Parcells' HOF induction long overdue - ESPN New York

AP Photo/Ray StubblebineBill Parcells will join Lawrence Taylor in Canton.

My sentiments exactly for the same reasons I outlined last year when he was snubbed.
http://slavieboy.blogspot.com/2012/02/parcells-snubbed-by-hof.html

So now Strahan waits. I'm not sure he's any less worthy than Warren Sapp. The NFL's Hall of Fame problem is there is such a logjam of guys who should be in, but there is a cap on the number of guys they let in each year. No knock on Sapp, he was a force of nature when he came into the league.

Parcells did so much to turn around the fortunes of two of the current NFL heavyweights -- the NY Giants and the New England Patriots -- that he simply had to get in. LT's comments may make it seem like a parochial issue, but further down in the article fellow HOFer Curtis Martin give Parcells equal amount of credit for his HOF career. Those two endorsements alone should have carried him in the first ballot. Sometimes I just have no idea what these media types are doing.

To me, he was always the model of what a coach should be. The master motivator, the sometimes caustic wit. He was so Jersey. His press conferences became legendary before YouTube and 24/7, nationwide sports coverage. He was Governor Chris Christie before there was a Governor Chris Christie. Or maybe Christie is simply the political incarnation of Bill Parcells.

Congrats to the Big Tuna!! Now if we can just get Phil Simms in there, all would be right with the Football Hall of Fame.

from ESPN.com:
Parcells' HOF induction long overdue - ESPN New York:

"But if Bill didn't finally get in this year," Lawrence Taylor told ESPNNewYork.com on Saturday night, "they needed to shut the Hall of Fame down. The whole thing wouldn't have meant anything without him in there."

If a lot of people thought Parcells' failure to earn induction last year was something of a joke, Taylor wasn't among them. "I wasn't laughing," he said by phone. "You can't keep a coach like Bill Parcells out of the Hall of Fame, or the place means nothing. I'm very thankful to be part of his legacy."

'via Blog this'

'Next time, you're not gonna slip': What the Giants, and football, owe to Bill Parcells | Capital New York

Good to see there won't be a Rent-a-Tuna sighting down in the Big Easy. If it pushes the clock back to five years on his HOF wait, that makes the decision more difficult. It may take those idiots five years to figure out he may have been one of the top football coaches of this era.

'Next time, you're not gonna slip': What the Giants, and football, owe to Bill Parcells | Capital New York:

"He spoke very, very quietly, in his naturally hoarse voice, as if to focus my listening attention to the single most important nugget of coaching wisdom he was in possession of.

“When they choose their methods, they want them to be ’aesthetically pleasing’ to them. They want to be creative. They want to be the next Bill Walsh. They have computers, they have four, five hundred plays. My teams might have had 60. They have schemes, they have wrinkles. It’s a highly technical world they live in."

“But some of them get on the plane on Sunday night, and they don’t know why they lost. They’re busy saying, ‘Oh, we turned the ball over here, this guy didn’t do that’ … But they neglect the rationale of the complexity of what they’re doing contributing to the demise of the execution, to the point where it’s game-affecting.

“So I want to do a few things, I want to do them well, and I want to be concerned with what we’redoing. I don’t want to be concerned with what they’re doing. I want them to be worried about what we’re doing.”

That was Parcells’ coaching philosophy. It was simple and straightforward, prizing execution and effort over complexity and creativity. One had to do with the other: The simpler the system was, the less the players had to worry about anything but trying their damndest to execute it.

COACHING EFFORT” ISN’T AS SIMPLE AS IT SOUNDS. Parcells took great pride in it, seeing himself as a master motivator who had a keen insight into the psyches of his players and which buttons needed to be pushed to extract their best effort on Sundays.

“I called him Sigmund,” remembered Kenny Hill, the strong safety of the ’86 team. “He really thought he was gifted with the ability to read people, to understand people, to glean who they were and what motivated them. A lot of times, he got it wrong, but that didn’t stop him.”

“The needle,” his players called it. With a comment here and a comment there, he’d get under his players’ skin, injecting them with the feeling that they had something to prove to him. Parcells would play on the insecurities of Brad Benson, the Giants’ Nervous Nellie of a left tackle, by talking up the beastly pass-rusher he was facing. Or he’d gushingly compliment other defensive players in front of Lawrence Taylor, knowing it would trigger Taylor’s grandiose pride in being the best player in the world.

But it wasn’t all ball-busting. It went the other way too. There was just enough of a tender side to Parcells to keep his players as allies and prevent them from writing him off. Midway through the 1986 season, he approached quarterback Phil Simms, who was struggling through a rough year and getting booed by the fans. He told Simms to keep his confidence, and not worry about interceptions.

“’I know it’s hard on you,’” Simms remembered Parcells telling him in his book, Sunday Morning Quarterback. “’It’s not all your fault. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Be fearless. Believe me, it’ll work. It’s gonna work.’”

“He spoke in the same tone in which your father would speak to you at a particularly rough moment in your life,” Simms wrote. “I felt a tremendous burden lifted off my shoulders.”

The season ended with Simms completing 22 of 25 passes, a game M.V.P. performance that is widely considered the greatest ever by a quarterback in the Super Bowl.

Parcells Snubbed by HOF

Americas Game 1986 New Giants part (1).mp4

I could watch this documentary on the Giants 1986 season a million times and still get goose bumps. The Parcells-Simms relationship drama, the genesis of the Gatorade dump, the Parcells - Taylor marriage, the ups and downs of how a team is built under one of the biggest microscopes in sports.

At the time, I thought Parcells was the best coach I had ever seen (in some ways, I still do). He was the BCOPE (Best Coach on Planet Earth) to Barry Bonds' BPOPE (Best Player on Planet Earth).  Apparently, greater minds than mine disagree. For now.

Bill Parcells not elected to Hall of Fame
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/35973/bill-parcells-not-elected-to-hall-of-fame

INDIANAPOLIS -- It was the first year in which former New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and New York Jets coach Bill Parcells was eligible for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so the fact that he did not make it is not devastating. There's reason to believe he will get in eventually, but on Saturday night, he was not among the final candidates. Neither was former Cowboys great Charles Haley. My personal opinion is that they both should be in, but Parcells is the more surprising omission, so let's take a look at it.

I get some of the reasons stated, if they are what kept Parcells out, but some of the "logic" makes no sense at all.

Parcells should be in and Phil Simms should be in. You watch how fast the debate begins around "Is Eli a HOF QB?" now that he has two rings and Coughlin will be debated as a coaching candidate as well.

Folks forget that Simms has two rings as well, and he led the Giants team and organization through the wilderness.  They helped blaze the trail and lit the path for those that followed.

 It was a much tougher road traversed by the Simms - Parcells combo than Manning - Coughlin. And in many ways -- they actually made things easier -- if "easier" is a term that can be lightly tossed into a discussion about winning Super Bowls.

Hopefully, you get my point. If Manning - Coughlin are deemed worthy, I'm not sure why Simms and Pacrcells are meeting with such resistance.


Parcells 11 Comandments



Parcells on Responsibility
http://youtu.be/9ztDGM7qYj4

Grading the Giants Draft

At the risk of opening myself up to a "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?" type moment, I am going to grade the Giants draft the day after it is completed. For those of you that don't know or remember what I am talking about, the original quotes are shown below and a YouTube of Bill Tobin's next day, follow-up critique of the previously little-known Kiper's credentials to opine which in hindsight launched the the career of one Mel Kiper, draft-expert.

Note: Keith Olbermann looks like he was wearing a disguise, but that was his genuine appearance back in the day. Once a dork, always a dork.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/pete_mcentegart/04/22/ten.spot/index.html

3. "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?", 1994
Draft guru Mel Kiper has become as associated with one day as Punxsutawney Phil and Santa Claus, but his opinions often rankle NFL execs. Never was that demonstrated more clearly than when Kiper kvetched that the Colts should have taken quarterback Trent Dilfer rather than linebacker Trev Alberts with the fifth pick. "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?" thundered Colts VP Bill Tobin. "He's never been a player, he's never been a coach, he's never been a scout, he's never been an administrator, and all of a sudden, he's an expert. He has no more credentials to do what he's doing than my neighbor, and my neighbor's a postman." As a postscript, in 2001 the Palm Beach Post asked mail handler Calvin Falana to pick the top 10 picks, and he got eight of 10 correct (though not in order) compared to six for Kiper.

Bill Tobin vs Mel Kiper - 1994 Part 2




Anyway, back to the Giants and my simple -- but effective -- grading method.

I generally use the Baseball America Top 200 Prospects List as near gospel, because they are the acknowledged leaders in following youth, high school and collegiate players. I also looked at Mlb.com's Top 50 prospects list.

In scanning the Giants picks from the first 30 rounds, they managed to secure three of Mlb.com's top 50 by selecting Susac, Oropesa and Osich.

Knowing that there are 32 teams in the league and ignoring the over/under weighting effects of compensation picks each team has 1/32 or 3.125% chance of getting each top 50 prospects. Three and 1/8 percent would be average selecting by the organization. The Giants came in at 6%. I would give them an A here.

Looking over Baseball America's list, the Giants selected 6 of the Top 100 (6%) and 8 of the Top 200 (4%). Doubling the expected rate gives them another A in the Top 100 category (most likely to succeed) and no less than a B in the Top 200 category which provides organizational depth and at worst future trade pieces.

The Giants added four useful position players, all collegians, who should be ready to help quickly by adding:

#30 Susac, C
#57 Oropesa, 1B/3B
#67 Panik 2B/SS
#165 Garrett Beuchele 3B (added late yesterday)

They helped the pitching depth by adding:

#41 Osich, LHP
#47 Crick, RHP (a hard-throwing Texan RHP)
#99 Marlowe, RHP
#117 Bandilla, LHP

Not a bad day and a half's worth of work by the Giants scouting staff. Only two or three of these guys have to hit for it to be a pretty successful draft.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it Marge Schott, wherever you are. (some would say HELL) Apparently, scouts do more than watch games. At least if they do it right.


Also, Bill Parcells didn't seem to think too highly of Mel Kiper, either. HATERS all around.

I caught a glimpse of the Bill Parcells’ draft special on ESPN recently. Now THERE’S a man who knows about the draft and has a valid opinion throughout the NFL community. When he got asked something along the lines of, “Do you think any teams keep Mel Kiper’s draft rankings in their locker before draft time?” Parcells simply responded with a pretty basic “F*&^ no. That’s ret$%^ded.”

THE NFL DRAFT 2009

My viewing of the NFL Draft was limited to less than an hour today. The reason. Steve Young. Probably the most insufferable analysis of any event in human history.

At first, I was hoping someone would hand him some decaf. Then I realized we were way beyond that stage and needed someone to shot him with a tranquilizer dart. Where are Marlon Perkins and his trusty sidekick Jim Fowler when you need them?

By the fifth or sixth pick, I was looking for a gun for Steve and I wasn't limiting my search to a tranquilizer gun if you must know.

So thanks Steve. And thanks ESPN. You think a producer could have told Steve to knock it down a few notches? Would that have been too much to ask for? You would think that the World Wide Leader would recognize over the top douche baggery when they hear it and see it and would be willing to protect their audience, but I guess not.

It wasn't so much his constantly interrupting Mel Kiper's hair--which is why I watch the NFL Draft. By the way, rumors of Kiper's hair being in the twilight of it's career should have been dispelled last night, but Steve prevented Mel from demonstrating his continued greatness. Way to be a good teammate Steve.

The Sanchez salivation segment was the second strike and we're only four picks in.

Then the Oher interview with Erin Andrews was stepped on and crushed by Steve's over the top rantings. I mean, who wants to work with this guy?
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Anyway, on to the picks:

1. Detroit Matthew Stafford QB Georgia
BIG SURPRISE HERE. Detroit gets a guy that actually wants to play in Detroit.

2. St. Louis Jason Smith OT Baylor
Replaces Orlando Pace. Good move.

3. Kansas City Tyson Jackson DE LSU
First surprise and a bit of a reach. I think most would have had Curry here, but new-GM Pioli knows his stuff.

4. Seattle Aaron Curry OLB Wake Forest
Seattle had to be giddy that Curry fell to them and they stay out of the Sanchez sweepstakes.

5. NY Jets (from Cleveland) Mark Sanchez QB USC
Boom or bust pick here for the Jets. Didn't give up as much as suspected to move up, so I guess it's a good move. Fans needed some post-Favre marquee value before ponying up for PSL's.

6. Cincinnati Andre Smith OT Alabama
I felt like the Bungles would blow the pick and they never disappoint. This guy will fit right in with Dysfunctional Central. His shirtless romp has forever scarred millions of viewers and left me wary of ever watching the NFL Scouting Combine again. Oh wait....that would be a good thing.

7. Oakland Darrius Heyward-Bey WR Maryland
Further evidence that Al Davis is still large and in charge in Oakland. And perhaps slipping into football senility. If Macklin outperforms Bey, well you do the math.

8. Jacksonville Eugene Monroe OT Virginia
Don't know much about Monroe, looks good in a suit though.

9. Green Bay B.J. Raji DT Boston College
The Warren Sapp of the draft, courtesy of SI.com. If he has half the career Sapp did, GB is happy.

10. San Francisco Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech
If Crabtree was making house hunting plans in the Oakland area, he can probably continue in most of the same market now.

11. Buffalo Aaron Maybin DE Penn State
Second big time reach here.

12. Denver Knowshon Moreno RB Georgia
Now we know the Sanchez interest was a smoke screen.

13. Washington Brian Orakpo DE Texas
Still need a QB.

14. New Orleans Malcolm Jenkins CB Ohio State
Good pick for the Cajuns.

15. Houston Brian Cushing OLB USC
Interesting choice here. I thought Mauluka was the better USC LB.

16. San Diego Larry English DE Northern Illinois
Dang. I thought the Giants had a shot at him early second round. Might be a bit of a reach here, but not if he plays like he should.

17. Tampa Bay (from New York Jets through Cleveland) Josh Freeman QB Kansas State
Boom or bust. I thought Chuckie the QB-collector was out of town?


18. Denver (from Chicago) Robert Ayers DE Tennessee
The Jay Cutler trade dividend.

19. Philadelphia (from Tampa Bay through Cleveland) Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri
Dang. Good move by Philly. I think Maclin and Crabtree will be the biggest impact WR's here.

20. Detroit (from Dallas) Brandon Pettigrew TE Oklahoma State
Big target for Stafford to complement Calvin Johnson on the outside. Plus, he blocks.

21. Cleveland (from Philadelphia) Alex Mack OC California
A little high for a center, but he anchors the line for ten years or more if he projects well.

22. Minnesota Percy Harvin WR Florida
Seems like a typical Minnesota WR-with-issues pick.

23. Baltimore (from New England) Michael Oher OT Mississippi
Good pick, good story. Great interview with Erin.

24. Atlanta Peria Jerry DT Mississippi
Seems like a bit of a reach, but the Falcons have been making a lot of great personnel moves lately.

25. Miami Vontae Davis CB Illinois
A Parcells type pick. True to form.

26. Green Bay (from Baltimore through New England) Clay Matthews OLB USC
Wait a minute, this was the walk-on at USC and Mauluga is still on the board? Somebody done F-d up. Can't go against the pedigree though.

27. Indianapolis Donald Brown RB Connecticut
This seems like a typical Indy pick that's going to pan out just the way they thought it would.

28. Buffalo (from Carolina through Philadelphia) Eric Wood OC Louisville
The run on centers continues. Good move for the Bills. Fans may yawn at first.

29. NY Giants Hakeem Nicks WR North Carolina
It was Nicks or Britt for me. I thought the early attention Nicks' way by the G-men was a diversion to draft Britt, but I guess not. We'll see how it plays out, but Nicks seems like the safer pick, more likely to play early.

30. Tennessee Kenny Britt WR Rutgers
OK.

31. Arizona Chris Wells RB Ohio State
There goes Edge. Cards are going to have a ground game.

32. Pittsburgh Evander Hood DT Missouri
Ho-hum pick here for the Steelers.

NFL DRAFT FIRST DAY REVIEW

Not too much intrigue and surprise at the top of the draft, we knew Miami had locked up OT Jake Long (#4 rated player) with the top pick. A bit of a surprise only in that Bill Parcells has a reputation for drafting defense early and often.

Chris Long DE from Virginia to St. Louis makes sense for them.

Atlanta ruined the Ravens draft plans by drafting Matt Ryan QB from Boston College and officially ended the Michael Vick era in Atlanta. Oakland awaits Vick's release. Falcon fans reportedly are upset the team did not go for DT Glenn Dorsey to revitalize the defense, but I'm sure the Falcons felt they could go QB early-DL later with it's second pick and get better overall value, than to go DL (Dorsey) and then QB with the second pick (Brohm, Flacco or Henne).

Darren McFadden falls to the Raider in the four spot. Not much of a surprise. An offensive weapon goes to an Al Davis team. That's a dog bites man story.

Kansas City happily scoops up Dorsey in the five spot. They need so much more.

The Jets pick Vernon Gholston with the six pick and hope he returns the favor by playing hard every Sunday.

Sedrick Ellis DT from USC bolsters the Saints defense.

Derrick Harvey will add to the Jacksonville pass rush immediately. The run on D-lineman begins.

USC LB Keith Rivers is cursed by being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals. If he doesn't have any character issues by now, he better get some quick or he'll never fit in with the Bungles.

New England drops to the #10 spot and reaches a bit for Jared Mayo LB Tennessee. His stock was rising late, but this is still a reach. (He was rated #58 on our list, but rising to a late first rounder). This is the first real eye-opener.

Buffalo drafts CB Leodis McKelvin from Troy. A 4.44 40 time hopefully comes with great cover skills. He was the highest rated CB on the board, plus or minus Michael Jenkins of USF.

Denver starts the run on OL with Ryan Clady OT from Boise State. He's the second highest rated OT behind Jake Long.

Carolina picks #13 and take Jonathan Stewart RB from Oregon. Not a shocker. He and Mendenhall from Illinois are too close to call.

Chicago goes for OT Chris Williams from Vanderbilt, a bit of a stretch and a surprise to fans who expected fast-rising Brandon Albert from Virginia here. Williams is the third highest rated tackle, Alberts the highest rated guard. The need was more for a tackle.

At #15 the Chiefs select Branden Alberts (#69 rated on our list, but rose to middle first round status late). I always wonder what guys do to rise so far so fast, given that there are no games being played. It must be the intangibles.

At #16 Arizona takes Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee State. He's the third highest rate corner back, but has to shake off a coming from a small school, having a borderline girl's first name, and a long-ass, hyphenated last name. Shows limited decision making skills.

At #17 the Lions take fast-riser Gosder Cherilius OT from Boston College. The fifth rated OT, borderline late first rounder even after rising from #56 on our last board, this pick is not a good value, but this is the Lions and Matt Millen is still on the payroll. Enough said.

At #18, the Ravens cloud their ever cloudy QB situation by trading up to take Delaware QB Joe Flacco. Flacco's fastball and his intimidating eyebrows better translate into performance on the field because I don't think any football fans worth his salt wants any part of a Kyle Boller-Joe Flacco QB controversy.

At #19, Carolina picks Jeff Otah OT from Pitt, the fifth OT taken so far. Sombody is going to be very disappointed three years from now.

At #20, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reach for Aqib Talib CB from Kansas. Talib fell a bit after the marijuana revelation, but as long as he's not smoking while he's trying to cover a guy, what's the deal. He was a late first rounder, but Bucs needed to replace Brian Kelley.

Atlanta trades up to #21 to get USC OT Sam Baker, six OT's in the first round. Come on guys, one or two of these guys is really a second-rounder. Who is it? My early money is on the Lions.

Dallas predictably takes Arkansas RB Felix Jones so Jerry Jones can curry favor with his alumni buddies. A bit of a reach, but a good fit for Dallas, giving Marion Barber a better complementary back than the departed Julius Jones.

The Steelers get good value at #23 with Illinois Rashard Mendenhall. The #13 ranked prospect on our last board and rising late, Mendenhall is the 2nd or 3rd best RB in the draft behind McFadden and even with Stewart. Great pick and gives a good complement to fast Willie Parker. Now they have sledge-hammer Rashard Mendenhall to move closet dumper Nadje Davenport to the bench.

The Titans pick #24 and draft East Carolina's Chris Johnson. A 4.24 40 yard dash indicates breakaway back potential. We shall see. A bit of a reach, but fills a need.

At #25, the Cowboys get huge value in Michael Jenkins CB from USF. The 12th ranked prospect at #25 = GREAT PICK. Fills a need as well. BONUS POINTS.

At #26 Houston reaches way, way down in the prospect bag for OT Duane Brown. How bad is this pick? Let me count the ways. He wasn't even on our early board, rose to maybe late second round status late, is maybe the 8th ranked OT on the board. Some flunky must have dropped the Texans magnetic draft board, when the big-wigs left the room, and put it back together messed-up. Let's see if they compound this strategy later.

At #27 the rich get richer at CB when San Diego picks Arizona CB Antoine Cason. Good pick, SD will be tough to throw on next year.

At #28 Seattle picks USC DE Lawrence Jackson, a bit of a reach at this spot, he rose from late second round to late first round late, so maybe not so bad.

The 49ers pick North Carolina DT Kentawn Balmer. Prototypical rn stopper in the middle.

At #30 the Jets really reach for Purdue TE Dustin Keller, a fast riser late but maybe a mid second rounder at best. I guess they felt they could roll the dice after getting Gholston. Jets have not had good luck with TE's historically and have Bubba Franks on the roster currently. That makes this a need pick.

Leaving the G-men to close out the first round @ #31 by picking Miami FS Kenny Phillips. Not much of a surprise with Gabril Wilson signing with Oakland. The only question was Phillips of Arkansas State's SS Tyrell Johnson. If the Giants were looking to fill gaps at LB and S, they were probably going to get better value going S and then LB rather than the other way around. The good safeties would have been long gone by their second round pick. There should still be good value at LB then.
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The first round is in the books and no wide receivers have been taken and only two quarterbacks. The guys that protect the QB's, mainly the OT's, and the guys who get to the QB's, mainly the DE's and DT's are at a premium this year. That and corner backs. Even the running back group is long on workmanlike runners and short on flash. It seems like a real blue-collar, lunch bucket type first round. More so than in recent memory.
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The Dolphins lead off the second round by taking Phillip Merling DE from Clemson. A good value pick.

#33 is the first wide receiver selected, Donnie Avery from Houston by the St. louis Rams. Small, but lots of speed. Surprise pick maybe the 10th or 12th highest rated WR on most boards.

#34 goes next to the Redskins, the highest rated WR, Devin Thomas from Michigan State. 6-2, 215, 4.40 40 time. Not a bad pick, he was a fast rising prospect. Good value pick.

Kansas City picks Va. Tech CB Brandon Flowers at #35. A bit of a reach, maybe a mid-second rounder.

Green Bay surprises at #36 with Kansas State WR Jordy Nelson. A big target 6-3,217 4.51 speed, he may have been rated lower than Avery. Somebody is misevaluating this crop of receivers.

Atlanta goes defense at #37 with Oklahoma ILB Curtis Lofton. A good pick here.

Seattle surprise at #38 with Notre Dame TE John Carlson, the 5th highested rated TE, second off the board behind the Jets Dustin Keller. Carlson was rated a possible 3rd rounder. So the TE's are an issue as well it seems.

At #39 the 49ers draft USC OG Chilo Rachal 6-5,315, 5.16. Another third round prospect goes early.

The Saints reach at #40 with Tracy Porter CB from Indiana, a smallish burner 4.37 forty time.

Buffalo goes back to WR with Indiana wide out James Hardy, a big 6-6,217 target with 4.45 speed.

Denver goes WR with Va. Tech's Eddie Royal. Small 5-10,184 with 4.39 speed.

Minnesota picks up the top rated SS Tyrell Johnson from Arkansas State.

The Bears set up a RB showdown with Tulane's Matt Forte. At 6-2,217 with 4.44 speed, he may challenge Cedric Benson. Might have been a reach, but the best big back available.

At #45 Detroit picks Colorado OLB Jordan Dizon, who is on nobodies board this high. Nobody but Detroit. And to quote Mel Kiper, this is why Detroit drafts this high every year. I'll go on record here, this is the worst pick so far, someone need to be fired for this, someone named Millen.

Cincinnati comes in with Jerome Simpson WR from Coastal Carolina, a big target at 6-2 with 4.47 speed. A reach at this position, this pick will seems somehow less bad coming in the shadow of the Lions clunker.

Philadelphia pick Tyler Laws DT from Notre Dame at #47, a 6-1,304 run clogger in the middle. A decent pick here.

Washington gets a top TE in Fred Davis from USC at #48, a good value whose stock fell late for some unexplained reason. Maybe to make room for the risers.

Philadelphia gets the second highest rated WR and best value on the board (#14-21 rated prospect) at the #49 slot with California WR DeSean Jackson, 4.32 speed is a burner with return skills.

Arizona gets 6-8, 282 DE Calais Campbell from Miami, a good value pick here. A late 1st early second rounder at this spot is a good pick. Not a great pass rusher.

At #51 Washington goes WR with Oklahoma's Malcolm Kelly, a 6-4, 224 bookend to go with Devin Thomas, picked earlier.

At #52 Jacksonville takes Tamapa pick and grabs Auburn DE-LB Quentin Groves A 6-3, 259 tweener with 4.53 speed.

Pittsburgh goes WR with Limas Sweed of Texas at #53. A big target at 6-4,215 with 4.5 speed. Was one of the top three WR's early on.

At #54 the Titans go with Jason Jones DE from Eastern Michigan. A projected 3-4 rounder. 6-5,273 a bit of a tweener.

At #55 Baltimore trades up to get Rutgers RB Ray Rice. At 4.53 if he was a step faster he would be a first rounder.

At #56 Green Bay surprises again with QB Brian Brohm from Louisville. Rated in the 17-20 range, this is a great value pick, maybe a bit of a need if that Favre guy stays retired. Not a bad pick, just a surprise.

Which leaves Penn State ILB Dan Connor, LSU WR Early Doucet, Texas RB Jamal Charles and Michigan QB Chad Henne as the highest rated name guys still on the board.

At #57 Miami picks off Michigan QB Chad Henne to provide competition at QB.

Tampa comes in with WR Dexter Jackson from Appy State. A reach. Small school, small WR, 4.33 speed though. Joey Galloway's heir apparent?

The Colts take Arizona State OC Mike Pollak. A classic Colts pick. He's the top rated center and a good value pick here, a mid second rounder. with 4.99 speed at 6-4, 301.

Green Bay reaches for Auburn CB Patrick Lee. We're off the board on this one, so I'm gonna guess this pick stinks...or the Packers are geniuses. One of the two.

Dallas surprise a bit at # 61 with Martellus Bennett, TE from Texas A&M. A 6-6, 259 4.68 physical beast, this is a great value pick, he's the highest rated TE, a mid second rounder but they still have Whitten. Play lots of two TE sets.

New England comes in with CB Terrance Wheatley from Colorado. Another off the board pick, so this one either stinks...or the Patriots are fucking cheaters.

The Giants end the second round and the first day with USC CB Terrell Thomas, a 6-1,202 4.45 speed physical corner. A surprise pick with Dan Connor still on the board at ILB and Va Tech's Adibi and Purdue's Avril at OLB, both bigger need positions for the G-Men. Can't question GM Jerry Reese too much, he hit on all draft picks last year.
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First day is over and Penn State's ILB Dan Connor is left crying in the green room. Texas RB Jamal Charles and LSU's Early Doucet are surpirse leftovers as well.
WR's Andre Caldwell (Florida) and Mario Manningham (Michigan) are also available.
Among QB's, John David Booty of USC, Josh Johnson of San Diego and Andre Woodson of Kentucky are still on the board. Kevin Smith (Central Florida) and Mike Hart (Michigan) lead the RB's after Charles. Folk hero Owen Schmitt from West Virginia might be an interesting pick for a team that still employs a traditional FB. The FS and SS spots have only been picked once each, the most lonely position other than K-P and FB. The OLB position has been strangely silent as well.

Records are made to be broken, Even this one

With all this angst about Bonds breaking Aaron's "hallowed" record, I started thinking about what records in sports nowadays are truly beyond approach.

For some reason, Sean Kemp's record of 7 children with 6 different mothers (as of 1999, the number could actually be significantly higher by now) came immediately to mind.

It's not a sports record, but given it apparently is held by a sports figure, I'm willing to grant an exception in this case.



So in honor of the man who gave more hernias to mailmen on Father's Day, the incomparable Shawn Kemp, we have the Official Las Vegas Odds on various celebs to break this amazing record.



Prohibitive Favorite:

2:500 Former President Bill Clinton (off the board if his wife wins Presidency)
the only thing that could possibly stop him is if Hillary is able to garner support for her little-known bill to sterilize all former Presidents.

3:1 Kobe Bryant - has proven in the past that he can take it strong to the hole, both on and off the court. His contract may prove to be an impediment as it is not large enough, as currently structured, to buy enough "I'm sorry" diamonds to get over the hump. Apparently has sufficient ignorance of the word "No" to give him a real chance. Maturity could stand in the way, but most close friends and observers doubt this will be an impediment. Current events seem to bear out this feeling.

5:1 Brian Uhrlacher - nicknamed "Girl-Sacker" provides a delightfully provocative nickname to initiate conversation with most fertile, young potential panty peelers. Scouts rave about his ability to plug the hole. Good hands (shown below) leave him in the game against the run and the pass. First to lay pipe in the now scandal ravaged Paris Hilton gives him a certain amount of skank cred..



7:1 Sydney Crosby - anyone who scores more on and off the ice than Gretzky and who inspires women to hold up signs at games saying "Hey Sydney, put it in my five-hole" (thereby risking a frisking by $7.50 / hr.stadium security) has enormous future potential.

9:1 Matt Leinhart - building on pipe laid by Urhlacher (and many others) at the Paris Hilton. Only lefthander in current crop.

10:1 Tom Brady - Nothing says pantie peeling like 3 Super Bowl rings and a huge contract. Playing in tight pants help. Developing ability to go through supermodels like Bill Parcells goes through chicken wings.

15:1 Derek Jeter - his eyes say no-no, but his daring play and Yankee captaincy scream F_ _ _ Me!! F _ _ _ Me! to baseball fans of all ages throughout the major leagues.

20:1 Alex Rodriguez - growing tired of Jeter's sloppy seconds in NY. Seems poised for a breakout year. If you think he was mad about being dropped to eighth in Joe Torre's lineup in the playoffs, he's really going to be pissed about being eighth in this order.

25:1 Tony Parker - never discount the French in a competition like this.

30:1 Michael Jordan - may tire from writing too many zeroes on checks's to ex-es. May eventually be a precursor to impotency down the line. Not proven scientifically, only anecdotally from numerous ex-husbands.

100:1 Harold Reynolds - spends too much time at the petting zoo. Needs more sack time. Currently getting "Chick" lessons from Salisbury.

1000:1 John Kruk - (Slim Fast version) - If his wife thinks he's less disgusting now, wait until she sees him kiting child support checks for the tobacco-spitting Little Kruksters.

Million:1 John Kruk - (If weight yo-yo's back up to pre-diet levels)

Infinity:1 John Kruk - (With Weight Back Up and Mullet Hairdo Back)

Infinity * Infinity:1 - Sean Salisbury - both pre and post diet levels and with or without portfolio of "Little Sean" phone photos. This sleaze would stand out in a convention of strip-club owners. Wouldn't bet on him scoring if perpetuation of the species were at risk. Even then, insemination by apes and setting the evolutionary clock back about a bazillion years would be more palatable to all women.

Get your bets down!!! Note - all present and future NASCAR drivers were ruled off the board for obvious reasons.