2008 Woodie Awards
Teams, fans prepare for NFL entry draft
Pat Pickens
Issue date: 4/27/06 Section: Sports
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Baseball was known forever as "America's Past Time." Fans grew up idolizing its stars and wishing that they could be the great players of their era. But times have changed.
Football is the lead game on the block now, and nowhere is this more apparent than the coverage of the National Football League's college draft.
The draft, which will take place Saturday at Radio City Music Hall in New York, has become one of the biggest and most exciting television shows for football fans.
In fact, in a recent ESPN.com poll, over 50% of the fans voting said that the draft was more exciting to watch than the NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs or regular season baseball.
ESPN will run wall-to-wall coverage, as they always do, starting at noon on Saturday and running all the way through the conclusion at 6 p.m.
This year is one of the better years for fans of high pick teams. Some great college players and future potential superstars in the NFL are coming out and joining the league.
Nowhere else is this more apparent than with the crop of players leaving the University of Southern California.
USC expects to have the number one overall selection go to Houston in running back Reggie Bush. Bush is the defending Heisman Trophy winner and had an amazing junior season. He carried USC most of the season, one in which USC came within one play of winning a third national championship in a row.
There were those who said that Bush may not have been the best player on his own team.
Matt Leinart, quarterback, expects to go in the top five, potentially as high as pick number three to the Tennessee Titans. He was the Heisman Trophy winner two years ago, and had a stellar senior season.
The Titans want him as a replacement for the aging Steve McNair and if they drafted Leinart it would reunite him with former offensive coordinator Norm Chow, with whom Leinart worked for two years at USC.
One of the most intriguing cases in this year's draft is that of Texas quarterback, Vince Young.
Football is the lead game on the block now, and nowhere is this more apparent than the coverage of the National Football League's college draft.
The draft, which will take place Saturday at Radio City Music Hall in New York, has become one of the biggest and most exciting television shows for football fans.
In fact, in a recent ESPN.com poll, over 50% of the fans voting said that the draft was more exciting to watch than the NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs or regular season baseball.
ESPN will run wall-to-wall coverage, as they always do, starting at noon on Saturday and running all the way through the conclusion at 6 p.m.
This year is one of the better years for fans of high pick teams. Some great college players and future potential superstars in the NFL are coming out and joining the league.
Nowhere else is this more apparent than with the crop of players leaving the University of Southern California.
USC expects to have the number one overall selection go to Houston in running back Reggie Bush. Bush is the defending Heisman Trophy winner and had an amazing junior season. He carried USC most of the season, one in which USC came within one play of winning a third national championship in a row.
There were those who said that Bush may not have been the best player on his own team.
Matt Leinart, quarterback, expects to go in the top five, potentially as high as pick number three to the Tennessee Titans. He was the Heisman Trophy winner two years ago, and had a stellar senior season.
The Titans want him as a replacement for the aging Steve McNair and if they drafted Leinart it would reunite him with former offensive coordinator Norm Chow, with whom Leinart worked for two years at USC.
One of the most intriguing cases in this year's draft is that of Texas quarterback, Vince Young.