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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL and MARCH MADNESS RESUME TODAY

 The men's Sweet Sixteen games begin today in four locations.

  • Four games will be nationally televised tonight and the other four tomorrow.
    • The Elite Eight games will then follow on Saturday and Sunday, with the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. 
    • National Championship on April 7 at 8:50 EDT on CBS.
  • The women's final eight games begin on Friday, with Elite Eight finals on Sunday and Monday, and national championship game in the Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida, at 3PM EDT on April 6.
  • Big shocker was the season-ending knee injury of the best women's player this year, Juju Watkins of USC.
  • One bit of good news is that my ESPN women's bracket pick is at 95.4%.

The Major League Baseball season started play between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs in Japan last week.  Dodgers won both games.

So are they a lock on again being champions this year?  Yes, and no.  Mookie Betts has lost a lot weight and hasn't really played in Spring ball, while Freddie Freemen has ankle and rib problems.  The New York Yankees has more serious problems.

You won't have time to watch all the games, but your home team has a channel to show that game, plus there are the Fox, TBS, MLB Network and assorted other options.  

  • In Hawaii, our "home" teams are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres.  ESPN will also televise the Dodgers vs Tigers and Brewers vs Yankees.  I will have 5 games to watch, from 9AM HT to around 7PM tonight.  We are six hour after EDT.
  • You can, of course, pay Hulu+Live TV and get almost everything.  But why?  There is only so much time in the day.  If you live in the east this will take you past midnight.  Anyway, that costs $83/month.  Hulu and Disney+ has a Step-Up Plan, for only $96/month.  Don't even think about those free trial days and option to cancel opportunities, for those sometimes can be a problem.
  • The Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies don't open until Friday, and this will not be a full day.
  • Then on Saturday and Sunday, all teams play.

I ended up drafting four ESPN Fantasy Baseball teams, 3 rotisserie and 1 head-to-head.

  • I have a basic-strategy that works.  I always come in first or second.  The problem is that I tend to have long trips in April into May, and by the time I return, I've missed a good part of the season, for I don't watch any games when I'm away.  Japan has a few of them, but nowhere else in the world is baseball shown on TV.  My portable computer allows me to scan the boxscores and I can change my team rosters nightly on the road.  But not being daily immersed in the game is detriment.  I usually catch up by August.  
  • On draft day I select from zero to 2 starting pitchers, stocking up on closers.  Other relievers can be picked up anytime, and these are now more important, for beginning last year, holds meant points.  Plus, they have the lower ERAs and WHIPs.  Throughout the season, outstanding pitchers just appear, regularly.  In the rotisserie leagues, you can only start pitchers 200 times.
  • I have a small core of top hitters. because there are days when they don't play, and I find the hottest hitters to replace them.  
    • There is a limit to how many players you can have on your roster.  
    • In a typical league, other teams only add/drop payers fewer than a  hundred times. 
    • I add free agents and discard players almost at random, and there make changes two or three times more often, if not ten times.
    • There is unlimited substitution, so I usually end up with the most runs, RBIs and stolen bases.
    • As much as possible, I draft hitters that play more than one position, for my strategy requires flexibility.

This is a day I set aside to just watch baseball on television.  Click on this to maximum your binge.  Of course, accompanying cuisine must sustain me all day.  

CBS Sports has scoured the ball parks and found the 10 wildest new food items being featured on opening day.

  • #10  Filthy Mac Fries, Arizona Diamondbacks.
  • #7  Celebration Cake Milkshake, Chicago White Sox.
  • #5  Blue Velvet Whoopie Pie, Kansas City Royals.
  • #4  Helmet Tiramisu, New York Yankees.
  • #2  What Up Corndog, Seattle Mariners.
  • #1  Cotton Candy Fries, Toronto Blue Jays.


I decided to have more traditional fare.  Hot dog with an upgrade, using a croissant instead of a bun, and a second dish with chili.  Kosher pickle, hot peppers and garlic fries.  Boiled peanuts.  Planters cocktail peanuts. Chips.  I have half a dozen different types of beers ready to be drunk.  Johnny Walker Blue label to sip, or martinis with gin and/or vodka.

That was my first course.  Not sure now how I will proceed, but I have options.
Perhaps a martini, followed by sipping Johnny Walker Blue Walker on ice.

-

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