What Caught My Eye Today

Air Travel - Thousands of weary travelers faced a third day waiting to reach their destinations Sunday as US Airways struggled to recover from the ice and snow storm that paralyzed airports in the Northeast. From Friday to Saturday morning, more than 3,600 commuter and mainline flights were canceled nationwide because of the effects of the storm. JetBlue, US Airways, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines all reported cancellations. One appreciates that the airline industry has no control over the weather, but something has got to be done to curb the ensuing chaos that always seems to accompany bad weather. The self-policing that the industry claims has customers' best interests in mind, clearly is not working.

Iraq - As the fourth anniversary of the war approached, American generals say it will probably be summer before the impact of additional U.S. troops sent to Iraq can be fully assessed. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday it was too early to evaluate whether the latest U.S. strategy was working but "so far, so good." Good or not, this guy has a lot more credibility with Congress and the nation than Rumsfeld did. Amazing what can happen when you level with Congress.

Trans-Atlantic Travel - Airbus and German airline Lufthansa will fly the new A380 from Frankfurt Germany to New York on Monday, marking the new airliner's first trip to North America. For Airbus, which has been beset by management and financial crises — including a two-year delay to the A380 that wiped more than $6.61 billion off profit forecasts — the flight is a chance to prove that the plane will be ready when the first deliveries are made in October to Singapore Airlines. The Frankfurt-New York flight is one of two A380 flights to the United States on Monday. The other is an A380 operated by Australian airline Qantas that is flying to Los Angeles International Airport but devoid of passengers and crew, save for those in the cockpit. Well, better late than never, I suppose. 550 passengers on one plane? Can you imagine the rioting in the aisles for overhead baggage space.

Golf - Vijay Singh burst clear of a congested leaderboard to clinch his 31st PGA Tour title by two shots at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday. The Fijian survived two bogeys over the last three holes on his way to a three-under-par 67 at the Bay Hill Club and an eight-under total of 272. Tiger Woods, uncharacteristically fell apart in the last round with a +6 round of 76, leaving him in a tie for 22nd at +3. Admittedly, you cannot win them all, but this one had to hurt. Kudos to Vijay Singh for finally winning this tournament on his 15th try.

NBA - With a month to go in the regular season, 2 teams have already secured playoff berths, Dallas and Phoenix. If the playoffs were to start today, here's who would be in:
Eastern Conference - Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Indiana and New Jersey
Western Conference - Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Utah, Houston, Denver, LA Lakers and Golden State

Amazingly, 6 of the Eastern Conference teams have winning records.

March Madness - Round #2 Update: Of the more than 2 million brackets registered on Yahoo Sports, there are no perfect brackets remaining. Over on ESPN.com, more than 3 million brackets were recorded, and again, no one escaped the second round unscathed. I started on the second day of Round #2 on an upnote, going 4-0 in the morning, but ended with a whimper going 2-2 in the late games. Honestly, who would have thought USC could spank Texas the way that they did? I closed out Round #2 going 12 and 4, bringing my tournament total to 38 and 10. On the bright side, my all of my Elite 8 picks are still alive.

Women's Basketball - Not to leave out the women, as Round #1 comes to a close, I tallied up a record of 28 and 4.