In my opinion, the NBA Draft is the most underrated sports spectacle of the year.  It combines college and pro.  Newfound Millionaires getting dappered up and occasionally looking very uncomfortable in a suit (see Adam Morrison).  Very, very, tall men hunching down to say hello to David Stern.  Every couple years we get the "lone man in the Green Room" spectacle that is always riveting or the second round pick storming out of the crowd to say hello to a startled Assistant Commissioner.  All in all it is an experience that is always unforgettable.  With that being said and without further ado.........David Stern steps to the podium.......
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2008/4/25/132111/677 I believe in signs.  I do.  I firmly believe in karma as well.  I am one of those nutjobs who honestly thinks that if I screw somebody over it will come back to not only haunt me but quite possibly my beloved Oakland A's.  Well yesterday morning, I held the door open in an elevator so that somebody who was beaded with sweat could run in.  Not only that, but I chipped in three dollars to my co-worker's March of Dimes fundraiser.  You do little things like that not thinking there is going to be a payoff and then it happens.  As I was eating lunch at my desk with the radio quietly blaring "Tonight" by the Smashing Pumpkins, I logged onto yahoo.com.  And there it was.  Staring me right in the eye.  

"Thomas agrees to contract with the Oakland A's"

Giddy, I turned up the radio just in time for Billy Corgan to sing the verse "Do you believe there's not a chance tonight?"  Fellow A's fans, there is a chance and that is because Frank Thomas returned home for the major league minimum.  "The Big Hurt" is back in Oakland and the A's blossoming postseason hopes got a shot in the arm that only a legend could provide.
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2008/4/15/92614/5919 http://www.waterpoloplanet.com/HTML_Trevor_pages/tf01_Interview_James_Graham_UOP.html]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2008/4/14/161627/408 I am pretty sure that I approached this baseball season the same way every Oakland A's fan did.  Hopeful that our youngsters would be better than expected and that we would avoid the AL West cellar.  Maybe it was because I approached the season with low expectations that I have all of the sudden been jolted by a 5-1 road trip and an 8-5 start to the season.  If somebody had told me before the season that we would be 8-5 after playing Boston, Toronto and Cleveland twice, I would have told that person they need to dial back the amount of herbs they have been purchasing in the Humboldt County area.

It was after Saturday's game against Cleveland that I got an energetic phone call from a friend who asked a million dollar question that I never even thought of.  The question was, "Do you think we would sign Barry Bonds if we are in the mix in June?"
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2008/3/30/204047/355 For the first time ever, all four top seeds made it to the Final Four.  The only plus to this in my opinion is that it should shut up everybody who claims the current tournament system does not reward the best regular season teams.  That is because the four teams remaining were without a doubt the best four teams during this year's college basketball season.  Outside of Kansas who had an epic tussle with Davidson in the Elite Eight, they all romped their way into this Final Four with convincing wins in the Regional Finals and Semifinals.  We have four bluebloods attending this event as UCLA, North Carolina, Kansas and Memphis represent the college basketball elite.  Without further ado, let's breakdown the matchups.
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2008/3/17/1236/56419 Jalapeno Poppers.  Glass Slippers.  Yuengling.  Bryce Drew.  Chili Cheese Nachos.  Harold Arcenaux.  Chicken Wings.  Rumeal Robinson.  Budweiser.  Bill Raftery.  Mozzarella Sticks.  Bracket Busters.  Tequila.  Jeff Fryar.  Are you filling out your bracket right now?  Is today the most unproductive Monday you have had in weeks?  Don't be concerned.  It is that way for everybody.  It was an excruciating wait between now and the end of the Super Bowl, but it is finally here.  Ladies and Gentleman..........the Madness has arrived.
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2008/1/6/22833/27390 College basketball is heating up and thanks to the San Francisco 49ers I have had plenty of time to take in the action.  In fact, due to Mike Nolan's ineptitude and the fact that he coaches these games like an overmatched 17-year old college freshman worried about making a move on anything with a set of breasts.....I have been watching plenty of college basketball since late October.  Instead of doing my usual preseason Top 25, I decided to hold it back until the preseason ended and conference play began.  Our look starts in Southern California with a team that is long on talent but short on chemistry.  
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2007/11/25/01738/079 Before I get rolling, let the record show that my being a part of ten consecutive Waikiki bar crawls was a nonfactor in getting this column off the ground.  In fact, I resent any implication that my love of Mai Thais, the hula, surfing and the hula had any bearing on the argument I am about to make.
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2007/10/29/10499/248 With the San Francisco 49ers out of the playoff hunt in October for another season and college basketball still a couple weeks away, I figured it was time to talk about my newest sporting love.  The Blackburn Rovers.  That's right, not only have I not written for our site for over a month, but when I do I am hopping in on the topic of English Premier League Football.  I have officially shifted gears to become the Vinnie Chase of our site.  I am only writing articles that satisfy my own creative/sports needs.
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2007/9/11/16911/7680 http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-wpolo/stories/091107aaa.html

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