C.J. Wilson's first pitch is just over an hour away. Terry Francona's lineup on Opening Day will look like this:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Carl Crawford, LF
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
6. David Ortiz, DH
7. Mike Cameron, RF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. Marco Scutaro, SS
I was mildly shocked that Francona decided to bat Youkilis cleanup and hit Gonzalez fifth but other than that, there isn't too much to debate about what should be the most prolific lineup in baseball. It could be a long day for Wilson and the defending A.L. Champions...
Rest in Peace, Lou Gorman. The former Red Sox general manager died this morning at the age of 82. Gorman was the Red Sox GM from 1984-1993 and helped build the 1986 A.L. Champions as well as the A.L. East winners in 1988 and 1990.
While one can't ignore his infamous trade of Double-A prospect (and probably future Hall of Fame slugger) Jeff Bagwell for a two-month rental of relief pitcher Larry Anderson in 1990 but that move did propel the Sox into the ALCS...
I'm sticking to my prediction of Butler winning the national championship but there will be no complaints from me regardless of which team wins this weekend.
Jim Calhoun and the UConn Huskies are the local favorite. Calhoun is a Braintree, Massachusetts native and three of his top players - Shabazz Napier, Alex Oriakhi, and Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel - are fellow Bay State products.
John Calipari might be leading Kentucky now but to a fan who was enchanted by the "Anybody, Anyplace, Anytime" UMass teams of the early 1990's, Coach Cal will always be a favorite of mine.
Virginia Commonwealth has no real importance to me but it would be something to see a team that was questioned to even qualify for the "First Four" play-in games advance to this point of the tournament.
As for my pick, the Butler Bulldogs earned my respect last year on their way to the national championship game. I was lucky enough to attend the Final Four last year and the Butler team - and fans - made it a tremendous experience...
Rajon Rondo's 22 points and 14 assists in the Celtics 107-97 win in San Antonio last night should serve as a reminder that the C's are the favorite to win the NBA title in June.
The Celtics are a veteran bunch who grew bored with the last few weeks of the regular season but with the playoffs in their view, they seem to be prepared to turn it on when it counts.
The only negative to come out of last night's win was the knee injury sustained by Nenad Krstic - an MRI tomorrow will reveal the extent of the damage - but a promising return to action by Jermaine O'Neal and the long awaited comeback by Shaquille O'Neal scheduled for Sunday's game against the Pistons should alleviate the fear that Krstic's season is over...
Enjoy Dustin Pedroia today...
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