It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

"Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack..."

The sports gods are smiling on us today. As we wrap up March Madness tonight with the men's basketball championship, we also celebrate the unofficial national holiday known as Opening Day for Major League Baseball. We Seamheads are in wide-eyed excitement in anticipation of six months of the best sport in the world. Lo siento, futbol. And we are even more excited than usual, as our beloved Astros open the seasons with the best pitching match-up of the day: the two best pitchers in the National League (Dontrelle Willis & Roy Oswalt) face off at Minute Maid Park in Houston tonight at 6pm. Catch the game here in Austin on FXSW.

As we crack open a cold one and bury ourselves in piles of peanut shells, we ponder some of the big questions facing MLB this year:

Will the Houston Astros avoid another early-season slump and make the playoffs for the third year in a row?
Will Roger Clemens pitch again? And if so, for whom? (We are betting on the Astros come May...or whoever has the best record. Read: Yankees)
Will Johnny Damon score 150+ runs for the Evil Empire? On a related note, the Yankees, in their quest for title #27, have made t-shirts that read "1 Team, 1 Mission." Talk about great expectations. Who other than The Boss would do something so brazen?
Will a beer-fueled Red Sox fan implant a D-cell battery into Damon's head when the frozen caveman porn star returns to Fenway?
Will the St. Louis Cardinals sell out every game at their New Busch Stadium?
Will Barry Bonds pass Hank Aaron on the all-time home run list before his balls shrink to the size of raisins? And will anyone care (about the home runs)?
Will the winner of the NL West break .500?
Will Jimmy Rollins get close to catching Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak?
Will the Chicago Cubs set record beer sales numbers with the addition of a few thousand new outfield seats?
Will the Steve Perry-inspired Chicago White Sox repeat?
Will Astros' closer Brad Lidge bounce back from his playoff meltdown last year?
Will the Sox throw at Frank Thomas' head when they face Oakland on May 22?
Will the Oakland A's live up to the hype?
Will the Atlanta Braves win their 15th NL East crown in a row?
Will Manny Ramirez have 45 home runs, 150 RBI and 20 missed cut-off men?