NFL draft intrigue
OK, the NFL draft is a week from today, and we have already been flooded with intrigue and interesting story lines.
(In fact, on CBSsports.com this morning, as the NBA and NHL playoffs were underway, baseball and Bryce Harper doing their things and the potential Tiger Woods coming back, the five most popular stories on the national site were all NFL related. Yes, it's the most powerful avenue in pop culture right now.)
So the top two picks have been dealt for a multitude of draft picks. By all accounts the Browns and the Titans - the teams that dealt the top two picks - are viewed as far and away the winners in theses exchanges.
The Browns and the Titans have two of the worst rosters in the league and the multitude of high picks this year and next offer the chance for either team to completely overhaul their franchises with young talent sooner rather than later. (If they draft well, of course, and that's a mighty big if for each of these teams.)
(Side note: We will announce our draft contest on Monday. But you know we're having one. We love the draft. You know this.)
It's also worth retelling at this point that each of the teams that mortgaged their futures for what appears to be the chance to take a quarterback traded starters last spring when the Rams and Eagles swapped Sam Bradford and Nick Foles.
As for the draft, the top end has been filled with motion, and the moves may not be done.
Consider, too, that cornerback Josh Norman is now on the open market too, meaning that any of the teams eyeing future star Jalen Ramsey - think Cowboys - may make a play for Norman and use a high pick on another area of need.
We love the draft.
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, center, and coach Steve Kerr smile during a timeout during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Houston Rockets Monday, April 18, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) NBA playoffs
The NBA playoffs may not have the in-series drama in round one, but that does not make it short on interest. Before we get to the updates on the schedules, there are two stories out there that definitely caught our eye.
First, Steph Curry says he doesn't think he'll play in Game 3 tonight. Good. There is ZERO reason to test his wobbly ankle if he is anything less than 100 percent a go. The Warriors are up 2-0 on the Rockets, who apparently are allergic to team defense. This is the right move, and we can even prove it mathematically: (Warriors - Steph) > Rockets; (Warriors - Steph) + pressure = Thunder or Clippers; (Warriors - Steph) + pressure < Spurs. (Sometimes when you just write out the equation, everything makes more sense, right?)
Secondly, how about the onions on the young Pistons, who are trashing talking LeBron James and the Cavs despite being blasted Wednesday and finding themselves in a 2-0 hole.
James, who said he feels like he's in his early 20s, has looked strong in each of the two wins, working inside-out and keying an impressive offensive showing Wednesday.
(Side question: Andre Drummond, the Pistons freakish center, is a bona fide stud. He's a 20-point, 10-board guy for the next decade, and will demand and get a max contract sooner rather than later. That said, there's very little way of seeing him being the alpha dog on a title team considering he makes Shaq look like Mark Price at the foul line. Drummond was 4-of-16 from the line last night leaving us wondering if you can actually build a team around a guy that can't be on the floor during crunch time of a tight, modern-day NBA game?)
A lit torch of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic games during a dress rehearsal for the lighting of the Rio Olympics flame, in Ancient Olympia, southern Greece, on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The meticulously choreographed ceremony will be repeated Thursday in the ruined birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southern Greece, in the presence of top International Olympic Committee and Rio organizing officials. That will touch off a relay that will conclude with the Rio Games opening ceremony in August. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Olympic snubs
There have been a lot of changes in the roster of Olympic sports in the recent years.
Two of the newer additions are feeling the ramifications of not being anywhere close to the top honor in those sports. Tennis and golf recently have had two highly ranked players say they will not participate this summer in Rio.
Golfer Adam Scott, citing a busy schedule, said he's out. He and Jason Day would have been a striping tandem for Australia. Scott's decision is being met with a lot of criticism, within his country and within the sport. Some are even asking if golf should be an Olympic sport if a few of the elite back out.
Also of note, John Isner, who is the top-ranked American male tennis player, says he's skipping the Olympic jaunt, too.
That statement is kind of shocking. No, not that he's skipping the Olympics; that some dude named John Isner is the top-ranked American in a global sport. (Side question: Is there a sport out there in which American men are worse at than tennis?)
FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2012, file photo, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling looks on after being introduced as a new member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame before a baseball game between the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park in Boston. Schilling is defending himself after making comments on social media about transgender people, saying he was expressing his opinion. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File) This and that
- Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks completed an inning-ending double play Wednesday with a laser throw to cut down A's DH Danny Valencia at the plate. How strong was the throw? It checked in at 105-plus mph at its peak according to MLB Statcast.
- The Braves lost mainly because they are the Braves on Wednesday, falling 5-3 in extra innings to the Dodgers. So it goes. Now they face Clayton Kershaw today. Staying positive? Well, we're positive fans in Atlanta will positively enjoy watching Kershaw pitch.
- Golf Digest put eye candy golfer Paige Spiranac on its cover of the May issue. She is an internet sensation for her provocative golfing pictures. She was a college golfer, and some of the LPGA players are pretty hacked about it.
- Curt Schilling was fired Wednesday by ESPN for sharing an anti-transgender on Facebook. We all have strong opinions about several aspects of this, and feel free to share yours, but know this: Schilling has been far from a stranger to social media controversy, even getting suspended once before for a post that compared Muslims to Nazis.
- This is an amazing story on Tiger Woods by Wright Thompson.
Today's question
OK, we're game. Still looking for a mailbag question or two. Today is April 21, a question-worthy birthday for two folks.
Tony Romo is 36 today. Is he a Hall of Famer?
Secondly, Queen Elizabeth is 90 today. Rushmore of queens.
Go.