Is this as good as it gets?

This is the big day. The day that the Florida Gators and UCLA Bruins will take to the floor and decide who will cut the nets down. This marks the conclusion of an NCAA tournament that has had more shock and intrigue then Chapter Two of ‘Trapped in the Closet”. My pick is the Gators, because it appears they can win at their pace, or if UCLA plays half-court, slow-ball, Florida can win that way too.
This is also a big day in another form of b-ball. The majority of Major League Baseball teams, including the Cubs, kick of their 2006 seasons today. Last night through this morning, the White Sox began their bid to repeat as champs with a 10-4 win versus Cleveland.
So with baseball all afternoon and championship basketball at night, where does this first Monday in April rank among the best sports days of the year? Here’s my list:

5) Super Bowl Sunday (First Sunday of February)
Yes, the Super Bowl is the premier sporting event in the country. Over 100 million viewers worldwide. But unfortunately, it’s usually not a very good football game. And when I said it was a sporting event, that’s what it is. It’s fun for the media, players and fans, but this leads to sloppy football. Eliminating the two-weeks off would help improve the game and actually lessen the excessive hype surrounding it.

4) First Non-Sunday of the New Year (Usually January 1)
Any sports fan will tell you that it’s guaranteed to be a good day when football games, with good teams, start at 10 AM. It’s even better when the games last all day long. January 1(Unless New Years is on a Sunday, then Jan. 2) is the premier day for college football bowl games. This year we had Florida/Iowa, Texas Tech/Alabama and Auburn/Wisconsin in the morning-early afternoon, Notre Dame/Ohio State in the late afternoon and Georgia/West Virginia in the nightcap. And this is only the mozzarella sticks of bowl games. The next night we had some steak in the Penn State/Florida State triple overtime game, and then the brownie a’la mode was the amazing Texas/Southern Cal match up.

3) Championship Sunday (Third Sunday of January)
As I said before, the Super Bowl provides a lot of hype but usually not great football. But championship Sunday in the NFL brings us not one, but usually two terrific football games. This year not counting, the AFC and NFC title games are the last real football games of the season. There’s no media day, no huge hassle for tickets, no traveling to unfamiliar cities. It’s a regular week of preparation, and this lead to outstanding football most of the time.

2) First Monday of April
Anybody who lists sports as one of their hobbies will have their eyes on the tube at some point this day. If you prefer our national pastime, nothing tops opening day, where each team trots out their ace to the hill and all the top players are in the lineup. If you are a hoop junkie, you have the two best college basketball teams squaring off for the chance to put their school in the record books. And if you just like sports, then you’ll be watching both.

1) Opening Round of NCAA Tournament (Third Thursday and Friday of March)
32 games total, 16 a day. Amazing hustle, fist-pumping moves, and the ability to root for a school that you not only have no clue who is on the team, but even where the school is located. Nothing makes you happier than getting an upset correct, nothing is more depressing than a sleeper Final 4 pick that falters on day one (I’m looking at you Kansas). And the upsets. People remember where they were when they saw Valpo take down Ole Miss and Northwestern State top Iowa. Sure there has never been a 16 over a 1, but we’ll keep watching until there is.

-Runners Up:
NFL Draft, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving, rivalry Saturday in college football