Kansas, my alma mater, was facing Michigan in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. I was unable to watch it because I booked a flight weeks ago from Kansas City to Dallas to visit my parents and my brother Dave for my late birthday celebration. I was in the air when the nail-biter of a game ended in heartbreaking fashion: KU had a five-point lead with 21 seconds left in regulation and couldn't hold it, eventually falling, 87-85, in overtime.
It was a torturous experience not being able to watch, one that I don't recommend to the serious sports fan. I paid $8 for wi-fi on the flight, thinking perhaps we could stream the game on my laptop. The connection was slower than a 56K old-school modem, so we were stuck gluing our eyes to a stream of Twitter updates. With just over a minute remaining in overtime, we received a cruel message from the flight attendant: "All electronic devices must be turned off as we prepare for landing." Seriously?
Being that Cowboys Stadium hosted the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight 8 games in the South regional, we were planning on attending Sunday's contest as part of my birthday celebration. So much for that.
Time for baseball season.
It's been five months since the Rangers ended their 2012 season in tragic fashion with a loss to the Orioles in the wild-card playoffs. Let's get it started.
At 7 p.m. tonight, the Rangers will travel to Houston to take on the newest member of the American League West, the Houston Astros, in the first game of the 2013 MLB season.
I'll be in Plano watching with the family. Not exactly in the college hoops frame of mind - baseball season couldn't have come at a better time.
I'm curious to watch how the following developments play out:
- How will Matt Harrison fare in his first start? The lefty was 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA last season and our most consistent pitcher. Personally, I'd have Yu Darvish starting tonight, but I'm not Ron Washington.
- How will the offense look on the bases? In spring training, Rangers brass put a heavy emphasis on returning to smart base running, something that was absent at the end of the 2012 season. It seemed like we were just waiting for the home run last year and not playing smart ball on the base paths. I want to see Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus jumpstart this effort.
- What kind of game will new catcher A.J. Pierzynski call defensively?
- How will new center fielder Leonys Martin look at the plate and in the field?
- What kind of reaction will new designated hitter Lance Berkman receive in Houston, where he spent 12 seasons?
- What will the batting order look like? I think it will play out as follows:
- Ian Kinsler, 2B
- Elvis Andrus, SS
- Lance Berkman, DH
- Adrian Beltre, 3B
- Nelson Cruz, RF
- David Murphy, LF
- A.J. Pierzynski, C
- Mitch Moreland, 1B
- Leonys Martin, CF
It's baseball time in Arlington. Go Rangers.
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