— Baseball has launched, both hockey and the NBA are in their playoff seasons, but what gets front-page billing? Natch — the Arizona Cardinals’ schedule for next fall. You know, the NFL, that non-profit collective.

— Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta’s NBA Coach of the Year, finally gave Danny Ferry (richly deserved) credit for being the architect of the Hawks’ Eastern Conference No. 1-seeded team.

— It’s not hard to understand the fascination with the Curry/Thompson duo at Golden State; they can shoot — REALLY shoot. It’s especially noteworthy when so many college coaches are busy bemoaning the fact their kids nowadays cannot shoot terribly well. [A case in point: the vaunted Harrison twins of NCAA semifinalist Kentucky, neither of whom could shoot 40 per cent.]

— Stanley Johnson, University of Arizona’s PAC-12 Freshman of the Year, declared this week for the NBA draft. I would imagine few in Tucson are shedding tears.

— Everyone knows Chicago Cubs baseball fans are the most diehard in the world and are now awfully excited about their newly revamped team. Yet, one writer in USA Today had this to say: “Realistically, this is a team whose best attribute is its likelihood to get better as the season proceeds.” Let’s all hope the Cubbies do just that.

— Lastly, did y’all catch Rajon Rondo’s performance, or lack thereof, in the other night’s Dallas Maverick-Houston Rocket playoff game