Just one more day remains until the 2007 NFL Draft. Thank God!! I cover sports for a living....but I'm about spent on hearing about the draft. Yes, it's intriguing....but it's vastly blown out of proportion. I'm tired of the words "projected, upside, mock, etc."
LSU's JaMarcus Russell appears the odds-on-favorite to go #1 to the Raiders. Oakland desperately needs help at every offensive position. But does being able to throw the ball 70 yards on your knees really matter? Russell is a physical freak. He can do things that defy logic. Prior to the Sugar Bowl, Russell was barely sniffing the first round. Did that one game set him that much higher than Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn? Russell is a project....and the Raiders need help NOW!! If you ask me, Oakland should take Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson....dump Randy Moss....take a guy like Trent Edwards, John Beck, or Drew Stanton at the top of round 2....and move on from there. Do that....or trade down a few spots to select Quinn who is ready to step in right away. It's logic that the Raiders don't get. They passed on Matt Leinart last year and are regretting that now. If Oakland does take Russell....I hope they have better luck than the last "Russell" they selected that high (see USC's Darrell Russell).
Big Al doesn't like selecting QB's high....in fact, he usually opts to snatch up guys via free-agency. Whatever move is made at the top of this weekends draft will drastically affect every other team in the top-10. It's finally here....so let's get it going....and move forward.

Posted by at 6:12 PM | Permalink

By Joe Becker

My golf season is officially set to begin. If you talk to the guys in the Sports Office, I generally don't play golf during the Winter. I usually stop when October hits and wait until April to play.

The weather we are having right now is amazing...and the Masters is going on this weekend, so I am fired up. Speaking of the Masters...Tiger woods is three over par...but I still think he's going to win. He's only five back...and when Sunday rolls around, I think he'll be right there on the back 9.

I was talking to someone in the office today about Tiger and his historic win at the U.S. Amateur at Pumpin Ridge golf course in 1996. It was amazing and there are several things I'll never forget about that week.

I was at Pumpkin Ridge the Friday before the Amateur and did an interview with Tiger. He politely asked if we could do the interview after he hit some balls. No problem there. Tiger warmed up and was crushing drive after drive....shot after shot.
We did the interview and one of the questions I asked Tiger was if he felt the pressure because everyone expected him to win...even back then. Tiger's response. "That's fine, I expect myself to win too. That's just something I always do. Why go to a tournament if you don't expect to win." Tiger was just 20 years old. He did win and made history with his third consecutive US Amateur Title.

One other thing about the U.S. Amateur. Unlike most golf tournaments...there weren't ropes. The golf fans can walk right on the course right next to the players. Walking with Tiger on the way into the record books. Pretty memorable stuff.

Well, the Blazer game has started...so I'm going to watch them play the Rockets here on Channel 8.

And, enjoy that sunshine coming through the sports office window.

Posted by Joe Becker at 5:18 PM | Permalink