Hit the snooze button

The middle of February to March 1 is the quietest stretch on the sports calendar because hockey and all levels of basketball are still in their regular season. There is always the much anticipated startup for Major League Baseball with spring training beginning, but that generally doesn't make for anything very newsworthy unless you are a hard core baseball fan like me.

The only thing that was the least bit newsworthy this week was UConn women's basketball. They have been on a crazy winning streak and hit 100 straight wins this week! I truly hope this team wins the championship because if they don't, it will be completely devastating to the players getting this far and then not completing the job. And then there's the other side of me that hopes they don't do this again next year as I don't think that's good for women's basketball to have just one team that shines over all the others. Can you tell I'm conflicted?

The Phillies have started their spring training camp and are not predicted to be contenders once again for National League East Championship. It's going to take another year or two, but as they say, "Hope springs eternal." I do believe they could finish third, behind the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets.

I'm hopeful that the Phillies can make it a much closer race than last year. I want to see the Phillies’ young third baseman, Miguel Franco, put up or shut up and be more consistent with his performances. He is a very good player, but doesn't seem to stay in the top of his game for any stretch of time. It drives me crazy to see this in someone so talented. He could carry the team just like Ryan Howard used to do.