Posted: 04/04/07

Magical Monday
April 2, a sports paradise

Justin Veiga | managing editor
jveiga@smcvt.edu

For a Monday, I woke up unusually giddy. Despite the less than smile-inducing weather, I was glad the beginning of the week had arrived. The rain may have been dampening the ground outside my bedroom window, but it wasn’t going to dampen this sport-freak’s spirits.

And so with a special Monday comes a special column. It’s a hybrid of sorts. That’s right ladies, I’m a 6’1” well-built male who loves hot air balloon rides, baking sugar cookies, cuddling with mistreated puppies at the local SPCA, and I’m environmentally conscious [insert match.com profile here]. What more could a girl ask for?

Okay, you caught me. That’s not the kind of hybrid I mean.

I’m talking about a sporting event phenomenon (though I do enjoy puppies). A rarity. In essence, a gift from God to guys like me. Two energy-packed games. Two different sports. One magical day.

Monday, April 2 featured opening day baseball, with the Red Sox taking on the Kansas City Royals at four p.m. As if that weren’t enough to get my blood going as I leapt out of bed, the NCAA men’s basketball national championship game closed the day out at nine.

I was hoping to go two-for-two, spiking my Monday happiness meter to a level that hasn’t been reached since Sal’s Pizza opened in Concord, N.H. on that yummy Monday afternoon a few years ago.

But alas, it was greedy of me to expect that I would get my way in both games. So, let’s start with the bad news and save the good news for last. I’ll sleep better that way.

There has been a lot of build-up regarding the expectations surrounding this season’s Red Sox team. Experts from across the land have billed the team as World Series contenders, with perhaps the best pitching rotation in all of Major League Baseball and a stud-filled lineup to boot.

But all the hype didn’t put a “W” in the win column for the Sox on Monday. Nope. No “W.” A big, fat, embarrassing “L” after a 7-1 loss to the lowly Kansas City Royals (a franchise my fellow editor Mike Morris identifies as “the crappiest of the crappy”).

This is quite true. Kansas City has been a basement dweller in the American League Central Division since the glory days of the Bret(t)s, George and Saberhagen.

And though this year’s Royals team is slightly improved with the acquisition of free agent pitcher Gil Meche, who made Sox hitters look like guys from the local 40+ drunken softball league, the Royals are still the Royals. Sorry Kansas City.

So why are the Boston Red Sox, with its $200 million payroll, losing on opening day to such a team?

Because they’re not that good.

The rotation isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Curt Schilling has hit 40. His stuff has lost some gusto, which is to be expected at that age (and was evident on Monday afternoon when he was pulled after four innings of work allowing five earned runs on eight hits).

Josh Beckett is certainly capable of standout season. He’s coming off 16 wins from a year ago, but his season ERA (5.01), home runs (36), and walks (74) allowed in the 2006 campaign were his worst season totals in those categories since his first full season with Florida in 2002.

Japanese import Daisuke Matsuzaka is entering this year with lots of hype, and therefore the pressure of tremendous expectations, surrounding him and his right arm. He was amazing during his time in Japan, even better during the World Baseball Classic (where he won MVP honors), and his stuff was electric in his first spring training with the Sox. But he hasn’t proven anything on a MLB diamond just yet. Let’s get a few games into the regular season before we start calling him Cy.

I’d go on to tear apart the bullpen, but they took care of that themselves. Thanks guys.

Perhaps I’m getting too excited over all of this. It’s only been one game, right? So allow me to go bake some cookies and relax…

Okay, so I digress. On to the second half of Monday’s sporting spectaculars — the good news.

The Florida Gators repeated as national champions. I’ll admit, when it comes to the four major sports, basketball has always been at the bottom of the barrel for me. But college basketball is different, especially when it’s March.

So why cheer for the Gators? Nope, I didn’t have money on the game. And no, Joakim Noah isn’t my cousin (thank God — that gene pool may be good for athletics, but not for aesthetics).

It’s a unique tie to home that has made me into a Gainesville group guru every year when the tournament rolls around.

Concord’s own Matt Bonner, who now plays for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs (yeah, he’s met Eva Longoria) played four magnificent seasons in the blue and orange after dominating the New Hampshire high school basketball scene from 1995 to 1999.

In his freshman season at Florida, Bonner and the Gators fell in the title game to Michigan State. During his remaining tenure under former Providence College guard Billy Donovan, Bonner never made it back to the finals.

Yet after a dominating 84-75 win, stemming from a standout performance by Al Horford, Bonner’s alma mater is now a back-to-back national champion. He may not be in a Florida uniform anymore, but I’d have to imagine it feels pretty good knowing that a program he helped establish in recent years is experiencing so much success.

So Matt, on behalf of a team that I don’t play for and have absolutely no affiliation with, let me be the first to tell you — this one’s for you.

(Oh yeah, if you’ve got extra Spur tickets for the playoffs lying around, don’t hesitate to send ‘em my way. Your brother’s got my address. And after the game we can head down to San Antonio’s SPCA. I heard the puppies there could really use some affection).