by Kent Sterling
Every time Fox 59’s Chris Hagan and I roll into the 1070 the Fan studios for another few hours of talking sports, it feels special, but tomorrow is total madness and I can’t wait.
And I won’t have to wait until our normal start time because there is so damn much going on that our start time has been moved to 8a ET on 1070 the Fan/107.5 FM and 1070theFan.com outside central Indiana.
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The Colts are rolling into the playoffs with momentum after closing the regular season with three dominating wins, including the worst beatdown administered to their Wild Card Round opponent – the Kansas City Chiefs.
Somehow, despite 17 players being placed on injured reserve, the Colts matched their 11-5 record from 2012, and are now looking toward a road showdown with the Broncos or Patriots – or a short drive to their West 56th Street HQ to begin preparations for the 2014 season opener.
Chris and I will talk to Rick Venturi to get the best informed perspective on the game, and to the man in Kansas City – the great Bob Fescoe from 610 Sports. It’s only fair to listen to the man best equipped to express the hopes of a city that has watched its favorite team dump six straight initial playoff games – three of which were against the Colts.
Bob’s a great guy, and if there is anything new from the Chiefs’ side of the injury ledger, he’ll have it cold.
Rick joins us at 8:15a, and Bob will talk us through KC’s issues at 9:45a.
The great Dan Dakich will be on the call with Don Fischer for the IU Radio Network broadcast of the Hoosiers game against Michigan State, and he’ll preview the game for us at 9:00a. Dan was court side at IU’s overtime loss to Illinois, so he’s seen the Hoosiers up close. The Hoosiers are 2.5 point dogs, so there are those who don’t see Indiana as overmatched. We’ll find out what Dan thinks.
The Pacers will try to avoid losing their second consecutive game as they welcome North Central grad Eric Gordon and the New Orleans Pelicans. That still doesn’t roll off the tongue yet. I would have preferred Utah relinquished its right to the Jazz nickname. As anyone who has visited Salt Lake City for more than an hour, jazz is not consumed by many there. Call them the Salty Dogs or some other idiotic thing. Jazz and New Orleans are intrinsically linked.
While we’re at it, there are no Grizzly Bears in Memphis, so the NBA should mandate that the Grizzlies become the Flying Elvi or the Blues – or Ribs. Colts is a different issue as there is no greater reason for Baltimore to own the Colts name as it is for Indianapolis, or the football Cardinals name to remain in St. Louis, or originally in Chicago before moving to the Gateway City. Should have called them the Abandoned Buildings when in St. Louis.
That leaves Chris and I plenty of time to take some calls about the Colts and IU. Hard to get people to line up to rap about the almost relentless excellence the Pacers show. The Toronto game aside, they are winning games in bunches, and continue to talk like there is a lot of work to do. That’s how championship teams behalf.
“Ahead of the Curve” will be as magical as we can make it from 8a-10a prior to Pacers Weekly. I feel like driving in right now and hijacking the damn station so I can get an early start, but I’ll try to get a good night sleep.