As crazy as it sounds, the NFL Draft is now a mere days away, with the first round kicking off next Thursday. Seriously, how crazy is that?

(To listen to the podcast, click the green box below. Or to download straight into your iTunes library, click here)

Either way, on Tuesday, I welcomed National Small School writer Matt Elder of Examiner.com onto the podcast to discuss all the prevailing storylines heading into next week. We spent nearly an hour talking NFL Draft, discussing some of the following topics:

- “With the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers select…” In other words, who Matt thinks Carolina should take with the first pick, and they will take with the first pick.

- If character issues with quarterbacks Cam Newton and Ryan Mallett are valid, and whether they should impact their draft stock.

- How Blaine Gabbert might be a bit overvalued entering the draft based on the system he played in at Missouri.

- Why defensive players like Marcell Dareus, Von Miller and Nick Fairley might need to go the right “system,” to succeed.

- Why it’s dumb for NFL teams to pass on Patrick Peterson if he’s believed to be the best “football player,” in the draft.

After taking a few days to digest all the madness that came about this March, Aaron decided it was time to put a bow on the 2011 college basketball season, and start looking toward 2012. And on Thursday, Yahoo Sports college basketball blogger Jeff Eisenberg joined Aaron to do just that.

(To listen to the podcast, click the green box below. Or to download straight into your iTunes library, click here)

In the podcast, the two tackled a number of subjects, including:

- All of Jeff's travels over the last month, and why the West Regional in Anaheim was one of the best NCAA Tournament atmospheres he's ever been a part of.

- What we'll remember about the 2011 champion UConn Huskies, and whether the NCAA sanctions which hit the program in early February have any impact on their legacy.

- Jeff's overall memories of the 2011 season, including thoughts on Jimmer Fredette, Kemba Walker, the Butler Bulldogs and more.

Then, with so many big names announcing that they'll return to college next fall, Aaron and Jeff start looking ahead to the 2012 season, and discuss the following:

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One of the most innovative and exciting things to hit the internet in some time is “The Daily,” an iPad only news source which first began publication back in early February. And on Tuesday, veteran sportswriter John Walters stopped by the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast to discuss his work with The Daily, and much more.

(To listen to the podcast, click on the green box above, or download for FREE from iTunes, click here)

 John is an experienced writer, who has previously worked at Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, AOL Fanhouse and written the book, “The Same River Twice,” before getting to The Daily. On Tuesday, he discussed the following with Aaron:

-  How he got started at The Daily, and why even two months into publication, their own writers aren’t exactly sure how to refer to themselves.

- Why even after covering the Super Bowl and Final Four, The Daily is still having trouble getting credentialed at certain events.

- If John foresees more non-printed publications like The Daily popping up.

- The power of Twitter, and why it has changed the news and reporting game forever.

- How a good Twitter conversation is a lot like finding a fun dorm room on a college campus.

- What projects John and The Daily will be working on going forward

And much, much more.

Whether you’re a journalist yourself, or just a fan of quality sports writing, this podcast has a little something for everyone. Join the conversation with John and Aaron by listening here at AaronTorres-Sports.com, or by downloading the podcast at iTunes and listening later.

Enjoy!

If you're a college hoops fan, it really is the most wonderful time of the year: Final Four Week! But before a champion is crowned on Monday, we've first got to take a look at Saturday's games.

Which is what exactly what I did on the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast Thursday, when I welcomed two former guests back to the show!

(To listen to the podcast, click on the green box below, or download for FREE from iTunes, click here)

First up, I was joined by CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, who will be covering his first Final Four working for the company. Amongst the topics he and I discussed, included:

- What his expectations are heading into this first Final Four

- Why the logistics of the city of Houston could determine who- and what- stories he covers

- After being assigned to cover Butler this weekend, what story angles he hopes to tackle

- A few keys for each team to win Saturday evening

Then once Matt is done, Mike Grant of UCHuskies.com stops by to talk about UConn's improbable Final Four run.

Mike and I discuss the following...

With links to the best of news, sports and pop-culture, Sports Illustrated.com’s Hot Clicks has become a must-read for thousands of people every day. And on Tuesday, the man behind Hot Clicks, SI.com Senior Producer Jimmy Traina stopped by the Aaron Torres Sports to discuss everything that goes into the segment.

(To listen to the podcast, click on the green box below, or download for FREE from iTunes, click here)

Amongst the topics that Jimmy and Aaron discuss, included the following:

- How Hot Clicks started, and why Jimmy felt there was a void between mainstream news coverage and what fans wanted to see and read

- Blog coverage vs. mainstream media coverage, and why each is important to our everyday lives

- Has the quality of blogs has improved since Jimmy started doing Hot Clicks four years ago, or just the quantity?

- What kind of unique articles, stories and posts does Jimmy enjoy featuring on Hot Clicks

- Why Jimmy started the Hot Clicks Podcast a few weeks ago, and how he's enjoyed it so far

- Jimmy shares his thoughts on the upcoming Yankees season, as well as some Final Four picks

And much, much more.

One of the most underreported stories in sports right now, is that of the Trinity College men’s squash team.

Never heard of Trinity squash? Well that’s a shame, because coach Paul Assaiante’s club is re-writing the record books as we know them, and doing things that John Wooden, Geno Auriemma and Joe Paterno could never dream of. Trinity Squash just won their 13th straight National Championship in February, and more incredibly, just wrapped up their 13th straight undefeated season. Their 244 match winning streak is the best in the history of college sports, and now dates back to the late 1990’s.

Well earlier in the week, Coach Assaiante was nice enough to stop by and discuss the win streak, his program and his book "Run To The Roar" with Aaron (To listen click the green box above, or to download straight from iTunes, click here):

Amongst the topics Coach Assaiante discussed were:

- His strange background in coaching squash, and why he only took his first head coaching job because he had no other choice

- The beginnings at Trinity, a solid regional program with little national acclaim, and how one meeting with the school President changed the face of collegiate squash forever

- The criticisms of cheating that his program has faced from fans of opposing schools, and why that's frustrating and angering for the Trinity squash program

- The concept behind his book, “Run To The Roar,” what it means, and how Coach Assaiante applies it to his everyday coaching style

- How the win streak has helped improve the overall level of collegiate squash

- What he will tell his team when they finally do lose the match that ends the streak

And much more…

A week after making his podcast debut to break down the original field of 68, Jameson Fleming of CBS Sports is back, this time to talk about the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament!

(To listen to the podcast click the green box below, or to download for FREE straight from iTunes, click here)

In this fast-paced recap podcast, he and Aaron discuss the following topics:

- VCU’s amazing run to the Sweet 16, and why statistically, the Rams played one of the best games in tournament history against Purdue

- What happened to the Big East this past weekend, and whether the public ridicule the conference is getting is fair.

- Jameson’s take on some of the refereeing mishaps of the weekend, and why in most of those cases, the referees simply weren’t at fault.

- Who Jameson likes to win this weekend, and why he thinks Wisconsin can continue to surprise people

- Jameson shares his revised Final Four picks!

And much, much, more...

With the NCAA Tournament now a mere hours from tipping off, Aaron was joined on the podcast Monday by Jameson Fleming of CBS Sports!

(To listen to the podcast click the green box below, or to download straight from iTunes, click here)

In his first year with CBS Sports, Jameson was able to share a lot of excellent insight and analysis, including thoughts on the following subjects:

- What the initial reactions to Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and the rest of the TNT staff were, and how they'll enhance CBS' Tournament coverage.

- The intial reactions to expanded TV coverage, the ability to watch every single game live, and how CBS Sports will be engaged in helping viewers navigate the new format

- Getting into basketball discussion, why both Jameson and Aaron agree that maybe, the NCAA Tournament selection committee didn't have it's best year, not only with which teams made the field and which didn't, but also with seedings, matchups, etc.

- Finally Aaron and Jameson break down the field, and tell listeners what the strengths and weaknesses of all the contenders (Ohio State, Kansas, Duke etc.) are. They also break down a handful of fringe contenders like North Carolina, Wisconsin and Florida, and discuss why you should be wary of each.

After a short time off, the Aaron Torres Podcast is back, as author and journalist Travis Haney stops by to talk about his new book, “Gamecock Glory,” focusing on the South Carolina Gamecocks run to the 2010 College World Series championshipship.

(To listen to the podcast, click the green box below, or to download straight from iTunes, click here)

Whether you’re a baseball for or not, believe me when I tell you, that this is an ABSOLUTE must listen, as Travis discusses:

- The rag tag nature of a South Carolina team that didn’t win its conference, or even its division within the conference, yet went on to take home the school’s first National Championship in any men’s sport ever.

- How the Gamecocks resiliency showed throughout Omaha, where South Carolina won six straight elimination games to capture a title.

- How 5-year-old Bayler Teal’s battle with cancer coincided with South Carolina’s run to the title.

- How Travis arranged for the Teal family to be in Omaha for the Championship Game, and watch their school take home the title, while at the same time honoring their son.

Listen, I would never sugar-coat anything, so when I tell you that this is my favorite podcast I’ve ever done, just take my word for it.

I encourage you to listen above or download from iTunes, and if interested, pre-order your copy of Gamecock Glory today!

It's another day, and you know what that means: Time for another Aaron Torres Sports Podcast! Today, Aaron is joined by CBS Sports Recruiting writer Bryan Fischer, as they attack the whole college football landscape

(To listen to the podcast, click the green box below, or to download straight from iTunes, click here)

Amongst the topics Aaron and Bryan discuss, included the following:

- The recruitment of everyone's All-American Jadeveon Clowney, and whether Bryan likes the practice of some elite players waiting until after Signing Day to announce their decisions

- Whether or not we should make anything about Clowney's unflattering comments on Alabama coach Nick Saban

- The delayed commitment of No. 2 recruit Cyrus Kouandjio, and whether the backlash he receiving for switching from Auburn to Alabama was fair

- A quick discussion on USC coach Lane Kiffin, who was hit hard by the NCAA on Wednesday for his time at Tennessee

- How USC is being proactive to make sure the probation they're on now, never happens again

- What Bryan saw in Cam Newton's workout in San Diego two weeks ago