It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

When I woke up this morning, I had a smile on my face. Today is the day I've been waiting for since early February when the Giants were shocking the world by beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

The dead time that is sports in February and March is over, and not even the crappy weather outside can bring me down. Do you realize what's taking place over the next five days?

Tonight, after three long days, the NCAA tournament picks back up in the Sweet 16, and over the next four nights we'll all learn who the Final Four is going to be. Then, on Monday we get a full day of baseball. And not that crappy kind of spring training baseball where #65 gets #82 to ground into an inning ending double play. The real kind. The kind played in Major League parks where the stats are official, and beers are $7.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the best time of the year.

Along with the tournament and baseball, I also take comfort in knowing that I'm only going to have to deal with the Bulls for a few more weeks. After being a good soldier and sitting through this Bulls season, I deserve a vacation from this team. I think we all do.

It's been a very tough year for Chicago sports fans like us. Ever since the Bears lost in the Super Bowl last February, the entire city has gone down the toilet.

Illinois got eliminated in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament, and then crapped the bed this season.

The White Sox followed up two consecutive 90 win seasons with their first losing season since the last century.

The Cubs won the division and made the playoffs, but were then quickly disposed of by the Diamondbacks, rounding out a century's worth of heartbreak.

The Bears followed up their Super Bowl run with one of the most disappointing seasons, for me anyway, by a team in this city that I can remember. We then had the added insult of seeing Eli Manning win a Super Bowl knowing that, until the playoffs started, he was just Rex Grossman East.

The Illini football team had a great season, the best of any of our local teams, but even that ended on a sour note as they were trampled by the Trojans in the Rose Bowl, and then Rashard Mendenhall left for the NFL.

The Blackhawks are actually having a winning season, and are gaining traction in this city once again, but even so, they aren't going to make the playoffs this year. At least there's hope, though.

Then there's the Bulls, who have somehow managed to be the most embarrassing team in the city this year, and they've had a lot of competition so you know they earned it.

But starting this morning, none of that matters.

Whether you're a White Sox fan or a Cubs fan, this is the weekend where you get to wash the dirty feeling of the last year off your skin. Start the cleansing with a weekend of college basketball, and then on Monday, call in sick to work and stay home to bathe in baseball.

You've earned it. We all have.