Chickens and Draft Blunders

All right, a few things to address before I get rolling. In my last post I said the Penguins were the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference. At the time it was a true statement, however it no longer stands as true being that Montreal won its last game and Pittsburgh lost its last to Philadelphia. I hate the Flyers, but being true to factuality, I'll admit I counted my chickens, posting that when I knew they hadn't locked up the No. 1 seed.

Now, to bring that full circle, something of which I pride myself at being good: Unlike bringing random things full circle and relating anything to something, counting my chickens is something I struggle with. The year the Steelers won Super Bowl XL (that still feels good to type), I was watching the second-round playoff game at my cousin's house, the same cousin that was optimistic about the Pens this year, and the son of the biggest Pittsburgh fan. No, seriously. He's maimed himself in anger during games. He's the reason I like the Steelers, and have any interest whatsoever in hockey. Anyways, before the game was over, but with the end in sight against the Colts, I called a few friends to celebrate and have those adrenaline-induced conversations, "Yeah!" "Whoa!" "All right!" "We live another week!" and just as I was about to say goodbye, Jerome Bettis fumbled practically on the goal-line, and Indianapolis was right back in the game. I was speechless, and my head nearly fell off my shoulders. On the other line, my buddy was probably in the same mental state, and it cut out like it does when someone calls you from a wild party, and you worry what just happened to them.

After this phone call, my uncle had to leave the room. His neighbor, another big Pittsburgh guy, looked at me in utter disgust, shaking his head. "Son," he said to me. "You're young. You'll learn." I knew what I had done, and I knew what I had just learned. Thankfully, the Colts hadn't traded for Adam Vinatieri yet, and Mike Vanderjagt--who Peyton Manning referred to as a liquored-up kicker--missed what would have either tied the game or won it for the Colts. We all breathed a sigh of relief, and the rest is history. But the moral of this story is don't count your chickens. Seriously. It ain't over till it's over.

Now, to address something that absolutely must be addressed.

The other night, I was sitting around my room with my friends during the Final Four, and we were just throwing around sports talk. Now, to understand this, please click on the title of this post "Chickens and Draft Blunders," and watch the video. If that doesn't work, search youtube for "NY Jets draft blunders." While the title explains it, I'll elaborate. The video is a minute-and-a-half highlight reel that chronicles all of the draft mistakes, and when I say mistakes, I mean blatant, stupid, and horrible draft picks that the Jets made in the 80s and 90s. When you see the video you'll know what I mean. I watch it frequently to feel better about my team when the Steelers have a bad game. I laugh at it every time. In case you don't watch this, if you're too busy or you just think you're too cool for it, the Jets passed on Dan Marino for Ken O'Brien of UC Davis. They passed on Warren Sapp for Kyle Brady. Every pick is met with utter shock and disgust by the fans, and even Chris Berman says that "as a season ticket-holder, I'm gonna boo." Mel Kiper states, "It's obvious to me right now that the Jets just don't understand what the draft is all about." It's pretty pathetic, but it's hysterical.

Anyways, we were discussing this video, and said what if this year the Jets draft someone from Hofstra. This is ironic because Wayne Chrebet went to Hofstra and played for the Jets, having a solid and legit NFL career. We were joking around though, saying "Man, the Jets seem to really love Hofstra. They passed up Darren McFadden for a guy from Hofstra." Haha, wouldn't that be funny. We extended the joke, saying what if the dismal Knicks followed suit. "OMG! The Knicks picked a player from Hofstra over Derrick Rose!" Haha, wouldn't that be funny.

Well readers, based on what I read in Sunday's New York Daily News, I wouldn't put such a draft blunder past the Knicks. I read in an article by Mitch Lawrence that while the Knicks recently hired Donnie Walsh to succeed Isiah Thomas as the Knicks' president, various "league execs believe that Jerry Colangelo would have been a better fit..."

OK. So what's the big deal? Check this out...

In 2010, the free-agent market is going to be ripe, fruitful, and very tempting to say the least. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and even Chris Bosh will all be free agents that year. Seriously. Now read this. "As the managing director of the U.S. Olympic team for the last several years, Colangelo has enjoyed unparalleled access to James, Wade, and Paul, not to mention Bosh. If he were running the Knicks, Colangelo would have used those strong Olympic ties, along with the Garden's money, to lure the marquee player New York has been without since Patrick Ewing."

If you need to re-read that, go right ahead. I'll wait.

Seriously! What were the Knicks thinking? How could they pass up a candidate like Colangelo? Chris Paul was quoted in the article saying how Colangelo has such solid relationships throughout the league. He's tight with guys that a team only dreams about acquiring. He has the kind of ties that teams only dream about having with players. And the Knicks passed on him. Seriously.

I'm not gonna lie, I was a little upset after reading that article. I'm not a Knicks fan, unless you count the fact that I love how horrible they are, and as soon as they start winning I won' t like them anymore. But New York needs a basketball team. The Big Apple is so hungry for a winner on 33rd Street, it's really not even funny. Reading the articles about them in the paper, like Isiah Thomas' excuses, is growing old. A little too old. Patrick Ewing is also old, too old to magically come back and save the Knicks. Maybe the Knicks can get Patrick Ewing Jr. Wait a minute, that draft pick would make sense.