I was surprised when I popped on the television early this morning and was surprised to find the draft already in process. Then I remembered they had an extra round to do on Sunday this year, and it made sense.

Interest in the draft is still minimal. My normal Sunday morning tradition inivolves sitting down with my multiple newspapers and trudging trhough them while listening to the classic country music station on cable. However, I decided to flip to the draft during and noticed the Packers were within three picks of their next selection.

The Packers address one of their needs, taking tight end Jermichael Finley from Texas. Finley is a pass-catching tight end that needs work on his blocking.

Back to the newspaper. More updates to come.

……..
THOMPSON TRADES UP!

Breaking news! For the first time as the Packer’s GM, Ted Thompson has traded up in the 4th round. Thompson snagged Wake Forest DE Jeremy Thompson. Thompson is the younger brother of Packers guard Orrin Thompson. Described by Wake coaches as “Julius Peppers-type player,” Thompson’s workout numbers are: 4.75 in the 40, 32-inch vertical, 9-9 broad jump, did 225 pounds 25 times, scored 24 on the Wonderlic.

20 minutes until the Brewers game starts.

……..

I misread the start time of the Brewers game. It’s not until 1 p.m. D’oh1

Playing around the Internet, I came across SI’s analysis of the Brohm pick yesterday:

The Packers land the top-rated quarterback prospect heading into the season in the second round. Brian Brohm, who has been the victim of incessant nitpicking by scouts, will push Aaron Rodgers for the starting job if the veteran struggles under center this season. To pick up such a talented quarterback prospect without using a first-round pick is a major coup for the Packers.

I was waiting for the Packers to make their second 4th round pick, but it appears they traded it to the Rams.

JSOnline reports that the Packers acquired a 5 and 7th round pick for their fourth rounder.

I love the fact that Thompson takes a “Madden Fantasy Mode” approach to the draft. Let me explain. When I play the Madden football games, I try to acquire as many draft picks as possible. I bring in young talent and see if they develop into the next stars. If they are average, I trade them for more draft picks and try again.

Thompson has a similar approach to the game. Trade a player that will demand a huge sum of money for draft picks. Know exactly who you want in the draft and where you can get them. Then, trade down to acquire more picks if the person you want is still available and might be for a while longer. While I usually swear a lot at his picks initially, Thompson does know what he is doing, and does it well.

……..

The New York Times has an awesome article about a reporter jailed in Zimbabwe for doing his job. The quote of the article:

I was being charged with the crime of “committing journalism.” One of my captors, Detective Inspector Dani Rangwani, described the offense to me as something despicable, almost hissing the words: “You’ve been gathering, processing and disseminating the news.”

Read the article here (login required)

Anyway, lots of football. The first Badger was drafted in the 4th round by the Eagles. Jack Ikegwuono probably would have been drafted earlier if he had not been injured at the end of the season. Ikegwuono presents possible character issues for the Eagles, as he was charged with stealing an Xbox while at Wisconsin. Still, it will be interesting to see how he performs.

The Packers drafted a lineman they probably could have drafted in the 6th round. In Ted we trust?

The Vikings finally had a chance to make their second pick – a pick that once belonged to the Packers. With it, they took John David Booty – QB from USC. This could be one of the pieces that helps make the Vikings into a playoff team – damnit! Us Packer fans prefer the Bears and Vikings stay bad until we get our own quarterback situation figured out.

……..

Overload!

The Brewers, Penguins, AND draft are all on now. I think draft coverage will suffer the most.

Packers draft another offensive lineman. Breno Giacomini is an offensive tackle from Louisville. Tall (6-7, 304lbs). Needs some work, but could start in a year or two.

Meanwhile the Brewers have the bases loaded with 1 out. Haven’t checked the Penguins game yet.

Brewers are on the board (1-0) with a sacrifice fly by Corey Hart. Woo!

……..
Sidney Crosby just got dumped, giving the Penguins a power play (4 on 3). I think this is the first game I’ve watched Jager play against Pittsburgh since he was traded.

The Rangers made it through the power play without letting up a score. However, things are getting physical, and New York now has a man advantage.

The draft is currently at pick 160. The Packer’s next pick is 209. Think I can successfully avoid ESPN for a while and switch between baseball and hockey.

Brewers lead 1-0 in the top of the third.

……..

J-E-T-S take quarterback Erik Ainge out of Tennessee. A tall (6’5”) quarterback that is used to pressure and can get it done. I thought he would have went in the 3rd round, and had the Packers possibly taking him if Brohm would have not been available.

Since the hockey game is at the end of the period, I figured I would check to see how my Jets have done so far overall. The Jets need A LOT, and drafted the best TE and a good pass rusher in the first round.

The Jets have glaring needs at the playmaker positions. Thomas Jones is a good running back, but they could use more. Laveranues Coles is their only decent wide receiver. The have a desperate need for a cornerback or two. Who knows who will start at quarterback.

Thus far they have done an acceptable job addressing some needs. Although he seems like a jag, drafting Darren McFadden would have brought the best playmaker in the draft to New York.

Jets just picked again, taking Marcus Henry from Kansas. Henry is a possession receiver with limited speed that drops a fair number of balls.

Brewers keep missing opportunities to score. Why do I feel that will hurt them once the relievers come in?

……..

Well, I have a meeting shorty, so I will have to leave my sports heaven.  Currently the Penguins are  up 1-0 with about 5 minutes left in the game, while the Brewers are about to blow it, with the bases loaded and already down 2-1.  The Packers have not made another pick.