The worst job in all of sports journalism is to be assigned interviews in the loser’s locker room. As a reporter, you dread tiptoeing around the emotional landmines that typically surround the losing leader… until this week when I saw two defeated head basketball coaches “win” their postgame interviews.

Maybe it’s the sound of cleats hitting the top step of the dugout or the pop of a fastball zipping into the catcher’s mitt. Perhaps it’s the look on a kids’ face when their parents bring them to the ballpark to put on the foam finger for the first time. Whatever the connection is, there’s something magical about opening day in Major League Baseball. Sure, other major professional sports each have their respective season openers, but there is no landmark on the calendar like the MLB Opening Day.