I’ve never considered myself a college basketball fan.  In fact I often miss the beginning of Sportscenter because I don’t want to watch the end of whatever NCAA game they might be showing.  There are betting things on TV to waste my time.

But for some reason when it come to the Tournament it becomes a different story.  I turn a game on and see Belmont is beating Duke with less than 30 seconds left in the second half and I’m glued to the TV.  I don’t know where the heck Belmont even is, but I see they’re in a 15 seed, and they’re beating a #2 seed.  I instantly become a fan.

Basketball has always been a sport I sort of always overlooked.  Sure I’ve always rooted for the Knicks (the only New York team I really root for), but they haven’t been a respectable franchise since Patrick Ewing cut his flat-top.  Even then,I casually followed them (I could still name the roster and all, just not rattle off the facts and stats like other sports).  I’ve always wondered why.

The argument can be made growing up a suburban kid in Long Island, basketball wasn’t the sport, but I played a ton as a kid, as did my brothers.  I just liked baseball, football, and hockey a whole lot more. 

Probably because I was better at them.

I was never good at basketball.  I mean to the point where it’s embarrassing.  When you’re tall people assume you must be good at basketball (since when is 6’2 considered tall?), but it couldn’t be farther from the truth.  I can’t shoot, layup, dunk, or rebound.  Let’s be honest, I’m lucky I can dribble.  Even then I have to watch the ball to make sure it doesn’t hit my foot.

Because I was never good at it I never liked it.  Unless it’s March, and collegians are playing for schools I never heard of.  Then I become addicted… 

Gotta run, Arizona is closing the gap on West Virginia…

Wow, it’s been a while.  The last time I updated the Orphan was during the Mitchell Report.  Life sort of caught up with me.  Not that I haven’t written.  Steve Carlton Likes to Fish, Hot Stove Philly, and Hot Stove New York, are all alive and well, and help me get my writing fix.  Between writing for three sites, the job (too bad blogging doesn’t pay the bills), and of course spending time with my wife, I’ve neglected the Orphan. 

Given the blog’s name, it’s a bit ironic.

Well enough neglecting the Orphan.  It’s back, but a little different then the standard MLBLog.  Most of my writing has to do with standard reporting, with my take on it.  The Orphan will of course center around baseball, but more opinions, and more stuff outside the realm of the American and National League.

We’ll see how it works out…

On a side note, I never thought I’d find myself rooting for the Devils.  No Flyers fan in his right mind would root for the team that plays in the sewer in the heart of Newark (the Ghettolands, as refer to it as), but it’s playoff time, and the Flyers are clinging on to the eighth seed.  With the Rangers in sixth, only two points ahead, a Rangers loss would be big.  Too bad they won in a shootout…