It?s time to ?Play ball? once again

There will be no tree in the corner, no presents, no eggs to hide, and no colorful costumes to wear.

There aren?t any carols to sing, and there aren?t any special meals provided for loving relatives to come together and enjoy.

But Monday is a holiday. Just as surely as Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year?s Day, tomorrow is, in this friendly neighborhood sports columnist?s mind, a day of celebration. And it should be recognized as such.

What?s the occasion, you ask?

Well, I can?t believe you?d have to ask. But since you did, let me inform you that Monday, April 3, 2006, is Opening Day for the Major League Baseball season.

To be completely precise, there is a game played today. Cleveland and the White Sox will take the field for the first true regular season contest at 4 p.m. But tradition dictates that the season opens on a Monday, and there are 11 games on tap tomorrow, giving baseball fans an entire day to sit back, relax, and enjoy the holiday.

And that?s exactly what this baseball fan intends to do with his Monday: Enjoy the one holiday that?s looked forward to just as much as Christmas, my birthday and Thanksgiving all rolled into one.

It?s a tradition that began back in the college years, when a group of close friends would shuck off the responsibilities of the day (Class? What class?) and hole up in a dorm room with televisions spread all around the cable dial, soaking up as much action as possible from the pregame festivities all the way to ESPN?s ?Baseball Tonight? and the late ?SportsCenter.?

Hey, you can get caught up on your work on Tuesday. There?s only one chance this year to watch 22 different teams open their seasons.

So if that?s not enough reason to celebrate Opening Day just like any other holiday, what more reason do you need?

This year, there will be 10 ? count ?em, just 10 ? federally-mandated holidays. They are, in order: New Year?s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.?s birthday, Washington?s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And let?s face it. We don?t really celebrate several of those, we just take the day off work. Nobody throws a Columbus Day party. When?s the last time you got a Labor Day present?

So with all those other ?non-holidays,? can?t we squeeze one more day into the calendar? Can?t we give the post office, the banks and the schools another day off of work, on a day when there?s actually something fun happening?

The answer is yes, we can. All it would take is a little White House lobbying.

You see, federal laws provide for the creation of additional national holidays, if so proclaimed by our nation?s president.

Well forgive me if I?m wrong, but didn?t our nation?s president once own the Texas Rangers? Surely he?d get behind this idea. It wouldn?t be the most off-the-wall thing he ever did, after all.

So take tomorrow off and celebrate, baseball fans. And here?s wishing you and yours a very safe, and happy, Opening Day.

Play ball!