Alabama, Auburn fans have good reason to tune into NFL draft

Alabama and Auburn football fans will have good reason to tune into the NFL draft this week as a number of former players from both schools will be up for selection by NFL teams.

Draft eligible players from both schools include Alabama safety Mark Barron, Alabama defensive tackle Josh Chapman, Auburn outside linebacker Eltoro Freeman, Alabama wide receiver Darius Hanks, Alabama outside linebacker Jerrell Harris, Auburn long-snapper Josh Harris, Alabama inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower, Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama wide receiver Marquis Maze, Alabama guard Alfred McCullough, Alabama cornerback DeQuan Menzie, Auburn offensive tackle Brandon Mosley, Alabama running back Trent Richardson, Alabama fullback Brad Smelley, Auburn free safety Neiko Thorpe, Auburn quarterback Barrett Trotter, Alabama outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw and Alabama center William Vlachos.

Troy University players in the mix include Troy offensive guard James Brown, Troy offensive guard Jonathan Massaquoi, Troy punter Will Goggans and Troy quarterback Jamie Hampton.

The first-round of the draft will be held today (Thursday) with the second and third rounds to be selected on Friday at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds will be selected on Saturday.

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The NBA playoffs are set to start on Saturday and as of Monday seven of the eight playoff spots in each division had been decided.

Teams from the Eastern Conference that made the playoff cut included Boston, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Orlando, Chicago and Indiana. Teams from the Western Conference included San Antonio, Memphis, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Denver, the L.A. Lakers and the L.A. Clippers.

Boston, Miami, Chicago, San Antonio and Oklahoma City clinched their divisions this season. Only the Western Conference’s Pacific Division champion and last two playoff teams from each conference remained to be decided.

Chicago and Miami look strongest among Eastern Conference teams, and San Antonio and Oklahoma City appear to be the front-runners in the Western Conference.

At this point, I look for Miami to win the East, and for San Antonio to win the West with Miami to win it all in The Finals.

With that said, we’ll have to wait a while to see if I’m right. The NBA playoffs are notoriously long. The first round starts this weekend and the last possible date for the NBA Finals will fall on June 26. That’s a grand total of 59 days, that is, a little over eight weeks.

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The past week’s selection of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! cartoons didn’t disappoint when it comes to sports-related subjects.

Saturday’s edition included an item about a 1946 boxing match in which Rocky Marciano knocked Carmine Vingo into a coma. Marciano paid Vingo’s medical bills and swore that he would never fight again if Vingo were to die. He recovered and Marciano went on to become heavyweight champion.

Last Thursday’s cartoon said that more than 400 people entered a Jan. 29, 2012 ice fishing tournament in Escanaba, Michigan and a single 4.5-ounce perch was the only catch made.