Sports to deliver at a time they're needed the most

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Once again, hope springs eternal, at least on the ballfields in Arizona and Florida. Soon, there will be spring training games and then a season that even the collective greed of Major League Baseball owners and players couldn’t derail.

Just how much the labor dispute turns off fans is anyone’s guess. Baseball has been losing followers for other reasons for some time now, so delaying Opening Day for a few days may turn out to be a mere blip. And while the game may be deeply flawed, the outpouring of disgust about the lockout was an indication there’s a core of passionate followers.

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Baseball is back and for that we should all be grateful. That makes this week special all by itself.

But there’s more, lots more. Sports is about to deliver, just when we need it the most.

Aside from spring training games, there's the bonus of an MLB free-agency frenzy that will make some teams and remake others. NFL free agency begins, too, kicking off several weeks of offseason intrigue — including Tom Brady's unretirement — that will culminate next month in what will surely be the glitziest draft ever on the Las Vegas Strip.

There’s a Monday finish at the Player’s Championship, which serves as a tasty reminder that The Masters lurks only a few weeks away. No, Tiger Woods won’t be playing and Phil Mickelson may not either, but it's a new era in golf that offers a new kind of intrigue.

New York Yankees fans watch players practice during spring training baseball, Sunday, March 13, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

And, of course, March Madness begins with a bang and any of two dozen teams might have a