The 2009 MLB season is finally under way, and while the anticipated has given way to excitement, this also means that baseball fans start to lose half of their time awake following scores and tracking their fantasy baseball team. Anyway, here are some random thoughts, and predictions for the season.

Last Monday night, Japan beat Korea 5-3 in extra innings in the final of this year’s World Baseball Classic, defending its WBC title and bringing a fitting end to what sounds like such a great idea: bring teams from sixteen countries around the world together and have them go head-to-head in a grand tournament of America’s pastime, promoting national pride and giving the sport more exposure domestically and abroad…

After a week and a half of March Madness, the regional champions have been decided. The 2009 NCAA Final Four consists of Michigan State, Connecticut, Villanova, and North Carolina – here’s a summary of how they got here.

First, there was A-Rod, the scrappy kid playing in Seattle who seemed destined for greatness. Next came Pay-Rod, the star shortstop who ditched his team in search of a bigger contract. Not long ago, Joe Torre gave us A-Fraud, the narcissistic, demanding Yankee superstar. Now, the revelations of this past weekend provide another addition to the repertoire of variations on the guy’s nickname: A-Roid.

Last Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII, held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, to win their sixth title in franchise history. Although the result was anything but unexpected — with Pittsburgh being the heavy favorites to win — the final score does not reveal the suspense, dramatic turns, and big plays throughout the three hour, thirty-eight minute masterpiece.

The sports world has certainly provided its share of memorable moments in the past year. From the Super Bowl last February, to the Olympics in August, to, well, the Super Bowl again last weekend, here are some of the biggest headlines from 2008. In no particular (somewhat chronological) order:

It’s that time of year again. The time when retailers use every possible euphemism to connect their products with “the big game,” when thirty seconds on TV costs more than the GDP of a small third-world country, when the per capita consumption of hot dogs, chips, and other artery-clogging goodness increases I-don’t-even-know-how-many-fold, when a man is once again judged by the size of his … television? Yeah, Super Bowl Sunday.

The 2008 MLB Season has come to a close: the championship has been decided, the Philadelphia Phillies had their long-awaited parade down Broad Street, their fans satisfied their need to celebrate with random acts of vandalism, and any day now we’ll be seeing commercials on TV of Cole Hamels and company saying that they’re going to Disneyland.

Well, the 2008 Major League Season has finally come to a close. Last week, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in perhaps one of the most controversial and strange Fall Classics in recent memory, featuring artificial turf and catwalks, umpiring gaffes, a rain delay, and the first suspended game in World Series history.

After 163 games and two rounds of playoffs, the participants in this year’s World Series have finally been determined. The Tampa Bay Rays, the winners of the American League (AL) pennant, will host the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies when the 2008 Fall Classic begins on October 21st.