By updating RealClearSports I read hundreds of articles every week but sometimes there are particularly passages that need highlighting. And to make these passages more palatable I'm doing them in award form! The awards are completely random and will change weekly.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Baseball players take the field and signal the beginning of spring (even if it's snowing in Chicago). But it's not because I'm a big baseball fan. The season is about 62 games too long, the games are about half an hour too long and as an O's fan it's been too long since they've been relevant (4-0!).

What I love is reading the columns after those first few games. I love that every single one contains a phrase like "but let's keep in mind that it was just one single game." It doesn't matter if it was a positive result, like the Dodgers beating the defending champion Giants or a negative one, like the Twins getting destroyed by the Blue Jays. All these columnists want to make sure we know it is just one of 162 games. Don't panic! BUT...then they add something like, "but if these problems persist..." Like we can't do the math on that scenario. Anything more than a game recap of the first five days of the season is crazy and useless. Let's wait until there's a slightly bigger sample size. Let's wait until the entire rotation has pitched and the team has faced more than one opponent. Can't we do that? Can't we relax on making grand proclamations of doom and gloom with the throw-off caveat that "it's just one game"?

If you didn't like this rant, don't worry it's just the first of many. On to the awards!

Changing Your Tune

Jennifer Floyd-Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote a piece on why "The Cowboys never should have drafted this idiot." This 'idiot' being Dez Bryant in lieu of allegations he owes tons of money to jewelers and is having emotional issues. When I read that I thought I could've sworn she had backed the guy all year long. Well, The Big Lead did the research and quoted three different articles in which she sung his praise. She said things like, the Cowboys "absolutely must keep" him, and "The dude is a beast, one of those players teams will kick themselves for years for skipping over. Turns out, all of the "expert" reasons to draft Dez have proven valid while none of the reasons to take a pass has materialized. Not only is he dripping in raw talent, but he is an incredibly hard worker and a play-hard-no-matter-what guy."

Hindsight is 20-20. Either admit you were wrong or stick to your guns. The kid is still a tremendous talent and might still prove the doubters wrong. Or just take the safe route and hate him when he's in trouble and love him when he's producing on the field.

Biggest Stretch

I'm not very knowledgeable about the world of competitive ping pong but I've stopped on it for a few minutes here and there on ESPN2 or wherever it airs. The hand-eye coordination is impressive and the athleticism is better than expected. But Martin Rogers of ThePostGame is a bit too praise-worthy for these "athletes": Table tennis has a beauty of sorts, needing the mind of a mathematician and the athleticism of a running back.

I had to re-read these at least three times just to make sure I wasn't missing some sort of sarcasm. I'm pretty sure he means it. The athleticism of a running back? Maybe he's right and it's all in the details. It's not like he said an NFL running back. Maybe he means a middle school one. Now that makes more sense.

Giving Advice to Those Not Asking For It

David Steele of Sporting News has some advice for Jim Calhoun: retire. He wrote this even before UConn won the championship game. What is the obsession with giving advice to coaches and players on when to retire or keep playing? What's the point? I can understand speculating on whether one will or won't retire but to tell them they should is ridiculous. Let's leave that decision up to the man whose life it is.

Unfair Dig at Football Players

Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote a pretty useless columns about the joys of baseball even for those that don't love the sport: Baseball is a job for me, but also an arm's-length pleasure. Baseball doesn't require devout attention or chest-bumping passion. You can enjoy it without wallowing in it. That makes it different from football. That, and baseball's millionaires are not currently rattling their jewelry over issues of commerce.

The only reason baseball players aren't complaining is because they have an unbelievably sweet deal. Their money is guaranteed, there's little risk of concussions and long-term health problems. If you want to talk about spoiled and unfair remember that Bobby Bonillla is STILL getting paid by the Mets. And it's football players that are spoiled? Please.

Fun But Fruitless Column

Darren Everson of the Wall Street Journal made a bracket of what it would look like if college football had a 64-team March Madness bracket. He argues that the BCS has its benefits: When it comes to college football, there's no end to the constant hollering for a playoff system to replace the BCS. But it might be that college football's postseason--though flawed, detested and possibly corrupt--offers something of value that the NCAA basketball tournament often doesn't: a final slate of games that features the best overall teams playing one another (in bowl games) for all the marbles.

The problem with this is the majority of fans want something like an 8-team playoff system. I've seen people argue for 64 but it always seems like more of a joke than a real suggestion. With anywhere from a 4 to even a 16-team playoff system (I'm in favor of 6 or 8 teams) all the teams will be major programs. There couldn't possibly be too many upsets because none of those teams would be huge underdogs. The conversion bracket is clever and fun to look at but using it to show the BCS is a good thing is missing the point.