Sports, and More Sports

David R.

April 11, 2010 - 12:14 PM

As is always the case in professional sports, when one season is ending another is just beginning. The 2010 Major League Baseball season kicked off a few days ago, and every team is fresh out of spring training, ready and eager for 162 games of baseball. The major league baseball season is hands down, without a doubt, the most strenuous schedule of all of the major league sports in terms of how long the season is and how frequently games are played. In the National Football League for example, each team plays on Sunday, but then the next game isn't until a week later, giving each team a week to rest. Baseball on the other hand is a much different story. Sometimes a team may play nine games in nine days in three different cities. As a former Colorado Rockies employee, I have seen the fatigue that tends to set in late in the season. Sometimes a night game will go into extra innings, ending at around 11:30 at night. The opposing team might have a game to be played the next day in a city on the east coast. By the time the visiting team gets from Colorado to the next city, it could be around three in the morning. Nevertheless, the team is expected to be prepared for the next day's game. It can be grueling, and very taxing on one's body. When I was younger I played 80 baseball games during one summer. By the time the season was over I was dead, figuratively speaking. I was exhausted and didn't want to pick up a baseball for months. I can't imagine playing this many games times two, plus two more, then potentially the playoffs. Granted, professional baseball players have their lofty salaries for motivation, but that has no bearing on the physical wear that takes place over the course of a 162-game season.

While baseball is just kicking off, the NBA season is rapidly approaching playoff time. The western conference has been tight as of recently. A loss or a win, compared with the results of other western conference teams, could catapult one team up or down multiple spots in the standings. My Nuggets have been looking good recently, despite being blown out at home by the San Antonio Spurs the other night. As the playoffs approach, I have noticed more Portland Trailblazers attire around the University of Oregon campus. The only professional sports team in the state of Oregon is the Portland Trailblazers; consequently, Oregonians go all out for their basketball team. The NBA season is essentially the only season for these fans. It is easier in Denver, because after an unsuccessful season, in any of the sports, Denver fans can just look forward to the next team's season. After the Broncos' collapse, everyone was able to look forward to the Rockies and Nuggets seasons'. Being that I have three roommates from Portland, the arguments during basketball season never seem to end, as we are all dedicated to our respective teams. Being from out of state at the University of Oregon, I am always able to support a different team, and in this case, a division rival. I look forward to watching the playoff games with my roommates, hoping only that the Nuggets finish the season ahead of the Trailblazers, granting me year-long bragging rights until the next season begins.