Spring is here to stay as sports come alive in early April

There are tons of sports stories to touch upon this week.

Top billing would be the March Madness Final Four of Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky and Wisconsin making it to the end of a good tournament. Since my pick of Michigan State is a no go, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Florida will play Kentucky for the final game on Monday night, April 7. The Gators are my favorite at this point to win the whole thing. This weekend's games should be great basketball, no matter who goes to the final.

Then there is the Philadelphia Phillies' opening day win coming as a huge surprise, beating the Texas Rangers 14-10. The game was a crazy back and forth offensive effort and the Phillies' bats woke up after a poor showing during spring training. I think that was about as many runs as I saw them score in the entire six-week training season.

I'm sure some of you are surprised this didn't take my top spot, but everyone now knows that Tiger Woods is out the Masters and for the foreseeable future! He decided to have back surgery, which will keep him out of action at least until the British Open in July. Even though this is bad for TV ratings, there will be plenty of great golfers in the quest to win the Masters. The Masters tournament will be on its way when I write next week.

And lastly, there is the Eagles football news to cut DeSean Jackson. I hope this serves as a wake up call for him, as the news that his off-the- field, messed-up choices have just become too much for head coach Chip Kelly to tolerate.  It's sad to lose such a good player, but I get it and agree with the decision. I just hope the Eagles can find a good replacement for Jackson in the upcoming draft in May. Good luck to the Washington Redskins' first year coach Jay Gruden in dealing with this messed-up superstar.