Fresh Wes

Once again our friends at the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (aka ESPN) managed to ruin what was probably the biggest surprise picks of the first day. Now I know everyone is mesmerized by the first round and surprise picks in the first round usually get all the press. This happened late in the second round when the Green Bay Packers took Brian Brohm at number 56. This is an interesting pick because former first round pick, Aaron Rodgers, is ready to take over for the recently retired Brett Favre, or at least keep his spot warm until he predictably un-retires.

BSPN was on a commercial break before pick 56 came up, and when they came back on the air Steve Young was in the middle of a rant about how “bad this was for Aaron Rodgers.” This probably went on for a solid 20 seconds. For those of you who don’t know, I hate to break it to you but the NFL tells ESPN what every pick is before they announce the pick. This is so ESPN can look really smart when they talk about the possible players that might get taken at the pick and they always mention the name of the guy taken, no matter how unlikely it seems. After Young was done talking there was a series of awkward silences and half-sentences as everyone at the table suddenly realized they were on the air and about to completely ruin this surprise selection. They never said the name Brian Brohm, but who the hell else would they take that would be “terrible for Aaron Rodgers.”

So after these morons finally get the news that they are back on the air, longtime announcer and asshole Chris Berman awkwardly puts his hand over his earpiece as everyone else stays silent. I really wish I could have seen Berman ream out the producer who forgot to tell him they were on the air.  At no point did they say welcome back to the NFL Draft. Then Boomer says lets go to the commissioner, as I’m sitting there saying I guess they’re taking a QB like Brian Brohm. Sure enough with the 56^th pick Green Bay selects Brian Brohm.

THANKS ESPN! The best part about watching the draft is when something happens that is in nobody’s mock draft. After the surprise selection you want to call up one of your friends and discuss what the pick means, why they did it, and how no one saw it coming. Instead I’m sitting there in disbelief at how ESPN managed to mildly ruin my life for 5 minutes.

Too those who don’t know, my alma mater is Penn State. Our football team has been coached by the 81 year old Joe Paterno, more affectionately known as JoePa. Paterno has been coaching at Penn State for the past 59 years. When he started coaching there were only 48 states in the US. Recently, there have been concerns over his ability to coach - due to his age. Should he be fired? Or should he walk out on his own? Here’s a video from the official Penn State football site showing JoePa as fired up as ever.

Some thoughts:

- Never thought I’d see an 81 year old man throw a block like that
- Loved it when he yelled, “get that shirt pulled down”
- Wide Receiver #9 got LAID OUT

Although not as blingtastic as rapper Paul Wall’s grills (yes he does actually make and sell them), these rings look pretty fresh. The NY Giants 2008 Super Bowl run was an incredible feat, and now they’ve got the hardware to match it. According to the Giants website, the ring “will feature white gold, diamonds and three Super Bowl trophies”.

Michael Strahan, the Giants’ All-Pro defensive end and shoe-in for the hall of fame, was one of four teammates who met with Tiffany’s designers to add his input into the ring.

When asked earlier about his ring preferences Strahan had this to say:

“I want it to be a 10 table. Do you know what that is? It is so you can see it from at least 10 tables away. That is what I want. I don’t want a two table or a one table; I want a 10 table ring. You work hard for this thing. Nobody wants a Super Bowl ring that nobody can see.”