THESE Are The February “Blahs??”

The post-Super Bowl/pre-March Madness period we’re currently mired in is traditionally known as the “February Blahs.”

Meaning mid-season NBA, NCAA, and NHL games are best summed up – not with a word or phrase – rather a primitive grunt (and for me, full-extension tongue stick-out).

While true for the most part, TODAY is the exception. Just take a look at the lineup we have in sports tonight:

(***Picture Explanation: This is how all primates should cope with the February Blahs.)

-Yankees = Spring opener with A-Rod homerun
-Mets = Spring opener with Luis Castillo four RBI game (not a typo)
-Tiger Woods = Making his return to competitive golf
-Giants = Signing Brandon Jacobs to a four-year deal
-Jets = Cutting Laveranues Coles
-Knicks = Hosting Dwight Howard and the Magic (Dwight vs. Nate)
-Nets = First game since Devon Harris’ miracle shot
-Stephon Marbury = Knicks react to his departure
-Rangers = John Tortorella debut with Blue Shirts
-Devils = Announce Martin Brodeur’s return (and Scott Clemensen’s demotion)
-Islanders = Facing the Penguins (without Sidney Crosby)

My goodness! Our job here is to fill a 3:30 (give or take :30 seconds in either direction) sportscast. On any given February evening, this is a Herculean task. Tonight was that rarest of evenings where the question wasn’t “what do we show tonight,” rather, “what DON’T we show??”

With the exception of the Islanders, Nets and MAYBE the Devils, ANY of these stories could be considered lead-story material. Certainly a problem, but for us, a nice problem to have.

I’m writing this blog PRIOR to tonight’s sportscast, but having seen our lineup, I’m sure it’ll be a solid show brimming with everything you need to know about the day’s top stories.

Just pray for Lolita, she’s the one who has to read all this stuff! She’s currently going over her scripts with that guy who used to read commercials super fast. Remember him?

And you know what? Now that I look at tomorrow’s sports schedule, it’s pretty much the same thing. Mets/Yanks, Tiger, Rangers, Isles, Devils. Not bad for the “February Blahs.”

Matt Estreich for The Huddle