Here’s a fun game for you baseball fanatics being put on by the good folks at VegasWatch.

They give you the 2009 over/under win totals for each team, you pick 10 (overs or unders) and rank them according to confidence. They keep track of how you’re trending through the year, and whoever wins first place pockets $500. (2nd place is a 6-month subscription to RotoWire)

Here’s their Win Totals:

Arizona- 86.5
Atlanta- 83.5
Baltimore- 73.5
Boston- 94.5
Chicago C- 91.5
Chicago W- 79.5
Cincinnati- 80.5
Cleveland- 85.5
Colorado- 77.5
Detroit- 82.5
Florida- 76.5
Houston- 74.5
Kansas City- 75.5
LA Angels- 89.5
LA Dodgers- 82.5
Milwaukee- 80.5
Minnesota- 83.5
NY Mets- 88.5
NY Yankees- 97.5
Oakland- 81.5
Philadelphia- 87.5
Pittsburgh- 69.5
San Diego- 71.5
San Francisco- 80.5
Seattle- 72.5
St. Louis- 82.5
Tampa Bay- 87.5
Texas- 73.5
Toronto- 80.5
Washington- 71.5

If you want to play along, head on over to their site for all the details.

So, any of these stand out to you as pretty good bets?

A few months ago I mentioned that I’m looking to book a few speaking engagements this year and since then I’ve had a few email requests from PFB readers asking for samples of my speaking. If that was you, or if you’re interested in hearing/seeing what I look like as a communicator, you can check out yesterday’s post on my personal blog.

I’ve got audio of a couple talks I’ve given available there, as well as a video clip and some more info for booking me and my schnoz.

And while none of those samples feature me waxing poetic on anything sports-related, Idl be happy to come to your church or house or men’s group or youth group or college group and talk sports too.

PFB Member Eric G. is looking for a few good owners to join his fantasy baseball league. It’s a 20-team mixed league with active owners. If you’re interested, shoot him an email at: ericgeisbert13(at)gmail.com.

What: Arnold Palmer Invitational

Where: Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Can I play there: No you may not, unless that is you join the club, for $30,000.

What to watch for: Tiger and Padraig, winners of the last three majors, will play in the same group on Thursday and Friay.

Who will win: How about Jeev Milkha Singh, who’s name sounds like delicious dessert drink.

Tiger Watch: Tiger will be defending his title at Arnie’s tourney, where last year he did this….

Chad Watch: I played 72 holes this past weekend, in a grudge match with four friends, with the winner getting a free round of golf at Ross Bridge next month. I shot 79,82,83,81 and won by 12 strokes. Three cheers for me! Also, I was invited to play Shoal Creek this Thursday, but the weather is not cooperating, so we’re pushing it back to next week. Expect a full report.

a few things to check out while you rank shortstops for your upcoming fantasy draft…

+ Cleveland State Coach Gary Waters is coming across as a modern day Moses, and apparently he’s made believers out of his staff: “God sent Moses to free Israel. God sent Gary Waters to resurrect Cleveland State,” assistant coach Jayson Gee said. How does the team break huddles, you ask? “One, two, three – submit!” Not kidding.

+ Some Catholics are upset that the Detroit Tigers home opener is on Good Friday at 1pm. “It’s like Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday rolled into one,” said Michael Ochab, 47, a Hamtramck Catholic who will skip Opening Day for the first time in 20 years. Wow, I never realized Catholics had so much fun at baseball games. And here I just usually go to watch baseball.

+ DID YOU KNOW: Only Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon are exempt from a federal sports-betting ban because they had a form of sports betting when the law was enacted. Because of this loophole, the governor of Delaware has proposed a sports lottery to help make money for the First State. Says Bob Simpson, associate executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware:

“I am well aware of the dramatic change that has occurred within American culture. I get that we as Bible-believing Christians are swimming upstream on most things related to both faith and family values,” Simpson said. “But it just seems to me that, in spite of what the pro-gambling folks tell us, more good could come if we solidly defeat any and all gambling initiatives.”

+ We’ve added our 41st member to the PFB Member Party! Welcome Tyler B, a fan of the Minnesota Twins.

If you’d like to be a member, and sound off on sports related topics throughout the year, send a headshot and your favorite team to prayersforblowouts(at)gmail.com. Membership is as free as Michael Vick will be in a few months.

Before last night there were 1000 reasons why I couldn’t do play-by-play for ESPN like Jon Miller.

Now there’s 1001.

Sorry, but there’s no way I could have announced this at bat without turning into a 12-year old.

I didn’t watch the thrilling finish, but congrats to Japan on their win!

I’m sure Bum and the rest of the South Korean team are feeling like they got kicked in the Ho Lee last night. (see, there I go…)

Friday night’s finishes were amazing, weren’t they? Can’t get enough of those season-ending buzzer beaters.

One of the guys we were with noticed an angry security guard ripping the John 3:16 sign out of the one dude’s hands behind the Siena bench. Apparently someone else noticed it too, and posted the video.

I want to know…nay, everyone wants to know. What does your bracket look like after Day 1?

I went an impressive 15 for 16. (Losing only Butler, who I did not have in my Sweet 16). Puts my entry, The Great and Powerful Schnoz, atop the leaderboard after 24 hours.

Oh, and you know what? This is probably a good time to remind everyone who won the Burnside Brackets last year:

(pay no attention to that 9th place finish in baseball and last place finish in football last year…I focused all my energy on winning my baseball keeper league)

Moving on…here’s a few thoughts from the handful of minutes I watched on Thursday…

+ Memphis won’t win another game until November unless they pick it up.

+ If you thought Gonzaga was just a name, you were wrong. They’ll give UNC a run for their money if they meet.

+ Duke got a break yesterday with a Binghamton team that was playing like they ate Ephedra before tipoff.

+ I’d put even money on any of those 4 lower East Region teams to make it to the Great 8. UCLA, Nova, Duke, and Texas all have strengths and flaws. (though right now I’d give the edge to Duke).

+ Watching the games online on March Madness On Demand is pretty amazing. I checked it out yesterday at work just to see what it was like and was amazed.

So let’s hear it, how many out of 16 do you have right so far?

(and if you’ve got multiple brackets, give us your best one)

And if you have any other insights on the games, please share for those of us who didn’t watch all the action…

I have to admit something to you. March Madness isn’t what it once used to be for me. I know, I know…I’m sorry. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

You see, when I was in college, few things were more important to me than college hoops. In fact, I remember getting a copy of the USA Today early in the 96-97 school year solely because they had printed a schedule of every game that would be on television during the upcoming season. I remember cutting it out of the paper and tacking it onto the frame of my lofted bed, then copying all the games down into a notebook just so I could have a second, more portable, copy. (and I claimed to never have time for homework. yeah, right.)

Of course, while I was involved in this monumental waste of time, my roommate Matt happened to see that I was up to something and asked me what I was up to. “Ummm…making a second copy of the college basketball TV schedule,” I said, trying to make it sound like thousands of other students across the country were doing the exact same, completely normal, thing. “What the heck are you doing that for?” he asked. I had no good answer. “Have you even read your Bible today,” he asked me piously. (Okay, maybe it wasn’t piously, but it felt like it at the time). “Ummm…No, not really,” I said as I put the notebook away. Pious or not, he had a point.

My love for College Basketball and the tournament was still going strong almost 5 years later. It was the first day of the Tournament in March 2001 and life as a college student was in the rear view mirror. Like much of the American workforce, Matt and I were stuck at our desks, staring at the CBS Sports online scoreboard. Streaming video of the games was nothing more than a pipe dream at that point, but CBS was at least streaming audio of the games online. Unfortunately for Matt, his company’s web filters had blocked the audio. Fortunately for Matt, they couldn’t block me. For 90 minutes I sat at my desk – earbud in my left ear, phone stuck to my right ear, giving Matt hushed play by play of all the close finishes. Gus Johnson would have been proud.

By 2004 I was still into college hoops, but the passion was starting to wane. Matt and I each took a half day off on the opening Thursday of the tournament and met at a local sports restaurant where we parked ourselves in a booth for 5 solid hours. It was a great time; onion rings in one hand and a pair of highlighters in the other. Honestly though, it was just as much about the hang as it was about the basketball. I don’t remember how many upsets I nailed that day, I just remember having a great time with a good friend.

This year? I’ll keep track of the scores throughout the afternoon, but I won’t be spending any vacation time to watch the games. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not taking a moral stance against the obsessive nature of the tourney or anything. If college hoops is your thing, then this is your Christmas. By all means, enjoy it. Soak it in and revel in it.

And though I’m not as geeked up about it as I used to be, I think I’ll still give Matt a call this afternoon just to see how his brackets are doing. Because if there’s one thing that will never get old to me about sports, it’s the bond they give to friendships that make them that much stronger.

So, good luck in your brackets everyone. (and if you start feeling bad because you’re into your 6th hour of basketball viewing and you haven’t even thought about reading your Bible yet, don’t blame me, blame Matt.)

As for my picks, I’ve got Louisville beating Memphis and Pittsburgh beating UNC in the Final Four, with Pittsburgh beating Louisville to cut down the nets on April 6th. First the Steelers and now the Pitt Panthers? Maybe this is the year of the ‘burgh.

So who you got?

(and yeah, there’s still time until tip-off to join our Yahoo! Picks Group. League ID is 96743 and password is “burnside”. We’ve got 46 folks and counting…winner gets their choice of a PFB T-shirt or a beating.)

Here at PFB we love to let our members spout off their opinions on anything and everything.

This week we were curious about what our members thought of the World Baseball Classic

(FYI…these opinions were all submitted before the USA’s dramatic comeback win last night.)

Here’s what they said…

	I have none, because I really don’t care about it at all. I find it about as compelling as the Goodwill Games.
	how many days until football starts back?
	In sports, WBC stands for both World Baseball Classic and World Boxing Council. Both are equally irrelevant.
	I think the WBC is great, it’s about time we got a grown-up Little League World Series.
	A great idea, but why does it have to happen during Spring Training, when no one’s in shape yet and when everyone’s worried about staying healthy for the season? Do it in November.
	I like the WBC. It is a chance to see some players play for pride and nothing else. Also, as we saw last year, it’s about the team and not the individuals. The team with the most MLB All Stars is not guaranteed to win (i.e. the Netherlands beating the Dominicans)
	The only thing I like about this is the fact that there are a few “no names” on the different teams that are actually pretty impressive. And I like baseball. And I’m desperate for anything that’s baseball (or football) since it’s JUST now Spring Training.
	Does anyone else think it is weird that some countries have cheerleaders for baseball?! Or, maybe we (the Americans) are the weird the ones for not having cheerleaders.
	I don’t care for the WBC at all. Three reasons: First, it takes MLB players away from their real teams in a time where they are supposed to be preparing for the season. Yes, Derek Jeter can still get his workouts done, but he’s the captain of the Yankees, and he’s not there to be a leader in the clubhouse as the team prepares for the season. Second, there’s the risk of injury while the player is away from his team. Yes, players could be injured while playing for their real team, but I’ve tried to look at this from the owners’ perspective. If I were to pay someone millions of dollars to play baseball, I’d be furious if they were injured while playing with another team. Third, it takes away from the excitement of spring training. I go down to Florida with my dad every year, and we’ve got to be careful to schedule our trip after the WBC so we don’t miss all the players that are away. That’s not usually a problem, but one year we were down there for a day or so before the WBC players got back. Those days were not nearly as great as the rest of that trip.
	Going into it, I thought it was a waste of time. However, I have really enjoyed watching the first couple games. US / Canada had me on the edge of my seat, and now I’m strongly pulling for the US to win this thing. I will be watching from here on out.
	I love love love baseball, so I’m a fan. I don’t think the US really gets into it like the rest of the world, but I think it’s a good idea.
	I have been slowly descending into rabid baseball fandom (at this rate, Bryan, you’ll need to change my team logo to the Hanging Sox by mid June), spending all of my tax refund on baseball related items; the final tally is one 59Fifty Red Sox Hat, one membership to Red Sox Nation, three tickets to go see the Red Sox play at Fenway in July, one two year subscription to ESPN The Magazine(for the Insider treatment), one 2009 Curt Schilling away Red Sox Jersey(my first jersey, and yeah, i realize he’s not with the team anymore, and yeah, i’ll argue my reasoning in the comments), and one Premium Level subscription to MLB.TV. This last thing has been my conduit to my phenomenal World Baseball Classic experience. I’ve gotten to see most of the games in all pools, and greatly enjoyed the sites outside of the Major League stadiums(Toronto was kind of a crappy site for this, frankly), from the 55,000 Japanese and Korean fans packing out the Tokyo Dome, chanting and singing, and making it feel more like a soccer match than a baseball game, to the AMAZING 11-inning thriller of a pitcher’s duel that was Dominican Republic-Netherlands II in San Juan, and the Cuban trumpeters and the flawless play-by-play of Charlie Steiner in Mexico City. I’m hoping that the U.S. games are as great, and deliver as unique an experience that the Pool games have.
	Actually into the WBC. Not sure if it’s because it coincided with our first day of beautiful weather in which i started softball practice, or if it’s because i just like watching baseball, but I’ve watched the better part of 3 games. And i plan on following team USA. Certainly better than watching spring training games.
	You know, this was the first year I had ever heard of the World Baseball Classic. I watch some of the US/Venezuela game. Personally I thought it was a waste of time, 15 to 6? I don’t know, like I said, this was the first time I had even heard about it. I could be wrong, there could be some amazing games out there. But they are anything like the US/Ven game, I wouldn’t waste my time.
	really, really, really want to get into the WBC the same way I get into World Cup soccer every four years. It’s baseball and I love baseball. But even a game loaded with Major League stars like last night’s USA/Venezuela match-up didn’t completely hold my attention. It’s a great idea and I want it to succeed. It just makes me realize that the thing I like most about baseball is following my favorite team, not a team filled with a bunch of players I would otherwise be rooting against during the regular season. The most enjoyable part of the game last night was seeing Mark DeRosa play, but even that was a bummer when I was reminded that I’m still in denial over his trade to the Indians. Ditto for Team USA’s Saturday game, which was a reality check of the Jake Peavy trade that didn’t happen. That said, the WBC sure beats a month of utterly meaningless and impossible to watch spring training games. And the Netherlands upset of the Dominican Republic was pretty awesome to read about.

Want to be a member and have your voice heard? Email a headshot and your favorite team to prayersforblowouts(at)gmail.com and you’re in!