NFL Draft Recap and More

Hey gang - wanted to sneak in a quick post before my two-week marathon of traveling begins. Will be in CA this week and then in Mexico next week....maybe. It's no secret that the media would love nothing more than to scare the absolute sh*t out of everyone (seems to be their number one priority these days), but gotta keep an eye on the great Swine Flu pandemic of '09. At this point, best I can tell is it's nothing more than a "normal" flu - stay in bed, drink fluids and sleep. But what the hell do I know? Here's what I know - of the US cases confirmed thus far, only one person has been hospitalized and it was for like a day and everyone has recovered just fine....just like the regular flu. More on this below, but let's settle down planet earth.

I wanted to get in some quick notes on the draft and an even quicker look at the NBA playoffs.

NFL Draft:
I didn't see one second of this, but finally was able to read/see about it yesterday and here are my initial gut reactions on a few things. I'll preface all of this with, like college football recruiting, this is the biggest, most expensive guessing game in the world today - point being, who in the hell *knows* how any of this will shake out. Obvious, I know, but still worth mentioning.

• First and foremost, the league MUST do something about rookie contracts - it's absolutely ridiculous that a 21-year old kid who has never once played in an NFL game much less stepped foot on a practice field, is getting $41 million dollars GUARANTEED!!! Couple of interesting notes I heard yesterday to help illustrate the absurdity of this. First, Tom Brady signed a contract extension/new contract last year and he's not making this much in guaranteed money. Yes, that Tom Brady. Ben Roethlisberger had to win a super bowl before he got anything that resembled that kind of contract. He's now won 2 super bowls to Stafford's none. Seems crazy to me and I really, truly believe this deal can get done in the new CBA. Essentially, put a cap on incoming rookie contracts. You can still give more money to the top picks, but there's got to be a cap there. I just wonder where the motivation is there - I know these guys are fierce competitors, but I just really don't believe in rewarding people in their respective line of work without having proven themselves. Either way, something's gotta give or this league will find itself in a dire situation.
  
• If you get a chance, go read Peter King's MMQB column and see the details on how the Browns/Jets deal was able to get done - which led to Jets getting Sanchez, "their man". Fascinating read: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/04/26/draft/index.html?eref=T1
• How the Raiders could pass on Crabtree and draft Heyward-Bay out of Maryland is beyond me. In his entire career at Maryland he had four 100-yard games. Crabtree averaged 120+ yards per game. Stupid, stupid move there by the Raiders....but who amongst us is shocked by this, really?
  
• The Skins could conceivably have one of the most wicked D-lines in the league over the next few years with Haynesworth on board and now with Orakpo coming off the end. That could get ugly for opposing offenses.
  
• Why in the world did Denver take Moreno with so many gaping and glaring holes on the defensive side of the ball? Very weird start to the McDaniels era in the mile high city.
  
• With that said, I'm still seeing the "he ran Cutler out of town" nonsense - nothing could be further from the truth.
  
• McGee to the Cowboys huh? Well, alright. I know lots of teams loved this guy at the combine, but I'm not sure I see him playing quarterback in the NFL - we'll see. He's certainly a tough kid,but with his injuries last year, not sure what to expect.
• In case you're curious as to why I love Mike Leach, go find any one of several articles detailing his rampage about his beloved Red Raiders NOT getting drafted high enough (or at all). Look, Captain Blackbeard, I know you love your guys and that's great, but let's consider this: first, sans Wes Welker, not one of your skill players has really done sh*t in the big leagues. Second, I'm sure Crabtree will end up having a great career, but the jury remains out on Harrell. If he's good, he'll get his shot and we'll see. Either way, shouldn't you be trying to figure out how you're going to win more than 6 games next year?
  

NBA Playoffs Notes:

• I'm pretty sure there's not a team around who can completely go to sh*t with a big league, late in the game like the Lakers can. When they're up big, they just get sloppy as hell. Look, I know they won the series in 5 games and winning is all that matters in the playoffs, but you can't keep giving up 20+ point leads in the fourth quarter and expect to continue to advance. Remember, this was an 8 seed. The bench has to play better, make better decisions. Odom has really turned it on and it's a good thing because Bynum has proved yet again that he's an inconsistent puss. He was great in the first game and has been non-existent since then. I'm praying for a seven-game series in the Rockets/Blazers with the hopes that the Lakers can regroup.
• Where did this Mavs team come from? I know Ginobli is out and that's huge for San Antonio, but they are getting manhandled at home right now (I'm in the Palo Alto Four Seasons eating a burger and watching the game and I kind of love it).
  
• I'm not sure how Chicago lost tonight's game (Game 5), but it's absurd that they did - they were up by 12 with 6 minutes to play and lost in overtime. I'm sorry, but this is all about Vinny Del Negro - he's simply not a good coach and you could not only see it, but feel it during the last 10 minutes of this game. He'll be back next year, but he shouldn't.
  
• If Boston happens to get to Cleveland in the playoffs, they'll lose 4 straight games by an average of 12 points. Guaranteed.
• Did you see what Denver did to New Orleans the other night? Winning by 50+? If you lose a playoff game by 50 points, much less 40, they should just call the series right there.
  
• Speaking of the Hornets, there's some speculation that the team from the Big Easy have given up on Coach Byron Scott. Let me tell you - if you don't like your coach and you play like that in the post season, you are a bunch of weak, weak players. Who knows if it's actually true or not, but they've got the same damn team as last year.
  
• I'm going to shoot you straight on a something - I have absolutely no idea what's happening with the Orlando/Philly or Miami/Atlanta series - that's the NBA playoffs first round for you. With the game scheduling, it's almost impossible to stay engaged. I'm sure we'll figure it out soon.
  
• Confession: I was happy when I heard Luke Walton was out for at least a week.
• If you've been reading these posts consistently over the last few months than you know my stance on this - Greg Oden really, REALLY sucks and has got to be one of the top 5 busts in NBA history, joining Darko, Sam Bowie, Kwame Brown and others. There is no way he's earning a fraction of what he's getting paid - in Tuesday's nights game against Houston he had 2 points, 4 rebounds and 0 assists in 14 minutes. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant is on his way to being one of the top 5 players in the league. Well played Portland...well played. The good news is they're still good without him. Soooo, essentially, that number one pick two years ago was a way to NOT get a good player AND to throw away millions of dollars. The NBA is faaaaaantastic.
  
• I swear to everything holy I could hold my own as an NBA General Manager for at least a few years. Seriously.
  

Non-Sports Thoughts of the Week:

• The Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World"commercials are still awesome.
• I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask CNN to back off of the "Swine Flu pandemic story of '09" just a bit. I know it's important; I know you're "trying" to be cautious, but can you please tone it down just a bit?
  
• The "regular" flu kills roughly 35,000 Americans and 300,000 people world wide each year - I'd say this Swine Flu has a bit to go before it can compete with the old-school flu.
  
• Oh man, I can't wait to see the details on "who" and "how" the big fly over New York was approved. Here's a thought - how about the NYPD actually letting someone know that it's coming. Either way, it was a bit scary, but that's it. Let's settle down.
  
• I think Mayor Adam West is slowly, but consistently climbing the ladder as one of the funniest characters on Family Guy.
  
• I'm not ashamed to say that I'm very excited to see the new Star Trek movie.
• 24 is getting soooooooooo good. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm starting to get worried about Jack's well being.
• So I haven't really paid attention to this and don't really know the whole story, but is it me or is the Palin family drama blown waaaay out of proportion or what? I still can't figure out why this woman continues to get so much attention - for better or for worse for her. I'm not dogging her, I've got nothing against her, but at the end of the day, who in the hell cares? Leave this poor woman and her dysfunctional family alone.
  
• All said I think the conclusion for today is that the media, generally speaking, really, really sucks.
  

Alright, that's what I got. I've got to get back to my Q1 Sun/Oracle/"where will I work next" planning. Enjoy the week and be sure to wash your hands.