The Burrall Blog – A Few Random Thoughts

3/31/09 – 1:41 PM

My best to Mike Gregory, who recently stepped down as Newcastle High School’s head football coach. Mike’s a really good guy and has been great to work with over the last couple of years. However, son Matt will soon graduate, and, to be honest, Mike’s record isn’t what he would want. I saw Mike recently, and he looked a bit more relaxed, although he’s rather easy-going, anyway. By the way, Mike isn’t going anywhere. He remains as NHS’s guidance counselor and will continue to be an assistant coach for Dogie wrestling and track & field.

Though most of the teams who were supposed to do well in the Men’s NCAA Tournament did, this tourney has still been quite compelling. Villanova’s upset of Pittsburgh in the East Regional final was one of the best games in several years in this tournament, though my pick to win it all got knocked out. Now, my choice to win it all is North Carolina. Tyler Hansbrough is a beast on the blocks and Ty Lawson has overcome a recent foot injury to continue to be maybe the best guard in the country.

It’s almost time for baseball (hooray!). If you listen to KASL regularly, you may not have heard us mention anything lately about Rockies’ baseball. That’s because we have decided not to carry Rockies play-by-play in 2009. We need a certain number of sponsors to do such things, and right now, we just don’t have enough. That could always change, and, in fact, if you would be interested in sponsoring Rockies’ baseball, let us know at 746-4433. Now, what about the Rockies’ chances in the National League West? Well, they will miss Jeff Francis on the mound (out for the season) and Matt Holliday in the outfield (traded to Oakland). They still might be in the middle of a weak division, though, and could be in the race with some breaks. Everyone talks about Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers, but the Giants’ pitching is tough. The Diamondbacks’ pitching is rather good, too.

And, the Cowboys have finalized their 2009 football schedule. Of course, a lot of the talk is about the Texas game on September 12. This is likely the most anticipated game ever in Laramie. I’ll be there, as one of my best friends is the fine play-by-play man for the Longhorns, Craig Way. Craig tells me that Texas should be a preseason Top 5 team again, so Dave Christensen’s team will be tested. Also, I can’t wait to see what Christensen will do with the Wyoming offense, specifially running the spread.