Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Bill has the latest scores and updates from the NBA and NHL playoffs. He’ll talk about which teams’ seasons are about to end and which teams are poised to make a championship run.

The San Jose Sharks finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL. They clinched home ice advantage for the entirety of the playoffs, but after 4 games of first round play the Sharks find themselves down 3 games to 1 and facing elimination to the 8th seeded Anaheim Ducks. The San Jose Mercury News’ Mark Purdy joins Bill to talk about the failure of the San Jose Sharks.

The Anaheim Ducks were the first California hockey team to hoist the Stanley Cup. Despite this there are still plenty of children in Southern California who have never put on skates or picked up a stick. To remedy this the Ducks have sponsored an exhibit in the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. KPCC’s Susan Valot reports on the “The Science of Hockey.”

For seven grueling rounds NFL teams will draft players this weekend. Some will turn out to be superstars, others will turn out to be epic busts. The Boston Globe’s Mike Reiss joins Bill to discuss what to expect in this weekend’s NFL draft.

Warren St. John’s book, Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town, tells the story of one woman’s efforts to coach several soccer teams made up of boys who have come to the U.S. from countries destroyed by civil wars and invasions. Coach Luma Mufleh goes beyond just teaching her team about soccer and St. John reveals her ability to transform the lives of her players. Warren St. John joins Bill to discuss Outcasts United.

Bill and Only A Game analyst Charlie Pierce discuss the NBA playoffs, a high schooler’s decision to forego his senior year to jump to the pros in Europe, and the world’s first environmentally-friendly racing car.

Mike Tyson is one of the most outrageous and interesting characters in professional sports. His motivation, his psyche, and his entire being drew more attention than any other boxer’s in recent history. James Toback’s new documentary on the former heavyweight champion of the world is currently playing in New York and Los Angeles and opens in Chicago and Boston on May 1. Bill talks about the madness of Tyson and the award winning documentary.