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Posted 04/23/2008 at 04:30 PM
Good afternoon, folks. Lots going on in the sports world with a flurry of NFL transactions going down in the last 24 hours, not to mention the draft coming up on Saturday. We've got the NBA Playoffs and I'm (slowly) starting to get into baseball. With all that in mind, let's get caught up on a few things (bouncing around from sport to sport) and I'll link you to some interesting articles I've recently read.
--Remember when Cleveland State upset Indiana in the 1986 NCAA Tournament? It was the same season John Feinstein chronicled IU in one of the best sports books ever written -- A Season on the Brink. Anyway, the Vikings' coach back then was Kevin Mackey and here's his story.
--Sadly, we'll never know what sort of NFL player David Pollack would've been. Pollack, one of the SEC's all-time premier pass rushers, appears to be on his way to retirement due to the neck injury he suffered in Week 2 of the 2006 season.
--Here's my Big Board (not how I think the draft will go, but who I think will have the most productive NFL careers):
1-Darren McFadden (RB - Arkansas)
2-Jake Long (OT - Michigan)
3-Keith Rivers (LB - USC)
4-Chris Long (DE - Virginia)
5-Glenn Dorsey (DT - LSU)
6-Sedrick Ellis (DE - USC)
7-Matt Ryan (QB - Boston College)
8-Chris Williams (OT - Vandy)
9-Brian Brohm (QB - Louisville)
10-James Hardy (WR - Indiana)
--I still say Jerry Jones is going to trade up to get Darren McFadden.
--I like Matt Ryan, who gave us a signature moment in Blacksburg last year, but I think No. 3 is a little too high to take 'em (thinking Falcons here). With so many holes to fill, Atlanta should trade down and look to get its QB (Brian Brohm) late in the first round or sometime in the second (Andre Woodson).
--Georgia head basketball coach Dennis Felton has removed the 'stache.
--Gregg Doyel did a sensational job with his re-cap story of Kansas-Davidson in the Elite Eight.
--Atlanta RHP John Smoltz became just the 16th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 strikeouts last night. His first K victim? A guy named Darryl Strawberry.
--As if Bobby Bowden didn't have enough issues, his best offensive player (WR Preston Parker) was arrested late Monday night with a loaded gun and 4.8 grams of weed. With that in mind, I'm guessing he gets suspended for the first quarter of the season opener?
--Am I the only one that wonders if Michael Vick is mired in depression and shame right now, or if he -- one of the greatest pure athletes of all time -- is as determined as any athlete ever to redeem himself upon his release from prison?
--I just took a look back at my NBA Draft Blog. I got a lot of things right and missed out on some things. I got it right that the Hawks would return to playoffs this year and that Al Horford was a great pick. I was also right on...
1-Brandan Wright being a bust (so far).
2-Defending Danny Ainge's trade for Ray Allen.
3-Carl Landry being good second-round value.
4-Ditto for "Big Baby" Davis.
5-Al Thornton being best available at fringe of lottery.
However, I was wrong about...
1-Derrick Byars (where is he, anyway?)
2-Corey Brewer (so far, that is)
Allright, folks, I'm checking out for the day to head to the gym and shake the rust off my jumper after putting down about 50 Budweisers at the beach this past weekend.
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