Welcome to March! Quite possibly the my favorite month of the year (only December can rival it). We've got spring training, the NCAA tournament, spring break, what else could you ask for?

The Clippers certainly could ask for more - with Shaun Livingston out not only for the rest of not only this year, but most certainly next year as well. Just when you thought Elgin Baylor was gaining some competency as a GM, he once again choked at the trade deadline. We could have packaged Livingston, Maggette and picks in a deal for Allen Iverson or Vince Carter, which probably would have revived this team enough to make the playoffs. Instead, we now have nothing, the team is back in the toilet, and Livingston's career is in jeopardy.

UCLA beat Wassu last night to clinch its second consecutive PAC-10 title. Seeing as how the other top seeds are dropping like flies, I see no possible excuse for us to not be ranked #1 overall when the new rankings come out on Monday. The only other team where a valid argument can be presented is fellow 3-loss team Ohio State. But the fact of the matter is, the PAC-10 is a superior conference to the Big 10, with twice as many ranked teams. UCLA is in a better league, and we've got the reputation and consistency of the best team in the country. If that proves not to be the view of the AP and Coaches, then they should all basketball licences revoked.

March is always a time for hope in the world of baseball. Teams always have a clean slate and anything can happen, often causing their fans to experience delusions of grandeur. Hell, last year I was optimistic about having Odalis Perez and Brett Tomko in the rotation. In previous years the Dodgers have found success with non-roster invitees, but this year, there don't seem to be many holes, and the roster looks pretty much set. This means tough luck for Rudy Seanez, Fernando Tatis, Choo Freeman, and others (probably a good thing). Here's how the opening day roster projects (barring injury):

Lineup:
SS - Rafael Furcal
CF - Juan Pierre
1B - Nomar Garciaparra
2B - Jeff Kent
LF - Luis Gonzalez
C - Russel Martin
3B - Wilson Betemit
RF - Andre Ethier

Pitching Staff:
SP1 - Derek Lowe
SP2 - Jason Schmidt
SP3 - Brad Penny
SP4 - Randy Wolf
LR/SP5 - Hong Chih Kuo (gets my vote for 5th starter)
LR/SP5 - Chad Billingsley
MR - Mark Hendrickson
MR - Brett Tomko
LHP - Joe Beimel
SU - Jonathan Broxton
CL - Takashi Saito

Bench:
RPH - Olmedo Saenz
LPH - Marlon Anderson
MI - Ramon Martinez
OF4 - Jason Repko
1B/OF - James Loney
C - Mike Leiberthal

Think this team can win the NL West this year? I certainly think so. There are bound to be some injuries, too. So look for Matt Kemp, Andy La Roche, and others to make the jump at sometime during the season. Ooohh I can't wait!

P.S. - Assuming I passed my urine test, I'm going to be selling merchandise at Dodger Stadium this season. So if any of ya'll need jerseys, hats, etc. I can hook you up. Come to a game and visit me!