Baseball fans enter Nationals Park before the start of the Washington Nationals Opening Day game against the Florida Marlins on April 1 in Washington, DC.
Today is Opening Day. Right, technically speaking the season began last night when the Houston Astros (newly of the American League) trounced the Texas Rangers. That said, the real action kicks off today with a full slate of games, most crucially a face-off between the Red Sox and Yankees, those perennially-bitter Northeast rivals. (MLB.com)
Tough Times Ahead for Traditional Powerhouses. The Yankees, Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies have all grown accustomed to reaching the postseason on a regular basis (we will just ignore the trend-bucking last season for the latter two) but this year could prove trying for all three of baseball’s most storied ballclubs. (Keeping Score)
You Want Predictions? We got your predictions right here. Seems the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers are the in-vogue picks for World Series champions this year, meaning neither team has any chance whatsoever. (ESPN.com)
Ranking All 30 MLB Opening Day Starters. Unsurprisingly, Detroit’s Justin Verlander tops the list. And he’s facing the Minnesota Twins, who aren’t exactly expected to light the world on fire with their hitting prowess this year. (Yahoo!)
In Other Sporting News… We have our Final Four in the NCAA Tournament: Louisville, Wichita State, Michigan and Syracuse. The weekend’s games, however, were largely overshadowed by the gruesome leg injury sustained by Louisville’s Kevin Ware. Reactions to the injury should tell you everything you need to know if you were fortunate enough to have missed it. (BuzzFeed)
Game of Thrones Returned Last Night. The HBO drama managed, as usual, to be quite excellent without really advancing the plot in any substantial way. (Tuned In)
Ten New Must-Reads for April. Just in case you’re in the mood for something that isn’t sports or television-related. Hard to imagine on a day like this though. (Flavorwire)
Oh Yeah, It’s Also April Fool’s Day. Just your annual reminder to approach all internet-related things with extreme caution today. Here’s a handy guide to a few of the known pranks for 2013. (LifeHacker)
The 14 Greatest Hoaxes of All Time. Including the falsified origins of April Fool’s Day itself (Constantine was likely not involved). (mental_floss)
The First Honest Cable Company. See, now what day it is should be more than obvious. (Warning: Some NSFW language.) (YouTube via The Daily What)
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