Monday deserves to be a national holiday.

There are only 10 federal holidays in a calendar year, all of which are cause for celebration or reflection. Monday is no different. Opening Day is the celebration of our national pastime, the one sport so engrained in our culture the names of its icons have become adjectives in our lexicon.

If you have ever heard an event or feat described as Ruthian, you understand.

Major League Baseball executives and owners have taken some of the shine off Opening Day by playing games overseas and introducing the Sunday night game to capitalize on TV revenue.

Yet, those games can never replace the magic of Opening Day.

It’s the one day fans throughout baseball share the same hopes and dreams. They all believe they’re backing a potential World Series champion. And in the Windy City, where the Cubs open against the Brewers, there are legitimate reasons to be optimistic, even if this is the 100th anniversary of the Cubs’ last World Series victory.

It’s a day where the sun shines a little brighter, the grass is a little greener and the crack of the bat is a little crisper. You can smell the hot dogs, the peanuts and the popcorn. You feel like a kid again.

And you celebrate Opening Day the way everyone should.

Like it’s a holiday.

Aside from the defacto ace, the starting rotation is a collection of question marks. The leadoff hitter is finally an “everyday player” after three seasons of fighting for playing time. And the last player to make the roster is a career minor leaguer who has not had an official major league at-bat in 11 seasons in the game.

So what is there to get excited about if you’re a Cardinals fan?

There’s the maturation of Rick Ankiel, the power potential of Troy Glaus and the fact Albert Pujols appears to have an MVP swing going again.

Is that enough to compensate for the Redbirds’ deficiencies? Not completely, but it should keep the Cardinals in the middle of the pack in an improved division.

Here are my predictions for the NL and AL Division races:

NL Central            AL Central
1. Chicago            1. Detroit
2. Milwaukee        2. Cleveland
3. Cincinnati         3. Chicago
4. St. Louis           4. Minnesota
5. Houston            5. Kansas City
6. Pittsburgh

NL East                 AL East
1. Philadelphia      1. Boston
2. NY Mets             2. NY Yankees
3. Atlanta             3. Toronto
4. Washington       4. Tampa Bay
5. Florida              5. Baltimore

NL West                AL West
1. Colorado           1. Seattle
2. L.A. Dodgers     2. L.A. Angels
3. San Diego          3. Texas
4. San Francisco     4. Oakland

This column runs in the Saturday Golf Guide. We’d love to hear what some of your favorite holes are from area courses. The best responses will be used on an upcoming edition of our Sunday Game Plan section.

I must admit I’m a grip-and-rip kind of guy. Hitting a tee shot on the screws and seeing the golf ball wind up in the middle of the fairway well past the shots of your playing partners is an adrenalin rush.
It can be deflating, as well, when you get outdriven.
But it’s all part of the game.
I know our local professionals and golf instructors will remind me it’s best to “drive for show and putt for dough.” And I know they’re correct. Success in the short game, especially if you’re deft around the greens, is how you score low.
Still, there is no more sacred club in my bag than my driver.
With that in mind, it should be no surprise many of my favorite holes to play on area courses are par-5s.
I like holes that challenge you, make you think and make you take risks.
These are the holes that have humbled me — don’t ask for my scores, some of those I’ll take to the grave — and the ones I’m ready to be challenged by again.

Westview, Quincy
No. 5 — Par 5, 429 yards

To score low, you better go long.

On the shortest of Westview’s three par-5s, strategy comes into play on your second shot. Needing to carry an 80-yard wide lake that fronts the green, you must decide whether to go for the green or layup.
That depends on how well you hit your drive.

Leave it in the fairway and no more than 200 yards out and the decision is simple — go for it. Miss right and trees will block your angle to the green. Miss left and you’ll be hitting out of thick rough. That makes laying up and playing for birdie or par more reasonable.

It all depends on how low you want to go.

Arrowhead Heights, Camp Point
No. 11 — Par 4, 406 yards

It’s the ultimate risk vs. reward hole.

Set up as a dogleg right, the hole plays almost like a horseshoe with a high bank on the left side of the fairway to keep your ball in play. A good drive typically leaves you a mid-range iron to the green.
Here’s the catch.

Anyone believing they are long enough off the tee can take a shot at the green. By adjusting your stance, you create a straight shot at the green. By doing that, though, you have to carry a finger of water and several rows of small trees.

There’s the risk. The reward, if you clear the hazards, is you might carry to the green or at least be within a chip shot of the hole. That makes birdie always possible.

So, do you have the guts to try it?

Spring Lake Country Club
No. 1 — Par 4, 283 yards

One of the most aesthetically pleasing holes you will find.

You tee off with a flower-filled bank in the background and the club’s signature fountain flowing to your left. The fairway is wide enough and deep enough that most tee shots leave you with an angle to attack the green.

Just don’t snap hook your tee shot into the parking lot and through the back windshield of a Honda. Ben Marth can tell you it’s tough to get up and down from there.

With a creek running in front of the green and the road to the clubhouse behind it, you have to be precise with your approach shot. If you miss the green long, you’ll be left with a tricky chip shot that runs away from the hole.

It’s the definition of picture perfect.

Quincy Country Club
No. 13 — Par 3, 114 yards

The shorter, the easier, right?

Not in this case.

With four bunkers surrounding the green and a creek running in front of it, the hole demands accuracy with your short iron or pitching wedge. With bushes and hazards behind the green, there is little margin for error.

The challenge is to not be intimidated by the surroundings. If you stay focused on your swing, and not the hazards you could wind up in, sticking the tee shot and netting a par is possible.

Norwoods, Hannibal
No. 10 — Par 4, 374 yards

Here is where accuracy takes precedence over length.

From an elevated tee, the hole is hidden behind a treeline. To attack it, you need to drop your tee shot into the bottleneck of the fairway, which cuts through the woods. It will leave you a short iron to an elevated green that is fronted by a deep ravine.

Miss left and you take the green out of play on your second shot. Miss right and you can still find the short grass, but you’re left with a more challenge long iron shot.

Regardless of where you play your second shot from, judging distance is critical. With a green that slopes slightly back toward the ravine, you need to play your ball far enough back on the green to get a decent roll on the putt.

Three Pines, Ewing
No. 9 — Par 3, 123 yards

No hole in the region is probably more hated or more loved. It’s certainly the most talked about. And typically, the question asked when you finish a round on the nine-hole course is, “How many balls did you lose on No. 9?”

The infamous island green has humbled some of the best golfers and made weekend warriors feel like pros. Others just get plain lucky to have their ball ricochet off a railroad tie and wind up on the green.
Trust me, it does happen.

It’s the perfect hole to end your round because the elation or aggravation it creates makes you want to call it a day.

Mosswood Meadows, Monroe City
No. 8 — Par 5, 490 yards

The tee shot is everything.

Facing a row of trees about 40 yards in front of the tee box, you have two options. Pound the ball through the gap like the hole is designed for, or carry your drive over the trees and play it up the right side of the fairway.

Either way, there are hazards.

By shooting the gap, you’re bound to leave yourself a lengthy second shot, taking eagle out of play. By carrying the trees, you bring the bunkers on the right side of the fairway into play. Avoid trouble off the tee and you still have a crowned green to deal with, making it one of the tougher holes to score on.

Deer Run, Hamilton
No. 16 — Par 4, 362 yards

The back nine at the Hamilton course has some uniquely challenging holes, like No. 13 — the only par-5 in the area where hitting driver off the tee is discouraged. Yet, no hole values shot-making like No. 16.

A slight dogleg right keeps the green out of sight off the tee and forces you to play a slight fade to avoid hitting into the pine trees than line the left side of the fairway. Trees to the immediate right keep you from trying to cut the corner and go straight for the green.

A shallow creek runs in front of the green, meaning you can’t run a worm burner close. You need to get some height with your approach shot if you want to score low.

Jackson Park, Palmyra
No. 2 — Par 5, 477 yards

Play this hole enough and you’re bound to see someone walking on the far side of the railroad tracks in search of an errant tee shot. It might even be you.

It has been me.

The tracks run down the left side of the hole, which curves like a banana from tee to green. But with room to bail out to the right, keeping the ball in play isn’t always an issue. Attacking the green can be.
With mounds surrounding the green, don’t expect your ball to get on a roll and trickle its way to the putting surface. You have to be accurate, although if you miss long, you should be able to get up and down.

— mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366

Chicks may dig the long ball, but fantasy owners did the changeup.

It makes pitching top priority.

This is the one thing on which major league owners and fantasy owners will agree. The deeper your pitching staff, the better the opportunity for success. The better your bullpen, the less likely you are to blow games.

It’s a lesson I learned the hard way last season.

In my first year in more than a decade as a fantasy owner, I traded quality pitching for better bats. I ended up with a relatively potent lineup with a good mix of speed (Hanley Ramirez) and power (David Wright, Manny Ramirez).

What I didn’t have was any kind of consistency in my pitching staff, and the end result was a last-place finish in our league.

So I tried a new tactic during our recent auction. I still have some power in the middle of my lineup, which is anchored by Miguel Cabrera and Vladimir Guerrero, but I made sure I bought enough arms to make my staff formidable. At least I hope so.

My seven-man starting staff includes the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright, the Braves’ John Smoltz, the Padres’ Chris Young, the Blue Jays’ Shaun Marcum, the A’s Joe Blanton, the Mariners’ Miguel Batista (right) and the Mets’ Oliver Perez.

Five of the seven won 14 or more games last year, all seven had winning records and Young (9-8) was the only one not to reach double digits in victories. Their combined winning percentage of .591 has me encouraged, as does having two relievers — the Red Sox’s Jonathan Papelbon and the Indians’ Joe Borowski — who combined for 92 saves last season.

Will the strategy to invest in pitching get my out of the cellar?

Or will it send me back to drawing board frustrated with my team’s performance once again?

If you’re looking for upset specials, this isn’t the bracket to peruse. Click on the image to the left and you can see all the picks I made.

I picked only one team seeded lower than No. 8 to survive the first weekend. Why? This bracket appears very top heavy, and I can’t imagine a George Mason coming out of nowhere this year. I don’t believe history will be made with all four No. 1 seeds reaching the Final Four, but Cinderella doesn’t dance either.

O’Brien and Goldberg also posted their brackets on their blogs. Whose bracket do you think has the best chance at producing the correct Final Four? Check them out and let us know.

My Final Four: East Regional — Tennessee. If Chris Lofton gets hot, there is no shooter more dangerous in the country. Midwest Regional — Georgetown. The big man in the middle makes all the difference. South Regional — Memphis. I’ve been on the Tigers’ bandwagon all season. The Rose is about to bloom. West Regional — UCLA. Experience matters, and the Bruins have it.

Don’t be surprised if: Since I have to pick one, Davidson could be the one to wear Cinderella’s slipper. The Wildcats lost to North Carolina and Duke by a combined 10 points and gave UCLA a game early in the season. Stephen Curry is dynamite. However, I don’t have any team seeded higher than No. 3 getting to the Elite Eight.

My long shot special: The Fighting Irish might become the Crying Irish if Winthrop gets on a roll. Notre Dame could meet Winthrop in the second round, and if the hype ESPN is creating about Winthrop’s Michael Jenkins is to be believed, then the Eagles have a shot at surviving the first weekend.

The Herald-Whig will release its 2007-08 all-area boys and girls basketball teams this weekend, along with the Player and Coach of the Year honors. The girls honorees will appear in Saturday’s paper, with the boys honorees to follow in Sunday’s paper.

The Herald-Whig has put together a 10-player first team, a 10-player second team and a list of honorable mention for both boys and girls. Players were selected from a list of nominations provided by area coaches.

The Player and Coach of the Year honors, which along with the first- and second-team picks were selected by the Herald-Whig sports staff, are bound to spark some debate. The decision-making process led us to four very deserving candidates, whose performances this season stack up with those honored in previous years.

We hope you enjoy the end-of-the-season packages and welcome all comments and opinions.

The finish to Friday’s Class 4A state semifinal between Zion-Benton and Evanston is being lauded as one of the best finishes in the history of the Illinois state tournament.

With the score tied at 51 and less than two seconds showing on the clock, Zion-Benton’s Ronald Stewart stole an errant pass and launched a 43-foot desperation shot at the buzzer that inexplicably banked in for a 54-51 victory.

“Fifteen years from now, it’s still gonna be replaying in my head,” Steward told the Chicago Sun-Times.

But how many people, 15 years from now, will be able to say they saw it in person?

Early Thursday evening, the marketing director for the Peoria Civic Center faxed a press release to media outlets statewide with the headline, “Thousands of Tickets Available Friday For IHSA Games This Weekend.”

Thousands? For the state tournament?

The Peoria Civic Center holds more than 11,000 for basketball, which makes you wonder just how many tickets were actually sold. Often, the IHSA will announce it has tickets remaining for state tournament events, typically advertising there are “hundreds” still to be purchased.

The fax made the situation seem desperate. It might be. The IHSA counts on the gate from the state tournament events to cover its operating costs, and the loss of thousands of dollars in ticket revenue would be damaging.

That would make the IHSA Board of Directors face a tough question.

Why did the fans stay away?

Steve Yount’s decision to return to East Moline for at least one more season as the Panthers boys basketball coach is a boon for the Western Big Six Conference.

The league’s reputation as a basketball power was built by feisty, fiery coaches. It was Sherrill Hanks, John Thiel, Cliff Talley and Whitey Verstraete that gave the conference character. It was Duncan Reid and Jerry Leggett who made Friday nights the main attraction. It was Loren Wallace, Frank Dexter and Larry Schulte who carried their competitive fire into every WB6 gym.

It’s the loss of those characters that has hurt the league.

Across the board, the WB6 is blessed with talented coaches and incredible people. Sit down and talk to any of the coaches before or after a game and you’ll find them engaging, entertaining and knowledgeable.

From tip to buzzer, though, you want a do-all-I-can-to-win attitude. You want a coach who can be a little antagonistic and bombastic, one who opposing fans respect but never truly like because their teams play with so much energy and grit.

Yount coaches like that. So does Quincy’s Sean Taylor. It’s made for an engaging series between their two teams. There’s genuine respect between the coaches and a camaraderie you see when the two talk before games.

There’s also a rivalry. It has yet to reach the Hanks-Thiel or Leggett-Reid level, but Taylor-Yount is the best the WB6 can produce right now. So fans should be thankful Yount made the decision to return. The WB6 needed him.

Michael Beasley or Tyler Hansbrough?

Let the debate begin.

Beasley, the 6-foot-10 freshman forward from Kansas State, was named as the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year on Tuesday after posting mind-boggling numbers.
He is averaging 26.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game with 26 double-doubles this season.

By season’s end, his name will be littered throughout the Big 12 and NCAA record books. That typically would make him an easy pick for the national player of the year, but this isn’t a typical season.

Thank Hansbrough for that.

The North Carolina junior forward is the ACC’s leading scorer and rebounder and has engineered the Tar Heels’ rise to the No. 1 spot in the national polls. The best player on the best team often reaps the rewards.

So who would be your choice? The freshman phenom or the veteran workhorse?

I’ll take Hansbrough for his grit, determination and toughness and the fact he may be hoisting the NCAA Championship trophy come the first Monday in April.

Six years ago, before Southern Illinois University made its run to the Sweet Sixteen or Bradley found its way onto the cover of Sports Illustrated, the Missouri Valley Conference flew below the radar.

Regionally, few could find better basketball. Yet, the four-day MVC Tournament — something that has become an early March staple in St. Louis — was over and done before any of the major conferences even tipped off their tournament. The MVC’s championship game was forgotten by the end of Championship Week.

My, oh my, how that has changed.

Sunday, the MVC championship game takes center stage. For the second year in a row, it will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. on CBS, receiving national exposure unlike it ever has. And it’s giving fans more than just great action. There are intriguing story lines and teams fighting for their postseason lives.

Drake is a Cinderella story beyond the MVC borders, a program that last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1971 and has piqued national interest under head coach Keno Davis, the son of former Iowa coach Tom Davis.

Southern Illinois, with a 17-13 record, is hoping to win its way into the Big Dance for the seventh straight season. And Illinois State and Creighton, already with 20 or more victories apiece, want to strengthen their postseason resume.

What that means is Arch Madness will be as entertaining as any of the tournaments that steal the spotlight during Championship Week. And fans coast to coast get to see why.