Changing in the Winds

Mark this day down in your calendars, folks. Shallow Speculations as you know it is going to be changing its format. From this day forward I will no longer blog about sports… I will instead blog about sports AND being a new father.
My son, Benjamin Alan, is due to be born on June 12th and he will be my first child. I’m beyond the point of scared shitless and have moved into the impatient and cautiously confident stage. His room is painted, his crib is constructed, his car seat and stroller are ready, he has clothes… but we are currently lacking in diapers. It’s strange that Katie and I have had 3 baby showers thrown for us and have received only 2 packages of diapers… which is strange because that’s a good default gift.
Anyway, I thought I’d add some interest to my blog by discussing my experience as a father. From here on out, Benjamin will be referred to as The Jet because his namesake is the character Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez from the movie The Sandlot (Katie’s favorite character from her favorite movie).

Okay, on to the developments in sports.
First, I think I jinxed the Capitals by picking them to when the Stanley Cup each of the last three years. It’s as if I’ve cursed them. If my pick does carry a curse, then I’ll take the Sharks to win this year.
Second, despite the fact that the Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs have all been eliminated, the NBA Playoffs have been pretty typical. A couple great games/performances and the remaining 4 teams could each win it all: The “superstar with a great supporting cast” team (Bulls), the “playing with house money” team (Mavericks), the “winning would destroy Cleveland” team (Heat), and the “more athletic at every position” team (Thunder). It’s conceivable that any team could win and it would make sense. The Bulls have the MVP, the Heat have two best players, the Mavericks are the well-coached, old guard, and the Thunder are the young, electric, athletic team. No story line or result would surprise me at this point.
Third, screw the lockout, I want some certainty in my football, damn it!
Finally, it is baseball season, I guess. My Royals have started 20-20, which is better than 10-30, so I’ll call it a success. They took 2 of 3 from the Yankees in New York and appear to be winning more close games than usual. I’ll be checking in on them regularly, but if they start to use that #1 rated farm system, they might be in the race longer than usual.