My favorite sign that Spring is not too far off

Spring training has begun for all Major League baseball teams. That's always a good marker for winter to take a hike!

I am quite nervous about this season for the Phillies though. Their new manager, Gabe Kapler, seems very opinionated and confident about his abilities as a manager. Seems a bit lofty considering the fact that this is his first management position. I hope he lives up to his own hype.

I have no expectations for the Phillies to be contenders to win the World Series but they are very capable of finishing with a winning record. This will require the young players from last year to show continued improvement; specifically outfielders Rhys Hoskins and Nick Williams.

The Phillies really need one more good starting pitcher for me to believe that great things could happen this year. I hope my conservative but positive outlook is correct.

...

The U.S. Olympic team is doing well in the medal race. The snowboarding events, along with the skiing, have been great to watch and with some good results.

How cool is it that the U.S. Women's Ice Hockey team beat Canada in a shootout after overtime to win the Gold! This Gold medal has been 20 years in the making and hasn't happened since the very first Women's Ice Hockey Olympic competition in 1998. Although the U.S. team has done really well in this Winter Olympics, they will not be able to catch up with Germany and Norway in the overall medal count.

...

The race of top teams that will be contenders for this year's March Madness is wide-open. This is rather unusual at this point in the regular season. There are probably 6 to 8 teams that could win the whole thing: Long shots like Purdue and Virginia, along with the usual teams like Michigan State, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina and Kansas.

The level of play across the country is so well balanced this year. It's going to come down to the teams that surprise us with great wins or disappoint us with mistakes or injuries in the next few weeks. It's anyone's guess!