Happy Wednesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for April 28, 2010 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* Cleveland and Boston advance to play each other in the NBA playoffs, Detroit moves on in hockey.
* Remember that kid Scott Sicko from New Hampshire who wasn't drafted and said he'd go back to school instead of signing with an NFL team? Never mind. Sicko signed with the Dallas Cowboys.
* Heart surgery for "Mr. Baseball," Milwaukee Brewers announcer Bob Uecker. He's expected to be out of the booth 10-12 weeks.
* Go ahead, say it. The first place New York Mets. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?
2. Anything Goes?
Can you say anything about anybody? Of course not. The general manager of the Miami Dolphins apologized to Dallas draft pick Dez Bryant for asking whether his mother was a prostitute during a pre-draft visit. Dallas radio host Mike Bascik, a former major league pitcher, got suspended for tweeting a disparaging remark about Mexicans at a Spurs game. Meanwhile a Boston radio host compared Tim Tebow's draft party to a Nazi rally because everyone was white. I blame the 24-hour culture of news and sports. Everything is "on the air" or "on the Internet." Everybody's an "expert," and the volume gets ratcheted up. Sorting through the noise, intelligent conversation is harder and harder to come by these days.
3. The Big Least
Is the end of the Big East Conference in the wind? If Syracuse and a bunch of other schools bolt for the Big Ten to play football, that would be taps for the Big East. As the original TV voice of Big East basketball, of course I'm sad. Then again, I remember when Syracuse/Penn State football was Armageddon, and when Big East basketball players like Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullen stayed in college for 4 years. Things change. And older fans pine away for "the good old days." And that$ $port$.
4. More Economic News
Subscriber Gerard H. emailed to tell that he's been a Rangers season ticket holder for 36 years, and he just got a call informing him that ticket prices are not going up next season? That's a step in the right direction. A price decrease might be nice. So would a prize for being a 36-year season ticket holder. How about free cable from the Dolans?
5. God Bless America
Sure they play the late Kate Smith's God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch at Yankee Stadium, but that ain't nothing. Remember when her song was the battle cry for the Broad Street Bullies, the 1974 Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers? Now Kate is winding up on a postage stamp, and the stamp may be unveiled at the Kate Smith statue outside the now defunct Spectrum in Philly. The plan is to do it May 19th, 36 years to the day after she sang it live before the Flyers went out and clinched the Stanley Cup against the Boston Bruins. I remember when she was done singing and the Spectrum was going nuts, the Bruins Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito skated over and shook her hand. One of my favorite hockey memories.
Happy Birthday: Golfer John Daly. 44.
Bonus Birthday: Jay Leno. 60.
Today in Sports: Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the Army and is stripped of his heavyweight title. 1967.
Bonus Event: One of the greats was seen on national television for the first time, Mike Wallace. 1957.