Off-Season

Thank you to Florida for giving me my first national champ in 5 years. It will be at least another 20 years until we see another repeat champ. What Florida accomplished is rare in this day and age. Just look at how many coaches changed jobs in the last couple of weeks. Billy Donovan could've left, he didn't. Florida's "04s" could've left after last year, they didn't. Now, they could've come back next year but that wasn't going to happen and it wouldn't have been the right decision. As much as I'm for guys coming back, the pressure on those guys would've been ridiculous and they would've been risking a lot. And credit to Ohio St. for making Florida play to a high level. With OSU playing a strong game, they brought out the best in Florida.

But the off-season has begun as far as I'm concerned. I put the NBA and NHL playoffs but I really don't have a vested interest in either. Although the article on Chris Drury in SI was great, you should read it if you get a chance. The guy has worked himself into the player and person he has become and he's a winner. Of course, all the pressure in the world's on him now since he's playing for Buffalo, who have never won anything.

Actually, I like putting the Tigers on and reading, that combination works pretty well. I feel bad for them too because expectations are so high after what happened last year. Again, it's tough to repeat. It'll be a great accomplishment if they can. I must admit, I'm not a fan of the Gary Sheffield signing, I wasn't from the beginning. He took a spot away from Marcus Thames and Chris Shelton who deserved some PT.

And Prince William has broken up with girlfriend of Kate Middleton to the delight of every British (and global) female. I've read a number of articles on the breakup because I think Kate is lovely and seems like an intelligent, fun girl, someone I would like. Putting all the information together, it sounds like things were already a little rough after Wills graduated from Sandhurst and went off with the military to his training ground. Then he gets caught with his hand in a compromising spot on a girl's breast. Plus, he took a girl back to his barracks and participated in a drunken escapade with some of his military buddies. It sounds like Kate wasn't too thrilled about this and confronted Wills, the boy who can do no wrong in the eyes of most. The result of the dialogue was Wills wants to be single and "doesn't want to be pressured into getting married".

There are now other things emerging such as Kate's middle-class background not fit for the Prince and how some of the royal family didn't approve of her. There's the royal family's fear of another Charles/Diana fiasco (like father, like son, Wills and Harry seem to be doing a good job of that). There's William's military commitment and some other things that will probably come out, thanks to those lovely British tabloids.

But I give kudos to Kate for not settling to be William's lady-in-waiting (sorry, couldn't think of a better term). She put a lot on the line in confronting William, which puts her high up on my list. I guess a couple of years ago, they actually took broke up but William wanted her back and got her. Kate, stay strong, you deserve better. Plus, the latest pics of William haven't been that flattering. Besides the compromising pics, he's losing his hair and the beer is going straight to his gut.

Friday night, I had the local golf club's front 9 to myself. 5:30pm, 50 degrees, sunshine with some wind, which probably drove people away, but not me. Since it was just me, I got to play 2 balls and practice all kinds of shots on the course, which is definitely more helpful than just hitting balls on the range. And I love playing late in the day, so peaceful, so relaxing.

If you're in the Northeast, hopefully you're not under water. Good luck to all those running the Boston Marathon, you're going to need it tomorrow.