Avoiding the Post-Olympic Blues

It’s easy to feel bored now that the Olympics are over. You find yourself asking, “What do I watch on TV now?” “What do I read in the newspaper?” And, “Is it really fair to go back to watching the Leafs after two weeks of Team Canada?”

But fear not cynical friends! The sporting world is keeping us indulged as quickly as it can. Here’s a calendar showing how:

March 3: The NHL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. on the 3rd. Yep, third month, third day at 3 p.m. Perhaps the trinity theme is there because many teams will be looking for salvation via a massive last-second acquisition. Desperate times call for desperate measures for some teams, and that means there will be some good TV for the rest of us!

March 16: March Madness begins! College basketball isn’t the most popular thing up here, but everyone can appreciate those buzzer-beating upsets that seem to happen every year. Even if you don’t watch, it means SportsCentre will be just a little bit more entertaining.

March 25: The MLS (Major League Soccer) season is underway. If there’s any sport less popular than March Madness I’ve found it, but the Toronto FC gets better every year and Vancouver will be entering the league in 2011. It’s worth it to start paying attention now.

April 4: The baseball season opens with a classic: Yankees vs. Red Sox. Opening day is jubilation for baseball fans who know there’s going to be non-stop baseball for seven months to come. Although, if you’re a Blue Jays fan, replace “jubilation” with “torture.”

April 8-11: The 74^th Masters tournament will be held, like always, in Augusta, Georgia. I can’t imagine we’ll see Tiger, but maybe that means it’s all the more opportunity for lefty Canuck Mike Weir to take the green jacket again.

April 11: This is the final day of the NHL regular season. There isn’t an official start date for the playoffs yet, but it’s a guarantee that it will be within a few days of the 11^th. The final steps toward the most coveted trophy in sports begin!

How about that? In just over a month there are six great events taking place. And that’s failing to mention the start of the NBA playoffs and the World Cup in South Africa later this year.

It’s not 17 days of non-stop Nordic competition, but it’s still an excuse to gather, eat, drink and yell at the TV. What else do Canadians need? 

— Josh Bailie