Awaiting Truck Day, NHL break and the Pro Bowl...

The other day I was listening to some random goodness on my iPod (welcome back little friend!) and 'Sweet Caroline' from Neil Diamond came on. It immediately got me thinking about The Red Sox and a warm, summer-time baseball game at Fenway Park.

Truck Day is rumored to be tomorrow. Hopefully this weekend's snow storm does not throw a wrench in the works. I can't say I'm one of those people who is climbing the walls waiting for baseball to start, but I am looking forward to baseball season and everything that comes along with it: green grass, warm weather, hangin' out in my backyard oasis with the fam, Joe and Jerry on the AM Radio and a T&T; close at hand... Nice.

Right now, I'm still coming down off of football season. Football is my primary sport and once it ends, it takes a little while for me to change over to baseball mode. Over the next few weeks I'll begin to switch over and I'll start wearing less of The Pats ball-cap and more of the Red Sox cap, but I'm not ready to get into full baseball mode quite yet.

The bridge between Football and Baseball for me is Hockey and now that football is over, I've been paying more attention to the Boston Bruins. The B's have been up and down all season and it's not looking like that is going to change any time soon.

The last few B's games have been frustrating to watch. There have been flashes of brilliance and excitement, but there have been too many let downs, with games that have started out promising only ending in disappointment. The B's are playing hard, but they need to learn how to finish a game. It's been one step forward, two steps back for the Bruins this year.

Friday's game vs. The Lightning was a perfect example of a game that was really frustrating to watch. Locked in a 4-4 tie midway through the 3rd, The B's got a spectacular short-handed goal to go up 5-4. They had the momentum and it was looking like they were going to roll to a win and get those much needed 2 points. Instead, The B's got conservative. Instead of staying aggressive and taking the game to Tampa in their offensive end, the B's started dumping the puck in and trying to run the clock.

Things fell apart with loose defensive play in their own end of the ice and The B's gave up 2 goals, eventually going down 6-5 to Tampa Bay. Instead of picking up 2 points and clawing one step closer to a playoff spot, they got nothing and wound up going backwards in the standings.

I still think The Bruins will somehow scratch their way into the playoffs this year, but I have a feeling it's going to be a fight the whole way. Now it's the 2 week break for the Olympics. I'm hoping I can catch a couple of the mens ice hockey games. I love Olympic Hockey on that big European ice... Wide Open.

Speaking of wide open, The Daytona 500 is next Sunday. Gentlemen, start your Engines. I have to admit, I paid very little attention to NASCAR last year.

The other day I got a catalog in the mail from Roush Racing that had Mark Martin on the cover. I was kind of surprised because I thought last season was going to be his last year running the circuit. Shows how much attention I have been paying. Look's like ol' Mark is going to give it one more go round.

I was glad to see he's no longer running with a sponsorship from Phizer. Even though Martin has been my favorite driver for many years, after the despicable Supreme Court decision in the Kelo vs. New London case last year, (still have not forgotten about that) I could no longer support Martin while racing with Phizer's sponsorship.

Now Mark is running with AAA as a sponsor. Much better. Definitely more agreeable.

I spent a little bit of time watching the Pro-Bowl today. I was not very interested in it, since there was not a single representative from The Patriots in the game, but still, it was football, even if it was a meaningless exhibition. With the Pro-Bowl, Football season comes fully to a close and baseball mode gets one step closer...