Some NFL toughts ...

Let it be known that I’m a big NFL fan. Not as much as I used to be, but there’s levels of crazy when it comes to fanaticism (yes, it’s a word. I think) and I’m still in the double digits there.

I say that as a disclaimer for the next couple of thoughts ...

*** I still can’t believe the Seahawks cut Shaun Alexander. Period. And that was before I read about how much they were paying him. Two years after giving him an eight-year, $62-million contract, the 2005 NFL MVP was dropped. Just like that. Sure he’s suffered from injuries, but, come on, just two years ago he led the NFL in rushing and scored a record 28 touchdowns. 28!!!! Unreal.

Alexander, 30, still has some tread left on his tires. Remember that. He’s going to make an NFL team (cough, cough, Tampa Bay, cough, cough) a very happy franchise. 28 TOUCHDOWNS!!!!

*** What about Jake Long signing with the Dolphins. I’m for it. Heck, if you know who you want before the draft, why wait? Bill Parcells isn’t playing around in Miami, he’s there to turn that franchise around. And the way you do it is by building a solid offensive and defensive line. Long is a scary dude. Have you seen him?
Scary. That’s all I can say.

*** The NFL draft is Saturday ... and Sunday. I don’t know if you’ve heard. It’s been in all the papers. Oh, and this network called ESPN has been talking about it for like, I don’t know, months.
Here’s my take on the draft ... it’s fun ... for about an hour, maybe two. Then it gets old. But more than that, it’s frustrating. How can a guy who didn’t play well in college, or was “mediocre” all of a sudden be a “top pick” because of what he did in the combine?
I just don’t understand it. How can a 40 time, bench press, vertical jump, shuttle run and an interview make a middle-of-the-road guy a star? The proof is in the pudding as far as I’m concerned. Just because a guy does well in a bunch of “tests” doesn’t mean he’s any better than what’s on tape.
The tape doesn’t lie. One good day might.

*** But, still, the draft does have it’s moments. In tomorrow’s Opelika-Auburn News, I’m listing the top 32 reasons (one for every NFL team) to watch the NFL draft.
Here’s a sampling ...

3) Mel Kiper yelling at the TV. Is it me, or does he seem very angry when he talks? Who knew a right guard from Illinois State could make Kiper that upset, even if he did bench press 225 pounds 35 times.
4) The No. 1 jersey that all the first-round picks who are in New York hold up during the photo opt after being selected by whatever team. I wonder if Mr. Irrelevant gets to hold up a 252 jersey.
5) Mr. Irrelevant. Speaking of the last guy drafted, who knew it was such a glamorous distinction? Everyone remembers Mr. Irrelevant. Everyone. Heck, if I were the 251st pick, I’d be mad, because no one’s going to remember me, even though I was good enough to not be picked last.
6) The hats. Every player gets a hat from the team that just picked him. And they always seem to fit perfectly. I don’t know about you, but it takes a good two to three days for me to get the bill of my hat exactly the way I want it to look. Not only are these guys talented enough to be picked in the first round of the NFL draft over hundreds of others, they’ve got perfectly shaped heads. I’m jealous.
11) Kiper’s hair.
26) The phone call. Just before the selection, the team usually calls their guy. I can just imagine the conversation ... “Do I want to be a Ram? Umm, can I get back to you?”
29) J-E-T-S ... Jets, Jets, Jets.
30) Anytime Chris Berman says “The Raiders.”

Golf: A good walk that leaves you sore

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not in shape.
Actually, I am a shape. A circle. Well, maybe more like an oval. Remember Grimace?

Even though I’ll never be mistaken for someone who could run a marathon, I thought I could at least hold my own in, say, pickup basketball, flag football, a race to the ice cream truck. I mean, I’m not that out of it.

Right?

Wrong.

And I found that out on the golf course.

Saturday, me and three buddies headed out to the local track, Indian Pines. Not a bad course. Inexpensive (Bonus). And made for hackers like myself (Double bonus).

We decide to walk 18. I mean, it’s a nice day, a short course and I’m feeling good. Growing up playing golf, I used to walk all the time. How tough could it be?

Ummm ... Very.

About hole No. 5 I started getting tired. Hole 6 I was out of breath. Hole 8, I started crying. And by No. 13, I told the rest of my group to save themselves and go on without me.

After two IVs and a short nap, I finally finished the round. Barely.

Walking 18 holes is torture. Throw in a bunch of three-putts, and it’s like nails on a chalkboard. Really, really long nails.

After getting home, my calves were on fire and my feet were cursing me so loud that I had to sleep with socks on.

Now, two days later, I’m still limping around like someone shaved 2 inches off my left leg. I’m in pain. And not just a little pain ... I’m talking Clubber Lang/Rocky 3/“Dead Meat” type pain.

But, I learned two things from this experience. First, golf carts are the best thing to happen to the game of golf since the Rescue club. And, second, make sure you only carry things you really, really need in your golf bag.

I never knew how much junk I kept in my bag. And how much it all weighed.

Do you really need 18 golf clubs, five towels, a pair of extra shoes, two umbrellas and 50 golf balls?

No. Well, maybe the golf balls.

 

Back behind the Mike

I made my first radio appearance today in like six months. Well, it hasn’t been that long. Normally, I’ll do about 10 minutes of “call-in” style radio a week during various seasons, where hosts of shows from around the state and region call me and we gab. Mostly, it’s just me stuttering and trying to think of what to say next. It’s really fun.

But today I was on Sports Call, a local call-in show out of Auburn, as a co-host. It was a one-time deal. Dan Peck, the show’s main co-host, needed someone to fill in for the other main co-host, Bill Cameron, while Bill was out of town.

Dan’s my boy, so that was that.

Having the headset on was cool. I miss it. Since the show I did with Ben Leard (maybe you heard of “The Sports Page”) went off the air last fall, I’ve kind of missed being behind the mike.

It’s fun just to talk really loud when you’re making an obscure point about Brady Quinn being in more commercials than LeBron James. Good times.

Anyway, we talked a bunch about Auburn’s post-spring depth chart (which is listed below).

I don’t know how much stock I put into spring depth charts. Some guys have great springs, some not so great. But it only matters what they do on Saturday’s in the fall.

So I’ll leave the “reactions” to the depth chart to those who are smarter and more in the know than yours truly.

But I will say this, Mario Fannin will touch the ball a lot next season. Whether he’s playing receiver or running back or whatever. He’s going to have a huge impact on the Tigers in 2008.

Of course, like everything else, that’s just my opinion. And like Dennis Miller says, I could be wrong. Which is highly likely.

As promised, here’s AU’s post-spring depth chart.
OFFENSE
RB 1 Brad Lester (5-11, 198, Sr.)
44 Ben Tate (5-11, 215, Jr.)
9 Tristan Davis (5-10, 217, Sr.)

QB 18 Kodi Burns (6-1, 205, So.)—OR—
12 Chris Todd (6-4, 212, Jr.)
19 Neil Caudle (6-3, 200, So.)
15 DeRon Furr (6-3, 218, Fr.)

WR 16 James Swinton (6-0, 178, Sr.)
23 Chris Slaughter (6-3, 179, So.)—OR—
21 Charles Olatunji (6-2, 197, Sr.)

WR 13 Tim Hawthorne (6-3, 209, RFr.)
27 Mario Fannin (5-11, 217, So.)

LT 73 Lee Ziemba (6-8, 288, So.)
79 Jared Cooper (6-4, 297, RFr.)
75 Andrew McCain (6-6, 300, Jr.)

LG 71 Tyronne Green (6-2, 307, Sr.)
58 Kyle Coulahan (6-4, 309, RFr.)

C 68 Jason Bosley (6-4, 281, Sr.)
50 Ryan Pugh (6-4, 284, So.)
66 Mike Berry (6-3, 313, So.)

RG 57 Byron Isom (6-3, 291, So.)
53 Bart Eddins (6-4, 292, So.)
76 Chaz Ramsey (6-4, 290, So.)

RT 50 Ryan Pugh (6-4, 284, So.)
66 Mike Berry (6-3, 313, So.)

TE 5 Tommy Trott (6-5, 251, Jr.)
83 Gabe McKenzie (6-4, 253, Jr.)
35 Brent Slusher (6-3, 231, So.)

WR 3 Robert Dunn (6-0, 178, Sr.)
14 Terrell Zachery (6-1, 208, So.)

WR 80 Rodgeriqus Smith (6-0, 196, Sr.)
84 Montez Billings (6-2, 188, Jr.)
81 Quindarius Carr (6-1, 175, RFr.)

DEFENSE

DE 52 Antonio Coleman (6-2, 250, Jr.)
45 Antoine Carter (6-4, 253, So.)

DT 91 Jake Ricks (6-4, 302, Jr.)
98 Zach Clayton (6-3, 286, So.)
65 Luke Farmer (5-11, 239, RFr.)

DT 94 Sen’Derrick Marks (6-1, 288, Jr.)
93 Mike Blanc (6-4, 287, So.)
41 Darrell Roseman (6-4, 270, So.)

DE 49 Michael Goggans (6-3, 254, So.)
90 A.J. Greene (6-5, 269, RFr.)
42 Raven Gray (6-5, 253, Jr.)

LB 46 Craig Stevens (6-2, 218, So.)
56 Courtney Harden (6-0, 237, Sr.)
40 Bo Harris (6-2, 244, So.)

LB 10 Tray Blackmon (6-0, 220, Jr.)
17 Josh Bynes (6-2, 234, So.)
31 Adam Herring (6-1, 224, RFr.)

LB 59 Chris Evans (6-0, 221, Sr.)—OR—
55 Merrill Johnson (6-0, 204, Sr.)
56 Courtney Harden (6-0, 237, Sr.)

SS 4 Zac Etheridge (5-11, 206, So.)
11 Mike Slade (6-2, 189, RFr.)

FS 26 Mike McNeil (6-2, 201, So.)
17 Jonathan Vickers (6-2, 216, Sr.)

LC 8 Jerraud Powers (5-9, 188, Jr.)
25 Ryan Williams (5-11, 204, So.)

RC 2 Aairon Savage (5-11, 190, Jr.)—OR—
6 Walter McFadden (6-0, 180, Jr.)

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK 18 Wes Byrum (6-1, 220, So.)
37 Morgan Hull (6-2, 187, So.)

P 21 Ryan Shoemaker (6-0, 192, So.)
7 Clinton Durst (6-2, 184, RFr.)
23 Patrick Tatum (6-2, 213, So.)

DS 60 Robert Shiver (6-3, 220, Sr.)
61 Josh Harris (6-1, 222, RFr.)
63 Rick Cherry (6-2, 233, So.)

H 82 Clayton Crofoot (6-3, 175, Jr.)
86 John Cubelic (6-0, 201, So.)

PR 3 Robert Dunn (6-0, 178, Sr.)
23 Chris Slaughter (6-3, 179, So.)

KOR 9 Tristan Davis (5-10, 217, Sr.) &
1 Brad Lester (5-11, 198, Sr.)

6 Walter McFadden (6-0, 180, Jr.) &
16 James Swinton (6-0, 178, Sr.)—OR—
44 Ben Tate (5-11, 215, Jr.)

The Day After

It’s the day after The Masters (sigh).

To me, the Monday after The Masters is like the day after Christmas. It’s just another day. No presents. Just leftovers and another year of anticipation.

Yesterday was glorious, however. I watched all five-and-a-half hours of Masters coverage on CBS. I watched every shot. And I mean every shot. I even watched the “Jim Nantz Remembers the 1978 Masters” replay that CBS showed prior to Sunday’s final round. You remember, or wait, maybe you don’t, it was the one where Gary Player earned his third—and last—green jacket at the age of 42. At that time, he was the oldest champion in Masters history.

Quiz: Who broke that record, and is now the oldest player to win at Augusta National?

Please know this. In fact, I’m so sure you know the answer—even my wife does—that I’m not going to tell you. I’m that confident in you Couch Potatoes (that’s what I’m going to start referring to people who are avid readers of my blog ... Hi, Mom).

So, I’m at our weekly Opelika-Auburn News sports department meeting today, and ESPN is on the TV. Yes, we meet at a wing restaurant. Where else would a bunch of sports writers meet? 

Anyway, so we’re shooting the ... er, meeting, and I read a question on the bottom of the screen during ESPN’s “First and 10” segment. The question? Did Trevor Immelman win or did Tiger Woods lose?

Excuse me? I guess that’s the type of power Tiger has. I mean, he’s the greatest athlete the sport has ever seen (and I do mean that) so the fact that he didn’t win can’t possibly mean someone else played better. It just means that he gave it away, right?

Pulheez.

Yes, Tiger did lose. But it wasn’t because he was trying to. He couldn’t make a putt. Actually, he couldn’t make a lot of putts. He struggled. Gasp! I know it’s hard to believe that Tiger Woods is human, but it’s true. He didn’t have it this week at Augusta.

But guess who did? That’s right. Immelman. The South African WON The Masters. Period. He beat the field, and the course, leading wire to wire, to win the most prestigious event in all of golf.

Sure, Tiger is the favorite in every tournament he plays. But that doesn’t mean that he’s good enough to give someone else the win. Think about it. It’s not like Tiger was out there saying “You know, my closet is pretty full, and I don’t thing another green jacket will fit in there, so, I’m just going to miss a few putts, and give this thing over to Trevor. He seems like a good guy.“

No. No. And. No. Tiger was grinding just like everyone else Sunday. And he got beat, just like everyone else. Immelman won, and should be congratulated for it. There’s not going to be an asterisk by this win, saying, “2008 Masters Champion: Trevor Immelman (Tiger Woods let him have it).“

Give the guy some credit. It’s like saying Greg Norman lost the 1986 Masters, instead of Jack Nicklaus beating the plaid pants off of everyone else.

 

Softball, Marathons and, of course, The Masters

Today is a busy day for the Lazy Boy.

Wait, let me rephrase that, any day that calls for me getting out of my chair and doing anything other than breathing can be considered a busy day. But, whatever. I’m out and about on this overcast Saturday with a lot on the docket.

So let’s get to it.

*** First, the softball.
I’ll be spending the majority of the day at plush Jane B. Moore Field on the campus of Auburn University covering the doubleheader between No. 2 Alabama and unranked Auburn. Currently, it’s the bottom of the fifth and Auburn trails, 4-2, in Game 1.

The stands are rocking at the softball complex. And this is one Olympic sport that knows how to keep fans interested. After every inning there’s an interactive giveaway, which usually calls for a lot of screaming.

Right now, Tripp, a teenage fan, just made a 6-foot putt on the top of the Tigers’ dugout to win nine holes of golf at Indian Pines. Impressive.

In between games, there’s going to be an “epic” (according to Tigers P.A. guy Mark Haon) tug-of-war battle between Auburn and Alabama fans. This should be fun. I’m really, really looking forward to it.

Auburn just scored another run to cut the lead to one, 4-3. This would be a huge win for the Tigers if they could pull it out. In the past two seasons, AU is 1-5 against the Tide.

*** About the Marathon.
No, I’m not running one. Please. I don’t think I could drive 26.2 miles, let alone run it.
But Heather May, an assistant professor of theater at Auburn, is pretty good at them. Next Sunday, May will take part in the Olympic Trials at the Boston Marathon.

This will be May’s second Olympic Trials, as she finished 42nd overall in the 2004 qualifier in St. Louis. To make the Summer Games, May would have to run a 2-hour, 37-minute race. That would mean she’d have to run almost 9 minutes faster than her previous personal best, which is 2:45.52.

However, May is the only runner from Alabama to qualify for the Olympic Trials in Boston. Impressive? No doubt.

You can read all about May and what started her running marathons in tomorrow’s Opelika-Auburn News.

** The Masters.
Ahh, The Masters ...
Even though I’m at the softball game, I’m still in the loop with what’s going on at Augusta National. Not only is there a TV in the press box showing third-round action, I’m also linked up on my computer to masters.org and the live scoring.

And it’s with mixed emotions that I tell you this next bit of news. Tom Peavy, our prep beat writer here at the Opelika-Auburn News, will be watching the final round of The Masters live at Augusta National tomorrow. Don’t know how, or why, but he’s the luckiest man on the planet. And right now, I don’t like him very much.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for him, but at the same time jealous as a high school freshman whose dream girl just stared dating the captain of the football team.

OK, maybe that was a bad analogy, but you get the point.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend, and The Masters.

I know Tom will.