It's a great time of year to be a sports fan in America. The NCAA finals are tonight. The two top teams in the land, Illinois and North Carolina are going to face off in what should be an epic clash. Then there's baseball. The season officially got underway yesterday with the Boston Red Sox visiting Yankee stadium, but today is officially Opening Day. Fans all over the country are coming out of hibernation and getting geared up for the long haul.

I think it's going to be a strange season. For one thing we have this shroud of steroids that has befallen our national past time. This scourge, and the coverage of it is going to color everything that happens this season. This season. This fucking season. This season when Barry Bonds was supposed to pass Babe Ruth and maybe even Hank Aaron to become the game's home run king. Instead Bonds is recovering from knee surgery and appears to be in self-imposed exile hiding from the ever increasing media coverage that threatens to expose his past steroid use while celebrating him a possibly the greatest player ever to put on the uniform.

Then there's the new Washington Nationals. While I'm sure the residents of DC, including my brother, are thrilled to have baseball back in the nation's capital (where it belongs), it was done at the expense of the Montreal Expos. The Expos are really of no major significance. They never did much. The only season where they were clearly the best team was strike shortened and the World Series, which they likely would have won, was cancelled. They were hardly supported by local fans in Montreal and played their homes games in the nearly empty Olympic Stadium. Clearly, the city could not support a major league team. But moving the Expos to DC leaves only one team outside the US, the Toronto Blue Jays. In a game increasing played by people from Japan, South Korea, Australia, Panama, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, amongst other places, it seems ironic to contract the number of international teams in half.

As always, my focus will be on the Dodgers. From where I sit in Northern California, it looks like it's going to be a long season for the boys in blue. There were too many changes in the offseason. The heart of soul of the team, Paul LoDuca, Shawn Green and Adrian Beltre have been shipped out in favor of head cases like J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent. The pitching looks a little thin to me as well and the team's best player, Eric Gagne starts the team on the DL with nagging injuries. I want them to win, but I'll be happy if I can take in a game or two and listen to the classic dulcet tones of Vin Scully describe the action.

The Yankees have a payroll over 200 million and a all-star starting at every position. With all respect to the World Champion Red Sox, the Yanks are going to roll up the AL East and probably the Series as well. Who out there can challenge them? The Angels (The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim %$#&!)? The Giants? The Cardinals? The Sox? The Braves? I'm not seeing it. If Randy Johnson stays healthy he could win 25 games. He anchors a staff that includes Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano Jaret Wright and oft-injured but awesome Kevin Brown. They are backed up, as ever by Mariano Rivera. He had a rough go against the Sox in the ALCS, especially in game 4 when he was unable to shut the door, but he'll be back and with something to prove.

I'll won't watch too many games. I can't handle the day to day minutiae the way I could as a kid. But I will follow the greater trends of the season and it should, as always, be very interesting.