You got questions?

Last weekend, Nicholls had their spring football game.

This weekend, the NBA Playoffs begin.

The weekend after that, the LSU football team will have its spring game, and the weekend after that will mark the end of April and the 2017 NFL Draft.

And while this is all going on, prep baseball, softball and track and field are roaring into high gear.

Oh yeah, it’s easy to see why this week’s mailbag was loaded with questions.

Our readers have a variety of interests this week, and they’re all incredibly topical, because the world of sports is oozing with interesting topics.

Thanks to all for the submissions.

To send questions in the future, please email casey@rushing-media.com.

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Q: I am an NFL Draft geek. Who would you take as the top quarterback? (Asked by Sammy Smith)

A: Goodness, that is an awfully good question. The scouts say that North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will be the first guy off the board, and I have no information to dispute the validity of those reports. But if I were an NFL general manager, there’s no way in heck that I’d take Trubisky over Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. Trubisky is too much of an unproven commodity to me. He had fat stats against a lot of teams, yes. But he was also pretty mediocre when facing adequate pass defenses. That makes me nervous. As for Watson? He shredded Alabama’s defense two years in a row. Give me the guy who can make Nick Saban look like mincemeat any day of the week. The Alabama defense is the closest thing to an NFL defense in college football. To have success against them is big for me.

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Q: Spring football is almost here for prep. Who will be the best couple local teams in 2017? (Asked by TrojanBooster)

A: I think we’re going to have several local teams make the playoffs next season. In Houma, I think Vandebilt will be the kings. With Andrew Robison back, the Terriers are going to score a lot of points and will be one of the most dynamic teams in the area. In Lafourche, I think everyone will be good. I think E.D. White will take steps forward, and I believe that South Lafourche, Central Lafourche and Thibodaux can all have strong seasons if things go as expected.

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Q: What do you want to see out of the LSU football team in spring practices? (Asked by Billy Toups)

A: I am dying to see Matt Canada’s new-look LSU offense. With Ed Orgeron being a Bayou Lafourche guy, I’ve had tons of friends and family members attend spring practices over the past few weeks. The reports I’ve been getting back are glowing. I’m told that quarterback Danny Etling has been sharp as a blade, and the new offensive scheme is complex, but awfully tough to guard. On the defensive side of the ball, I think that Arden Key (when back) will be unbelievably good for Dave Aranda. I think LSU will have one of the top defenses in the country – a unit that will rival Alabama’s. I literally am itching to see it all in action. It should be a lot of fun.

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Q: Will someone locally make the State Baseball Finals in Sulphur? (Asked by Cleveland Adams)

A: I am not 100 percent sure of the question, so I will explain how I interpreted it, then give my answer. I understood this question as, ‘Will someone make it to Sulphur in the playoffs’ as-in, will someone make the State Semifinals. Answering it that way, I will say yes. I think Vandebilt and E.D. White have a shot in Division II, and I think CCA has a shot in Division IV. Now, whether any of those teams make it to the State Championship Game (which may also be what you’re asking me), I cannot answer that one, though I wouldn’t doubt any of our local teams.

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Q: Where will Elijah McGuire get drafted? Or what about Leonard Fournette? (Asked by EastSideSoldja)

A: Elijah McGuire is in the part of the draft that’s literally the hardest to project. He’s a mid-to-late-round guy, which means that he can go literally anywhere based on how teams assemble their draft boards. But I like to take risks, so I will say that he goes in the fifth round – taken by the Minnesota Vikings, who are looking to build running back depth after the departure of Adrian Peterson. As for Leonard Fournette, I think he is going to be somewhere in the Top 10. All of the mock drafts right now have him going No. 8 to the Carolina Panthers, but after an impressive LSU Pro Day, I think he will go even higher than that.

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Q: What is your NBA Finals pick? (Asked by Matt Allen)

A: For the entire season, I thought the Rockets were the sleeper team to win it all. I thought they had the scoring to get past the Golden State Warriors and the star power to eclipse the San Antonio Spurs. But as we approach the playoffs, I am ready to admit that that’s wrong. The NBA Champion will either be the Warriors or Spurs, and that may be one of the best series in NBA Playoff history, because the teams align against one another pretty damned well. In the East, I think the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors all have a shot in a wide-open Eastern Conference. None of those teams, in my opinion, stand any chance against the Spurs or Warriors, though.

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Q: What is the best sports movie you’ve ever seen? (Asked by Tim Peterson)

A: I could literally name 10 without flinching and be perfectly OK with whatever answer I give. But you asked for one, so I will say “Rudy.” It’s just something about that movie that gives me the goosebumps every, single time. When it gets to the end, I know that the fans are going to start chanting “RUDY, RUDY, RUDY,” but I just can’t fight it. I start getting bubble guts every, single time.

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Q: One-word answer, then one sentence explanation: Who is the NBA MVP? (Asked by BallIzLife)

A: Harden. I’m tired of the nonsense about how Westbrook doesn’t have any help. Harden doesn’t have a second All-Star, either. But his play elevates his teammates, who are all guys who were sloppy seconds – mostly former Pelicans. To win 55 games with that roster is nuts.

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Q: Best individual performance you’ve ever covered?

A: Two come to mind. I watched the Ellender Patriots physically beat the hell out of Lionheart Leslie for 32 minutes, but still lose the game to Vandebilt because Leslie got off the mat every time he was knocked down and delivered some massive on-court punishment. The Houma Courier ran an AWESOME front-page photo of Leslie going baseline in the game – his bottom lip oozing with blood as he drove. That game was nuts. Both teams played well, and the crowd was as wild as can be. But only one team had a lion, and he willed his team to a win. The other came from Patterson halfback Kenny Hilliard. Back when we were the Tri-Parish Times and we covered St. Mary Parish, I watched Hilliard single-handedly get his team to the State Championship Game – first by forcing a fumble, then by scoring on the game-winning 2-point conversion. Hilliard was hit at the 3-yard-line on the play and he drug about five of the 11 defenders into the end zone for the score. I hear tales about an unbelievable game Elijah McGuire had against St. Charles Catholic back in the day, but I wasn’t in attendance to see that one. •

Rudy

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