A wonderful time of the year

Spring training has arrived folks, just in time to draw some interest in the sporting world in that pesky gap between the Super Bowl and the NCAA tournament. Yes, those lucky dogs who get paid, for the majority of their time, to stand around and wait for things to happen get an all-expenses paid trip to either Florida or Arizona for camp.

But most importantly, everyone who is a fan of baseball finally has an opportunity to check out their teams' new addition(s), their players returning from injury and can even catch a glimpse prospects getting at bats against some of the games' best.

Some guys will be trying to learn new pitches; some guys will try out new arm angles. Some players will get looks at what they might be facing in the regular season and might even try changing their hitting or fielding mechanics.

But this year a dark, heavy cloud is hanging over many major league camps; its name: The Mitchell Report. Anybody who was named in the damning document will have to talk about why it was in and if they are guilty or not. It’s like they’re reporting to a firing range, albeit with the media and some teammates armed with questions, not guns and ammo.

Astros should be the most fun, with Roger Clemens and Miguel Tejada both in some very hot water. Clemens has to live with his puzzled responses to the interrogation he endured on Capitol Hill while Tejada may get deported if it turns out he lied under oath. This should be a fantastic season for Houston, Craig Biggio couldn’t have timed his exit better.

And has anybody heard from Barry Bonds? He still wants to play but he’s not having any luck finding an employer. I guess everybody finally got fed up with his antics.