What do You Prefer? Bagels or Donuts?

I, personally, prefer donuts. One reason is because they are bad for you and the other reason is that they taste good. It also helps that I just ate one so that soothes my stomach. But seriously, donuts are bad for you and bagels are better for you (bagels aren't necessarily good for you, just that they're better than donuts). Nevertheless, these two food items share one thing in common: shape. This time of year in baseball, each team is looking the same and each team has the same goal: world series. What separates the bagels from the donuts (or if you're a donut person like me then we're talking about what separates the donuts from the bagels) is what they are made of. Are they made of fat and sugar? Or are they made of bread and cream cheese? Is a team filled with good players on paper who will go on to destroy the chemistry in the clubhouse or is the team filled with those who uplift and encourage each other while trying to improve his own performance? I hope the Padres are filled with the latter. James Shields, Andrew Cashner, Fernando Rodney and Alexei Ramirez should all be able to be the leaders that lead each other on to be better performers and supporters on the field. The team has been doing better recently on the field. So hopefully this is a good sign for the remainder of the year. Here are your scores for the week before the Padres send half of their team to Mexico City to take on the Astros this weekend.

-Saturday, March 19: Padres 5, Rockies 5
-Sunday, March 20: Padres 12, Dodgers 5
-Monday, March 21: Padres 8, Reds 5
-Tuesday, March 22: Padres 17, Rangers 5
-Wednesday, March 23: Padres 1, White Sox 6
-Thursday, March 24: Padres 8, D-Backs 9

The NCAA tournament has resumed and has had some tough games to begin the sweet 16. Kansas and Villanova will face off tomorrow for a chance to reach the final four. These are the top two seeds on their region. Meanwhile, Oregon and Oklahoma will meet in their region final tomorrow for a chance to reach the final four as well. Again, they are both top two seeds in their region. Virginia met Iowa State today and went on to win, so they are awaiting the winner of the game between Gonzaga and Syracuse. In other words, seed #10 and seed #11, respectively. Talk about exciting! This year should make for some exciting action. I just hope to see a lower seed make it all the way and do some surprising things. I guess the only hope with that right now is either Indiana, Notre Dame or the winner between the game mentioned above.

In the NBA, the Spurs beat the Warriors in San Antonio last Saturday. But then they went on to lose to the Hornets in Charlotte, a team that has the third-best record in the league since the all-star break but one that the Spurs can certainly handle, no doubt. About 10 more games remain for much of the NBA before the playoffs begin in mid-April. Time to get psyched! It's like March madness all over again!

Well that should do it for me! Feel free to comment below on whether you prefer donuts or bagels. Have a great week!

Let the Madness Begin

March Madness is here! This is one of the most exciting times in sports of the year because we have the NCAA tournament going on (which is always exciting) as well as the approach of MLB opening day, the NBA playoffs, the masters golf tournament and the NFL draft. But first we get to enjoy the madness that is the big dance. Today, in one of the most dramatic upsets in tournament history, 15 Middle Tennessee State upsets 2 Michigan State in the first round. What an amazing game! I didn't watch any of it, but the past two days have been days like this - upset after upset and exciting game after exciting game. Northern Iowa beat Texas on a buzzer-beating half-court heave while Stephen F. Austin took down West Virginia. Hawaii took down Cal and VCU defeated favorite Oregon State. Should I continue? Because I can. This was only one day of action. Imagine the day before. Arkansas Little Rock defeated Purdue in quite an amazing game. That game alone destroyed my bracket, which was doing pretty well up to that point. Anyways, tune in next week for more amazing coverage and tune in to cbssports.com to watch the games live on any device for free.

In the world of baseball, the Padres continue to do what they do best - which is give up runs. We played the Giants again for the second consecutive night and lost embarrassingly 15-6. Brandon Maurer gave up 10 runs in his start. In his attempt to make the regular season rotation, I do not want him in there. To me, he is like last year's Odrisamer Despaigne. Every fifth day he got the ball but the result was the same each time - and that is he would give up at least four runs. I don't think Brandon Maurer has gone a single start so far this spring without giving up a run. Even if that start was two innings. I want him back in the bullpen, because that is the area I feel most comfortable for him. He excelled in that roll last year and I know he can do the same again. For the starting rotation so far we have Tyson Ross, James Shields and Andrew Cashner. The rest of the spots are up for grabs. I want to see Colin Rea in there with Brandon Morrow in the fifth slot. I know Morrow is still trying to recover from the valley fever he has suffered from during the offseason, but he excelled in the starts that he received last year. As for that fifth spot in the rotation until Morrow returns, put in Drew Pomeranz. He may have also struggled so far this spring, but he is a lefty that has shown glimpses of excellence. One thing is for certain, however, I do not want to see Brandon Maurer in the starting rotation of the San Diego Padres. Here are your scores for the week:

- Saturday, March 12: Padres 6, Indians 3
- Sunday, March 13: Padres 1, Giants 8
- Monday, March 14: Padres 10, Cubs 2
- Tuesday, March 15: Padres 1, Cubs 11
- Wednesday, March 16: Off
- Thursday, March 17: Padres 4, Giants 8

In the NBA, I do not have much to say, but what I do want to say is to preview the Warriors versus Spurs game tomorrow night. Both teams are riding long, extended home winning streaks. In fact, before this season, the Chicago Bulls held the record of 44 in a row until the Warriors surpassed that mark a couple of weeks ago. Now the Spurs have the opportunity to do the same again. But they have to beat the best team in the league to do it in the form of the Warriors. Can they do it? Wait and see. The game will be broadcast on ABC at 8:30 ET.

That should do it for this week. Comment below on how your bracket is doing! Thanks!