We are almost in the month of March, and I couldn't be more excited. Yes, March is my birth month, but it's way more than that. March is, IMO, the best month in the sports calendar. I consider September and October close behind, but I really love the month of March as a sports fan. Here's what I and other sports fans can look forward to in the third month of the year:

NCAA March Madness - Of course, college basketball enters the process of crowning the annual National Champion, beginning with the conference tournaments and then, the big dance! 68 teams, 68 colleges competing to become the National Champion. What I love about the tournament is that the first round sees games on all day, and because I live in SoCal, that means college basketball as early as 9AM Pacific Standard Time. It's a really nice feeling to wake up to actual live sports on TV.

Spring football - The new wrinkle added to the sports calendar is springtime football. We've been treated to some semblance of spring football since 2019, beginning with the now defunct Alliance of American Football, which didn't even last a full season. 2020 saw the return of the XFL, but that season ended up halted due to the incoming pandemic. In 2022, the USFL was resurrected and returned to play, and it was followed by the second return of the XFL a year later in 2023. This year, we have the United Football League, which is the new result of the XFL and USFL merging a few months prior. The UFL season starts on March 30.

MLB begins - The Major League Baseball season opens at the near end of March, and spring training actually starts today. The opening of the MLB season has varied big time, even in recent years, seasons have started in early April, but we have seen the season start in the end of March, making this a 6 1/2 month long season.

NBA and Stanley Cup Playoff Push - The centerpiece of the month of March is the chase for playoff spots in the NBA and the NHL. March is the final full month of both seasons, with April serving as that final sprint to the finish line. Every game played from March 1 on becomes highly important, and the promotions on TV are always amazing. As a hockey fan, I'm still grateful to NBC for their efforts to bring hockey back to prominence after the crippling lockout, and part of that was promoting the regular season's home stretch as the "Push for the Playoffs." Now, ESPN's heavily promoting that home stretch in the NHL, as well as the NBA, with TNT doing the same. 

March is a very, very fun month for sports fans, and the month is almost here!