I should have asked for Monday off. Better yet, I should have requested the entire week off. It's baseball season, and I can't get enough of it. 

The only disappointing glitch, and it's a small one because I found a work around, is that the Cincinnati Reds' game isn't televised. It's the first time in 8 years, the Reds' Opening Day game won't be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2.

But as I said, it's a minor detail because I found a work around. For the first week of the season, all the games can be seen on MLB Extra Innings -- FREE. Yes, FREE. (Just putting the word "FREE" in bold makes be feel like I'm watching a late-night informercial for some Ronco product.)

For those that have Bright House networks digital package that's channels 154 through 163. Now I don't know what the channels are if you have DirecTV, but I'll know once I get in the office tonight.

So I encourage you to take the day off Tuesday and Wednesday. Maybe Thursday. Shoot, take the rest of the week off. You have my permission. And that's as good as a note from your mom in this case.

larger view

My wife is an amazing woman. I talked all Monday about how I wanted to stay up and watch the season opener for Major League Baseball. You know the Red Sox-A's game. The game at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The one that started at 6 a.m. EST, errrrrr 3 a.m. in Bakersfield.

Don't worry if you missed it. You weren't the only one. Well, I did see a few innings, thanks to my wife.

As I was saying, my wife is an amazing woman. Not only did she record the game on our DVR. But she turned the game on at 3 a.m. after she got up for one of those third trimester wakeup calls. Actually, I left the TV on all night, and she just turned the channel to ESPN2, so I could listen to the game in my sleep. Now, I don't know if she thought I'd be able to see the games in my dreams or soak in the stats through osmosis, but it worked.

Seriously. I heard the second inning of the game in my sleep. I could hear Gary Thorne's voice as he said Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out Jack Cust to end the inning with the bases loaded. Of course, in my sleep Dice-K had a shutout through six innings. When I woke up that was in fact was fantasy. I blame that on my fantasy baseball team. Dice-K is one of my pitchers, so that was the only reason I wanted to watch the game in the first place.

As a I said, I did wake up to watch Dice-K finally settle down, and the Red Sox take a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth. Our son started crying around that time, and I went to his room to change him. By the time I'd come back, the A's had taken a 4-3 lead and I decided to call it a night, errrr, early morning.

Unfortunately, my wife couldn't back to sleep because of the TV and our son. So while I went back to sleep, she paid for my selfishness.

The Red Sox and A's play again at 3 a.m. But I'm turning off the TV and letting her sleep in. She deserves it.

Well, I know how to kill two birds with one stone. It didn’t take accuracy. Just flat out laziness. My New Year’s Resolutions of working out, and maintaining this blog lasted less than two months.

Wish I had a good excuse such as a family tragedy or I perhaps I lost my fingers in a Miter saw accident. Nope. Just being lazy.

It’s time to get back on the horse, and start again.

Speaking of starting again, I’d like my NCAA brackets back. I don’t believe in mulligans on the golf course, but this might be a good chance to use one, if I had one to use. I dropped six teams after the first day. Fortunately, only two were reaching the Sweet 16 (Winthrop and USC). So I’m dead last in the office entertainment pool.

Here’s a rundown of my Final Four: North Carolina, UCLA, Pittsburgh and Georgetown. I’m going with UNC and UCLA in the championship with a Tar Heel title.

A surprise pick: Miami (Fla.) meeting Pittsburgh in the Elite Eight. Hurricane coach Frank Haith is a Gaston County (N.C.) boy. Those Tar Heel roots will show.

Mid-major shenanigans: I probably went over the top with my picks. Taking Winthrop, Kent State, Drake, Davidson and Butler. But I had, too. I love underdogs.

Well, hope your bracket is better than mine. 'Coz it won't take much.