Ahh, springtime. The time of year when the snow melts, the mud puddles get deep and the winter snowbanks recede to allow the piles of doggy doo to rear their ugly faces. But not all is bad, because we know the rains of April will wash away the dinginess of late winter.

Springtime in the sports world means stretching muscles that have atrophied over the winter months and using the warmth of the sun to help get you limber enough, depending on your age, to go for a walk, a run, or to dodge the many potholes that dot the landscape.

I’ve been mentally preparing for what is becoming my annual c...