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Mocking
Mel It's that time of the year again... It is time to hand out letter grades after the tedious NFL Draft. No, I'm not going to waste any time breaking down the 32 teams and ranking/rating their efforts from this past weekend's draft....all that will take care of itself later this year, when the players actually perform or flop on the field. I know that is unusual, since every major media outlet will spew such garbage the day after the final selection of the never-ending NFL Draft. I can guarantee you as I post this blog entry that your very own Carolina Panthers (and I'm talking about Marty Hurney and John Fox) still don't know if any of their selections will be big-time players or contributors. They hope so, but they won't know until the guys take to the field in camp and during the season. I don't care about potential, upside, 40-yard times or vertical leaping ability. I would assume that anybody who plays professional football has some ability and talent, but what I want to know is how did my guy, Mel Kiper, Jr., do this year in the NFL Draft? Forget about Michael Irvin Light (Keyshawn Johnson), or the babbling Chris Berman...what is the letter grade for the Draft Guru? Since I started this blog a few years ago, I've always had fun at the expense of Mel Kiper. Don't get me wrong; I love that he has fooled the suits at ESPN into giving him countless hours of airtime, spewing the aforementioned qualities and tendencies of potential prospects. Trust me, there are thousands of people who can acquire such fascinating information, but there are very few people who can convince networks that they are truly insightful regarding the inner workings of the NFL Draft. That's why I love it that the "Hairdo of the NFL Draft" has done it again. After spending 365 days breaking down the tape, practices, interviews, 40-times, tendencies, eating habits, sexual preferences, weed or no weed, boxers or briefs, and other career-altering decisions, Marvelous Mel made his final mock draft heading into the main event. So, how did Kiper do in 2007? Well, let me break down the numbers Kiper-style. The past two years, Mel had correctly picked 15 out of a possible 64 first round selections.....that's right, it's not a typo; Kiper had 15 perfect matches out of 64 selections during the 2005 and 2006 NFL Drafts. During the same time period, Kiper had also completely missed 12 first round picks of the last two drafts. That means there were 12 guys who Kiper predicted to be first round picks, who completely fell out of the opening round. Well, this year, Mel Kiper continued his mastery of ESPN's Draft coverage. His consistency was demonstrated by correctly picking 8 out of the 32 first round draft picks. The eight correct picks were as follows:
Congrats, Mel....nice work. That means Kiper has correctly selected 23 of 96 first round picks in the past three years. That's an impressive 24%. It should also be noted that Kiper only had four players in his final mock draft who didn't happen to be chosen in the first round....his best effort in the past three years. His tally in this department means that Mel has completely missed the boat on 16 of a possible 96 selections the past three years. That's an almost equally impressive 16% rate. Regardless of what you think about Kiper and his insight, one thing is certain....he's already got his Top 10 selections for the 2008 Draft. I've got to hand it to Tony Stewart...he has one-upped every athlete who has said something stupid in front of a microphone. And trust me, that is quite an accomplishment. Last week on his radio show, Stewart claimed that NASCAR was fixed just like pro wrestling. His exact quote was as follows...."I guess NASCAR thinks, 'Hey wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it's going to work in racing, too'." He went on to add that he didn't believe that NASCAR had run a fair race all year long. I've got no problem with anybody questioning the rules or how they are applied to their sport, and in this case it was Stewart being upset over the number of questionable cautions during the race season. But when you question the integrity of a sport that has made you tens of millions of dollars...that's just plain stupid. Not only did NASCAR disapprove of the statements, but I'm sure his owner Joe Gibbs and title sponsor Home Depot had to cringe, too. Stewart's comments were as dumb and poorly timed as any I have ever seen. Anybody who agrees with Stewart's mocking of the sport that made him famous and wealthy is as dumb and ignorant as the guy who opened his mouth on his own satellite show. By the time Stewart showed up in Talladega, the boys from NASCAR requested a 6 AM meeting. It didn't take long to straighten out Stewart....shortly thereafter, he was backstroking in front of the media. Jim Hunter, NASCAR VP, put it perfectly when he said, "I think Tony Stewart now knows where he stands with NASCAR."
The Bobcats should be quite proud of co-owner Michael Jordan and his efforts to land more talent for the franchise. According to the NY Post, Jordan wasn't able to land any free agents from his recent trip to Cabo. I wonder if the Charlotte Observer has the fortitude to run this photo? I think we all know the answer to that one. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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