NC State Wolfpack

By Tony Haynes

As you might imagine, I am a sports junkie. As the color analyst on NC State broadcasts and the managing editor of GOPACK.com, my life revolves around the wonderful world of athletics every single day.

Like many of you, I turn on the TV and head straight to ESPN. After watching Sportscenter, I click it over to CNN/SI to watch the same highlights all over again. The Golf Channel is next. There's nothing more exciting than two-day-old highlights of the Iceland Masters.

Simply put, my daily routines are structured to satisfy my craving for all sports, all the time. Is it an addiction? Yes it is. That's why, towards the end of the basketball season, I knew it would be time for me to check myself into a sports addict rehab center.

The answer to my compulsive behavior was a seven-day cruise to the Western Caribbean. At the urging of our broadcast stat-man Howard Baum, I decided to do something I'd never done before. During the course of the basketball season, you may have heard me refer to Baum as the "Cruise Director." I call him that because he has been on more cruises than Gavin MacLeod.

If it is your desire to 'get away from it all,' a cruise is a perfect choice. Michigan State beat Florida to win the National Championship, but I didn't hear of the results until three days after the fact. There were no baseball scores and I didn't even know who was leading the Masters.

Needless to say, the newspapers in Jamaica and Grand Cayman had no information on the progress of NC State's spring practices. While in Jamaica, I said to a cab driver, "hey mon, you ever heard of Koren Robinson?"

He said yes, but soon I realized that he thought Koren Robinson was the name of a rum drink.

While on my cruise, I encountered gourmet food, beautiful women, gorgeous beaches, beautiful women, many different types of beverages, beautiful women, great deals on jewelry, and lots of beautiful women.

Over the seven days, I became quite intimate with the food, beaches, beverages and jewelry. I guess four out of five isn't bad.

My cabin TV featured Italian movies, Spanish movies, French movies and endless reruns of Regis and Kathie Lee. There was no ESPN and no CNN/SI. You couldn't even get the Weather Channel.

Some folks can afford a cruise while others can't. I'm one of those who can't, but to the delight of my credit card company I sprung for the trip anyway.

Now that I'm back, I can truly say that it was a great vacation. A cruise is the best way to escape reality-and a sports addiction. Am I cured? Absolutely not. The first thing I did upon my return was to read every sports page that had been printed during the seven days I was gone.

Sportscenter is as entertaining and informative as ever. So are CNN/SI and the Golf Channel. Paradise is nice unless it takes you away from the things you really love.

It's good to be home.