An '08 Upturn?

Watched the aforementioned UNC-Duke game yesterday. The girl came over and cheered for Duke (yecch!). I'm not sure if it was because she just wanted to cheer for the other team or not (she claims it was because she like Duke's crowd) but either way, it made watching the game pretty darn fun. Thanks to the DizzoDreams momentum, my Tar Heels won out and all but clinched a #1 Seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3284276&categoryId=2459792&n8pe6c=2

With UNC doing so well, it got me to thinking about the 2008 sports year. 2007 was one of the worst sports years of my life with regards to my favorite teams. A recap:

MLB - Seattle Mariners -- Become baseball's biggest surprise as they earn the third-best in the Majors through the first four months of the season. Then a managerial switch from Hell (Mike Hargrove out, John McLaren in) happened a little over halfway through the year and the baffling decisions that resulted made for a sleep-robbingly painful collapse in late-August. The Mariners missed the playoffs but kept Bill Bavasi (the GM) and John McLaren on board. Also, RICK WHITE!
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/30/indians-walk-all-over-white-ms/

NFL - Seattle Seahawks -- 10 of 11 starters on offense got hurt during the season, but the team fought through and has a pleasant run in the playoffs (thanks to Tony Romo's gaffe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZvyfswknL8). They were the one bright spot in my sports year.

NBA - Portland Trailblazers -- Have one of the worst records in the NBA and the worst season in team history. Then, amazingly, they beat all odds in the draft and win the rights to pick superstar-in-waiting-and-savior-of-basketball Greg Oden. Then, this:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2007/09/13/2007-09-13_greg_oden_likely_to_miss_200708_nba_seas.html
Remember, the Blazers are the ones who infamously drafted Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in 1984.

NCAA Football - Notre Dame Fighting Irish -- My Golden-Domed favorites, the most storied program in college football, had an all-time worst season. Going 3-9, they became the punchline of the sporting world. They lost badly and to bad teams.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/teams/schedule?teamId=87

NCAA Basketball - North Carolina Tar Heels -- Despite earning a #1 Seed in the NCAA Tournament, UNC lost in heart-breaking fashion to Georgetown in the Elite Eight Round. Holding a lead late into the game, the Tar Heels went ice-cold down the stretch and shot themselves right out of a chance at the National Championship.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/17788284/

Nevertheless, after spending a calender year getting kicked in the gut, 2008 is signaling bright new hope. If you're still reading this, let me show you why I'm excited:

MLB - Seattle Mariners -- Building off of the momentum from their surprising record last year, the M's made the Erik Bedard deal that i mentioned a few posts ago. While this may be a long-term detriment, it stands to improve the Mariners hopes this season (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/02/05/bedard0211/). On top of that, many of their key players are looking great in Spring Training.

NFL - Seattle Seahawks -- After revamping the defense and keeping the offense intact, Seattle made another run to the second round of the playoffs. A wild first-round playoff game was clinched by Marcus Trufant in the 4th quarter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epHKo4jW8tQ
*Not filmed at my house, but a similar reaction!

NBA - Portland Trailblazers -- Showing remarkable team chemistry despite losing Oden for the season, the Blazers are compiling a winning record that included a shockingly long winning streak.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271230022

NCAA Football - Notre Dame Fighting Irish -- In an impressive show of the program's resilience, the Irish recruited the heck out the country this off-season. Bringing in so many elite prospects (2nd-best class in the country) bodes well for the near and distant future of Notre Dame football.
http://rivals100.rivals.com/teamrank.asp?SID=880

NCAA Basketball - North Carolina Tar Heels -- Currently ranked #1 in the nation. The Tar Heels asserted themselves against arch-rival Duke and all but assured that they will be the favorites headed into the NCAA Tournament this year.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings

I rise and fall with each of my teams - often a torturous journey - but that's the life of a die-hard fan. Here's hoping that there will be a lot more rising in '08!