1. Â What do you think of the NBA's play-in tournament for the playoffs?Â
John Letasky: I don't really care for it. It was simple enough when the regular season decided the top eight teams from each conference.Â
Jeff Welsch: Meh. Call me when the NBA starts playing defense again. And when it has NIL so the players can make as much money as the collegians.Â
Sarah Bloom: I think I am still going to watch the fourth quarter of any NBA game, ever. First three don't count. Now I am just waiting on summer league action.
Victor Flores: I like it. It's more entertaining to see four teams play for the final two seeds than to just give two teams those seeds. And as the Heat and Lakers showed last year, conference finalists can come from the play-in.
Briar Napier: I too often just zone out of following the NBA until the conference finals. The play-in doesn't really get me into following it earlier.
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2. Has the UFL grabbed your attention this spring?Â
John Letasky: No, not at all. However, the AFL with the Billings Outlaws has.Â
Jeff Welsch: Ugh. Football in the spring, basketball and hockey in the summer. Aren't we as a nation confused enough as it is?
Sarah Bloom: It never did. But that was before I moved back to Montana and could get behind the Billings Outlaws. Focus diverted from my Philadelphia Eagles.Â
Victor Flores: Usually not at all, but I've paid some attention to it this spring because former Montana State linebacker Callahan O'Reilly is playing for the St. Louis Battlehawks.
Briar Napier: The games themselves, no. But it kind of did when the NFL adopted the XFL-born kickoff rules for this year, perhaps indicating that the league is keeping a watchful eye on the UFL for whatever its future plans may be.
3. Is Masters champion Scottie Scheffler the player to beat in golf this season?Â
John Letasky: It sure looks like it with his No. 1 ranking, which the AP noted is "by a margin not seen since Tiger Woods in his prime."Â
Jeff Welsch: I'm with Sarah — I'm all in if Scheffler can give us a break from Tiger. At this rate, he'll be 90, playing the local par-3 (more power to him), and media will be fawning over his 120-yard drives.
Sarah Bloom: We need him to be. Golf needs him to be. Let's cap a golden era off and see what this Jersey kid can do. As media, let's have more Scottie Scheffler talk and less Tiger Woods talk. Team, break.
Victor Flores: He's been the player to beat since 2022, other than Jon Rahm's hot stretch this time last year. I'm eager to see how long Scheffler can keep this up.
Briar Napier: Scottie's disgustingly good right now, and — dare I say it — I don't think there's been a clearer gap between No. 1 and the rest of the world since prime Tiger.
4. Has the attention given to spring college football dropped this season?Â
John Letasky: It seems to have. I'm not sure why that is, but there just doesn't seem to be as much conversation about the topic.Â
Jeff Welsch: Spring football seemed to have peaked in 2021 when the Griz had that COVID-born nail-biter with Central Washington, setting a bar for intrigue that's impossible to match.
Sarah Bloom: I mean, how can we not be enamored with things to come when we have guys like Frank Gogola and Victor Flores heading up Montana and MSU stories.
Victor Flores: Attention is hard to gauge, but it would make sense if fewer UM and MSU fans care about spring ball. This period provides such a limited view of what these teams will look like in the fall/winter.
Briar Napier: It seems like we barely know the personnel on many of these teams anymore because the transfer portal wreaks havoc yearly, so I'm not surprised.
5. What is the best concert you've been to?Â
John Letasky: For several years I went to most country concerts that came through Metra, so it's hard to remember them all. But, there were some really good ones. If I had to pick, for sentimental reasons I'd say Alabama and then Mötley Crüe put on a couple great shows.Â
Jeff Welsch: Fleetwood Mac, 1977, Pine Knob, Michigan, oh heart be still Stevie Nicks. BUT, I was dragged to Michael Jackson at McNichols Arena in Denver in 1988 and was astonished by his phenomenal stage presence and athleticism.Â
Sarah Bloom: Britney Spears. Circus Tour. Madison Square Garden. I said what I said. But also, Chris Stapleton for five concerts in Montana and New Jersey. What a man.
Victor Flores: The Decemberists in the summer of 2011 in Bend, Oregon. The opening act, Rodrigo y Gabriela, was arguably better than the headliner.
Briar Napier: I think it's actually going to come this summer: Tyler Childers at Wa-Griz in August.