Hockey--Baseball? A seasonal contradiction?

The hockey playoffs are in full swing and I am cheering widely for the Pittsburgh Penguins who are currently battling the New York Rangers on the road to the Stanley Cup. The games are close and every goal could be the winning one.

The baseball season is in full swing and the Baltimore Orioles are currently in Florida playing the Tampa Bay Rays. Yes in Florida. It is early in the season with just 31 games played of a 162 games season and so far the optimism I had in the team has seemed justified. They are in first place in the division and scrapping for every win.

I am watching sports of opposite seasons. The boys of winter (hockey) and the boys of summer (baseball) are playing strong. One season, hockey, is nearing its end and trying to crown the season's champion; while baseball is just getting into full swing in anticipation of the hot, sweaty days of summer. 

I was switching the channels back and forth last evening--from ice rink to grassy field and it dawned upon me how full of contradictions I am. I waited all winter for spring to come, yet now, when I should be relishing the warmer weather, which I am, I am still fascinated by a game played upon a cold and frozen surface.

Sports. It brings out the best of all seasons.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD