***My Rams first-day draft wish list: Jake Long in round 1 and the best available wide receiver in round two. Whatever the Rams do they should stay away from anyone with any hint of legal or drug problems. In this day and age, you can't gamble and miss on a guy because of off field issues. There's no excuse to draft anyone with off field problems.

***I'll have two NFL hopefuls on my Sports Sunday this week: Mizzou WR William Franklin(Vashon) and Illinois State OT Brandon Joyce(Duchesne). Both guys have worked their tails off to improve their draft positions. Joyce is a monster at 6-5 and about 320. He wowed scouts at the University of Illinois pro day in mid-March and he had a strong workout at Rams Park this week.

***Bad loss for the Cardinals today but that said, still a fantastic start. I still wouldn't pick them to win the division but I was surprised at how many people expected them to be so bad. Rock bottom was last season. They're better than most outside St. Louis think. Kyle Lohse looks like the real deal.

***ESPN.com lists Lawrence Phillips as the second biggest draft bust in NFL history. They have Ryan Leaf at number one. Granted, Phillips was a bust but no way is he second on that list. In five minutes we came up with two guys who trump him---Ki Jana Carter and Rick Mirer. Carter was number one overall and Mirer was number two overall. Phillips was the sixth pick in 1996 and failed miserably to live up to expectations but he did gain 630 yards in each of his first two seasons and had four 100 yard gains.

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