March 29, 2017
Student Advisory Board Member
It's officially the best time of the year. The last few weeks of March and the month of April are full of excitement in the world of sports. As an avid sports fan, I can honestly say there's no other time like it in the year. Why?
Well, for starters, you have March Madness with the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The name lives up to the hype and this is about as crazy of a tournament as you can get. After thrilling upsets and broken brackets (R.I.P. Duke), at this point the tournament is down to its final four teams: South Carolina, Gonzaga, Oregon, and North Carolina. It's especially exciting this year because for two of the teams, Gonzaga and South Carolina, this is their first final four appearance in school history. Not to mention Oregon has not been there since 1939. Then there's North Carolina, and we all know their winning ways. The Final Four games will be played on April 1, just one day shy of the other reason this is the best time of the year.
Opening Day of the 2017 MLB regular season is the very next day, April 2. Sunday will feature three games to open up the season with the New York Yankees facing the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:10 p.m., the San Francisco Giants going up against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 4:10 p.m., and then opening night will feature a match-up between division rivals the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Our hometown Pittsburgh Pirates have had a great spring training, something unusual for them, and I cannot wait to see what will come of them in the regular season. The Pirates open up away on Monday against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park at 2:05 p.m. They will be back in town on Friday, April 7th, to bring their season to the thousands of fans at PNC Park. Let's go Bucs!
And while baseball is starting, hockey is ending but also entering its most exciting time of the year. It's just about time for NHL Playoffs, which begin in mid-April. Many can argue the Stanley Cup is one of the hardest championships to win in all of sports and like always, this year's playoffs should feature some thrilling match-ups. After tonight's Wednesday Night Rivalry game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Pittsburgh Penguins have just six games left in the regular season. Currently, the Pens have clinched a playoff spot and sit in third place in the Metropolitan division, five points behind the Washington Capitals and two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets. Let the Penguins' quest for another Stanley Cup begin.
So you got March Madness, MLB season openers, NHL playoffs, not to mention the NBA season coming to a close, happening all at once. The only thing you are missing is a little football - oh wait, the NFL draft is coming at the end of April. Now you have it all during the best time of the year in the world of sports.