And so I say to all of you dear friends again, as we can only do at this special time of year: Happy Cooler Day, everyone.

Has the U.S. government made it an official holiday yet? If not, shame on you, feds. You find the time to preen in front of the cameras and try to play Encyclopedia Brown on baseball's steroid scandal, but don't have the time to pass a resolution declaring Cooler Day a national holiday?

Assert your priorities, ladies and gentlemen. You want to get reelected? Make Cooler Day official.

There is, of course, no argument otherwise. Every year, this Monday in April brings us the following orgy of sports:

• NCAA Championship Night.
• Baseball's Opening Day.
• Monday of Masters Tournament Week.

It's a day as pretty as a Dee Brown 3, as poetic as the framing of Amen Corner, as natural as the late, great Schottzie leaving a steaming calling card on the AstroTurf at old Riverfront Stadium.

That's right: Cincinnati. I know I date myself when I still consider the Cincinnati Reds as the arbiter of when Baseball Season begins, but that's what you get when you read a guy born in 1967. For our generation, ball didn't start until the Reds stormed the diamond, around 11 a.m. Pacific time on that Monday. Now, The Mothership in Bristol, Conn., has ball start on Sunday Night. That's not Opening Day, friends. That's Opening Night. Baseball opens in the daytime. It's as sure a thing as Pete Rose's parlaying the Padres, Expos and Astros on the same betting card, then rolling out of the clubhouse and going 3-for-4 in front of the home crowd, including a dea sprint to first base on a walk.

There is no other day like this day. Throw in the fact that we're all enjoying that extra hour of daylight, and I'd put Cooler Day ahead of Labor Day, Flag Day and warn President's Day: Don't look back – something might be gaining on you.

A brief history of Cooler Day: I introduced it first on this site in 2002, was hosed out of it in 2003 when the NCAA Tournament was a week late, and fired it up again in 2004, imploring Hallmark to jump on the bandwagon and make cards. My excellent wife, being excellent, beat 'em to it and printed out "Happy Cooler Day" cards on Shutterfly last week when she was bored at work, using an image of the big clock at SBC Park on the front. She presented them to me last week. Tremendous. I feel like mailing them to elderly relatives, like my 95-year-old Italian nonni, just to hear her say: "Oh, honey, thank you for the Cooler Day card. Now, tell me, what's Cooler Day again?"

I'd get to reply, "Nonni, it's the Monday in April when baseball opens, Masters week begins and the NCAA basketball tournament has its championship game, all in one daylight-savings-colored extravaganza!" And my 95-year-old Nonni would say: "Oh, honey, I forgot to send you a Cooler Day card!"

No sweat, Nonni. On Cooler Day, nothing can ruin the vibe. Enjoy, my friends!

On, then, to the Weekend List of Five:

1. Final Two
Simply phenomenal news that Illinois can speak of the five most beautiful words in basketball: "A Monday Night in April." What is it that has captured my heart about the Illini: Is it their unselfish team play? Is it their uncanny ability to make the big shot? Is it the emotional tale of Bruce Weber's mother's passing?

Continued...