If April showers bring May flowers then what does April snow mean ? Whatever it means, I'm sure May will recover. And so will baseball after shivering its way through the major league's opening week of play. Like an old car gagging in frigid December temperatures, teams from the high school ranks to the pros struggled to get warmed up amid plummeting temperatures this past week. Arms creaked like rusty old doors and hamstrings strummed out of tune. Even a local outdoor track meet was met with a wintery mix of precipitation. Just when warm weather hinted at spring's early arrival, it seems Old Man Winter just snuck in one last punch to the gut before slipping off to hibernation. Last week Yankee Stadium resembled a snow globe as ESPN cameramen pinpointed their devices on the facilities' lights with wintery flakes dancing in the forefront during the Yanks'win over Tampa Bay on opening day. Last Friday's Mariners-Indians series opener at Cleveland's Jacobs Field was met with a knockout blow when a snowstorm forced the game's postponement after three weather delays totaling 2 hours and 53 minutes. Saturday's doubleheader at Cleveland was also postponed because of snow. The Blue Jays-Tigers contest last Thursday at Detroit's Comerica Park was postponed for wintery conditions. " Obviously, you don't want this to happen, " Toronto manager John Gibbons said. " But these conditions are just brutal. " Temperatures dipped to the mid-20 s and wind chills into the teens as a light snow trickled. " That's just not baseball, " said Detroit second baseman Placido Polanco. A press release from the University of Arkansas had to be sent out last Friday to assure media members that, despite the expected sub-freezing temperatures, the Hogs' 7: 05 p.m. scheduled tilt Friday with Mississippi State was still on. Conway coach Noel Boucher called Fayetteville High skipper Vance Arnold early Saturday morning to tell him it was too darn cold to be playing baseball. So the two clubs agreed to cancel their scheduled noon match at Bulldog Field Saturday. Most of the time, a sports writer's perspective on this matter would be heavily dictated by whether or not the press box was heated. In this case, it was a very wise verdict. Even the wait for Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn to finish addressing his players following Friday night's 11-9 loss seemed an eternity. UA baseball public address announcer Larry Shank shivered through his signature sign-on, " This is baseball. " Shank must have been torn between doing his job and conveying the truth. Yep, the Easter Bunny might just call in sick. It's certainly no time for an egg hunt. Put away those pastels and pull out the parka. Because this isn't baseball.

Heath Allen is a sportswriter for the Northwest Arkansas Times.