You knew it was just a matter of time, but starting next April, the NFL Draft will be moving to a three-day format. Both ESPN and the NFL-N will still be covering those days, but they now have an extra day to work with, and will also be given a Thursday primetime starting point. Via John Clayton at ESPN....

The audience for the NFL draft has been growing, and the league has responded by expanding the event from two to three days.

Commissioner Roger Goodell notified teams Thursday that the draft will be spread over three days in 2010, running Thursday, April 22, through Saturday, April 24.

In addition, the first round will start in prime time at 7:30 p.m. ET.

"We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans," Goodell said in a statement. "Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television."

ESPN and the NFL Network will televise the entire show.

The second and third rounds will start at 6:30 p.m. ET on April 23.

Rounds 4 through 7 will be on April 24, starting at 10 a.m. ET.

So there you have it. Obviously it's the right decision on multiple fronts, with the two biggest being ad revenue and ratings. It's the right decision, and should cause more media outlets to cover it, with the start time being on a Thursday evening.

Draft to expand to three days (ESPN)

I can't stand sifting through draft grades, because they're even more pointless than mock drafts. You don't know what the criteria is (Did the team fill needs? Did the team draft the best player in that spot?), and teams drafting for defense always seem to score lower (see: Skins, Red). Well ESPN has taken such grading to a whole new level. They are grading the graders.

ESPN took a handful of people from various publications (USA Today, CBS Sportsline, etc), and averaged out their grades, to give each team a "GPA" for the draft. The Eagles scored the highest, while the Raiders failed miserably. There's only one problem....they didn't take the time to look closely at each grader's work. Larry Weisman's piece from the USA Today is from 2008. Heck he even has a photo up top of Glenn Dorsey, Chris Long and Matt Ryan....


Don't you think they would have noticed that Wiesman gave the Raiders a "C"? Well, FoxSports.com's John Czarnecki gave them one too, but you know what I mean. Plus, now all of the GPAs are completely off. Such a shame too.

Consensus NFL Draft Grades (ESPN)

(Thanks to reader JP for the tip)

I don't know if it's ESPN's terrible Day One coverage, the length of the thing or the lack of suspense during picks, but I think the NFL Draft is now officially unwatchable. Hour after hour, it's picks being ruined by ESPN or the NFL Network showing kids getting calls on their cell phone, and analysts making up ridiculous phrases to describe said draft picks. I mean, Steve Young described Mark Sanchez as "Presidential". What the hell does that even mean?

This year was also marred by the Erin Andrews "green room" experiment. While I understand the need for interviews, you really didn't need to send her to New Jersey on Day Two, to talk to the Cosbys....

That was fun right? Especially considering Quan Cosby didn't even get drafted! I know see the difference between having someone like Suzy Kolber asking picks about their workout regiment, and Erin Andrews asking Michael Crabtree about how many texts he's received.

I know I'm going to continue to watch the Draft, but I might just stick to Day Two from here on out.

What: The 2009 NFL Draft
Where: Radio City Music Hall
When: 4pm (ESPN/NFL-N)

So another Draft is upon us and this year's should be just as fun as the last few years. We already know that Matthew Stafford will be the first pick, but the rest of the first round is up in the air. Matt Sanchez and Michael Crabtree are the current names rumored that teams are going to trade up for (the Pats are interested in Crabtree apparently), and who knows when the crazy Andre Smith will go.

Predictions, quotes and thoughts are welcome throughout the day, and feel free to make fun of my Mock Draft below, which is sure to be completely useless....

1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
2. St. Louis Rams: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
4. Seattle Seahawks: Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
5. Cleveland Browns: Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
6. Cincinnati Bengals: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
7. Oakland Raiders: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
9. Green Bay Packers: B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College
10. San Francisco 49ers: Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
11. Buffalo Bills: Michael Oher, OT, Mississippi
12. Denver Broncos: Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee
13. Washington Redskins: Brian Orakpo, DE/OLB, Texas
14. New Orleans Saints: Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State
15. Houston Texans: Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State
16. San Diego Chargers: Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB, Ohio State
17. New York Jets: Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State
18. Denver Broncos (from CHI): Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC
20. Detroit Lions (from DAL): Brian Cushing, OLB, USC
21. Philadelphia Eagles: Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
22. Minnesota Vikings: Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
23. New England Patriots: Clay Matthews, OLB, USC
24. Atlanta Falcons: Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi
25. Miami Dolphins: Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
26. Baltimore Ravens: Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers
27. Indianapolis Colts: Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
28. Buffalo Bills (from PHI, which received from CAR): Donald Brown, RB, Connecticut
29. New York Giants: Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina
30. Tennessee Titans: Everette Brown, DE, Florida State
31. Arizona Cardinals: Phil Loadholt, OT, Oklahoma
32. Pittsburgh Steelers: Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut

Quan Cosby is a potential draftee out of the University of Texas. You may remember him from his Fiesta Bowl performance, where he had 14 catches, 171 yards and 2tds (one coming with :16 left). Well, while Mark Sanchez is being followed around Southern California, Quan Cosby will be hanging with legendary comedian (and certifiably insane now), Bill Cosby! The wide receiver will be in Englewood, NJ, hanging with Mr. Huxtable, before he performs that night. Of course ESPN will be there to capture all the Cosby (no relation) goodness....

Cosby will watch the draft with actor/comedian Bill Cosby at a theater in Englewood, N.J., where the elder Cosby (no relation) will perform that night. Bill Cosby was impressed with the Texas receiver’s play in the Fiesta Bowl, so he had his representatives contact Quan and they struck up a friendship. Quan even introduced Cosby when the comedian performed in Austin, Texas. They will watch the draft together this weekend and if Quan – projected as a late-round pick – is selected when Cosby is performing Sunday night, Cosby has pledged to stop his show and introduce Quan on stage. ESPN will be there to capture the moment.

That sounds ten times better than having to sit inside Radio City Music Hall on day one, or have your family bugging you when you drop to the third round. Plus, Bill is likely to do something completely batty when Quan finally gets picked.

Here are the slew of other players ESPN will show remotely....Sanchez; Connor Barwin (Cincinnati); Donald Brown (UConn); Everette Brown (Florida State); Vontae Davis (Illinois); Darrius Heyward-Bey (Maryland); Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio State); Jeremy Maclin (Missouri); Clay Matthews (USC); Aaron Maybin (Penn State); Knowshon Moreno (Georgia); BJ Raji (Boston College); Andre Smith (Alabama); Chris “Beanie” Wells (Ohio State); Darius Butler (UConn); Louis Delmas (Western Michigan), Cornelius Ingram (Florida); LeShon McCoy (Pittsburgh); Alphonso Smith (Wake Forest); Ian Johnson (Boise State)

From time to time, I like to get interviews with certain media members or player, and today's one is perfect for Draft Week. ESPN gave me the opportunity to ask NFL Draft Producer, Jay Rothman, ten questions about the "Leader's" coverage of the Draft, and here were his responses. Hope you enjoy, and gain some insight as well....

Q&A w/ ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Jay Rothman, who will oversee ESPN's NFL Draft telecast for the 15th year in 2009:

1. Having worked on the NFL Draft with ESPN for multiple years, what are some of your favorite memories?

Every year it’s intriguing because there seems to be a different controversy of who the better quarterback is. We had the year with McNabb, Couch, Culpepper, Akili Smith and Cade McNown to Eli and Phillip Rivers and Roethlisberger. Then there’s Leinart and Young, and Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith, and Rodgers dropping and Brady Quinn’s drama. Even Harrington and Carr. Although it was a forgone conclusion, we debated that. And who really knows with Stafford and Sanchez. Stafford seems to be the bona fide No. 1 and Sanchez the hot guy that everyone is going after. The easy thing that sticks in your head is the quarterback debate that always comes up, everybody looking for that franchise quarterback. So I would say the quarterbacks and how we broke it down.

Other memories that stick out are the crazy things: when Parcells threw Sal (Paolantonio) out of the New York Jets camp. I think that was the year Keyshawn was drafted. The lights going out at Madison Square Garden, and the show going pitch black. The Lawrence Phillips debate with Theismann and Mel. Stuff like that.

Needless to say, the best stuff is some of the unique moments that we capture, Joe Thomas fishing or David Carr’s plane landing in Houston. Somehow, some way, the bizarre seems to fall into our lap. When the Vikings failed to make a pick before the clock went out, that became absolutely frenetic. When they forgot the card and the cards started flying at the table, it made for unbelievable drama, but all of a sudden for us the planes are stacked up. It makes it really difficult for us to get out of that turbulence. Great TV can be very complicated for us, and that’s kind of the stuff that happens.

One year we had Boomer Esiason on the set and we were ready to introduce him as the new voice of Monday Night Football, and we were set to do that with the Jets on the clock. Peyton Manning was drafted that year and we came out of the break and Boomer’s on the set, the Jets traded the pick and Peyton was there on the second set ready to be interviewed. A couple of coaches popped up on the video conference ready to be interviewed. That’s the nature of the draft. You go from what you think is logical to all this stuff that happens in a moment’s notice and it’s chaos.

2. How soon before the Draft do you begin the planning and scheduling?

There are things that go on that keep the process going year-round, and it never leaves your thought process, but it really begins in earnest once the college and NFL season ends. We go full-on. It’s getting to Mel and now McShay right away to try to flush out who are the top players in this class. It’s getting a team of people together to compile the best and worst of these players on video. This year it was how can we better clean up the screen and be more innovative by going in HD – having the SD feed in the 16x9 format to take advantage of the screen. Each year we try to successfully implement the technology we used during football coverage over the last year, so this year we will utilize the EA Virtual Playbooks and ESPN Axis technology and repurpose some of it in the draft show. We also try to find those unique wrinkles to consistently raise the bar year after year. Our goal is always to create a better, more innovative presentation. We have days and days of storyline meetings, team by team, so we are on point with all 32 clubs. We also talk about how to properly highlight the great moments of the last 30 years and even our history and tradition that makes us really the voice of the draft, which we take great pride in. We also spend a lot of time on talent. What’s the best pool of talent and how do we deploy our talent in the smartest and most efficient way? How do we break them down and have them deliver information?

3. What are some of the stats that you can give? (i.e. - number of cameras, number of personalities, total coverage hours)

Well, it’s challenging on tight 51st Street in New York City. For the first time we’ve taken up both sides of the street. But it’s not so much the number of cameras per se like it is for an NFL game that’s a ‘wow.’ In Radio City we have multiple sets – three sets – plus the green room, Todd McShay back in Bristol working the “magic board,” day 2 we’ve got another set fired up. Between 32 sites of video conferencing, and 17 remotes, we are looking at close to 60 locations all told when you include player locations and draft parties that are seamlessly integrated into the show. That stat probably impresses me the most.

4. It seems like in years past, ESPN has tried to fit various different personalities into the program. What makes this year's group special?

We have scaled down the talent in the actual draft show so that on day 1 we are really bouncing from our main set of four guys to Herm and Trey, Mort for news and information, Erin Andrews in the green room, and Todd McShay on the video board, and everything else is live shots and reporters. We are more fleet-footed. We’ve scaled back. We’ve reduced the number on the main set to move the ball around and keep the show in Radio City on day 1 where the buzz is, with the exception of showing the dozens of players and their reality unfold.

Mel is the staple. He is our E.F. Hutton. It’s groundhog day for Mel, and with draft fans there’s an expectation on Mel. McShay is a guy who’s earned his stripes. He’s as credible as Mel when it comes to breaking down players and he’s done so for a while. He deserves this stage, and finally we have a foil for Mel. We’re going to give them an opportunity to debate. Todd gives us the ability to have another credible go-to guy in terms of breaking down players and educating fans about who these kids are and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. We have the ability to do some unique things with Todd and Mel together and with Todd separately with the “magic board” and the ability to forward spin the show.

This is Berman’s 29th draft and that just shows his passion for this event and for the NFL. This is the most difficult studio job out there – bar none. As we’re flying by the seat of our pants behind the scenes, he’s got to do it seamlessly in front of a camera and as flawlessly as possible. There’s a big difference there. To dance like he dances for a big guy, and rock and roll based on this unscripted, unformatted show for the length of time that it is, it’s a very difficult thing to do. And I would argue that he and Mel really made the draft what it is today. Mel certainly did for his unique skills but there’s no question Berman helped make the draft what it is today. All those years of doing this thing and to keep wanting to come back year after year.

When Steve (Young) opens his mouth, it’s a ‘wow.’ What we did unique this year is we have made Steve the lead-off hitter for the NFC teams and Keyshawn the lead-off for the AFC teams. Aside from the obvious of having Steve break down the quarterbacks and Keyshawn break down Michael Crabtree and the receivers, we split up the league with them to help us balance their roles.

By moving Mort from the main set to another set, we are basically giving him the opportunity to focus on more news and information – who’s moving in, who’s moving out, what are the trade rumors he’s hearing? He will have the ability to aggressively work the phones during the show. We’ll get to him often but it further defines his role and allows him to do what he does best and not be prohibited by sitting on a main set. Inevitably, when you have less, less is more. By sheer numbers, it will allow us to be more fleet-footed, moving from set to set rather than being mired in a large set of talent.

We want to utilize Herm as a head coach and as a guy who sat in the draft room, especially on day 1. Put us in these draft rooms and give us that perspective. What do you look for in certain types of players? What he has given us in the meetings up to this point has been great. He spent four years as a scout, so he has a unique perspective that we plan to utilize. And Trey Wingo has proven himself as the year-round voice of our NFL studio show by taking on NFL Live like he has. Obviously, he’s proven his abilities as a very able host, his ability to ad-lib and his knowledge of the game. He can set up his analysts and he’s a very good interviewer as well. He has all the skill set to do an incredible job and he takes great pride in the fact that he’s doing this show.

5. Erin Andrews is close to College Football, but she hasn't covered the NFL for the network in her tenure at ESPN. Why make her the Green Room Host?

The decision really started with Suzy (Kolber) whose responsibilities shifted from day 1, where she is part of the preview show and hosting an A-list group of analysts with Cris Carter, Tom Jackson and Trent Dilfer during the first two hours of the draft on ESPNEWS. She is also essentially co-hosting day 2 on Sunday with the same group. Therefore, she was taken out of the mix. It was best for Trey to remain with Herm on that second set in Radio City, so we felt Erin would be the best person to be in the green room. She’s got a great personality, she’s aggressive, she’s well-liked by the players. It was really a no-brainer to have her back there. She is eager and doing her homework, and truthfully she has a lot of contacts that we don’t necessarily have, and she’s using those contacts within the world of college football to get a lot of unique and different information for us, whether it’s calling Mark Richt at Georgia or Pete Carroll at USC. She’s going to not only do interviews but her ability and skill-set as a sideline reporter is going to lead to unique nuggets and information that she is gathering. She will also react on the fly to the drama and tension of the green room. We’re relying on her sensibilities and smarts to help us translate to the viewer the tension and drama and excitement of that room, and to react accordingly. The players’ familiarity with her from college football makes her a great fit.

6. Along those same lines....Why no Kornheiser this year?

The big reason we had Tony in 2007 was really to introduce the new Monday Night Football team, and that clearly was the play. It was a new booth and a vehicle to recognize that and introduce them in a highly-rated show to sort of get the buzz out, and that was the only year we did it. We’re actually two years removed from that, so it’s really a non-factor.

7. How has the NFL Network's broadcast of the Draft changed ESPN's approach in recent years?

It really hasn’t changed our approach. The good thing is it has made us hungrier and put our radar up to not take for granted our success. It’s great to have another player in there. It makes us sharper and makes us work harder – to be more aggressive and want to differentiate. It’s not so much what are they doing versus what are we doing. It’s just made us work harder to ensure that we are indeed the network of choice.

8. Much talk has been made of a move to primetime for the Draft. Do you feel that would be a wise timeslot, and do you see it happening anytime soon?

Given the length of the two rounds on Saturday with the start time at 4 p.m. and the off-time around 11 p.m., it already is in primetime, and I think we are in a better position right now to get more eyeballs.

9. The Draft will be aired in HD for the first time ever. Why the wait in producing the program in high def?

It really came down to a truck and facilities that we were able to obtain in New York. The picture quality will be better, and, for the HD audience, there will be an additional bar of information and Draft-related content that the SD audience will not be getting. However, the SD screen is going to be in a 16x9 letterbox format. We are giving a bigger screen to the SD audience and taking away some of the clutter by fine-tuning some of the information along the BottomLine. We probably could have gone HD a year ago but this year we were able to obtain the same truck that we use for Monday Night Football and we decided to go for it. In the past we had left and right columns of information, in addition to the BottomLine, and it was just too busy. This year we have built everything into the BottomLine, kept more video in the 16x9 and provided the HD. In using the MNF truck, we are also using a bigger truck, which we realized we needed to do this show.

Note: the Radio City and Bristol portions of the Draft will be in HD, along with taped elements. Remotes and team videoconferencing will continue to be in SD.

10. Any other surprises planned for this year's telecast?

We’re up to 17 remotes on day 1 with players in the draft who will be outside of Radio City, which is a record for us. We’re really excited about that and feel it will be a point of differentiation with our coverage. Between the nine who will be in the green room and being with 17 players, we almost have half the draft’s players on day 1. A great surprise to me is that one of our cameras will be with receiver Quan Cosby of Texas, who will be with Bill Cosby at a theater in New Jersey. They’re not related but they struck up a friendship. If Quan gets picked when Cosby is there performing his show at the theater, he’s going to stop to introduce Quan. That’s a unique twist that’s in the line of Joe Thomas fishing with his dad. We’re also going to be with the top four running backs in the draft – Beanie Wells, Donald Brown, Knowshon Moreno and LeShon McCoy.

Drew Rosenhaus will also have a group of players he’s representing with him in Pennsylvania. He’s got a group of 2nd round guys -- McCoy (Pittsburgh), Darius Butler (Connecticut), Alphonso Smith (Wake Forest), Louis Delmas (Western Michigan) and Cornelius Ingram (Florida) – so we have depth into the second round, which I like. It’s not just at the top and the buzz is over. The other big thing is that Rosenhaus represents Anquan Boldin, Plaxico Burress and Chad Johnson, so storyline guys like that who may be traded before the draft or on draft day, we have a beat on the NFL angle too.

The last thing I would add is that we had access to the Combine for the first time, which allowed us behind the scenes with 43 players. For us, it’s more of the glam that we got out of it, not so much sit-down interviews or features, per se. It allowed us to do the magazine-type poses and things like that that help the elements of our show, both in the front-end highlight package and in the bumpers coming in and out of commercial breaks. We did some really unique stuff with motion and still photography. It elevates our look and feel.
________________

Many thanks to Jay, and ESPN, for taking the time out of their busy week(s) to answer those so thoroughly.

Three weeks ago Sports Illustrated reported that defensive lineman BJ Raji, a potential top five pick, had tested for marijuana. After denial, after denial from Raji and his agent, and even the NFL saying he was not on the list, SI has admitted they got it all wrong. Here is their apology, which popped up on SI.com today....

An SI.com report posted earlier this month incorrectly stated that Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji's name would appear on the NFL's list of players who tested positive for drugs at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. We regret the error.

Well that's nice of them. I'm all for having sources and sticking to them, but when you've got a young man's future in your hands, you absolutely have to provide all the info that you have. The evidence was flimsy at best, and thankfully Raji can move forward with his Draft Day experience.

Correction: BC's Raji not on NFL's drug list (Sports Illustrated)

Matthew Stafford has been making the rounds on the interview circuit as of late, and last night he made an appearance on the Jimmy Fallon Show. Following his interview, Fallon had the genius idea to toss plates in the air and have Stafford throw footballs at them. A skeet shooting competition of sorts. Here's your video via FAN IQ....

Too awesome. In fact, I'm thinking about getting some plates and a football and heading out into the yard right now. I think this also solidifies Stafford's spot as the number one overall pick next weekend.

Matthew Stafford Has Finally Proven He Is Worthy Of The #1 Pick (FAN IQ)

It's hard to believe that this is, but on April 25th and 26th the "Leader" will be airing their 30th installment of the NFL Draft. And get this....Erin Andrews will be there this time! The rest of the parties are pretty much the same, but here is who will be joining EA over the two-day period....

Chris Berman, Mel Kiper, Jr., and a team of hosts, analysts and reporters will be a part of ESPN’s 30th consecutive year of televising the NFL Draft (April 25-26) from Radio City Music Hall in New York. The 16 hours of planned live coverage on ESPN and ESPN2 over two days will be supplemented by Draft-related content on multiple ESPN platforms throughout the weekend, including ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS and ESPN.com.

Berman and Kiper, working their 29th and 26th NFL Drafts for ESPN, respectively, will team with analysts Keyshawn Johnson and Steve Young on the main set from Radio City on Day 1. NFL Live host Trey Wingo and first-year analyst Herm Edwards, as well as NFL insider Chris Mortensen, will report from additional set locations in the hall, while reporter Erin Andrews will conduct green room and post-pick interviews with the prospects invited to the Draft. Also, ESPN Scouts Inc. director of college scouting Todd McShay will be a major contributor to the coverage from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios.

SportsCenter Special: On the Clock at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, April 25, will kickoff ESPN’s comprehensive coverage. The five-hour pre-Draft line-up will include Monday Night Football’s Mike Tirico hosting with Suzy Kolber and analysts Cris Carter, Trent Dilfer, Tom Jackson and Ron Jaworski, College GameDay’s Kirk Herbstreit, McShay, and correspondent Michael Smith in Bristol.

Given the crazy amount of people involved with the Draft, there are obviously some new features. Some of those include: The Draft being in HD for the first time ever, Tom Jackson using the "Virtual Playbook" and use of that cool touch screen board for picks. Here's your lineup for each day....

Day One:

Main Set: Chris Berman, Keyshawn Johnson, Mel Kiper Jr. and Steve Young
Set #2: Trey Wingo and Herm Edwards
Stage set: Chris Mortensen
Reporter: Erin Andrews

Day Two:

Main Set: Wingo, Edwards, Jaworski, Kiper, and Mortensen

If I was ESPN or the NFL Network, I might be a little upset at this news. The Chargers will be using their website to be the first media outlet to say who the team has drafted, and apparently they have League approval. Via Chargers.com....

The team’s official website is expanding its draft coverage this year, bringing fans several new features to provide the quickest and most in-depth information on the newest members of the organization.

Through “Pick Cam,” a new camera feed located just outside the War Room, fans will hear each selection on Chargers.com BEFORE any other news outlet, including NFL Network and ESPN. As soon as General Manager A.J. Smith and his staff make their decision, a Chargers official will bring the player’s name to Pick Cam.

And for fans who expect to be out and about on Draft Weekend can sign up to receive text messages from the team as each choice is made. To receive these Draft Text Messages, sign up simply by texting CHARGE to 41513 or click here. Standard messaging rates will apply.

Well that's an interesting move now, isn't it? The thing I don't understand though, is couldn't ESPN and the NFL Network just monitor the Chargers' website? I guess they would still be first, so I guess it makes sense.

Chargers.com has the NFL Draft covered (Chargers.com)

ESPN is obviously heavily vested in Todd McShay, but it has come at the expensive of Mel Kiper. Well now ESPN is sending McShay to the Draft, to ultimately steal some of Kiper's thunder, and stage fake fights between the two, ala Salisbury and Clayton. Via USA Today....

Here's how far the notion of the TV NFL draftnik has evolved: Mel Kiper, the category's inventor, will now face off against his Kiper 2.0 — Todd McShay, who this month will be added to ESPN's draft coverage.

Kiper will be in his usual perch at the New York draft site; McShay will be at ESPN's studios in Connecticut. McShay, who last year was on ESPNews' draft coverage, will also be equipped with the same type of video screen CNN used on its election coverage, largely to zoom in on geographic areas. Rothman says: "I hate to call it our John King/CNN board, but it's the same technology. But we're not going to Google Earth the Pop Warner fields these kids played on. We'll use it to show things like best available players."

McShay's take on the board: "It's an enormous iPhone, NFL version."

Heated point-counterpoint segments are now common across TV as a handy way to convert any issue into harrumph-filled theatrics. But McShay says, "One nice thing is I've never felt that pressure, and I think Mel would agree. I don't change my opinion just to be argumentative."

Ummm, I would beg to differ on that point, but all that matters is what he ultimately believes in his heart. I have no idea when on-air fighting became the norm in the world of Sports, and while it has worked to some degree, at some point it becomes too much (i.e.- Clayton and Salisbury). When it gets to the point where it starts distracting the viewer, it's time to change things up. Hopefully that doesn't happen to the Draft.

(Oh and ESPN, I apologize for the above picture. For some reason there are no photos of the two on the media website, and that was all I could find. You have to admit it's pretty funny though.)

ESPN has a counterpart to Kiper (USA Today)

I completely understand why someone in a specialized field like Chemistry or Engineering would have to take the Wonderlic Test, but I still have never really understood its application to the game of Football. Today, various media members are riffling through this year's set of scores, and scrutinizing those players who are on the bottom end. And while the scores ultimately don't really even matter, there is a slight problem for the NFL. Where did the leak come from?

PFT has the information, and it appears likely that a high-level official at an NFL team, is more than likely the culprit....

After Vince Young’s single-digit debacle made its way to this here joint three years ago, the league placed heavy restrictions on the dissemination of the information.

Per a league source, the NFL delivers the Wonderlic scores via hand-carried pouch to one person per team, usually the G.M., the team president, or the director of player personnel.

“The scores are kept separate and from all the other Combine data, which is sent to teams electronically via the Internet,” the source said. “There are no electronic files and only one hard copy per team.”

So, basically, Pompei’s source likely is someone who operates at a very high level with one of the teams — and who is willing to disregard the league’s clear directive to keep the information secret. (Alternatively, someone who operates at a very high level with one of the teams has not safeguarded the information, allowing someone at a lower level to get their mitts on the numbers. Or, possibly, the leaker is employed by the league office or the Combine.)

Again, I find it hard to believe a team wouldn't draft say Darius Heyward-Bey (who ran a 4.24 40-yard dash at the Combine), because he couldn't figure out a problem on fractions. But, I could be wrong. Here are some of the notable, leaked scores in case you want to compare your result from the test....

Matthew Stafford- 38
Mark Sanchez- 28
Josh Freeman- 27
Michael Crabtree- 15
Darrius Heyward-Bey- 14
Percy Harvin- 12
Hakeem Nicks- 11
Jeremy Maclin- 25
Andre Smith- 17
Eben Britton- 31
Eugene Monroe- 24
Jason Smith- 23
Michael Oher- 19
Clay Matthews- 21
Brian Cushing- 23
Rey Maualuga- 15
Kevin Barnes- 41
Louis Delmas- 12

Wonderlic Leak Could Come From Only A Narrow Group Of Sources (Pro Football Talk)
Georgia's Matthew Stafford stands out with NFL Wonderlic score (Chicago Tribune)

Deion Sanders has been mentoring current NFL players, and rookies coming into the league, for awhile now. The only difference is that now it will be televised. "Prime U" will be an hour long program that features Sanders teaching five prospects the ways of the league. Via the NFL-N....

Five prospects, one dream. “Under Armour Presents Prime U” debuts at 8 p.m. Five prospects, one dream. On Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET, Under Armour Presents Prime U debuts on NFL Network, chronicling the journey of NFL hopefuls training under the tutelage of NFL Network analyst and eight-time Pro Bowler Deion Sanders.

Produced by NFL Films, the 60-minute Under Armour Presents Prime U goes inside Sanders’ training camp in Irving, TX for a look at how the legendary cornerback imparts his knowledge of the game and life as a professional football player to the next generation.

"Prime U isn't the normal training process that you get from a standard training facility," said Sanders. "It's not just about training physically, but also developing a healthy spiritual and psychological makeup. From family to finances, Prime U works to ensure that these young men have all the tools in place for a successful life and career in the NFL and beyond."

That actually sounds pretty interesting. Sanders' "Camp" was actually founded last year, and even succeeded in helping Pacman Jones back into the league. As far as this year's collection of players on the show, here's who I've gathered will be featured: Darius Butler (Connecticut), Emmanuel Cook (South Carolina), Lendy Holmes (Oklahoma), Captain Munnerlyn (South Carolina), and Lydell Sargeant (Penn State)

One of my favorite things to come out of the NFL Scouting Combine, are the Wonderlic test results. The test is supposed to assess the aptitude of a person based on learning and problem-solving, and is given across multiple professions. The highest score you can get is a 50, with the national average is 20 (not just NFL scores), and the all-time high for an NFLer was a perfect score by Harvard grad, Pat McInally. On the other end, the all-time low was a 3 for eventual Ravens' pick, Roderick Green.

The NFL Network's Rich Eisen decided to try his hand at the test, and here were the highlights and result....

A 35 is a pretty good score. That number puts him in with the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Matt Leinart, and is actually better than every rookie who took the test last season. Good work, Rich.

So the first of the Senior showcase games is today on ESPN2 at 3pm in the East-West Shrine Game from Houston, Texas. While the game does have some exciting players, the real reason for the East-West contest is to raise funds for Shriners Hospitals for Children. Every year since 1925, this has been the case, and this year is not different.

What do I know though, right? Let's have the oddest pairing of individuals ever explain it to you. Here's John Elway and Justin Timberlake!

While I'm far too lazy to live-blog such an event, someone else is taking on the task for you this afternoon. Please stop by the fabulous Niners Nation this afternoon for College Football, fun and camaraderie. Here are some of the players participating today, and enjoy the game!

EAST: Chase Daniel (QB, Missouri), Hunter Cantwell (QB, Louisville), Marlon Lucky (RB, Nebraska), Morgan Trent (DB, Michigan), Jasper Brinkley (LB, South Carolina), Alex Boone (OL, Ohio State), Aaron Kelly (WR, Clemson), Deon Butler (WR, PSU)

WEST: Mike Thomas (WR, Arizona), Stephen McGee (QB, Texas A&M), Sammie Stroughter (WR, Oregon State), Aaron Brown (RB, TCU), Kaluka Maiava (LB, USC), Ra’Shon Harris (DL, Oregon)

I thought Cris Carter was a good hire for ESPN when they brought him on to replace Sean Salisbury, and while he hasn't really disappointed, he's certainly not doing much to improve his reputation. He verbally threatened Will Leitch a few months back and now he's taken to flat out lying on-air.

The topic of Matt Millen's firing came up on Sunday Countdown and when drilling the former Lions GM's drafting downfalls, he had this to say....

“Matt Millen – do a little undercover work. (Mike) Williams and Charlie Rogers both worked out with me before the draft. I could have told him, don’t draft neither one of them. (He) never asked me.”- Cris Carter

Okay then. That's kind of an egotistical way to go about discussing a topic, and I guess Carter's opinion is well thought of in the Football community, but there's one small problem. According to Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson, he actually WAS asked back in 2003 and 2005 by two separate newspapers, and he had a completely different view of the two receivers before they were drafted....

That’s interesting because here is what you said about both players just before they were drafted. Carter’s comments about Rogers, to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel just before the 2003 draft: “He’s very similar – and I don’t like to make a lot of comparisons – to Randy (Moss) in a sense, a big basketball player playing wide receiver. He’s the only receiver that’s come out since Randy that you can make an honest comparison to. He has a yearning to learn.”

And Carter’s comments about Williams, to the St. Paul Pioneer Press just before the 2005 draft: “I think he’s going to be a great player. I think people will be surprised at the kind of person he is. He’s really a hard worker. He takes his training very seriously and wants to be very good.”

So much for consistency.

It's one thing to forget a prediction or two as you go through the season, but something like this is pretty egregious mistake. I still find it funny that media members rarely go back and look up what they said when they spout off at the mouth like this. I'm no pro at the Internet, but it should be pretty easy to just Google "Cris Carter Mike Williams Draft", if you can't remember what you said 3 to 5 years ago.

Winners and losers (Yahoo Sports)

I know athletes do a ton of stuff they don't want to do, and I don't have anything against musicals, but standing awkwardly on the stage for almost two minutes isn't something I'd look forward to. Here are Falcons players Matt Ryan and Sam Baker doing just that with the cast of Oklahoma. Via WL and KSK....

Wow. That song could have the longest outro ever. They had to be up there thinking, "Just put your g'damn hands up and end this thing!" Too funny.

Matt Ryan Broke The Record For Awkward (With Leather)
Matt Ryan + show-tunes = FABU !!! (Kissing Suzy Kolber)

I found this vid over at Yahoo's Shutdown Corner and it couldn't be more entertaining. It's a look at one of the skits that the NFL puts on for rookies and the party involved in this one is Cowboys Rookie RB Tashard Choice from Georgia Tech. Enjoy!

How entertaining was that? Man, the NFL could come up with a whole series surrounding these things. Great work by Tashard there, but I'm still waiting for the one when a groupie approaches them though. Now that would be entertainment!

Tashard Choice's friends should get used to watching him on TV (Shutdown Corner)

Joe Thomas made a name for himself in the fishing community on Draft Day last year when the lineman decided to skip the selection festivities and head out on his boat to catch a few. Well it seems like that and the popularity he's gained in Cleveland has lead to his own fishing show....

Recall if you will that this 6-foot-6, 315-pound mass of football player literally hung a ''Gone Fishin' '' sign on NFL Draft day in 2007 when he was the No. 3 pick so that he could cast some lines with his father. He has taken that love of the outdoors and parlayed it into a co-hosting gig on Outdoors Ohio with D'Arcy Egan & Joe Thomas.

''It's great. I get paid to do two hobbies,'' Thomas said, laughing. ''It's a lot of fun, and I know that people who grew up fishing wish it was something that they could do with their life. It has been a lot of fun getting involved in that part of fishing in front of the camera and learning a little bit more about that, but also going out and having fun.''

No matter whose idea it was, it proved a shrewd move pairing Thomas with Egan, a fixture as the outdoors writer for the Plain Dealer. It gives the show more celebrity cachet and, during the offseason, keeps at least one member of the Browns in the public eye.

Thomas said that so far they have filmed half of their next season, which was interrupted by Browns organized team activities the past few weeks, and will resume this weekend. He said he's having fun now, but Thomas was noncommittal when asked if he would pursue broadcasting when he retires.

''Maybe; we'll see down the road,'' he said with a smile.

Well a local cable show is a good a place as any to get some work in Joe. First the Cowboys get a cooking show and now Joe Thomas gets a fishing show. What next? Matt Hasselbeck gets a dancing show???

Tackle tackles fishing show as co-host (Ohio.com)

I mentioned before the draft how pointless Mock Drafts are and I think this bit of info from JSF proves that. The heir apparent to ESPN's Draft coverage Todd McShay did worse this year than he did last year. He went from 9.1% correct to 6.7%....seriously.

Out of the first 135 picks, Todd McShay picked nine for an accuracy percentage of 6.67%. In the biggest surprise of the day, McShay actually nailed one in the fourth round - Cody Wallace to the 49ers at pick #107 - no doubt by complete stroke of luck.

Defending champ Mel Kiper picked a whopping eight correct, leaving him at a sterling 5.93% accuracy rate. For all the research Kiper does throughout the year, the last pick he got correct was #22, Felix Jones to the Cowboys. That made him zero for his last 113.

Impressive.

It's even more impressive if you add that draftee Matt Ryan correctly picked the first six picks of the draft. Something that neither Mel or Todd could do. I'm not ragging on them for their horrible mock drafts (it's f'ing hard to predict over 200 picks), but pointing out the stupidity of doing so. Sure Mock Drafts are fun, but there's not a chance in hell you're going to be right.

With that said, let's enjoy Todd's 2009 Mock Draft which came out a day after the 2008 Draft!!!

Update: McShay is already contradicting himself....

An Open Letter To Todd McShay (The Arena)

Mock Draft Results (Joe Sports Fan)
Matt Ryan Correctly Predicts The Top Six (One Droo Hill)
Photo: Via The Sports Hernia