General: The Couch Potato

The playoffs are coming! The playoffs are coming!

If you love winter sports, then get ready, because the most exciting time of the year is upon us.

NBA and NHL teams are trying to establish playoff position and college basketball teams are looking for one or two more wins to solidify their place in the NCAA tournament.

If you're like me, this is a perfect weekend to relax on the couch and watch sports.

Here are four match ups that will get you pumped up for post season play.

Sacramento @ San Antonio, NBA, Saturday, 3-1-03, 4 p.m., ESPN

The Sacramento Kings are coming off a seven game home stand and on Saturday they travel to the hottest team in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs. The Kings received great news early in the week, when Chris Webber returned to the starting lineup after missing ten games with a bad ankle. Webber has led Sacramento in points in his first two games back, both Sacramento victories. The Kings need a healthy Webber down the stretch to hold off the pesky Portland Trailblazers in the Pacific division.

San Antonio is not a team that many people expected to compete for the Midwest division crown. The Spurs have been on fire as they have won 11 of their past 12. San Antonio isn't the same team that they were in the late '90s. David Robinson used to be the anchor of the Spurs offense, but now he has passed the torch to Tim Duncan. Duncan, the former Wake Forest Demon Deacon, continues to put up monster numbers. The seven-foot, power forward is putting up over twenty points a game to go along with twelve rebounds, and is the most effective low post player in the NBA.

Many people look at this match up and say that it is Duncan vs. Webber, but they are wrong. Sacramento and San Antonio may be the two most balanced teams in the NBA. Duncan and Webber will each put up 20 points and 10 boards, but their supporting casts will decide the outcome?

San Antonio is a much better defensive team than Sacramento. The Spurs hold their opposition to less than ninety points a game, and they will use forward Bruce Bowen to slow down the Kings. Bowen, one of the NBA's best defenders, will have his hands full as he has to find a way to slow down Pedja Stojakovic. Stojakovic is one of the best outside shooters in the game shooting over 40% from beyond the three-point stripe.

I talked about big guys, but these teams have talented guards as well. The Spurs have a strong combination in Stephen Jackson and Tony Parker, but the Kings may have the best point guard in the game in Mike Bibby. Last season in the conference finals, Mike Bibby almost single handedly won game seven against the Lakers and the talented guard can win a game by himself on any given night.

The key to the game is whether or not the Spurs can hold Sacramento under 100 points. If San Antonio forces the Kings into a low scoring game, the Spurs will win. If Sacramento has their normal output on offense, the Kings will leave the Alamo Dome with a "W." This may be a preview of the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Minnesota @ St. Louis, NHL, Sat., 3-1-03, 8 p.m., ESPN2

For the first time since the 1992-93 season, a Minnesota franchise is poised to make the playoffs. The Wild, in only their third season of existence, currently sit in 6th place in the Western conference. Minnesota is very similar to the Florida Panthers back in 1996. Neither of these two teams had a lot of talent, but the survived because of one talented player. In 1996, the Panthers rode the back of John Vanbeisbrock to the Stanley Cup Finals, this year the Wild are led by the best young player in hockey, Marion Gaborik.

Gaborik can do it all offensively and is the reason Minnesota will make the playoffs. The biggest problem for the Wild is that they rely on the youngster too much. In a recent stretch, Gaborik went eleven games without lighting the lamp. During that period, the Wild scored three or more goals only twice. This is what will end Minnesota's season in the first round the playoffs. The Wild don't score many goals, and if Gaborik is shut down, the team has to rely on a bunch of NHL journeymen to fill the net.

St. Louis has been a pleasant surprise this season. Did anyone give the Blues a chance after learning that all-star defenseman Chris Pronger was out for the first five months of the season? I sure didn't, but the Blues have surprised many of us. St. Louis has led the Central division for the majority of the season, but the Blues have fallen on hard times. St. Louis has lost their division lead after winning only one of their last six.

Injuries have been a major problem for St. Louis all season as Pronger, Tyson Nash, Pavol Demitra, Brent Johnson, and Doug Weight have all spent significant time watching games from the press box. Will St. Louis be healthy enough for a Stanley Cup run or will Larry Pleau have to make a move at the trading deadline to strengthen this team?

These two teams met just six days earlier and there is some bad blood between these two. Last Sunday in Minnesota, the Wild got two goals from Wes Walz and a third period short-handed goal to down the Blues 3-1. In the loss, the Blues lost star left-winger Keith Tkachuk for four games after drawing a suspension for cross-checking Walz in the face. There is nothing better than two hockey teams who are desperate for wins. This contest should feel like a game in late April rather than early March.

#2 Kentucky @ #22 Georgia, NCAA, Sun., 3-2-03, 4 p.m., CBS

The Wildcats are the hottest team in the country, winners of 17 in a row. Kentucky has not last a game in the year 2003. Their last loss came at the hands of their interstate rival the Louisville Cardinals.

What is the recipe for a 17 game winning streak? A team must play good defense, shoot the ball well, and you can't commit turnovers. In the past two months Kentucky has played the best team defense in the country. In their past ten games, UK has not allowed an opponent to score over 70 points. Tubby Smith's crew also has their share of weapons on offense. The boys from the Bluegrass state are led by upperclassmen Keith Bogans and Gerald Fitch. The duo has combined for 31 points on the season and have helped the Wildcats shoot an astonishing 49% from the field. Kentucky has gone thru two months of the SEC schedule undefeated and they will receive their toughest conference test of the season in Athens, Georgia.

The Georgia Bulldogs may be college basketball's biggest mystery. In the preseason, the Bulldogs were expected to be one of the toughest teams in the country, but this Georgia team has not lived up the preseason hype. Coach Jim Harrick has not been able to get consistent play from his troops, especially on the defensive side of the basketball. The Bulldogs have not done a good job pounding the glass against top notch competition. This may be reason that Georgia has struggled in tight games. In Georgia's seven losses, six have been by six points or less.

Georgia has won four conference games in a row and they host Kentucky playing their best basketball of the season. If Georgia wants to stay with Kentucky they must rebound the basketball and have a great shooting night. The Bulldogs will have to play their best game of the season just to keep this game within single digits. Kentucky should win this basketball game, but it is always tougher to win on the road, especially in conference play. If UK can survive this road test, the faithful at Rupp Arena will see another SEC hanging in the rafters.

#24 Connecticut @ #8 Pittsburgh, NCAA, Sun, 3-2-03, 4 p.m., CBS

Are you ready for the rematch of last season's Big East Championship game? Last season, Pitt and UConn battled at Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament title in one of the conference's greatest games of all time. The game went into overtime and UConn pulled out the championship as Taliek Brown nailed a desperation thirty foot jumper with less than a minute left to sink the Panthers.

This season, Pittsburgh has been the team to beat in the Big East. The Panthers returned all five starters from last year's squad, including co-Big east player of the year Brandin Knight. Knight struggled shooting for the first three months of the season, but the senior point guard has stepped up his play. The New Jersey native has put up 20 points in two of his last three games. The Panthers need Knight to come thru on offensive, because Pitt lacks a true scoring threat. Pittsburgh is the only team in the top ten without a top 20 scorer or a top 20 rebounder. Ben Howland's squad is not particularly fast or talented, but they play an unselfish team game and that's why this team has been in the top 10 in the country all season.

Connecticut is a hard team to figure out. The Huskies coasted early in the season due to a soft schedule, but have struggled in Big East play. UConn has lost some bad games (at Villanova, BC, @ Virginia Tech), but they are coming off of their best win of the season at Notre Dame. The Huskies biggest problem this season is that they are having a hard time getting out of the gate. In six of their past fifteen games, the Huskies have trailed by more than sixteen points in the 1st half. Teams that win in March don't stumble coming out of the gate.

This game will be won in the low post and UConn features the nation's top shot blocker in Emeka Okafor. Okafor, a sophomore, has increased his offensive production as the season has gone along. If Okafor continues to score points in the low post, UConn becomes the most dangerous team in the conference. Does Pitt have an answer for Okafor? No! The brand new Petersen Events Center has been tough for the opposition as the Panthers have no lost at home all season. On Sunday, Pitt gets their toughest home test in 2003. If this game can match the excitement from last year's championship game, you are in for a treat!

Jason Linkes is a sports talk show host in Hartford, Connecticut. You can listen to his show "Sports Rap" live every Sunday night at 8 p.m. eastern on SportsJuice.com. (You can call his show at 860-721-8814.)

Linkes also has a show on Fox Sports Radio in New Haven, Connecticut and is a play-by-play announcer for various professional and college teams in Connecticut.