series to face the Mets and bring home the crown. The Indians came up just short last season against the Sox and will be back with a vengeance on their way to the championship.

I've been doing a little bit of reading about the upcoming season and many feel that the Yankees will be back in the playoffs this season. Me on the other hand don't see it happening this year. A new manager, weak pitching, it's not going to happen. Many think they are under the radar behind the mighty Sox, but that is not the case. As long as they have Yankees on their jersey and the classic pinstripe uniforms, everyone will be out to take out the Yankees.

What? You picked the Braves over the Mets and Phillies? Yes I sure did, Cox has rebuilt his young team and their pitching staff is back in order having brought Tom Glavine back, they will cause trouble in the National League East this year. Bobby Cox has been under slight scrutiny the past two seasons, but he has his team back in order and they will be hanging around the top of the division all season long as long as they don't suffer any major injuries.

It will be a tight three way race all season long, but the Braves will pull through and win the division over the Mets by one games and the Phillies by two games. Yes, it will be very tight.

As for the NL West division, that is probably the hardest division to pick because four of the five teams in that division could win the division. I choose the Diamondbacks due to their success from last season and their strong pitching, but one could make a claim for the Rockies, Padres or even new look Dodgers as well. That is a stacked division as well.

That is why I love baseball so much. The balance of power is so Topsy-tourvey these days. It is hard to pick who will win just because teams are so good and balanced. It's no more expecting the Yankees to make it to the World Series every season like in the 90s. Now it's anybodies game. The Yankees are now without a World Series Title since the Subway series in 2000. Their last appearance was in 2003 when they lost to the Florida Marlins.

So here's to the 2008 season, looking forward to a good, long season.