Quick take on the draft

After Brady Quinn’s surprising slide, that is now three straight NFL drafts where a high-profile quarterback slipped below where he was expected to be chosen.

Cleveland comes out looking like war-room genius’ as they got Quinn at a bargain and also nabbed the best offensive lineman in the draft, Joe Thomas, at No. 3.

The second-biggest surprise to me is Ted Ginn, Jr. being taken No. 9 by the Dolphins. While he could be an immediate game-changer on special teams, I’m not sure if he’s reliable enough as a receiver to go in the top 10.

I like the Panthers first two picks as far as addressing their needs. Jon Beason out of Miami (Fla.) can step in and start at linebacker as a rookie. USC’s Dwayne Jarrett (the third Trojan wide receiver on Carolina’s roster) should be a solid third wideout option alongside Steve Smith and pass catcher/draft analyst Keyshawn Johnson.

Long Live Rock-n-Roll

Check out this youngen shredding Stairway ...

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1756378

Good job Jerry

Kudos to Reds' manager and Goldsboro, NC native Jerry Narron for pulling Edwin Encarnacion last night for not running out a pop up. Narron is known as a "baseball guy," and it's great to see a manager stick by his convictions.

Add to that a first-inning goof by Edwin Encarnacion that also threatened to cast a deeper pall on the series finale. With two men on, the Reds third baseman hit a routine pop fly to second base but thinking it was a foul ball, he never left the batter's box to run to first base.

Before the bottom of the second inning, Narron pulled Encarnacion for not hustling. Encarnacion would have come out an inning earlier, but Narron did not see the entire play while watching the baserunners.

"I saw Eddie come in with his bat, so I came down here [to the clubhouse to watch the replay]. Eddie did not run," an angry Narron said. "He told me he did not see the ball where it was. But you still have to run. I don't care if we lose every game. We're not going to play guys that don't hustle, as simple as that. I told them from Day 1. We'll pinch-hit pitchers. We'll play pitchers if we have to. [If] you can not hustle, you can not play.

"I love him. I think he's going to be a great player. He messed up. But doggone it, we can't be messing up in this game like that by not hustling. If you don't know where the ball is, you hustle until you find out. He's never dogged it. It was probably an honest mistake, but it was a mistake."

Bernie Guitar

This is one of the cooler collisions between sports and music ... former Yankee (that still sounds weird) Bernie Williams sitting in with the Allman Brothers April 7 at the Beacon Theatre in NYC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOcV9zccABg

"Long Live Baseball"

Abbreviated version of my MLB predictions ...

AL East - Red Sox
AL Central - Tigers
AL West - Rangers
Wild Card - Yankees

NL East - Braves
NL Central - Cardinals
NL West - Dodgers
Wild Card - Mets

Divisional Round - Red Sox over Rangers; Tigers over Yankees; Braves over Cardinals; Mets over Dodgers.
Championship Series - Tigers over Red Sox; Mets over Braves (head). Red Sox over Tigers; Braves over Mets (heart).
Fall Classic - Tigers over Mets (head). Braves over Red Sox (heart).

Postseason Awards
AL MVP - David Ortiz (Red Sox)
AL Cy Young - Johan Santanta (Twins)

NL MVP - David Wright (Mets)
NL Cy Young - John Smoltz (Braves)