23-year-old slugger Billy Butler had a breakout year in 2009. (photo credit: SportsGrumblings.com)

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On Thursday night, I became a Texas Longhorn fan for the course of the BCS National Championship game. At kickoff, a good story was in the air – fourth-year quarterback Colt McCoy was facing off against Heisman trophy-winner, Alabama’s Mark Ingram.

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Yet it was only five plays into their offensive game plan and the Republic of Texas’ one and only protagonist McCoy went lame. He was injured. Injured badly. The tackle from the Alabama defensive lineman came at the end of an uneventful run — it certainly didn’t look like the breed of hit that would render him medically ineligible. The senior quarterback found his way to the sideline and medical staff gave him immediate attention. As he sat down on the turf behind team benches, countless bodies surrounded him. At this point, I joked that he was on the phone, praying with Tim Tebow for a few divine play calls for use later in the game. Locker room x-rays would later show no conclusive injury, but the pain spoke enough for experts on the Texas sideline: this was a shoulder injury.

There was plenty of heroism from Alabama’s running back duo of Ingram and Trent Richardson in the second quarter, who each finished with 100 yards rushing on the evening. And when Nick Saban led Alabama to a final score of 37-21, it was clear that he had heroically coached this program to their first National Title since 1992.

Every part of me wanted McCoy to return in the third quarter, inspire his troops and march the burnt siena army downfield for magical second-half scores. Because there’s something different about the story of a ballgame when the lead character is a gun-slinging cowboy having climbed from humble ranks of 2A Texas high school gridiron play to the biggest game of the year in college football. (McCoy’s high school team is coached by his father, making the elements of which a screenplay fit only for Disney cinema.)

McCoy as valiant injury-overcoming gladiator would’ve made for much better story. As a fan, that’s what I wanted. That’s what sweet-tea drinkers and Chevy truck-owners everywhere wanted. Something American. Something bold. The stuff of legends.

Best of luck, Colt. I hope you are the sort of QB prototype that NFL scouts, coaches and teams find attractive.

The time has arrived. It’s opening day for the 2009 baseball season.

I’m a big baseball fan, and while some of my friends can’t stand a 162-game season, I am thrilled in watching games through the entire summer. Here are my pennant-winning predictions for this year:

Regular Season Pennant Winners.

NL Central: St. Louis
NL East: NY Mets
NL West: San Diego
Wildcard: Florida (2nd place: Chicago Cubs)

AL Central: Minnesota
AL East: Boston
AL West: LA Angels of Anaheim
Wildcard: Tampa Bay (2nd place: NY Yankees)

World Series: LA Angels over St. Louis in 6