MLB

A good baseball column by Tim Marchman of SI. He compares the Ben Sheets and Jon Garland signings and finds the smartypants As not so smart.

NFL

Mark Kreidler on the Raiders. "Back to square one" with Jamarcus Russell.

Tom Brookshier, RIP

From Sports Illustrated. For me, Brookshier and Pat Summerall calling a 4 p.m., Sunday afternoon Rams-Cowboys game will always be the zenith of professional football. They were a terrific pairing and it's hard to believe that Summerall worked so many years without his ex-Eagle partner. Once when a Rams lineman got hurt, Brookshier went on for 20 seconds about what the Rams backup guard Bill Bain could and could not do. Whatever happened to this kind of knowledgeable announcing? Brookshier was a good one.

Kurt Warner

Here's an SI cover shot from back in the day. Warner is one of my all time favorites and I'll miss him. Hard to believe there are people who still don't think he's a Hall of Fame quarterback. And on that subject, who off those Greatest Show on Turf teams will go to the Hall. I say Warner, Faulk, Pace and Bruce for sure. Holt will get some support and London Fletcher was that good., but never appreciated. He was the heart of an underrated championship defense.

MMA

Herschel Walker win debut.

Senior Bowl

A good wrapup from Tony Pauline of SI.com Dexter McCluster was one of his standouts. A MLB who I like a lot, Daryl Washington of TCU, also earned excellent reviews. Taylor Mays took another bashing and Eric Norwood looked dazed and confused in coverage. One difference between the two, Mays didn't play well for USC last year; Norwood was very good for the other USC.

Rams staff prepares for draft

The St. Louis braintrust is in black.

Nash Nance headed to Tennessee

The power of prayer pays off for Tennesssee. Nance is a solid QB prospect but hardly a can't-miss. Rogers has enormous talent but is a train wreck waiting to happen. I have never thought he would suit up at Georgia and whereever he finally commits, getting on the playing field will prove a lot harder.

NFL Draft

Don Banks of SI offers his first mock for 2010. Pretty standard but with the addition of wide receiver Damian Williams and Tim Tebow to the first round. Williams can play and he could well go in the first, but Tebow is an insane pick that high.

Senior Bowl

Five who have stood out. Perrish Cox looks like a player to me every time I saw that team in action. Then the knucklehead gets suspended for the Bowl Game. You have to wonder about his common sense. That boner will cost him draft spots and money, but I still think he'll sneak into the first round if he makes some plays in the game. When Patrick Robinson is considered the second best CB prospect in the draft, a player like Cox could really surprise. If the Rams get him at the start of Round 2, I'd be happy.

Why I hate the NFL Draft ...

It was 1996 and a talent-needy Rams team had accumulated 10 picks, including three in the third round. They had the 11th pick of the first round, plenty good enough to nab them a quality player. Right?
So, the Rams were primed to add starters and depth.
Didn't happen.
Please grab your barf bag before you read the following:

1. TYe Hill-CB
2. Joe Klopfenstein-TE
3. Claude Wroten-DT
3. Jon ALston-LB
3. Dominique Byrd-TE
4. Victor Adeyanju-DE
5. Mario Hagans-WR
6. Tim McCarigle-MLB
7. Mark Setterstrom-G
7. Tony Palmer-G

I'll give you a minute to finish puking.
OK, let's look at this collection of screwups.
1. I won't bitch about Hill too much. He looked like a possible player at Clemson, though there were some red flags attached to him.
2. A horrible pick. I said so at the time. What were they thinking? No speed. Mediocre blocker. A total waste.
3A. Red flags everywhere. The Bayou Bengal could play some, but he was an a-hole waiting to collapse on himself. Long gone now after a surprising drug suspension.
3B. Jon Alston. He tries hard but an OLB weighing about a buck-eighty is not going to help you stop the run. A terrible pick. Got some time at LB with the Raiders, but everybody does.
3C. Dominique Byrd? If they thought Klop could play, why take another TE one round later? Turns out both of them sucked. Byrd also came with red flags, which proved prescient. Basically this Ram draft had more red flags than the 1966 May Day parade in Moscow.
4. Victor Adeyanju is a solid backup. No complaints.
5. The Rams loved to convert players from one position to another and tried this with Mario Hagans. What they did was convert a 5th round pick to a sack of crap.
6. Tim McGarigle got hurt and never had a chance to really show off. That said, he didn't show THAT much in college either. He was a plugger at best for a team that badly needed some athletes.
7. Mark Setterstrom has some ability and is still with the team. He's a solid backup, though the Rams have been forced to start him. A good seventh round choice.
7. Tony Palmer. ANother stab at building line depth. ANother failure. Palmer was gone after enjoying a sip of Sanka.

So, ten picks and a lot of money netted the Rams Setterstrom and Adeyanju.
That's why I hate the NFL draft.

NFL Draft

Taylor Mays shows out in Mobile. The problem is he didn't look so hot on the field this season. Opinion on Mays is all over the place. He's probably a first rounder, but COULD slide on down in round one. Good 40 times will help him and he's got the size.

NFL

Gregg Easterbrook delivers a Brett Favre beatdown that even I think is a bit much ... and I am sick to death of the kid from Kiln.

MLB

The top 100 prospects from FanHouse. Braves have several listed, including Heyward and Mike Minor, the lefty from Vanderbilt.

NFL Draft 2

A good mock by Ryan Houston. He's very high on Earl Thomas of Texas and Navorro Bowman of Penn State.