What does April mean to the sporting world? Well, there’s the Final Four on the NCAA March Madness tournament. The NHL and NBA seasons wrap up and two-plus months of exciting playoff action begins. The Masters kicks off the PGA season. Perhaps most importantly, major league rosters are finally cut down to 25 each and camps break away from Florida and Arizona to throw first pitches for the new season. Opening Days take place over the next week, but none more important than last night’s titanic brawl between Boston and New York.

For the next six months, sluggers in Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder will swat against ace pitching from the likes of Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay. And that’s just the National League. There’s no shortage of excitement in the American, where Cliff Lee anchors a strong rotation in the west, while Dustin Pedroia leads a talented bunch of offensive All-Stars at the other end of the country. There’s talent from east to west, north to south, and every day, all day in the world of baseball.

Last night was the traditional star-studded Opening Day ceremony, although this year they kept the game in North America. Still, Boston against New York; two of the biggest payroll teams with one of the most-heated rivalries in recent memory played to perfection, with the 2007 World Series winners taking down the defending champs 9-7. With so much talent packed into the two teams, those upset at a 16-run affair can’t be too disappointed. That many stars can make anything happen.

Today saw the rest of the league get some action in. No longer is every team tied for first. Everybody has a record and things are officially under way. No other day throughout the entire season will we see every game have both teams’ number one pitcher face each other, and never again will the playoff races be this tight. Behind October, April is the best month of the year for baseball, and it is upon us once again.