The Ides of March

What happens when the Senate decides they don’t like their ambitious, bombastic President? Well, 2080 years ago today, some members of the Roman Senate decided to waste their Emperor Julius Caesar in a dastardly display of political partisanship that has echoed throughout the ages as one of the most notorious, noteworthy days in the history of Western Civilization. Yes, Julius Caesar was murdered 2080 years ago today, March 15, 44 B.C., on the day they call the “Ides of March.”

March 15, the Ides of March, is a very famous historical day, but it is also a significant time of the year in the sports world. Most of the main sports are all at interesting times of their “seasons,” enough such that all of them are in the news in one form or another and are being talked about at water coolers and on talk radio throughout the country.

Some of the things going on as we hit March 15 on the calendar.

Baseball

All of the teams are currently in the middle of their Spring Training ritual. Half the teams are in mild weather Florida and the other half are in Arizona, as the veteran players are conditioning themselves into shape while a select group of younger players are trying to impress the big league teams and to make a name and career for themselves as MAJOR LEAGUE ball players.

There are very few sights in all of sports like watching the young, talented prospect smashing line drives off his bat as that unmistakable sound of the CRACK of the bat from those certain types of players causes everyone around to stop what they’re doing and watch the arrival of the new star in the making. You get to see and hear those players making their mark on spring training camps. You get to see that special sight of baseball players having legitimate fun playing that great sport they played as kids. And in the spring, EVERY team is tied for first place. EVERY team still has hope.

Football

Pro football is in its post Super Bowl talent evaluation period. Free agents are still changing teams and teams are still looking to acquire good players at a price they can afford. The college players are still having their pro workout days and are trying to impress the pro scouts and are hoping they become members of the pro football fraternity, a position that comes with being high draft picks.

Even though it is the off season, pro football fans are glued to the sports shows and sports talk forums following their teams’ progress, and hoping they can play general manager for their team and come up with the right player or players that can take them to the top. Pro football has grown so much that this “waiting for the regular season” portion of the off season is still a BIG part of the football season.

Golf

The pro golf tour is down in Florida doing their yearly March swing through that golfing mad state. So far this year, elite, though not top five thirty-something players like Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel have been playing really well in the tournaments they’ve entered so far this season. Both have won a couple of times. Both have looked really good, even when they didn’t win. Bubba Watson, a player that is right there around fifth in the world right now is also playing well and has won once himself.

The players are trying to win tournaments, of course, but they are also getting themselves ready for that first major golf tournament of the year, The Masters. As much as the West Coast Swing and the Florida swing matters in golf, the most important prize on everyone’s minds in the middle of March is getting their hands on a green jacket in April.

Pro Basketball

The pro basketball season is winding down the stretch. With about 15 or so games to go, the Golden State Warriors have already won 60 games and are challenging the all time NBA record for wins. The other playoff bound teams like the Spurs, the OKC Thunder, the Cleveland Cavs and the Clippers are jockeying for position, knowing they will make the playoffs and be a threat, but wanting to play their best ball as they get into the playoffs.

Some of the teams are looking to get hot down the stretch and actually MAKE the playoffs, while others are playing out the schedule and looking at things like next year’s draft lottery. The middle of March is the stretch drive of pro basketball and people get to see games with a lot of meaning. All of the games that led to this point were the prelude to the really important part of the season, the playoffs and the stretch drive in March leading up to them.

Hockey

The NHL is also in its stretch drive towards the playoffs. Like pro basketball, there is a team with the best record in the league (the Washington Capitols) and there are a bunch of teams that are strong contenders that are playoff bound and hope too to be playing well as they get ready for the playoffs. And hockey too has its slugs that are not going to make the playoffs and are playing for next season’s draft picks.

Hockey has that trophy they all play for as the carrot at the end of the stick. The Stanley Cup. It is not clear whether the teams that have NOT won the cup lately are more likely to win because they are hungrier and more motivated, or if the teams that HAVE won have the advantage from knowing exactly WHAT is needed to win a cup. Desire vs. experience. An interesting thing to watch when the playoffs start.

NCAA Basketball

The regular season has ended and the selection committee has finally named the participants for the NCAA tournament. There have been very few seasons in recent NCAA history where there have been NO truly outstanding teams that emerged as the odds on favorites. There has been so much parity this season that basketball fans throughout the country are confounded as to who to pick for their final four ballots, especially during some of the earlier games in the early rounds.

Every time this season that a team would rise to either number one or to be in the top five, they would inevitably lose their next game (or two) and drop back in the ratings. Only to rise again after a few big wins. Only to lose again. Usually the NCAA has a team or two with only one or two losses. This year, most of the big program teams have five, six and even more losses. It could be anybody’s tournament this year. It should be fun.

For all of the sports, it is an interesting, if not important time of the year. Only one of the sports calls itself “March Madness” though. For that reason, it would be smart to follow each of the other sports, but to make sure you WATCH the NCAA tournament, because this is a year when someone besides the obvious might have what it takes to win it.