Pick me, pick me! No, not you!
Draft Day can be a drag for many prospective pros
Posted: Wednesday April 14, 1999 08:49 PM
I'm a linebacker. An outside backer, really. I'm 6-foot-2 3/4 inches. I weigh 231 pounds. I run a 4.7 40-yard dash.
I bench pressed 225 pounds 12 times during the NFL combine in Indianapolis in February -- my shoulder's been a little sore since the second game of last season -- I've done the short shuttle and the long shuttle, I've been measured in the long jump and the vertical jump.
I've done it all.
I've had doctors play with my knees, look at my ankles, test my eyes -- everybody wants to check out my shoulder -- they've asked me about what I eat, they hooked up monitors, they've weighed me a dozen times. In Indy, I stood in front of a couple dozen men in nothing but my BVDs. Just stood there, so they could check me out. That was weird.
| From the e-mailbag |
Some comments on At the bottom of the pool, March 31, 1999.
Against my better judgment, I did many of the don't's on your list. I yelled Woo hoo, yelled at the TV, yelled at the refs, I even analyzed every replay out loud. I also agreed with quite a few of your don'ts: I wasn't afraid to watch the women's tournament, but I didn't watch any of the NIT games. I would never underestimate short, pudgy point guards named El-Amin (El - a - nice as we like to call him). I would never think a team was too good to beat. And I would never EVER bet on Duke. Especially against UConn. As for the last "don't" on your list: I will always bet against 'em.
-- Kerry Hummel, UConn Class of 1990
Here's another don't for the list: Don't [forget] what timeouts are for at the end of a championship game.
-- Greg G. Grady, Jennifer McLaurin
It's interesting that most of your "Don't" comments about the NCAA finals had to do with things committed by the TV guys, especially Billy Packer. Does he have an ownership position with the network? Both of those guys need to be replaced! Packer is such an ACC homer that you had to keep reminding yourself that Duke was actually playing another team. He was OK when paired with Al McGuire years ago because Al kept him honest. Jim Nance apparently thinks Packer is some sort of genius or something. The tournament would be a lot more enjoyable without them. Somebody had to say it.
-- David Schaut
Let's quit trying to pump the women's game. It's not that good. I served as the official scorer for the Oregon State University women's basketball team for three seasons and they went to the NCAAs in two of those years. I've watched my share of women's basketball. It can be enjoyable and entertaining to watch. The women play hard and compete. But dude, you and I both know it still isn't close to the men's game. If you wasted your time and watched a women's first round game while I watched Princeton vs. Georgetown in the first round of the NIT then more power to you. As for me I'll take the men's game any day.
-- Jeff Schloss, Corvallis, Oregon
My 10-year-old son asked me who I though would win -- I said Duke. He then wanted to know if it would be close. My first response was "no" -- but suddenly Akeem's Houston Cougars appeared before me, and Georgetown, the Packers in the 1998 Super Bowl, Evander Holyfield ... and instead I said "on second thought, I think Connecticut will win." I went on to say "I've seen this many times before, when the press gets enamored with someone, before long they are 'invincible' and 'the greatest ever.'" Thanks Connecticut for an opportunity to teach a valuable lesson!
-- Jeff Corey, a NM Lobo fan in LSU Country
Anyone who has ever played the game of college basketball knows that "One Shining Moment" is absolutely not "cheesy"-it epitomizes the unbelievable amount of emotion that players put into the game. It recognizes the blood, sweat, and tears that collegiate players leave on the court. It is the perfect 4-minute explanation of the ups and downs of the tournament. One Shining Moment still gives me chills when I see it, and I look forward to it every year. If you would rather pop in a Snoop Doggy Dogg CD after the game, be my guest. The rest of America will take One Shining Moment.
-- Adam Walker
If you want youngsters (boys and girls here) to learn the fundamentals of the game of basketball, which would you rather have them watch -- collegiate men's or women's? If you have to think about that one, then you have never watched a women's basketball game. I find women's games more enjoyable because they can't dunk and aren't into showboating quite as much. Even my father, a gentleman from the old school, has started watching the women's game just for that reason. He loves the fundamentals of the game and that is what makes women's basketball appealing.
-- Jennifer Snyder
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I've been psychologically tested so much I'm tired of talking about myself. And, truth be told, I really like talking about myself.
In the past two months, I've been in so many airports that people there are starting to tip me. I've flown into a dozen different cities to talk to owners and coaches for at least a dozen NFL teams. I tell them all the same thing.
"I'd love to play for your team, sir. I'm a football player, sir. I just want to play."
But, seriously, who's kidding whom?
The NFL Draft is this weekend, something I've been dreaming about since I crunched Jimmy Thomas in an 8-year-olds pee wee game and first found out I could play this game.
People tell me I'm a first-rounder, probably mid- to late- first round, but you never really know, you know? I mean, I'm not some big-name quarterback. I'm not Tim Couch or Donovan McNabb or Akili Smith. And I'm not Ricky Williams.
I'm just a guy blessed with some physical gifts, a guy who works hard. And now, some team will take a chance on me, hopefully in the first round. My agent -- I have an agent who's a real good guy, really -- figures my signing bonus could be about $1 million.
But here's the thing: What if some team picks me that I really don't want to play for? I mean, no one likes to name names. But what if Philadelphia picks me? What if the Cincinnati Bengals do? I heard Jamal Anderson say the worst day of his professional career was Draft Day, when the Atlanta Falcons picked him.
God, I don't want to go to St. Louis.
Worse yet, what if I fall out of the first round altogether, then get picked by the Rams? My mom and dad, my little brother, my girlfriend, all my school buddies will be over at my house Saturday.
What if I don't go in the first round? They'll be sitting there, watching as I fall farther and farther, listening to Mel Kiper tell everyone that I'm undersized, that I'm a 'tweener, that my shoulder has scared off teams.
Man. That'd be awful.
I really can't worry about any of that stuff, though. You can't get all worked up about things you can't control, you know? And it's definitely out of my hands now.
It's funny, really. I've been waiting so long for this, wanting for it to get here so bad. The last couple months have been crawling by. But then, I'm dreading it, too, you know?
I just want it to get over. Saturday can't get here soon enough.
John Donovan is senior writer for CNNSI.com.
Comments? To e-mail Donovan, click here.
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