General: Ramble on

Ok, I'm just going to flat out say it: I don't like Curt Schilling.

No, it's not the Yankee fan in me that despises the man because we lost the 2001 World Series when he was in Arizona or the fact that he pitches for Boston now, it's just the egotistical way about him that annoys me.

Schilling loves to voice his opinions, from when he was unhappy in Philly with the way management spent their money to the slow building of the Phillies' new Citizen Bank Park.

Now Schilling is putting his two cents in on the steroids issue.

On Wednesday, Schilling stated that he and other major league players would be willing to submit to steroid testing as long as the teams' owners were not involved in the administration of the tests.

Schilling said if an independent third party tested the players, he and the rest of baseball would be pleased to do it.

However, Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, stated that a third party was already involved and that Schilling's comments were "misinformed."

In response to Manfred, Schilling surprisingly did not have an opinion and asserted, "I'm not going to comment on it right now. I'd rather see it in the context it was given."

Although I agree with Schilling that steroids and all drugs for that matter need to be eliminated from the game, I think that it draws more unnecessary attention to the situation when you have a player, such as Schilling, who is challenging MLB without the correct evidence.

Bud Selig has tried to have minimal discussion of steroids; however, Schilling has joined some players that are speaking out against the testing policy.

Like many other situations in the past, Schilling shared his views and tried to take control.

By the way Curt, I really enjoyed the lawn press conference you held this past winter.

There better be enough room for both Pedro and Schilling's egos in Boston.

With the start of the baseball season a little more than a week away, I hope that the concentration will be on the games rather than drug testing.

The 2004 season promises to be an exciting one, ranging from the Sox/Yanks rivalry, A-rod at third, the Pettitte and Clemens' love affair to the Cubs' rotation, the Phillies' potential, and the dismantled Marlins.

* One day down, and no need to pull out the white-out yet...

With the first day of the NCAA men's tournament almost complete, there were only two upsets -- 12th-seeded Manhattan knocked off fifth-seeded Florida, 75-60 and 10th-seeded Nevada beat seventh-seeded Michigan State, 72-66. Manhattan won its first tournament game since 1995 when they defeated Oklahoma. They next meet fourth-seeded Wake Forest on Saturday. Nevada rallied late against Michigan State to gain its first victory in a tournament game. They most likely will play Gonzaga in the next round on Saturday as well.

Thirty-four games in two days and not enough CBSs to carry all of them in their entirety. Too bad CBS doesn't own ESPN, so some of the games could be shown in full instead of the 2003 U.S. Poker Championship. I love to go to Vegas and play me some cards as the next person, but we're talking March Madness here. Despite the two upsets, my brackets are ok since I did not put Florida or Michigan State past the second round. My final four picks are: Kentucky, Duke, Pittsburgh and UConn, although a part of me is also pulling for Gonzaga.

* Skills Man...

Brian Leetch. Since going to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 3rd, the former New York Ranger has had 11 points in the past eight games. Thursday against the hurting Philadelphia Flyers, Leetch scored two goals and assisted on Gary Robert's goal to put the Leafs past the Flyers 3-2. His two goals gave him 26 career goals against the Flyers- his most against any team during his 17 seasons. With the playoffs around the corner, Leetch, 36, has proven that he will be a vital asset to Toronto's run.

Any random thoughts: email, devilgirl30365@yahoo.com.

No, I am not a Satan worshipper, but a New Jersey Devils fan. Go Brodeur!