With a little help from baseball greats of the past, Bill takes a poetic look at opening day of the present.

Bill reviews Thomas Hackett’s “Slaphappy: Pride, Prejudice, and Professional Wrestling.” A book that argues the fantastically popular televised World Wrestling Entertainment extravaganzas offer the open-minded an opportunity to understand the current psyche of this disturbed land.

NCAA Tournament Update; Getting a Piece of the Tournament’s Pie; Dollar Signs at the Big Dance; Game of Shadows; Lessons from a School of Fish; The Big Dance and More with Charlie Pierce; Finding Family in the California Dunes

Members of the Japanese baseball team left the World Baseball Classic as champions, but Bill wonders if the tournament itself had enough power to be a grand slam hit.

The publication of this book has re-energized the discussion of how baseball fans will respond to Bonds as he chases the homerun records.

This week on Only A Game…

Bill considers which story from the World Baseball Classic takes top billing and evaluates the current condition of Major League Baseball.

Bill reviews Scott Gray’s book, “The Mind of Bill James: How a Complete Outsider Changed Baseball.” A book that covers all the bases inside Bill James’ expert brain.

Spinning in the Shadows; Mexico’s Team At Bat; Preparing for Madness; The NBA’s Farm Experiment; Letters; NFL Negotiations and More with Charlie Pierce; The Birth of Irish Baseball

Bill remembers the life and career of Minnesota Twins’ hall of famer Kirby Puckett.