The Front Row: The best day of the year

DRAFT DAY: I love everything about the NBA draft.

It is, without question, the most underrated sports day of the year. You can’t put a price on how much fun it can be to break down the world’s most athletic young basketball players while they’re forced into awkward interactions with David Stern and the ESPN crew.

While last night’s draft didn’t feature anything as memorable as Jalen Rose’s red pinstripe suit from 1994 or Adam Morrison’s disheveled interview with Stuart Scott in 2006, it still featured enough drama and intrigue to justify the four-hour running time.

Besides Jerryd Bayless’ dramatic drop, we got a chance to hear Brook and Robin Lopez speak.

Their voices simply don’t match their appearances. It was also a treat to watch Robin Lopez attempt to corral his hair under a Phoenix Suns’ cap.

We also got to see many familiar Pac-10 faces get drafted. I was a little sad to see every team pass on Jawann McClellan, however.

He is, without question, the most genuinely likable college athlete I’ve met. Even though the odds are stacked against him, I hope he finds his way onto an NBA roster.

Let’s not forget the energetic New York crowd, who found the energy to boo everyone from Danilo Gallinari to Larry Brown. The New Yorkers even booed Stuart Scott just for casually mentioning Isiah Thomas. Fun for the whole family.

---

GO FRESNO!: On Wednesday night, the Fresno State Bulldogs gave the term “Cinderella Story” an entirely new meaning.

How did this scrappy baseball team pull this off? Honestly, I have no idea.

This might be the most unlikely national champion in any sport. The Bulldogs barely made the initial cut. Every game took on the atmosphere of an elimination game.

Yet, they found a way to win the last college baseball game of the season. Every traditional baseball power finds themselves looking up to Fresno State, and nobody’s quite sure how it happened.

Sometimes, it’s better when things can’t be explained. Nice work, Fresno State.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747