Hardball Heaven

Well, this certainly goes down as the most bizarre start to a baseball season, eh? The Sox played two games that count in Japan, then flew to LA to play three games this weekend that don't count, and then they start up again for real this week in Oakland. For a sport where the players are known to be highly superstitious about their routines, this has to be killing them.

The Sox ended up splitting against the A's in Tokyo, as Rich Harden showed he's back to form with a strong performance in Game 2. This weekend, they play the Dodgers - who are celebrating their 50-year anniversary of the move from Brooklyn to LA - and the second game is being played in the LA Memorial Coliseum, a venue that is more linked with famous football games. Think USC Trojans, O.J. Simpson, circa 1968 or so.

The game in the Coliseum could have a circus-like atmosphere. The Dodgers are hoping to attract more than 100,000 fans to the game and there will be a 60-foot high wall in left field only 200 feet from home plate. Can you imagine Manny playing the caroms?

Let's see - what else is going on...

Oh yeah, remember how I said the two teams I'd be following during the sports dead zone were the Celtics and the UNH Wildcat men's hockey team? Well, one of those teams is flying high, and the other is flying home. The Celtics have been on an amazing run lately, pretty much having their way with any good team in the league. Their magic number for clinching first in the East is now at 4 games. UNH, meanwhile, not so good. They lost a heartbreaker to BC in the Hockey East playoffs, got sent to Denver as the No. 1 see in that region for the NCAA tournament, and promptly went out and laid a gigantic egg, losing in embarrassing fashion to Notre Dame, 7-3.

As for March Madness - the surprise team so far has been Davidson and their star shooter Stephen Curry, who's averaging more than 30 a game. They've taken down Georgetown and Wisconsin in their last two games. The #1 seeds - North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA - are all still breathing. Of those four, I think UCLA's got the best chance to be in the championship game. Two other teams that flew under the radar but have impressed thus far are Louisville and Texas. The Longhorns may actually be better in the post-Kevin Durant era.