Season 4 Episode 11- Greg Wyshynski, Damon Hack, Sam Coatta

On the eleventh episode of the fourth season of The Sports-Casters, hosts Steve Bennett and Don Russ welcome Greg Wyshynski (Puck Daddy Blog, Yahoo! Sports) Damon Hack (Golf Channel) and Sam Coatta (Union Dutchmen, National Champions) to the podcast. Kicking off the show with 3Things, Steve and Don look back at the Masters, look ahead to the Stanley Cup and NBA Playoffs, and talk about a Phil Ivey taking down a Casino for 12 million dollars. Also on the show, the guys preview and make picks for the first round of the NHL playoffs, start Jonah Keri month for the book club, and close the show with one last thing. -Greg Wyshynski is making his eighth appearance (0:19:21) on the podcast. Greg joins us to preview the first round of the NHL playoffs. Greg talks about the new playoff format and if he thinks brackets will be good or bad for the NHL. Greg also explains why he thinks that the Sharks vs. Kings is the best first round playoff matchup, talks about players that could potentially break out this spring, and explains why he thinks each coach is feeling the pressure of the playoffs right now. Also, Greg explains why he doesn't cover the Frozen Four, and why Sabres fans shouldn't panic if they don't win the draft lottery (they didn't). -Damon Hack is making his eighth appearance (0:40:51) on the podcast. Damon joins us to chat about the Masters. Hack talks about the absence of Tiger Woods and his effect on television ratings, the emergence of Jordan Spieth, and explains how Bubba Watson has won 2 of the last 3 green jackets. Hack also looks ahead at the storylines that will occupy golf fans from now until the US Open, golf without Tiger Woods, and looks back at his time at Sports Illustrated. -Sam Coatta is making his first appearance (01:14:25) on the podcast. Coatta joins us to talk about winning the National Championship for the Union Dutchmen (ECAC Hockey). Coatta talks about growing up playing hockey in the state of hockey, playing in the USHL for the Sioux Falls Stampede, and why he decided to play college hockey at Union College. Coatta also talks about winning three ECAC Tournaments and making two trips to the Frozen Four, how the pain of last years loss and watching Yale win the National Title last year helped Union this year, and talks about how the team's confidence was a huge factor in winning the whole thing. Before going back to his celebration, Sam has the last word and thanks everyone that has helped him in his hockey career.