SPORTS FANS, IT'S TIME TO REALLY BEAR DOWN.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI The Winter Olympics are over, and you, Mr. and Mrs. American Sports Fan, probably look forward to a little rest. I won't say you haven't earned it. But as you pack up your ``Curling for Dummies'' manual, your ``USA! USA!'' chant and your well-worn sense of outrage, give a listen to your old coach here. Solid job out there. You were challenged by 16 grueling days of competition. You passed the test with flying colors Noun 1. flying colors - complete success; "they passed inspection with flying colors" flying colours success - an attainment that is successful; "his success in the marathon was unexpected"; "his new play was a great success" , namely red, white and blue. You picked Apolo Anton Ohno Apolo Anton Ohno (born on May 22, 1982) is an American short track speed skating competitor and a two-time gold medalist in the Winter Olympics. He also competed in and won the reality TV show, Dancing with the Stars in 2007. up when he was down, you cheered yourself triple-loopy over Sarah Hughes For the US District Court judge, see . Sarah Elizabeth Hughes (born May 2, 1985 in Great Neck, New York) is an American figure skater and the 2002 Olympic gold medalist. , and you jeered loud and long enough to win a pair of Canadians their gold medals. So celebrate. For a day or two. Then, get back in the gym. The end of the Olympics marks the start of the busiest and best time of the sports year. Some people prefer the fall, that last week in October when football, baseball, basketball and hockey are in season at once. But look around and you'll realize it's the late winter and early spring that really put it to the sports fan. It's all going on now. This is no time for a letdown. In the next month and a half, we'll crown a champion in college basketball, begin playoffs in pro basketball and hockey, and open the season in baseball and soccer. We'll watch the Masters. We'll anoint a·noint tr.v. a·noint·ed, a·noint·ing, a·noints 1. To apply oil, ointment, or a similar substance to. 2. To put oil on during a religious ceremony as a sign of sanctification or consecration. 3. a favorite for the Kentucky Derby. We'll count the days to the NFL draft, meaning Mel Kiper Jr. will be on the television screen more than Donald Rumsfeld. We'll stand and salute the parade through Southern California of the best in tennis and Indy-car racing. We'll sleep through the Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon is an annual marathon held in Los Angeles, California since 1986. It was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. The race starts at about 8:15AM and runs through Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, the Crenshaw district, and , if we're lucky. We might even find out where Mike Tyson is fighting next - and we'll start renting out sidewalk space for the picketers. I don't want to see anybody loafing. Here are the upcoming sports dates we're pointing for: March 30 - UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX defeats Kansas to advance to the final of the NCAA Basketball Tournament There are six main NCAA Basketball Tournaments.
March 31 - Baseball's opening night is marred when Angels winter acquisitions Kevin Appier, Aaron Sele and Brad Fullmer collide chasing a batting-practice fly ball and suffer broken legs. April 1 - Dodgers, desperate for an experienced closer, sign Ralph Branca, 76. April 4 - Seattle Mariners clinch American League West The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. title. April 5 - Minnesota Twins move into first place in American League Central The American League Central is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division was formed in the 1994 realignment. Its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States. . Bud Selig, afraid they'll stay there, orders franchise eliminated. April 6 - Texas Rangers clubhouse tension explodes in a massive brawl. John Rocker, Carl Everett, Juan Gonzalez, Chan Ho Park and Ismael Valdes act as peacemakers This article is about the pacifist organization. For other meanings, see Peacemaker (disambiguation). Peacemakers was an American pacifist organization. . April 12 - Tiger Woods misses cut at Masters, says that's all right because he was only tuning up for the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic anyway. April 20 - NBA playoffs begin with Lakers favored to win title despite losing regular season's final eight games to sink to sixth in Western Conference seedings. April 21 - Lakers take 2-0 lead in first-round series against San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and are the current NBA Champions after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007 NBA Finals. . April 22 - Twelve L.A. newspapers publish think pieces on where this year's Lakers fit among the greatest teams of all time. April 27 - DeShaun Foster, the Oakland Raiders' first-round pick in the NFL draft a week earlier, signs pro contract, goes out and pays cash for his very own SUV. May 1 - Practice begins for May 26 Indianapolis 500 amid predictions that interest will be higher because of return of stars of open-wheel racing following several years of destructive Indy politics. May 2 - Everybody remembers, there are no stars of open-wheel racing. May 3 - Kentucky newspapers preview Kentucky Derby with an analysis showing this year's field is weaker than normal. May 4 - Somebody wins the Kentucky Derby. May 5 - Kentucky newspapers compare Somebody to Secretariat. May 10 - Kings defeat Phoenix Coyotes in NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there Western Conference semifinals. Phoenix managing partner Wayne Gretzky blames ``American propaganda.'' May 27 - Kings complete sweep of Philadelphia Flyers to win their first Stanley Cup. Rob Blake isn't involved in the series, but Kings fans boo him anyway. You might wonder what ski jumpers, biathletes and bobsledders do when the Olympics are over. I'm guessing they watch basketball. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion