T-minus 10 days

The last week of spring training is officially underway on Monday. What a spectacular time it has been! Many questions will be answered this year, such as: How will the Padres do with all of their new stars? When will the Cubs bring up Kris Bryant to the majors? Or will he make the opening day roster? (A player that hit 43 home runs in his first full season in the minors is sure to gain some attention) How will the Nationals' rotation perform with all of that talent? There are several for each team. But the thing is, opening day is still 10 days away. We can relax and breathe until April 6 when the best day of the year comes upon us. Here are your Padres scores for this past week:

-21 March: Padres 5, D-Backs 7
-22 March: Padres 6, Cubs 1
-23 March: Padres 10, White Sox 4
-24 March: Padres 6, Mariners 4
-25 March: Padres 5, Dodgers 9
-26 March: Padres 3, D-Backs 3

Meanwhile, how is your bracket going? Mine is struggling, although I correctly guessed 6 of the eight teams in the elite eight. The final four will be determined within the next two days, and it looks to be exciting. Kentucky looks unbeatable, Notre Dame won't quit, Louisville and Michigan state both have pretty good coaches in addition to the fact that both teams are hot and it does not look like they will be stopped, Gonzaga looks unbeatable with those two big guys under the hoop, Duke has some of the best players in the country, Arizona has incredible talent and can beat any team, and finally Wisconsin has the best chemistry in the nation. Wisconsin also has perhaps the best player in the country in the form of Frank Kaminsky. Will Kentucky ever lose? Or will a surprise team make it all the way to the end? This is what March madness is all about. The final four will take place in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, on April 4 with the finals taking place on April 6. So there are a lot of options on that day. You can either watch opening day baseball (which would be my choice) or watch a great national championship game!


In the NBA, look who is charging forward in the playoff push. It's the San Antonio Spurs! The representative for the western conference in the finals the past two seasons, this team looks no different. They will be a tough out. So will everybody else in the western conference. Just look at the Golden State Warriors. Will anybody beat them? Maybe the Spurs, maybe somebody else. The Thunder have taken the last spot in the west...for now. They have the slight advantage over the Pelicans at this point for one reason and one reason only: Russel Westbrook. Without him, the Thunder might be last in the west. Although things are not looking good for them. Kevin Durant will need more surgery on his foot and will be out for four to six months and Surge Ibaka just recently got injured. They might be competitive against the Warriors, but they won't beat them, according to Jeff Van Gundy on ESPN. In the east, the picture is much of the same. LeBron and the Cavaliers look to secure a two-seed in the that conference. Although the race for eighth is not as compelling as the west, there is still a race. Who will be able to beat the Hawks in a seven-game series? The only way is if they do not suffer injuries. Kyle Korver has had minor setback this week but nothing looks to change in the standings. We'll see what happens. The playoffs begin April 18.

 Some things to look for this upcoming week include the Masters golf tournament. Will Tiger be playing? Who is the favorite to win? The world number one ranking seems to change every year or so. Can Rory McIlroy prove he is THE GUY now instead of Tiger? That remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, there will be a tough competition to see who wins.

Well that should do it for this week. If there is something you would like me to write about, please let me know. I know the cricket world cup final is this upcoming week. So look for an update next Friday. Have a great week!