Hoops and Hockey Done, But Not Us!

It was strange coming back home after the championship game in San Antonio last week. Friends and co-workers looked at me with pity and sorrow; they said things like, how you doing?

I was so tired I didn’t think much of it. Everyone was looking at me like someone had died in my family. Finally I asked, What!? My friend pointed out, Well,, college basketball is over and the Canes didn’t make the playoffs, how do you do a sports talk radio show? I simply explained the same way you always do from 3-7p.m. - you give opinions about things going on in sports, that’s how.

Sports doesn’t stop and neither does the talk shows we do just because the local teams are done. If you have cared to notice some interesting things are going on in the NHL playoffs even without the Canes. The defending champs are on the ropes, the two seed out West is struggling in Round One, Sidney Crosby is about to lead the Penguins into Round 2, and the Flyers through two games have done a credible job in containing “Alex the Great.” Plus there will be plenty of talk about the Canes' off-season and whether Peter Lavoillette will come back. And can they keep Sergei Samsonov? Will there be wholesale changes on defense?

College hoops are done, but plenty of topics are still out there, like what will Carolina’s big three do? Will Hansbrough, Lawson and Ellington all return or all test the waters? If they all come back, the team is the preseason No. 1. None are projected to be lottery picks (possibly Lawson with great workouts at the end of the lottery) or in Ellington’s case not likely to be a first rounder. Usually, that is reason enough to return. Hansbrough - from what every scout and one GM told me - would not hurt his stock by playing another season of college basketball. He’s probably in the same range either way, late first round.

The NBA playoffs are about to start and whoever comes out of the West will have truly earned it with all eight teams having a shot at 50 wins (Denver the 8 seed has 49 with a game to go). Former Wake Forest guard Chris Paul is battling Kobe Bryant for the League’s MVP and he has raised the “after thought” Hornets to the top tier of the league with his play-making ability and improved offense and leadership. Another former Demon Deacon will figure big in the post-season as usual, as Tim Duncan tries to lead the Spurs to a fourth title in six years. In the East, the Boston Celtics have the best record in the league, but will they be able to do what the Patriots failed to do in the NFL, finish it off? What about the season former Tar Heel Antawn Jamison has had with the Wizards? He's a legit 20/10 guy, while playing without all-star teammate Gilbert Arenas most of the season. Plus how about the improved play of Brendan Haywood, who is averaging 10 points and 7 boards this season and close to two blocked shots a game?Did I mention he’s now a 73 percent free throw shooter? A big jump from his best of 63 percent from five  seasons ago.

The NFL Draft is a few weeks away. Will the Panthers get the offensive line help they so desperately need? Or will they add to their defensive line with a potential stud end in Derrick Harvey out of Florida in the first round? John Fox could have a Giants-like pass rush with Julius Peppers on one end and Harvey on the other if you believe young Todd McShay at ESPN. However, NFL Draft veteran Mel Kiper Jr. thinks the Panthers will go with Ryan Clady, an offensive tackle, at number 13. Who will be right? Who will be crowned the true draft expert at the four letter network? The only way to solve this is a Highlander-like scene with Kiper and McShay dueling to the death because in the end “there can be only one.”

Did I mention there are hundreds of major league baseball games left and who knows what the Yankees might dig up next at their new stadium? Hoffa? There may not be the urgency of March Madness or local interest of a Hurricanes run to the cup, but believe me we will still bring it from 3-7p.m. each day.

If that’s not enough motivation to keep it locked into 99.9 The Fan, keep in mind I have a family to support.