.

Sorry, not Rick here.  I'm the webguy steppin' in.  Honestly I'd like to post from Rick, but he hasn't gotten into the habit of a weekly post.  So I am hoping you'll help.  Please call Rick every weekday afternoon between 3 and 6 and 'remind' him about his blog entry here on SuperSports1017.com.  Jamie's tried, I've tried, and with your help, maybe we can all heed Rick's sports wisdom right here.  Thanks.  His number is 639-4900.   HD.

It is a huge weekend of hoops here in the New River Valley and folks need to get out and support the Highlanders and the Hokies on Saturday night. Radford will be hosting Coastal Carolina and first place in the Big South is on the line. If RU wins, they will control their own destiny for the regular season crown. Over in Blacksburg, the Hokies will try to win their 20th game of the season and improve to (7-3) in the ACC as they host in state rival Virginia.

So come on people, we have no more football to entertain our gridiron crazy pallets so let's be sure to get out there and support our local hoops teams. The brothers Greenberg have their teams poised to make a strong push into March and strong turnouts at both the Dedmon Center and Cassell Coliseum will only enhance the opportunity for important wins that could lead to an NCAA appearance.

And both games will be carried at our radio stations....the Highlander begin at 6:30 with the pre-game show and a 7:00 tip-off on 107 Country PSK (107..1 FM). While the Hokies can be heard on 105.3 the Bear starting at 7:30, with an 8:00 tip-off.

Other musings for the weekend...

I look for Jimmie Johnson to continue to make me want to throw-up as he wins the Daytona 500 (on PSK this Sunday). The Winter Olympics get underway with a tragic story of the luger who was killed in a practice run on Friday. Here's hoping that the games can somehow overcome the tragedy and provide some positive moments that will be etched in our minds for years to come.

And a belated congratulations to the Saints and their victory over the Colts in Super Bowl 44 this past Sunday. Kudos go out to Sean Payton and his call for the on-side kick to begin the second half and the Colts never recovered. And I am sorry Colts fans but Jim Caldwell coached not to lose while Sean Payton coached to win. And the legacy of Peyton Manning took huge hit, as he fell to only (9-9) in the post-season.

Have a great weekend peeps!!
 

 A Super Bowl Sunday quickie blog, since I will be working at the Dedmon Center today calling the RU vs. High Point game on 107 Country PSK...

I think the Colts will win the game and Peyton will be holding his second Lombardi Trophy tonight at around 9:30. There are three key reasons that I think Indy will win, with the first being that the Saints will not be able to stop both Manning and the Colts running game. The Saints have the worst running defense during these playoffs and when you couple that with the league's most dangerous weapon at quarterback, I'm not sure how New Orleans can win. Joseph Addai, Donald Brown, and Chad Simpson will find lanes to run which will make the Colts outstanding receivers even more effective all afternoon.

Secondly, I look for Colts defensive coordinator Larry Coyer to show Saints quarterback Drew Bress a lot of "cover-2" looks that Brees has struggled with throughout his career. The Colts will also disguise their blitz packages throughout the game, knowing that the Saints will more than likely not try to consistently run the football against their defense. Brees has been outstanding the last two seasons and he is capable of correcting his ills against the cover-2 but I think Indy can do enough to disrupt the rhythm of the Saints passing attack. But with the ankle injury to Dwight Freeney a major concern for the Colts, anything they do pressure wise will likely have to be counted on from someone else because I don't think Freeney will be very mobile.

And lastly, the Saints advanced to this game primarily because the Vikings handed the NFC Championship game to them with five turnovers and stupid penalties. I left watching that game feeling that the best team didn't win and there is no way Peyton Manning will hand the Saints defense the gifts Brett Favre and the Vikings did two weeks ago. The Saints defense survives with their gaudy plus 17 turnover ratio and they had better be ball-hawking today to have any chance.

I see it as... Colts 34 Saints 27.

Let's just hope we get a close game that the officials have no influence over so we can talk about football tomorrow and no controversy or conspiracy theories.

Enjoy peeps!