PATTING YOU ON THE BACK! - ESPN & THE NFL

by WCT, The Ship of Fools

“Calling You Out!” is a periodic segment where WCT USUALLY takes people to task for irresponsible journalism, foolhardy activities, or just general douchebaggery. But today, he is patting people on the back. Yes, we realize that it is very un-blogger-like to turn a negative segment into a positive one, and suffice it so say we aren't completely comfortable with it either, so we won't make a habit of it.

Today - a pat on the back to ESPN and the NFL for a surprisingly palatable Draft.

I have to give it up to ESPN and the NFL for the draft. Yes, there were picks that were missed because they always seemed to go to commercial at the most inopportune times, and yes, there were strange shots of potential draftees sitting in their living rooms looking bemused because they didn't know they were on television, and yes, there was Berman, but for some reason, the whole production seemed to be so entertaining this year. Maybe it was the unintentional comedy, maybe it was the fact that picks came quicker, or maybe it was because the sound was down and I was drinking heavily, but for whatever reason, I was riveted.

Also, Bravo to Michael Smith of ESPN for nailing the top four (at least) picks of the NFL Draft, and announcing them early. Some felt he was ruining the suspense and didn't like it, but I loved it. I think it is always better to get information as early as possible, and I think that the NFL GMs seemed to move quicker with their picks in the early rounds once they new that the information had been released. As a result, the first round of the Draft was much more watchable this year than it normally was.

Some other Draft Day observations:

- How perfect is it that the Denver Broncos pick an offensive lineman in the first round (Boise St. Tackle Ryan Clady) and the first highlight they show of him is a blatant chop block. Apparently, the Broncos had that same film!

- I have never understood the snap-judgements on grading teams' drafts. The whole this team had an 'A' draft, this team had a 'C' draft silliness just has to stop. How long does it take to accurately evaluate a draft? Three years? Four years? Why are these guys making evaluations after 10 minutes?

- That being said, I think we are all in agreement that the Dallas Cowboys made the first unimaginable opening-round draft error, right? How they passed on the 2007 Big Ten MVP and All-American RB Rashard Mendenhall to take Darren McFadden's backup (Felix Jones) is beyond me. This was obviously a Jerry Jones (who is an alum and huge donor of Arkansas) pick.

- Nice move by the NFL to honor our servicemen and women by having representatives from the armed forces on stage and recognizing them. But why the hell did they wait until we were like 20 picks and 2 hours into the draft? Why not open the draft with that ceremony??

- I don't know about you, but I have that "I've Got a List of Demands" song permanently in my head since ESPN played that Nike commercial about a half a million times during draft coverage. I get it! Your better is better than my better! Terrific! We're all really impressed!