Christmas comes early for sports fans

April and May are stocked full of events that will rock your socks

Collin Guildner Mast Sports Columnist

This is the most wonderful time of the year. I have officially started wearing shorts. The sun is starting to come out. The birds are chirping. Summer is in the air.

Yada Yada Yada. True, the seasons are turning, but not the seasons you may be thinking. This is the most wonderful time of year for a sports fan. Honestly, there is something for everyone. If you are a die-hard fan or just an occasional sports passer by. There have been more outstanding sporting events in the past month than the amount of sexcapades Roger Clemens has been accused of.

Starting with March Madness, which may seem ages ago, running right through the end of the NBA Basketball season. I could talk about how the NBA playoffs last far too long, but we can get into that another day.

This year’s NCAA basketball tourney did not disappoint. The tournament generates an estimated $2.25 billion in illegal betting, according to USA Today. The yearly office poolers could not be more happy with this years final four, all four No. 1 seeds and a spectacular overtime final between Kansas and Memphis.

Just as the NCAA basketball season comes to a close, the boys of summer take the field. Sometimes braving the freeze and snow of the cold weather cites. I got snowed on at Safeco Field on the last day of March. Opening day is full of excitement. Every team is in the race; thoughts of a World Series title can even dance through the heads of desperate Mariner fans. Baseball brings the official end of winter and start of spring, even if it is still snowing.

Every April the PGA tour makes a stop at Augusta National golf course in Augusta, Ga. This even is hard to top. I know that golf may not be the favorite of spectator sports to some people, but the beauty of this golf course takes my breath away every year. Especially on an HD television. Though Tiger Woods will not be chasing the grand slam this year, I could not help but be impressed with the play of Trevor Immelman, the first South African to win the Masters since his childhood idol Gary Player.

OK, so I know there have to be some football fans out there asking, “What is there for me?” Well, I am sorry to say that if you are asking this question, you are not a true football fan. The NFL draft ranks only second in viewer ship to the Super Bowl for any event on the NFL calendar. This makes sense to me, college football fans tune in to see where their favorite player ends up, and pro fans wait the hours between their teams picks just to see who the next special team standout might be. Who could miss this? Don’t look at me, I waisted a whole weekend. Just ask my history professor.

I have never been to a live hockey game. I don’t really understand the sport. I am satisfied with the few minutes of highlights of spectacular goals and saves I get on Sportcenter every night. But add the NHL playoffs to the list. And this year we have the two young stars of the league, Sydney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, tearing up the ice. At least it will be exciting for our friends up north, eh?

For you sophisticated folks, with your fancy suits and ravishing hats, the first leg of the Triple Crown opens the season for colts, fillies, and thoroughbreds. The Kentucky Derby, for some people, is the most exciting four minutes in sports. This year the event ended in tragedy, when the horse finishing in second place, Eight Belles, broke both her front legs after finishing the race and had to be euphonized on the track. These often-overlooked athletes are being bred more and more for speed with less emphasis put on durability. Sad sight to see. But I don’t want to take away from the victory of Big Brown, who will look to win the second leg of the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes in a few weeks.

So, I guess I can dedicate a few words to the NBA playoffs, that have now been going on for three years, and we are still in the second round. I’m kidding, of course, but seriously, I don’t need to see the team with the best record in the league beat down on a team with a sub .500 record for four games. Even if I do have to wait until I’m 50, a Celtics, Lakers NBA finals would be quite exciting.

So April, so May, I would just like to thank you. Thank you for coming around every year and picking me back up on my feet. The dull of winter is over. Without any excitement since the Super Bowl, I have now been satisfied. And now the excitement is all but over. Just in time for finals week.

Photos from AP Wire

Top: The jocky of Big Brown celebrates after winning the Kentucky Derby Saturday. The race marks the beginning of the Triple Crown season in horse racing.

Above: Mario Chalmers and the Kansas Jayhawks celebrate after winning the NCAA title at the beginning of April. The NCAA tournament is just one of many major sporting events during the past few months.