Exciting week for local sports fans. The SteepleCats kick off their season on Friday night, hosting the Bristol Collegiate Baseball Club at Joe Wolfe Field at 6:30 p.m. Stay tuned to iBerkshires.com this week for coverage leading up to opening night.

Also, June 1 is a big day for Berkshire County baseball and softball teams. The Western Massachusetts seeding will be announced, so come back to this blog tomorrow to find out when and where your favorite team is playing.

So, Berkshire County native Ali Fedotowsky is on the Bachelorette. Haven't you heard?

Believe it or not,  there is a local sports angle to this show, as well. Roberto Martinez, who is one of the guys vying for Fedotowsky's "affection," was a pitcher on the 2002 inaugural North Adams SteepleCats baseball team.

I wonder if Fedotowsky ever went to any of his games at Joe Wolfe?

My other question is: If Martinez gets a shot, when will Slider (the mascot) find his true love? I smell a new show idea.....FOX, are you listening?

Keep an eye out for the SteepleCats logo on the show. If you see it, let us know.

According to the Cats' archived stats, Martinez made eight starts with a 2-5 record. Here's hoping he fares a little better on TV.

If you check out the video below, it's looking pretty good so far.

Speaking of the SteepleCats, the season kicks off a week from Friday at Joe Wolfe Field. Stay tuned to iBerkshires.com in the coming weeks for more 'Cats coverage.

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The Super Bowl will be played in New Jersey in 2014! Great news.

Anyone who is complaining about this move (although I haven't heard too many critics) just isn't a football fan. If games during the regular season and playoffs are played in frigid temperatures and snow storms, why wouldn't the biggest game of the year endure the same elements?

I was always a bit irked come Super Bowl week, having to put up with coverage in sunny Florida, Arizona or California. Or even worse, having the game played in a dome. The Pro Bowl in a warm climate or dome I have no problem with, but it always seemed artificial to have a world championship game in the same five or six sites, based soley on their appeal to the wealthy folks who could afford tickets to the game.

When you think of rich football traditions, you think of places like Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland and New England. But nope, instead the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals have had their stadiums on display on the biggest stage in sports.

Super Bowl coming to Jersey. LOVE IT!

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Don't look now, but the Red Sox are starting to look like a contender. Pitching has been lights out lately and they've won seven of their last eight games. As I'm writing this, they're up 4-1 in the third inning over Tampa Bay despite missing three starters (Victor Martinez, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew).

So as bleak as it looked after being swept by the Baltimore Orioles, baseball's worst team, a few weeks back, now Boston is on the verge of sweeping the best team in baseball on Tampa's home turf.

Oh, how fun the baseball season can be. One week, we're saying "at least we have the Celtics and Bruins," and the next we're saying "Wait, who are the Bruins?"

Drury senior Nik Andrews was recently named the Berkshire County Male Athlete of the Year by the WBEC Sports Caravan Committee.

Before joining iBerkshires.com, I covered Northern Berkshire County athletics at the North Adams Transcript since August 2008. While I had the pleasure of watching many talented athletes compete during that span of almost two full school years, there were a few athletes who kept coming back when it was time to name the all-star teams.

McCann senior Ben Raimer is one example. He is a three-sport star (football, basketball, baseball) with the Hornets. Hoosac Valley's Sam LeBeau is another. She excels in soccer, basketball and track & field. Drury's Cassie Lincoln (soccer, basketball, T&F),  Mount Greylock's Mackenzie Hitchcock (Cross country, Nordic Ski, T&F) and Mount Greylock's Andy Budz (golf, hockey, lacrosse) are a few more examples of local athletes who shine during all three seasons.

I'm sure that I'm forgetting a handful of other students who deserve to be mentioned. But, that's the beauty of a blog...if I think of any others — or the readers want to e-mail me at pronan@iBerkshires.com with their thoughts  — I can always update.

But getting back to Andrews....There wasn't one season that passed in my two years of covering sports that Andrews' name wasn't invading headlines. I wrote a feature on him last spring when he was the only Berkshire County athlete to qualify for the New England Track & Field Championships, and I have interacted with him dozens of times after basketball, soccer or track and field events.

Not only is he an exceptional athlete, but he's a stand-up kid. He's respectful to his teammates, coaches and opponents. He's always positive, and his performance in the classroom is just as impressive as his athletic resume. He'll be going to Providence College in the fall, and the Friars are lucky to have him.

By no means am I trying to downplay  the accomplishments of the other county athletes, and I'm certainly not implying that he's the only gem in the bunch, but in regards to athletic performance, academics and overall attitude, none  — at least in my two years  — have been more well-rounded than Andrews.

To read a couple nice features on Andrews, check out this and this.

Classy move, Floyd. Admit your guilt while throwing others under the bus. He must have attended the Jose Canseco School of Backstabbing.

Landis released a book a few years back titled "Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France." Now, do the people who actually purchased that garbage get their money back?

iBerkshires.com's own Paul Guillotte got a shot of the snitch last month at the Tour of Battenkill race in Cambridge, N.Y. Enjoy...

I grew up as an avid fan of the NBA. But somewhere along the way, the league lost me. There are several contributing factors to my disinterest in pro basketball (poor playoff system, lack of fundamentals, corrupt refs), but the main reason is that the NBA is WAY too focused on its stars rather than its teams.

I understand that superstars sell the merchandise and put fans in the seats, but in today's free agency market, players are jumping from team to team, and there seems to be no loyalty. It's all about the contract. It's a problem in every pro sport, but in basketball more than any other, one player leaving town could make the difference between contending for a championship and hoping for a high draft pick.

Look at the LeBron James saga for instance. I understand that free agency is part of the game, but give me a break. One of the reasons I always enjoyed football (especially being a New England Patriots fan) is the focus on team, and how one player leaving town doesn't lead to doomsday for a franchise. Granted, there are more players on the field in football, but still...you get my point. In the NBA, teams are relying on marquee players to draw fans rather than building a cohesive unit that plays a good brand of unselfish basketball (idealistic, I know).

With all that being said, there is hope. One thing that guarantees more focus on the teams rather than their stars is a good, old-fashioned rivalry. And here we are four wins away from another Celtics-Lakers matchup in the NBA Finals. If Boston and L.A. can win their respective conference finals series, the storied franchises will lock up for a record 12th time to battle for the title.

Let's flash back to the 80's, shall we? From 1980 to 1989, either the Lakers and/or Celtics appeared in every NBA Finals in that span. From '84 to '87, the Celtics played the Lakers three times for the championship.

Some people would argue that having the same two teams at the top every year is bad for the sport, but not in the case of Lakers-Celtics. If it was Raptors vs. Grizzlies every year, I would argue for more parity, but you could have Boston vs. L.A in the Finals for 12 straight years, and the TV ratings would still be off the charts.

So while LeBron James, the league's best player, is working on his golf game over the next couple weeks, the best TEAMS in the league will be playing for a world championship.