As the long NBA season winds down, lots of analysts are speculating on playoff match-ups involving such teams as the Lakers, the Cavaliers, the Nuggets, and the Celtics. But not Bill Littlefield…

More unusual sports stories submitted for your approval. First, six months of development have gone into creating a dessert to honor a soccer player. And, an unusual sport from the nation of Kyrgyzstan.

Rounds one and two of the men’s basketball tourney held more surprises than anyone had bracketed for. This week on Only A Game, an NCAA hoops update of the men’s regionals, the latest from the women’s dance, and a slam dunk contest to benefit Sudan.

The second annual Slam for Sudan fundraiser, a slam-dunk and three-point contest benefiting Sudanese immigrants in Burlington, Vermont, took place at Champlain College last Thursday. Here are some photos of the event.

Only A Game Senior Producer Gary Waleik offers his weekly thoughts on the music we use for the show, and this week, he lets his “hip-hop” tendencies run wild.

A 20-win season for a Major League pitcher is considered an outstanding achievement in this day and age, but it certainly wasn’t always that way. In his new book, Fifty-nine in ’84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball & The Greatest Season A Pitcher Ever Had, Edward Achorn documents the unprecedented 59-win season of a 19th century hurler. Bill shares his thoughts on the book.

The 2010 Major League Soccer season will begin Thursday when the Philadelphia Union visit the Seattle Sounders. That scheduling note wasn’t a certainty until the players’ union and the league announced Saturday that they’d reached a new labor agreement. Bill Littlefield looks at the new deal’s strengths and weaknesses.

When your team is in the running for the designation of “Worst NBA Team Ever” you might expect your fans, if you have any left, to complain. But, as Bill Littlefield points out in his latest commentary, the New Jersey Nets’ CEO has forgotten that the customer is always right.

Two more sports stories that will make you stop and think, make you laugh, or maybe just make you puzzled. First, say it ain’t so! They’ve stopped the cheese rolling contest?! And, a man who truly spilled blood for his favorite team is recognized for his loyalty.

This week on Only A Game, can Husker hoopsters of the female variety help Nebraskans forget about their relatively unsuccessful football team? Also, some good spring training talk with Tim Kurkjian, and Vermonters say goodbye to winter with wickets and mallets.