Newz Forum: OTHER: Vernon Davis, the Raiders' DBs, Jamie Moyer, Carl Everett, Scott Posednik plus mo

After a full day of meaningless instant analysis of the NFL Draft with grades assigned to various teams, it ought to be time to put that subject to rest. That is until you look at a variety of websites and see articles projecting who will be first round picks in next year's draft. We need that kind of long range forecasting about as much as Carrot Top needs lessons in how to be annoying. However, there are a couple of things associated with last weekend's draft that merit a passing mention.

When Vernon Davis was taken by the 49ers with the sixth pick in the draft, he began to cry. He explained to Suzy Kolber that this was the culmination of a lot of work for him and his goal had been to be selected sixth or higher because that is where Kellen Winslow II had been taken a couple of years ago. The 49ers selection allowed him to achieve that goal. That's a good story, but it is also possible that he was crying because he realized he'd have to play for the 49ers; wouldn't that make you cry?

The Raiders drafted Michael Huff with their first pick. That makes five of the last six years where the Raiders have taken a defensive back with a first round pick. You'd think by now that the Raiders secondary would be the terror of the NFL because up through last year, these first round picks were teamed up with Charles Woodson back there and all he did was win the Heisman Trophy as a defensive player. Sadly, the Raiders demonstrate the fallibility of the drafting process; their secondary was not even up to Lake Woebegone standards; it wasn't even 'slightly above average'. Maybe the Raiders are now on a better track? Last year they jettisoned former first round pick Phillip Buchanon who is clearly allergic to tackling anyone and they let Charles Woodson sign a seven-year deal with the Packers. If they just keep adding by subtracting they'll be better off than using first round picks on flashy defensive backs every year.

Oh, and what the hell is Green Bay thinking with the seven-year contract for Charles Woodson? He's been in the league for 9 years now and has relied on his physical skills to play the game. This is not your crafty veteran or student of the game; this is a guy who has had some injuries and whose speed and quickness have their bags packed and are ready to depart. If he is in the employ of the Packers in the 2013 season, it will be as an equipment manager.

Enough NFL football already... The LPGA Championship has ended its long association with CBS as the outlet for telecasting the tournament and the event had moved to The Golf Channel. The people at the LPGA are constantly trying to convince the public that they have a great new product and they try to hype Michelle Wie and Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak as challengers to Annika Sorenstam. So now they take their biggest event - the Championship Tournament organized and run by the LPGA itself - and remove it from a network just about everyone has access to and put it on a network with limited access? On many cable systems, The Golf Channel is up there in the band with C-SPAN XII - the channel where you get to watch people doing the calculations to determine the price subsidies for radishes. If you don't have The Golf Channel 'bookmarked' on your set, you are not likely to trip over it.

I ran across this note in Roger Brown's column in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. He says that Showtime is interested in hosting a future fight card at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center because of the good attendance and the enthusiasm of the crowd that went there to see the Lamon Brewster/Sergei Liakhovich fight about a month ago. That's nice. Please note however that Showtime did not say they had any interest at all in having another Lamon Brewster/Sergei Liakhovich fight...

There will be an event called the Professional Bull Riders' Maui Challenge. Why not? Bull riders deserve a trip to Hawaii, don't they? Myron Duarte is a professional bull rider and to get some interest generated in this event, he told the Maui News:

'There isn't a day I wake up I don't want to get on a bull.'

Myron Duarte and I are sort of similar because there isn't a day I wake up that I do want to get on a bull. I am obviously more successful in my life at achieving my wants and desires than he is. I never - as in NEVER - get on a bull.

Jamie Moyer is 43 years old and is in his 19th season in the majors. He recently beat the Baltimore Orioles running his career record against the O's to 17-3 in 29 starts. Moyer has to be happy that there is not an 'age cap' in baseball analogous to a salary cap in other sports because at age 43, he'd account for the ages of two young phenoms. He just goes out on the mound and throws 'junk' and puts 90% of his pitches exactly where he wants them to go. He works quickly and he is fun to watch. I'll be going to Seattle again later this summer for a 'baseball weekend'; and if I’m lucky, I'll get to see Moyer and Felix Hernandez pitch two of the games.

Tomorrow night the Mariners visit the Chicago White Sox and that will put Carl Everett back in touch with his teammates from last year. Everett is not famous for his universal contact with reality; he said during spring training that the White Sox would finish no better than third in the AL Central because the Sox would miss the leadership provided by Frank Thomas and him. Forget the fact that the Sox have the best record in the AL at the moment and that they are 12-4 against the rest of the AL Central. Focus on the basis of that statement. The Sox will miss the leadership provided by Frank Thomas who was a sulking and injured for most of last year and Everett whose leadership skills are so prodigious that seven major league teams have taken the chance of doing without them. I don't think so...

I heard a disembodied voice on ESPN Radio say that Scott Posednik 'recorded four hits' in last night's win by the White Sox over the Indians. Excuse me, but Posednik did not record the hits; the official scorer recorded the hits. Posednik successfully reached base four times in the game.

The Washington Mystics of the WNBA had the good sense to wait until May 1 to cut April McDivitt from the roster. That sums up the important news from the WNBA.

Finally, Terry Bradshaw recently donated his four Super Bowl rings and other Super Bowl memorabilia to his alma mater, Louisiana Tech. Here is what Jay Leno had to say about that:

'Terry said this would mean a lot more to him if he knew what alma mater meant.'

But don't get me wrong, I love sports... ... ...

Curmudgeon