Matt, We're So Sorry.

The first Wisconsin Badger has been chosen. DE Matt Shaugnessy, has been picked with the 71st pick (3rd Round).

He's going to the dysfunctional entity known as the Oakland Raiders.

With the 9th Pick of the NFL Draft...

the Green Bay Packers select, B.J. Raji, Defensive Tackle from Boston College.

Here's YouTube of his college highlight from last year. Guy plays much like a young (thin) Gilbert Brown.

The Picks So Far...

Your NFL Draft to Date Packers Fans.

1. Lions - Matthew Staffard, QB - Georgia
2. Rams - Jason Smith, OT - Baylor
3. Chiefs - Tyson Jackson, DE - Louisiana State
4. Seahawks - Aaron Curry, LB - Wake Forest
5. Jets (In Trade from Browns) - Mark Sanchez, QB - Southern Cal
6. Bengals - Andre Smith, OT - Alabama
7. Raiders - Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR - Maryland
8. Jaguars - Eugene Monroe, OT - Virginia
9. Packers -
   

Ok, So It's Just Me

Well, so much for the Lance and Kev Show...

Ah well. ESPN is reporting Stafford is a done deal, and even report his number will be #9.

More as we get this thing on the road.

(Unless I take a nap or something...)

Live BBA Coverage of NFL Draft

As is an annual 'tradition' of sorts here at the Badger Blog Alliance, Lance Burri and I will be likely live-blogging the NFL Draft today, which starts at 3 PM CT.

Early things we know for sure:

1. The Lions will draft Matt Stafford, QB-Georgia, No. 1 Overall. ESPN is reporting he will be paid an ungodly amount of money ($78 million for 6 years, $41.7M guaranteed) even though he hasn't played a down in the league.
2. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree is the Packers #1 guy they'd like to draft. This is highly unlikely, since most boards have him going in the top 5 easily. That will be well past the Packers pick at #9.
3. Expect the Pack to go with Boston College DT B.J. Raji is your likely 1st Round Pick by your Green Bay Packers. So says the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
   

Expect more updates and discussion, as well as check Twitter for both me, Lance, and any other BBA-ers on it. Lord only knows what we might be talking Draft-related there.

Franchise Players

ESPN is running a poll through August 18 in which you can vote for the All-Time Franchise players of all 32 NFL franchises.

Go here to vote.

The Packers' choices are: Willie Davis, DE; Brett Favre, QB; Paul Hornung, RB ; Don Hutson, WR; Ray Nitschke, LB; Bart Starr, QB; Jim Taylor, FB; Reggie White, DE; Willie Wood, DB; and Herb Adderley, CB.

For All the NFLN Complainers Out There...

Being in the greater DC area, I knew I wasn't going to have a local affiliate pick up the NFL Network's broadcast of the Cowboys - Packers game.

There were pretty much three practical options: Go to a friend's or co-worker's place that has the NFL Network, go to a sports bar, or miss the game entirely.

Since option three would probably involve a violent outcome eventually, I went with number two. Since this is DC, I can think of about six places to go without much difficultly, I opted to get a buddy to join me and we had a blast. We enjoyed the game despite the outcome, and we were shaking hands with Cowboy fans at the end of the day with the agreed assumption of "seeing them in January."

Bill Simmons, the "Sports Guy" of ESPN.com's Page 2, agreed in a well-written letter to his past self that doing what he needed to do for the game was actually a good thing.

In 2006, the NFL launched its own network and decided to keep eight Thursday night games for itself, even though most cable systems weren't carrying the NFL Network at the time. A bitter war ensued that was never resolved, leading to the week after Thanksgiving 2007, when the 10-1 Cowboys were hosting the 10-1 Packers -- the first game between two 10-1 teams since 1990 -- and half of America couldn't watch the game from the comfort of home.

Did the "older you" complain about this particular slight? Actually, no. You happened to be working in New York City that day; once you discovered that your hotel room didn't offer the NFL Network, you got off your ass, met up with some friends and watched the game in a crowded sports bar that was screaming on every big play. Ironically, it turned out to be a more entertaining night than just sitting at home (or in this case, a hotel room) and watching the NFL Network. Is it a bad thing to get off your ass every once in awhile? Probably not. Every one's incessant whining about "missing" NFL Network games made you realize that too much time was spent complaining about stupid stuff and far too little time appreciating everything that's happened for sports fans over the past 25 years. If traveling 5-10 minutes to a sports bar or a neighbor's house to watch the Packers-Cowboys game is our biggest dilemma of the sports week, then we must be in pretty good shape in 2007, right?

Amen.

Unlike Jim Doyle who believes his inability to watch the game in the comfort of a taxpayer purchased leather coach in the Governor's Mansion is 'extortion' (Thank you PTI) and some major league whiners I know in GOP circles who called the lack of a national broadcast "ridiculous;" I think the entire populace throwing a giant hissy fit is hilarious.

See, I didn't get cable of any sort until I was 15. It just simply wasn't an option living in rural Manitowoc County. Then my folks got PrimeStar, the first DBS cable service. Before that, I sat there and was that kid in school who looked clueless while everyone else talked about 'that cool thing on MTV.'

(On retrospect, was MTV ever cool.)

The point of my story is this: What the heck ever happened to conservatives being the resourceful ones? The ones who saw a problem, and then found a way around it on their own. It's the liberals who bitch, moan, and whine about problems until one of them forces your tax dollars in some best way to "fix it."

Oh, I'm sure you're saying, "I'm a lifelong Packers fan, make annual pilgrimages to the grave of Vince Lombardi, have season tickets willed to me by my grandfather, this is the biggest game since the last big game, and my cable company should give it to me. If the FCC, the IRS, Dave Hansen, and Karl Marx have to work together to get me that game on MY TV, so be it."

Our price is that low huh? A football game...man, that's sad. I mean, think of the nice capitalism we'd be spreading if you'd go to a locally-owned sports bar; or the friends you could meet.

We're Conservatives after all, be resourceful next time. Get off your rear; leave the whining to Jim Doyle flaks.

But, if you're so hell-bent on staying home...next time; get a Dish.

Sanity Finally Prevails

Now, if the NFL could just make sure more of the insane fans from New York area teams are under less control at the event.

(Dammit, we need more streakers at the NFL Draft!)

But this is a good start.

When the first round of the NFL Draft ended last April, Commissioner Roger Goodell ruefully announced that it had been the longest in league history. At 6 hours, 8 minutes, Goodell called the record undesirable.

On the first day of NFL owners meetings at a local hotel, the league announced that that shouldn't be a problem next year.

The NFL announced that it is shortening the first round, decreasing the amount of time allowed for selections from 15 minutes to 10 minutes per team. The time allotment for second-round choices also is being reduced, from 10 minutes to seven per team.

The starting time of the first day of the draft is being moved back as well; it will start three hours later, at 3 p.m. Saturday. The third round will move to Sunday, with that days starting time moving up one hour, to 10 a.m.

"We believe these changes will make for a more streamlined and efficient draft," Goodell said in a written statement released by the league. Next year's draft is scheduled for April 26-27.

Shortening the first round is viewed as a possible precursor to moving it to prime time Friday night one day.

I'm not gonna missed those fourth location shots from the set of "ESPN's First Take" or "Cold Pizza" at all.

He's Gone

Max McGee, former Packer, former Packer broadcaster and the man who scored the first Super Bowl touchdown is dead.

We'll get to hear him today with the WTMJ rebroadcast of Brett Favre's first game. Not just a tribute to a great quarterback, but a tribute to Max McGee as well.