Ah The Things that February Brings

By Jay Kaplan, OTSL Analyst

According to my best friend (whom the rest of you may know as the host of “On The Sportslines”), February is the start of six months of sports doom and gloom with a brief interlude for three days at the end of April. As a die-hard and dyed-in-the-wool football fan who eats, sleeps and breathes all things pigskin, her perspective is understandable (by the way, those three days in April are the NFL Draft) and she’s not alone with it.

She’s almost as big a Yankee fan as I am (I get the nod on that one because I was born and raised in the borough in which the Pinstripers play) and they get plenty of love from her during baseball season, but for her – and no doubt many football fans like her – our National Pastime is merely a distraction to Pass-The-Time till NFL training camps start in August (like her, I too am keeping my fingers crossed that Billionaire Owners and Millionaire players can figure out how to cut up that Gazillion dollar pie so that training camps actually will start in August).

I will never convince her (I’ve stopped trying) – or a lot of my other sports-loving friends – otherwise, but I think February is the most underrated sports month on the calendar. Scoff if you wish, but once that hairball in your throat clears, try to keep an open mind and actually consider the knowledge I’m about to drop on you.

February brings the birthdays of two presidents who were pivotal players in our nation’s history (still hate the fact that they combined the birthdays into one “holiday”) plus a Hallmark manufactured holiday that only the Greeting Card, Chocolate and Flower industries really get something out of. Spoken like a true hopeless romantic right?

That “holiday” is a two-pronged reminder for guys like me. Prong One: make sure you do right by your significant other (Yes, even I follow the advice of that prong, my previous comments notwithstanding – I may be crazy, but I’m not dumb). Prong Two: pitchers and catchers are reporting, which means baseball season is almost here.

Baseball was my first sports love and as we all know, first loves have a special place in our hearts. Thus every Valentine’s Day, whether I’m with someone or not, I get a little giddy knowing that baseball is on its way back into my life. The old line “Hope springs eternal” gets batted around ad nauseum like a bag full of fungos at this time of the sports year, but the truth of it is in no way trite. Pitchers and catchers reporting is a baseball fan’s Ground Hog Day; it means that Old Man Winter has one foot out the door. Considering the Winter we’ve had, who wouldn’t get a little giddy at that prospect – or any others that will be reporting to camps in the next few days?

February also brings basketball, basketball and more basketball. The NBA reaches its midway point and not long after, puts on the best All-Star extravaganza of all the major sports. The Dunk Contest, Three-Point Shootout, Rookie-Sophmore game all lead up to the best pickup/playground basketball game put on by the best athletes on the planet.

I enjoy the NBA, but I LOVE college basketball and February reminds me why. Conference play heats up, Part One of the sport’s greatest rivalry happens (North Carolina vs. Duke) and terms like “Bracketology”, “Tournament Resume” and “RPI” are all over every sports media outlet (including our own “On The Sportslines” Blog: http://onthesportslines.blogspot.com/2011/02/college-basketball-primer-part-1-hello.html) leading up to Selection Sunday and the Madness of March.

This month is as good a time as any to check in with the NHL. It marks the beginning of the second half of the season and that means the push towards the post-season is underway. There is a reason it’s called the “Coolest Game on Ice”. Get to know guys like “Sid The Kid”, “Ovie”, “Geno”and “King Henrik”. It’ll be worth your while.

February also kicks off NASCAR season which begins with stock car racing’s own Super Bowl, the Daytona 500. While I can’t claim to be a huge fan, I do check in on Daytona during that Sunday. Hey, anything referred to as the Super Bowl of any sport deserves a modicum of attention.

Football is going to remain in the news for the rest of this month due to the Labor Crisis facing the sport, which will not exactly make fans like my BFF (or even me) happy since we don’t forsee a positive outcome to that mess any time soon.

With that in mind, give some consideration to those things that February brings to the world of sports. Who knows, at best you may find some interim sports happiness; at worst, your level of gloom-age and doom-age may drop to acceptable levels. Happy February.