Signs of Spring

Hit the road again last week, not for a fishing trip or high school basketball, but for a family wedding in Ponte Vedra Beach. My first trip to that part of the world, and it's lovely, of course. The bride, one of my first cousins, grew up in Tallahassee but wanted to get married on a beach. She chose wisely.

So I'm outside on the patio at the Surf Club at the Ponte Vedra Inn on Saturday evening, dressed in full wedding regalia, enjoying the company of various aunts, uncles, and second-cousins-once-removed that I haven't seen in a while. Perfect night. Reminded me of my own wedding, more than eight years ago, held on a similarly pristine evening in Orlando. Good times, good vibes.

My father caught my eye from across the patio and motioned me over, a serious look on his face. I thought, perhaps, that he wanted to place his arm on my shoulder and share some of those memories from another nuptial of long ago - mine, from January of '98, or perhaps even his own, from December of '65. A family moment, the sort of thing that happens in every corner during a wedding.

At that moment on Saturday, he leaned in close, and I'll never forget his words to me:

"Second half. Gators up by 19."

Only then did I notice the earbuds and portable radio in his pocket. Welcome to March Madness.

While pondering the Florida Gators' run to tonight's National Championship game, ponder this:

The Miami Heat's record over February and March: 20-5. A ten-game winning streak, which ended with a loss to Golden State on March 10, was followed by another five-game winning streak. Tell me again how the Heat are sleepwalking into the playoffs?

And there's this: The Orlando Magic have won nine of their last 13, and didn't lose a home game in March. Meanwhile, Tracy McGrady has missed 24 games for Houston this season due to back trouble, and hasn't seen the floor since March 12. All conversations about "losing T-Mac and getting nothing in return" will now cease.

While the Heat have already clinched the Southeast Division, the Magic wake up on Monday morning to find themselves five and a half games behind the Sixers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with nine games to play.

So which is more improbable: a team that was 20 games under .500 as recently as March 6 still alive in a playoff race, or a team that lost three straight SEC games to close the month of February now playing for a national title?

And does an NIT Championship now make South Carolina's two wins over Florida this season a little more excusable?

Good week for sports fans. NCAA Championship game, Opening Day in Major League Baseball, and the Masters. Harbingers of spring tend to lose their weight when viewed from Florida, where it's always golf season, but I'll buy the whole "renewal" thing for this week.

Enjoy the game.