Ticket Draft

I am one of a group of six that split a pair of season tickets for the Houston Astros baseball games at Minute Maid Park. Four of the guys take ten games each while two of us have twenty games each. Each season we have a draft to determine which games we will get.

We had our draft last night and I had the number one pick, so I will be at Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs next Monday. I expect to see Roy Oswalt as the starting pitcher for Houston and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs. It will be a wonderful day as the new season opens with all the promise and the excitement!

Miggy Gets Probation!

Miguel Tejada's immediate playing future was cleared up today when he received probation for having lied to Congress. He was liable for up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine for his crime, but was given leniency because he plead guilty. He will also have to pay $5000 as his fine, but now he can get on with his preparations for the season without an ax hanging over his head. Let's hope that translates into a good season for him and the Astros!

25 & 7 in the First Round

I don't know how things will turn out for the rest of the NCAA tournament, but my bracket for the first round still looks pretty good. I was correct on 25 of the 32 games, picking a few upsets along the way. The worst miss I made was in picking Butler over LSU, and I missed on Dayton over West Virginia.

But I got the Cleveland State upset over Wake Forest and the Arizona win over Utah. I have CSU beating 'Zona in the second round but losing to Louisville in the Sweet 16.

How's Your bracket looking?

I-Rod to Houston!

I have watched the Houston Astros throughout their history. The one position for which they have never raised a star player is catcher (I know Biggio began as a catcher). The best catchers have been Brad Ausmus and Alan Ashby. Neither was much of an offensive threat. I am in hopes that the young man the ‘Stros drafted last year out of Stanford, Jason Castro, will be that star catcher we have been waiting for for all these years.
Today it was announced that the Astros have reached an agreement for a one-year contract with Ivan Rodriguez.

He is one of the top catchers of all time. And I believe he will add more offense to the lineup than the departed Ausmus, even though I-rod is well past his prime. Perhaps it was a marketing move based on the horrendous record of the team in Spring Training. I hope Ivan can stay healthy for the season and have a renaissance season that makes the move a remarkable one.

Competition in the Air

Right now there is extreme competition going on in at least a couple of realms. One is the NCAA basketball world. March Madness is just beginning and will infect the country for the next three weeks. The jockeying for a place in the 65-team tournament field is important to the athletes and to the institutions for which they play. The players will gain fame, and in many cases, fortune based on their performance in the pressure games against the best talent. And, of course, the colleges and universities that play in the tournament get to share in the revenues generated by the spectacle. Talk about competition!

And in the spring training camps for the major league baseball teams there is a lot on the line for the young players and the marginal players trying to make a roster. The money for a major league player is substantial, but for a minor leaguer, it is much more difficult to make ends meet. And for the younger guys, there is the worry that their talents may not allow them to fulfill the dream they have had for as long as they can remember.