The playoffs may be the best time to be a sportswriter, but the best season? Gotta be the spring. No more dressing like an Eskimo to cover soccer, or groping through the fog to find the gym for basketball or wrestling. Instead, it's making sure the pencils are sharp, my hat in place (especially when your hairline's like the economy, in a recession), scorecard and notebook in one hand and bag of sunflower seeds in the other (Note to self: Make room in grocery budget for more seeds!), and getting paid to spend an afternoon out of the office and in the sun.

But the most important thing? Parking as far away from the field as possible, but still arriving in plenty of time for the first pitch.

I've always wondered about those who park as close to the field as possible, especially at smaller parks like the Hanford West softball diamond. Granted, some may need to be that close because of medical conditions, but otherwise, why risk the trip to the glazier or the body shop?

Aside from that, who can complain about being outside this time of year?

Meanwhile, a few more thoughts hopefully worth that second cup of coffee as we wait and see which schools get their ticket punched for the Final Four:

l Hanford's Shawn Estrada will make his long-awaited Kings County pro boxing debut next month at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino.

If Friday night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles was any indication, get there early.

The super middleweight and 2008 Olympian improved to 3-0 with a third knockout, this time of Ray Craig (5-5) at 1:41 of the opening round, knocking the Oakland fighter down three times before it was halted.

The fight at the Tachi is scheduled for April 23 against an opponent to be announced, a "Best of Both Worlds" card that includes another 2008 Olympian, super middleweight Javier Molina, as well as Hanford's Chad Mendes against Joe Morales of Exeter in a three-round Palace Fighting Championship featherweight mixed martial arts bout.

And, unlike February's 18-bout marathon, including a couple of fights on Showtime, this card is a school night-safe 11 bouts long.

l Can we call the proposal to expand the NFL's regular season to 18 games what it really is, a blatant cash grab?

Yes, cutting the number of exhibition, uh, preseason games is a good thing. But word on the street is, with the addition of the two games, we're talking a Super Bowl on President's Day weekend (about the time pitchers and catchers report for spring training), and, not coincidentally, right smack in the middle of the February "sweeps," when TV ratings are closely monitored in order to set advertising rates.

Yes, football is an inherently violent game, and injuries can happen at any time, but the risk increases as the season is extended. Or is baseball going the route of baseball in the late '90s, ignoring the start of the steroid era while spending too much time in the counting house.

When is enough, enough? With the cost of parking, seat licenses and other financial devices designed to separate a fan and his money, a day of live pro football is becoming out of the question for a single family member, yet alone the prototypical family of four.

l Former Hanford West and College of the Sequoias kicker Cody Shaw will play on next season at Division III Wisconsin-Stout.

Shaw was 9-of-18 on field goal attempts last season for the Giants, the longest being a 45-yard effort against Feather River (Quincy) and 39-of-43 on PATs.

He also punted 16 times for the Giants, averaging 37.8 yards per attempt.

Richard de Give is The Sentinel's sports editor. He can be reached at 583-2430 or rdegive@HanfordSentinel.com.

(March 29, 2009)