Not many of my friends like baseball.   They don't watch games, attend games, or appreciate the game in any sort of manner.  I have one friend who claims to be a baseball fan, but all he really did was buy an abundance of Philadelphia Phillies gear once they became relevant a few years back to make it seem like he was a fanatic.  I saw through it.

Why is the case?  Why aren't people gearing up for opening day and getting excited for America's pastime?  The reason is that most people don't understand what baseball really is; a bunch of mini-games intertwined within a game.

This is what makes baseball so special.  It's so different than any other sport that maybe people can't grasp everything that is going on.  I'll explain it to you though.

Pitching and hitting is the first mini-game.  Baseball teams consist of nine players on each team, but when a batter steps up to the plate it's only one on one.  I know there's a catcher there as well, but he doesn't really count.  Everything here is between the pitcher and the hitter.  This is all about execution in a duel and seeing who can better the other.  The pitcher must throw the correct pitch in the correct spot and try to manipulate the correct sequence to keep the batter fooled.  The batter must understand the pitches that are available and understand what the pitcher usually throws in the situation.

It's really a mind game that turns into the ultimate example of execution.  Go try and throw a pitch and hit a spot over and over again.  Also go try and hit a baseball that is rearing down at you going 90mph or more.  It's two of the most difficult things to do and not only do these players do it frequently, but they also must factor in all the variables of different types of pitches and strengths and weaknesses of a hitter.  It's the essence of what baseball is; a thinking man's game that forces immediate and precise execution.

Immediately after the bat touches the ball a new game is formed.  It is now when the remaining eight players on the field come into play on defense.  Again, thinking is always involved.  The defense positions themselves to try and cover the areas that the batter is most likely to hit to.  The batter will try to hit the ball where the players are not located.  This is another solo battle for the hitter except this time he is facing eight players trying to stop him instead of just one pitcher.  That is why achieving a base hit is an accomplishment and executing a hit 3 out of every 10 times is a really tough achievement.

Once a batter reaches the base then a multitude of mini-games come into play.  The pitcher and the runner have a mini-duel of trying to keep the runner as close as possible to the base.  Attempts to pick him off also occur.  We have the defense having to change their mindset and instead of protecting against just the batter they must also understand every situation that the runner is capable of executing and position themselves to try and obtain the best possible result once the ball is in play.  This usually means they want to get the lead runner out and when they achieve even more they can get a double play.  The game for the batter is altered as well.  Situations change depending on the score; what base the runner is on or who the runner is.  The batter may be called upon to sacrifice bunt, hit and run, or just swing away.  Every single situation that occurs changes each mini-game that is involved in the game of baseball.

There are many more mini-games involved in baseball from base running signals, hitting signals, and pitching signals.  We have umpires behind the plate that can change the scope of the game just by what they consider their zone.  There are the batting changes where a right handed hitter will come in to face the left handed pitcher just to better the hitter’s odds.  Pitching changes occur to do the same.

Every single thing that is done in a baseball game is calculated.  Each change, each new situation, changes the entire game from there on out.  This is what makes baseball so special and what people should appreciate about the game.

There's one last thing that makes baseball so much different than any other sport.

I think my favorite aspect about baseball is that it is the only sport where at the end of the game you can't just put in your best player on offense and say win this game for us.  I know there are closers in baseball, and for some teams they are the best players on their team, but more than likely they aren't their teams best player.  It's nice to be able have Peyton Manning throw to Reggie Wayne with 5 seconds left in a game.  It's great to have Kobe Bryant shoot a jumper for the win or have Sidney Crosby on the ice to try and perform some late game heroics.  Baseball doesn't have that.  What baseball has is an organized approach that forces the entire team to be prepared for every situation.

I'm sure every Cardinals fan wants to see Albert Pujols at the plate with a runner on second and the Cards down 1, but that doesn't always happen.  Sometimes Skip Schumaker will be up at the plate.

There are many reasons why people don't watch baseball. The length of it, the lack of scoring, it's boring, too many commercials throughout; I say those people don't appreciate the game.  Maybe they never realized how much is really going on at one time and how much the game changes from one play to the next.

Maybe they will now.

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Back in early September I decided to buy tickets for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Buffalo, NY.  I had been there before and loved it, so I knew I had to go back.  I bought a pair of tickets for all three sessions and I immediately knew who I wanted to take, my Dad.

My Dad isn't the biggest sports fan, he enjoys watching Penn State football and Steelers football, but other than that he isn't following every single sport like I do. This caused a dilemma.  Would he really want to endure six basketball games over a two day span?

He hasn't watched a full NCAA basketball game all year.

I've never once seen him fill out a tournament bracket.

There is no way he would know the seeds of any the team participating, let alone any players.

None of these things mattered though; I still wanted him to come.

All I wanted was for him to attend the event that I care the most about all year.  I knew him seeing me so ecstatic would make him happy and that's all that mattered.

So months went by since I ordered the tickets.  I finally got them a few weeks ago and presented him the idea of going to the tournament with me.  Of course he said yes.

I booked a hotel a week later and the trip was set for me and my father.  I was excited.  Not only was I attending the tournament, but I thought it would be nice for the two of us just to go on a trip.  Usually when we take a trip it's the entire family and most of the time that my Dad and I do something by ourselves, it's usually attending a movie or watching a television show.

This isn't to say we're not close to one another.  I think our personalities are very similar, we just have different interests.  I like to play video games and watch sports.  He likes to read books and watch movies.  I think our uniqueness makes our bond even more special; we just see the greatness in one another and we never have to say it.

A week ago all these plans almost changed.  My Grandpa had to go into the hospital for a catheterization.  Unfortunately they found some major blockage and they would have to proceed with open heart surgery the following week.  On top of all that, my Grandpa has been taking care of my Grandma who is battling Alzheimer’s so I knew my Dad and his brothers and sisters would have to go down there to help with the situation.

Anytime people have to deal with situations like this it's extremely tough.  When these things happen it feels like you're the only person or family that it happens to, but every family has to deal with different problems at different times.  I knew everything would be okay.  Of course I was worried about my grandpa, but I knew with my Dad, my aunts, and my uncles around that not only would my Grandpa get the best care, but they would all ensure that my grandma got the best care as well.

Maybe that's just my attitude towards things though; I always look at the positive.  I just think that when situations go bad, then the worse has already happened and something better is bound to come out of it.  There's no need to dwell on what has happened, but instead you can only look toward what will happen.

At this point my whole outlook on the tournament had changed.  I didn't think there was any chance he'd be able to come, but I wanted him to come more than ever.  I thought he just needed to get away from situation for a little while and forget about it for a minute or two.  My grandpa already finished the surgery, he was doing fine, and other people were there for the time being to help with everything.  I knew my Dad's heart would be with my Grandpa and Grandma, but maybe his mind could be elsewhere.

He decided to come.

Friday morning we left to drive up to Buffalo and I tried not to bring it up at all.  I'm sure through the past week amongst everyone he heard enough of, "We should do this." or "We should've done that." or "We can't do that." or "We have to do this."  Who was I to be telling my Dad what he should be doing with his mom and dad?

We got to the parking lot nice early so we could get a good spot to leave after the game.  We had a hotel 4 miles down the road, but my Dad isn't the biggest fan of traffic so we wanted to be able to get out as smoothly as possible.  My dad read his book and took a nap; I did crossword puzzles on my phone.

It was about 11:30am when we entered the arena.  We sat down in our seats, which were cozy, but uncomfortable.  Immediately I thought, "Oh boy, how's he going to like sitting in these tight quarters for almost 12 hours?"  He didn't complain.

The first game was Morgan State versus West Virginia.  I had to explain to him, which team was which, who De'Sean Butler was, and what seed each team was.  Morgan State came roaring out of the gates with a 10-0 lead.  The crowd went nuts and you could feel the energy across the arena.  This is what the tournament is all about.  These are the moments that you remember and love from the weekend.  West Virginia went on to blow them out, but it was still a fun game.  Clemson versus Missouri was a battle throughout and Gonzaga and Florida State was great as well.

The final game was Syracuse versus Vermont.  Syracuse was blowing out Vermont and I could see my Dad was nodding off between timeouts.  A timeout occurred almost every five minutes so he definitely got an abundance of naps in.  Vermont cut it down to 12 at halftime and I told him I wanted to leave.  I actually did want to leave to go watch the other games, but I also knew he was fading out and we'd also beat all the traffic.  We got to our hotel in about five minutes and he called it a night, while I finished watching all the games.

On Saturday we didn't have any plans.  I wanted to watch the games and that was it.  We went to lunch and came back and I watched the games in the hotel room.  Later on that night we had a nice dinner at Red Peppers, a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant.  It was there where we finally really got to chat about things and I gave him my words of wisdom.

After discussing everything, I told him basically what I said above.  You can't worry about how things got to where they are, but you can understand where things are going to go.  There's no reason to keep thinking about the negatives because only positives will come out of this.  Just some insight, from a son to a father, to show him things aren't as always bad as they seem.

Saturday commenced and we woke up and went back to the arena early on Sunday.  Dad took his nap, I did my crossword.  We enjoyed ourselves for two more games and left and came home from a great trip over the weekend.

We both had a great time and my Dad got to experience what I love about college basketball so much.  Those amazing moments that you never expected would happen.  The trip was kind of like the tournament, just a bunch of great small moments that I never expected.

I know he enjoyed his time and I hope he knows I did it for him.  More importantly, I know he did it for me.

Ladies and Gentleman! Boys and Girls! Children of all ages!

Favre Dollar Footlongs is proud to introduce to you March Madness; the greatest show on Earth!  The time has finally come for all of us to experience the four greatest days in all of sports as 64 teams vie to be part of the sweet sixteen teams remaining after Sunday.  We all have our reasons for loving it, but there is only one way to truly experience March Madness; that's by seeing it in person.

There is nothing like attending the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.  I don't care about the Super Bowl, Game 7 of the World Series, or any other sporting event; nothing compares to those first four days.  It's almost hard to explain exactly what makes it so special to be a part of, but I'll try my best by conveying to you my first March Madness experience.

I've always been a Duke fan from a young age.  If you've read other columns of mine then you probably realized my bias in favor of them.  Anyways, three years ago, I was sitting in front of my television on Selection Sunday, getting ready to fill out my bracket, and the perfect scenario happened; Duke was going to be playing in Buffalo, NY.

I'm from Erie, PA, so Buffalo is only about an hour and a half away; I knew I had to attend the game between Duke and VCU.  I immediately went to hunt down tickets on eBay and got a pair for Sessions 1 and 2.  My father and I drove to the HSBC Arena, not really too excited about the first couple games, but I still wanted to attend them just to experience the whole first day of the tournament.  Much to my surprise, my thoughts on the first two games changed greatly.

The first game was Butler versus Old Dominion.  This was probably one of the first times that Butler was finally getting some credibility.  The game went back and forth throughout and it was a pretty solid game to watch.  Butler definitely had some great players that helped them win and move to the next round.

Following the Butler/ODU game was the game that made me understand what March Madness was all about.  We had #4 Maryland going up #13 Davidson in what seemed like a very boring game.  The game started off kind of slow with Maryland taking the lead early on.  Davidson started to fight back a little thanks to an outstanding freshman named Stephen Curry.  I watched some games of Davidson earlier in the year so I knew of Curry's potential, but what he did that day was astonishing.  He kept his team in the game.  Big bucket after big bucket he kept on hitting shots.  Finally at the end of the game, with Davidson losing by double digits, Curry got his 30th point of the game and was finally removed.  The entire arena, even Maryland fans, stood up to give a freshman, on a completely outmatched basketball team, a rousing standing ovation that he definitely deserved.

I was on a high after that game.  I left for a few hours and came back for the next session ready for my Blue Devils to beat up on Virginia Commonwealth.  Duke wasn't that great in 2007.  We only had a #6 seed so I knew there was a chance for a close game.  I won't go into all the details because I don't really need to relive those moments, but I think we all remember the upset.  With seconds remaining Eric Maynor hit the jumper in the key to give VCU the lead and they knocked Duke out of the first round of the NCAA tournament in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

I was distraught.  I really couldn't believe what I just saw with my own eyes.  I didn't even stay for the last game of the night between Pittsburgh and Wright State.  I just went from seeing one of the greatest performances in an NCAA game to seeing one of the biggest upsets that was a shot to the heart.  That's what March Madness is all about though.

When I left for Buffalo to attend the tournament three years ago I didn't know what I was about to see.  I only had a rooting interest in seeing Duke play.  What I realized while I was there was that the experience takes over you.  Attending the Super Bowl or the Master's would be a great experience, but I don't think they could compare to the first two rounds of the tournament.  It's an event that you can walk into, knowing nothing, and come out of it with a since of euphoria.  You don't need to know who to root for because as the game goes on you will feel who you should root for.  It is a special experience.  It's different to all, but special to all.  I had the best time of my life and the worst time of my life in the same day and after some reflection I wouldn't change it one bit.

I will be going back to Buffalo on Friday to attend the NCAA tournament.  This time Duke won't be there so the heartache won't be in front of my face if they somehow get upset by Arkansas Pine-Bluff.  Instead I will be experiencing six games that I have no rooting interest for, but six games that I am extremely looking forward to.  I don't know what to expect, I don't know who to root for, and I don't care.  Maybe #1 seed Syracuse will be upset by #16 seed Vermont.  Maybe all the games will be blowouts.  It doesn't really matter to me, because I know there will be special moments that I experience throughout the weekend.

That's why March Madness is the greatest show on Earth!

Does anyone really believe that March Madness is a 65 team tournament?  Even with a play-in game, I think most people still view the tournament as four separate regions consisting of sixteen seeded teams.

That's at least how I view it.  Until you have your name on that perfectly plotted bracket that people drool over every March then you're not part of the tournament.  Sorry Arkansas Pine-Bluff or Winthrop, but that's just how it is.

There's nothing wrong with this thinking though.  I'm sure the coaches of the two aforementioned teams would disagree, but I just don't think that forty years from now, players from Winthrop are going to be telling their grandchildren how they made it to the NCAA tournament and lost to Arkansas Pine-Bluff at the University of Dayton Arena.  I may have to alternate those names if my prediction doesn't hold.

On the other hand, the winning team amongst the two will proudly tell their grandchildren about how they lost to Duke by forty in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.  Hopefully I don't have to alternate those names.

The point is that once you receive that seed number next to your team's name then you've made it, you've finally reached one of your major goals as a college basketball player.

Some people want to remove the luster of making it to the tournament by increasing the field to 96. I say just increase the play-in games.

I could go on and on about why increasing the field is a horrible idea. I could even go on and on about a bunch of positives for increasing the field. The only point that really matters is that making the field of 64 is prestigious and increasing the field would only damage what we all consider a great accomplishment for these college athletes. Adding more play-in games would give teams a second chance to officially make the tournament, while also keeping the specialness that is involved with being considered one of the sixty four that is involved.

I think there should be eight play-in games. I think we have a play-in game for each sixteen seed and a play-in game for each twelve seed. By doing this the NCAA would create two whole extra days for the tournament to appear on television, which they care about so they can increase revenue. It would also increase the caliber of teams in the tournament as the weakest eight teams would face off and only the four winners would prevail to become sixteen seeds and have their shot to provide the biggest upset in all of sports.

The four play-in games to determine the twelve seeds would allow those bubble teams that felt they got screwed out of the tournament one last shot to prove their worth. We would get to have four play-in games with all solid teams that actually have a legitimate shot of winning at least a couple games in the tournament and again we would increase the quality of teams by having these play-in games. We would of course still have the debates we love about the teams that got excluded from these play-in games, but most importantly the teams that got in will have achieved their seed, not just got placed there luckily by the tournament committee.

There's never going to be a perfect solution for all the debates, but by increasing the amount of play-in games we could solve many of them. The people who believe the beginning of the season matters as much as the end of the season would still see their bubble teams in the mix. The people who think how you finish matters more would get their chance to see those bubble teams play for a spot. We would increase the quality of the field by eliminating the teams with absolutely no hope before the tournament began and the NCAA could gain two extra days of basketball to increase their television contract revenue.

Most importantly, the tournament would still be considered 64 teams, amongst four regions, seeded numbers 1 through 16, and every team involved would know they've truly accomplished something special.