My dearest Albert*,

I realize I’ve been tip-toeing around the subject for the past year, pretending nothing’s wrong, but I think this needs to be said since, well, I hate the unknown.  I need commitment, Albert.  For real commitment.  I know you keep saying how much you love St. Louis, and how you don’t plan to leave us.  And up until now, I’ve always believed you.  Why wouldn’t I?  You’ve always been there for me (see also: 2005 NLCS, Game 5), always reassuring me that the team would always be great as long as you are there.  Well, I’m starting to have doubts that maybe you aren’t as committed as you say you are.  Are you looking at other teams thinking maybe it would be better with someone else?  I keep ignoring the reporters that say the Cardinals are nowhere close to a deal with you; changing the channel when they talk about it on ESPN.  It’s almost Wednesday.  You’re about to report to Spring Training, and we all know you don’t talk contracts once baseball starts.  So, for Valentine’s Day, I don’t want flowers or candy, I just need a signature on the dotted line, confirming that as long as you are playing baseball, you’ll be wearing the Birds on the Bat.

Forever yours,

L

*Albert Pujols is arguably the best baseball player on the planet. He has been with the St. Louis Cardinals for his entire career (since 2001).  At the end of this season, his contract is up, and unless he and the Cardinals agree to new terms, he will become a free agent, making the Cardinals have to compete with the NY Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and the LA Dodgers for his services for the remainder of his career.  Needless to say, the Cardinals would like to work out a new contract before he hits the free agent market in October.  Pujols and his agent have set a deadline of Wednesday at noon ET for any contract talks between him and the Cardinals.

Laura Schulte, a native of Little Rock, loves baseball (Rangers, Cardinals. Andrus, Pujols). And books. And movies. And did I mention baseball? Her feature: Pitching & Moaning might just end up a bit baseball heavy. Fair warning.

First off, HUGE congratulations go out to the Green Bay Packers for winning Super Bowl XLV!  Big win for a storied franchise with such an amazing fan base.  What did you kids think of the game?

Me, I was pretty underwhelmed by the commercials, halftime show and X-Tina’s…err… special rendition of our National Anthem (What so proudly we… watched?”), but the game was fairly exciting,  IMO.  Yeah, I’ll admit, it was kinda slow moving, but close right up until the end.  I was also thoroughly impressed with Aaron Rodgers.  Big stage with lots of expectations, and he delivered.

To spice things up a bit (or because I decided to be lame and watch the big game at my place by myself), this was the first year I was actively on Twitter during the game.  It was definitely a treat, highlighted by my favorite tweet of the day courtesy of one Ozzie Guillen (manager of the Chicago White Sox):

@OzzieGuillen: Watching the game and eating my jello  http://twitpic.com/3xae4f

There are no words for that picture.  No.  Words.

And the post-Super Bowl episode of Glee, you ask?  Well, let’s just say The Warbler’s singing “Bills, Bills, Bills” is quite possibly the best thing to happen in my life.  Yep, that’s how exciting my life is.  Or how awesome the Warblers are.  I’ll let you decide.

So, what’s going on in the sports world now that football is over?  Well, college basketball fans have the UNC (20) @ Duke (5) game to look forward to on Wednesday (tonight!) at 8pm CT (on ESPN).  Easily one of the best rivalries in all of sports, this match-up never fails to entertain.  I’ll be rooting for the Blue Devils.  I get a lot of flak for cheering for Duke, but I don’t really care.  I love Coach K, and I’m not scared to admit it.  Outside of that, I’m clueless.  I tend to avoid the Worldwide Leader during January…a sort of sports detox if you will since I’ll begin to overload mid-February.  It’s important for my social life.

Anything y’all are looking forward to this week?  Super Bowl thoughts?

Most importantly – you all know what Monday is, right? Pitchers and catchers report on Monday! Baseball! Yeah, yeah, it’s also Valentine’s day, but from where I stand, is there any better way to say “I love you” than Spring Training? Nuh uh.

Baseball is totally trying to woo me. It may be working.

By the way, If you’re looking for some *really* extensive sports coverage, I am totally digging G9Sports – all sports, all the time and all by women who love the game.

Laura Schulte, a native of Little Rock, loves baseball (Rangers, Cardinals. Andrus, Pujols). And books. And movies. And did I mention baseball? Her feature: Pitching & Moaning might just end up a bit baseball heavy. Fair warning.