Congratulations to Chee-Hoo Nation member Dawn T. for winning the 2009 Rob and Russ NBA Playoffs Pick-Off Challenge! Dawn correctly predicted the Lakers to win in 5 games, Kobe to get the MVP award, and almost exactly pegged the final margin of victory at 15 (actual margin: 13). As the inaugural champion, Dawn wins a $50 Big City Diner gift certificate and a brand-spankin’-new AM 1500 The Team t-shirt.

Congratulations as well to Stephen P. and Mitch D. for rounding out 2nd and 3rd place. Stephen wins a free pair of Scott Hawaii Slippers and an AM 1500 The Team t-shirt, while Mitch takes home a Phiten Titanium necklace in addition to an AM 1500 The Team t-shirt.

Thank you to Big City Diner, Scott Hawaii, and Phiten USA for making the contest possible and a big mahalo and CHEE-HOO to all the participants for making the inaugural Rob and Russ NBA Finals Pick-Off Challenge a rousing success.

See you next year!

Sorry Chee-Hoo Nation, but there is no Rob & Russ show on Tuesday. Furthermore, a few technology snafus (I have to be honest, I just wanted an excuse to say snafu) prevented us from recording any of last Thursday’s show.

But never fear, the Almighty J is here and hope is near. (Do I make myself clear?).

In order to waylay the cold sweats, nervous ticks, and pressing sadness that comes from Rob & Russ withdrawals, I’ve created a list of the top five things to do on Tuesday in lieu of listening to Hawaii’s #1 sports show hosted by people whose names begin with the letter ‘R’.

5. Read The JBorhood Archives

If you think I’m above shamelessly pimping my own content then you don’t know me well enough. I’m vain, braggadocious, and a shameless self-promoter, but witty, engaging, and hopelessly endearing. So take a moment, let your hair down, crack open an ice cold Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and join your friends and JBors in…

The JBorhood

4. Watch the NHL Finals Game 6

Oh wait. I’m sorry. I forgot that no one cares about Hockey. Nevermind.

3. Get your Warrior Football Fix at uhfootball.blogspot.com

With less than 3 months til kickoff, it’s never too early to get caught up on all things Warrirors. Friend-of-the-Show Tombo Ahi updates the site on a daily basis with a steady stream of fabulous football fever.

If it involves the Warrior Football team it’s happening at uhfootball.blogspot.com.

[Author's Note: We here at Rob & Russ love all things UH Sports. If you know a great Warrior Web site let us know @ the Scott Hawaii Primo Slippah Mailbox, RobandRuss@am1500hawaii.com, or in the comments section and we'll let Chee-Hoo Nation in on the secret.]

2. Take a one-day hiatus from sports and spend some time outdoors.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Just kidding, everyone. I may be ridiculous, but I ain’t crazy.

1. Watch Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu put the smack down on Kobe Bryant and the overrated Lakers.

(Yes, that was a thinly veiled attempt to rile up Laker fans and make them sound off on the comment board. Thanks for asking.)

Have a terrific Tuesday and we’ll see you back on Thursday!

Love the suggestions? Hate them? Did I miss anything? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below…

Lakers? Magic? Who ya got? Let us know for your chance to win a $50 Big City Diner gift certificate!

Contest Rules:
Tell us…

1. Which team you think will win the 2009 NBA Finals and how many games it will take them to win
2. Which player will win MVP
3. The final score of the deciding game

Entries will be judged based on (in order) the team that wins, the # of games, the MVP, margin of victory, total points scored by winning team, total points scored by the losing team.

First place wins a $50 gift certificate to Big City Diner. Second place wins a pair of Scott Hawaii slippers. Third place wins a Phiten titanium necklace. All winners receive the brand new AM 1500 The Team T-Shirt.

There are three ways to enter:

1. Submit a comment to this notification
2. Send an email to the Scot Hawaii Primo Slippah Mailbox - RobandRuss@am1500hawaii.com
3. Follow @AlmightyJ on Twitter and tweet your entry

Mahalo to all our generous sponsors for making this contest possible. Good luck!

We are very excited to announce the newest members of the RobandRuss.com crew! Please give a big CHEE-HOO to Kyle Galdeira, Tiff Wells, and Theo Jones, who will join the team in July.

Galdeira, former media relations director for Hawaii Winter League Baseball will provide weekly updates on former HWB Stars Ichiro Suzuki, Todd Helton, Jason Giambi, and Derek Lee and update us on the new crop of big-leaguers including Joba Chamberlain, Nate Shierholtz, Matt Clement, Matt Gamel, Jamie Hoffman, John Mayberry Jr. and more!

Wells (Former Pepperdine Volleyball play-by-play anouncer) and Jones (KITV News producer) will be provide exclusive interviews of Hawaii’s future stars.

Stay tuned to RobAndRuss.com and The Rob and Russ Show, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-9 am on AM 1500 the Team, Hawaii Sporting News, for more details.

Our team will be on the scene at Les Murakami Stadium, so stay tuned to RobAndRuss.com for in-depth coverage of the WAC Baseball Tournament.

We’ll be checking the site throughout the weekend, so leave all your feedback and questions in the Comments section and we’ll do our best to provide you the type of insight, analysis, and entertainment you’ve come to expect from the crew here at RobAndRuss.com.

Known for his great personality and local style, Coach McMackin upholds the time honored tradition of casual “Aloha Fridays”, routinely wearing slippers to practice each Friday. During an interview on the Rob and Russ show, Rob DeMello suggested that Coach Mack should have his own slipper contract, the island’s version of the mega-athlete’s shoe deal. It didn’t take long for the word to get back to Scott Hawaii. By day’s end, the wheels had been set in motion. The radio show, the fans, the coach, and the oldest best-respected local slipper company around had a date with destiny: Coach Mack’s slipper was born.

Now, half a season and a spring practice later, Scott Hawaii is asking you, the super fan, to help continue the story by deciding what Coach Mack’s slipper will be named.

Visit Scott Hawaii’s website to submit your vote:
Scott Hawaii.com

Because every good local story has a happy ending, a portion of the proceeds form the sale of each McMackin slipper will go to benefit Na Koa, the University of Hawaii Football Club.

Now, are you ready to call in the play?