04/01 (Opening Day) Quickie

I had no intention of rooting for Louisville to win the national title. First of all, I figured Florida would be in the Final Four. So much for that.

But in the absence of Florida, it didn't seem like much fun to root for the pre-tournament prohibitive favorite -- all three other FF teams are way more compelling.

Then Kevin Ware's injury happened -- and the team's immediate, heart-breaking reaction to it. And then Louisville destroyed Duke. And then they put on Ware's jersey. And then the news about how Ware told the team -- while laying on the court -- to win for him. And then the Instagram of him in his hospital bed, holding the regional trophy.

At this point -- as I wrote in today's USA TODAY Sports column --  how can you NOT root for Louisville to complete the journey and win the title?

It helps that they are clearly the best team left, with or without Ware. Wichita State will give them a battle for a half. The Michigan-Syracuse winner (I'll say Syracuse, but then again, I said Florida would handily beat Michigan) will also make it interesting for 20-30 minutes. And then this Louisville team will take its place among the more memorable champs of the past decade.

More:

*MLB Opening Day: I love that the Nationals are "World Series Championship or bust." That's all you can hope for, as a fan, no matter how much it might hurt more if they fall short.

*Matt Flynn to Raiders: He simply had no career left in Seattle -- a little crazy, given where we were a year ago, a month before Seattle even drafted Russell Wilson. (If Pete Carroll wants to raise the stakes, he should trade for Tim Tebow. I'm totally serious.)

*Louisville women stun Baylor: Lost in the men's tournament, let's please not lose sight of the fact that Louisville's women's team pulled off the biggest upset in sports in the past decade.

-- D.S.