What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - Tens of thousands of Shiites rallied Monday to demand that U.S. forces leave their country. The protesters marched about three miles between the holy cities of Kufa and Najaf to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered up the march as a show of strength not only to Washington but to Iraq's establishment Shiite ayatollahs as well. While al-Sadr had ordered his militia to disarm and stay off the streets during the Baghdad crackdown, he has notched up his anti-American rhetoric in three brief but hostile statements demanding the departure of U.S. troops. Let's recap, shall we? The American public wants the troops to come home. The troops definitely want to come home. Now the Iraqi people are demanding that the troops leave. Is it just me or is there a pattern here?

Racism - Don Imus had a hot seat on the other side of the microphone Monday, appearing on the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show and enduring more criticism for his offensive comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team. Imus issued another apology for referring to members of the team as "nappy-headed hos." Sharpton called the comments "abominable" and "racist" and repeated his demand that Imus be fired. "Our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go too far. And this time we went way too far," Imus said. A spokesman for MSNBC said the network considers Imus' comments "deplorable" and was reviewing the matter, while over at CBS radio, the company said it was "disappointed" in Imus' actions and characterized his comments as "completely inappropriate." I'm sure that he is sorry that he said it, but maybe Imus should be apologizing for thinking it in the first place.

China - The Chinese Foreign Ministry is awfully busy these days.

Japan - China's premier will visit Japan this week for the first time in seven years, in a sign that ties may finally be stabilizing after years of rancor over the Japanese occupation of China in the first half of the 20th century. Premier Wen Jiabao plans to address lawmakers and issue a joint statement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressing their "aspirations to build a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship." Military cooperation, economic dialogue, and collaboration on energy conservation, environmental protection and finance issues are also on the agenda.

Sudan - China urged Sudan on Monday to accept the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, increasing the pressure on a key economic partner that Beijing has been criticized for protecting. China's assistant foreign minister said Sudan should accept the peacekeeping plan proposed last year by then-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. China buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports, sells it weapons and military aircraft, and has come under criticism for not using its influence to do more to stop the crisis in the Darfur region.

It's kind of interesting to see how other countries exert their influence in international affairs. I'm not saying that the U.S. should model its foreign policy after any other country, but it does show that not all foreign policy has to be conducted with the threat of 'shock and awe.'

Golf - 31-year-old American, Zach Johnson fired a three-under-par 69 at a sun-drenched, fast-running Augusta National to finish on one-over 289, holding off a late challenge by four-times champion Tiger Woods to claim his first major title by two shots at the Masters. World number one Woods, hunting his third consecutive major and a fifth green jacket at Augusta, had to settle for a share of second place with South Africans Retief Goosen (69) and Rory Sabbatini (69) after closing with a 72. Technically, this guy is not a one-hit wonder. He also won the the 2004 BellSouth Classic. That said, I'm not holding my breath to see his name at the top of the leaderboard at the U.S. Open in June.

Baseball - The Cleveland Indians moved their series against the Los Angeles Angels to Milwaukee's Miller Park after a spring snowstorm wiped out Cleveland's series against Seattle for the fourth straight day Monday. Friday's game will serve as the unofficial home opener. The Indians were ahead 4-0 with two outs in the top of the fifth, when their home opener Friday was called off by umpires because of heavy snow. After Friday's game was called, the teams hoped to play a day-night doubleheader Saturday, but that was put off by the spring storm. They then scheduled a doubleheader for Sunday, which also was postponed. Ah yes, the boys of summer are back in town. Here's a crazy thought. Maybe MLB should consider scheduling early season games in stadiums where weather isn't such a factor. I hear there are some domed stadiums out there.

Hockey - The NHL regular season came to an end on Sunday. Next up, 2 months worth of playoffs with 16 of the 30 teams in the league, duking out for the Stanley Cup. You'd think after 82 games, they could cut the playoff field down just a tad bit. I mean really, its harder not to to make the playoffs.

Basketball - Speaking of playoffs, the NBA kicks off its 'second season' on April 21 for, tell me if you've heard this one before, 2 months worth of playoffs. And yes, 16 of the 30 teams in the league have a shot at the title. At the very least, teams should have a winning record to get in. If the playoffs started today, 2 teams from the Eastern Conference and 1 from the Western Conference would be in with losing records. That's just wrong.