NFL Draft 3.0

The day of reckoning is upon us. The 2009 NFL Draft kicks off in just a few hours time, but those hoping for a surprise first pick have already been disappointed.

Detroit Lions announced last night that they have agreed a deal, believed to be worth neatly $80 million, for Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford to be number one pick. This ended speculation that the 0-16 Lions would take either offensive tackle Jason Smith or linebacker Aaron Curry.

The fun, as usual, has already started in NYC ahead of the draft, with rumours emerging that St. Louis Rams - who currently hold the second pick - have bought a plane ticket for USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was expected to be picked up by either Seattle (4th pick)

or, more likely, San Francisco (10th).

Whether this is a rouse, a serious move or an indication that a trade is upcoming is yet to be established.

Elsewhere, look out for wide receiver Percy Harvin. He has been flying up the draft boards overnight with some observers thinking he will be taken as the top receiver. While this is unlikely with Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin around, he can expect a top 20 pick as teams overlook any injury and attitude concerns and focus on his blazing speed and playmaking ability.

So no changes to LMUK's top 5 picks, just a view on who's hot and who's not;

Hot: Percy Harvin and Mark Sanchez (see above), but Tyrone Jackson - a DE from LSU - should go a lot higher than first projected, possibly to Kansas City at 3rd pick.

Not: Kansas State QB Josh Freeman hasn't exactly set the world alight these past few weeks, while the aforementioned Michael Crabtree has only just had a cast taken off a broken foot.

By Tom Snee, Live Media UK

Wes Morgan

Every club has one. A player who entertains, annoys, captivates and infuriates in equal measure. For Nottingham Forest, that player is Wes Morgan.

Last Saturday, Forest clinched a vital win over Coventry, a win that kept their hopes of staying in the Coca-Cola Championship alive. While other players will have received the column inches

- Gareth McCleary, in particular, was superb after coming on - Morgan was simply immense.

Performances like the one he produced on Saturday reminded the Forest faithful of the Wes Morgan they love, the Wes Morgan who attracted attention from Premier League clubs, the Wes Morgan who refused to join Newcastle United to help get them promoted (which they subsequently did).

Hard to believe that the same Wes Morgan is more than capable of calamity and error.

Against Barnsley two weeks previous, Morgan was an incompetent laughing stock. His poor marking left Jamal Campbell-Ryce - all 5’ 7” of him - available to head home for Barnsley’s opener. He spent more time on his backside than any professional footballer in living memory.

Yet the fans didn’t get on his back. They know he can do better, but preferred to leave Morgan to figure that out for himself. And that he did.

A solid performances against Bristol City and Sheffield United were followed up by Saturday’s Man Of The Match showing. Everything he touched turned to gold. Every header has won, every loose ball pounced upon, every tackle fiercely contested. With Forest leading, he even managed to put Lewis McGugan through with a backheel.

Performances like Saturday’s will remind Forest fans why they place Morgan’s name in the “Des Walker Song”. While not quite in Walker’s class, Morgan’s style and general demeanour on the field are reminiscent of the former England international.

Morgan has had a lot to deal with in the past few months. His 9-month-old son Rio is bravely fighting pneumonia and Wes has spent much of the last few months racing between hospital and the club’s training ground.

Morgan is prone to mistakes. As a Forest fan myself, I often despair at a misplaced pass or a needless stumble, but I think I speak for all fans of the club when I say we wouldn’t change him for the world.

You’ll never beat Wes Morgan. Well, maybe sometimes.

By Tom Snee, Live Media UK

NFL Draft 2.0

News out of Detroit suggests that Aaron Curry, the linebacker who Live Media UK projected at 5th pick, has met for discussions with the General Manger and Defensive Staff. While this is not a massive shock – Matt Stafford, Andre Smith, Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe have already been to Motor City for a chat with their prospective bosses – many observers are surprised at the timing.

Meeting with Curry just days before the draft suggests that the Lions have yet to make a final decision, which could make for a very interesting draft night. For the last few years, the first pick has been chosen by this point in proceedings. Last year, Jake Long even signed a pre-contract agreement with Miami in the week leading up to the draft.

Still, Stafford not being the number one pick would be the biggest draft shock since Mario Williams was chosen by Houston ahead of Vince Young and Reggie Bush. Kansas City is prepared to listen to offers of trading their third pick, ditto St. Louis at number two. If this happens, all hell could break loose depending on with whom they trade.

As it stands, LMUK believes Detroit’s interest in Curry moves him up the board, but expect bigger changes before Saturday’s proceedings.

Live Media UK’s Mock Draft 2.0 – Top 5 Picks

Detroit Lions - Matthew Stafford (QB)
St Louis Rams - Jason Smith (OT)
Kansas City Cheifs - Aaron Curry (OLB/DE)
Seattle Seahawks - Eugene Monroe (OT)
Cincinnati Bengals - Brian Orakpo (DE)

By Tom Snee, Live Media UK

The IPL

Well, it’s an experience. That’s about the only thing to say about the IPL.

This morning, I sat down with a large coffee and watched my first games of the relocated tournament. As an aspiring journalist, particularly one who likes cricket, I have tried to keep tabs on what is going on with the tournament – who is playing for who, when the big games are, who are the favourites.

Tried being the operative word.

Checking Cricinfo for yesterday’s results, I find that the Chennai Super Kings lost to the Mumbai Lambert and Butlers, and that Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals were thrashed by Kevin Pietersen’s Bangalore Royals. Well, something like that.

Rain held up the start of Delhi Daredevils and Punjab X-Men, and I, along with the rest of the viewing public, had to endure Dominik Holyer’s ill-informed banter will Darren Gough on Setanta. At least they had highlights of yesterday’s games.

Highlights. The word suggests that there was something worth watching which is probably not the best way of describing yesterday’s festivities .

The games themselves weren’t all that bad. Sachin Tendulkar’s batting for Mumbai showed there is a place for building an innings in Twenty20, while young Abhishek Nayar entertained the crowd by taking Andrew Flintoff to the proverbial cleaners.

But for every international star, there is a journeyman Indian medium pacer. The quality is polarised to the extreme. With the English first-class game, there is sometimes criticism that there are too many “nothing players” – players who have little chance of being stars and are content to potter around in the Shires.

Yet I would prefer that to having four players of world class and seven who would struggle to get in Derbyshire’s second eleven.

However, the worst thing about the IPL is it’s commercialisation Twenty20 has always been a business venture first and a cricketing spectacle second, but the IPL taken this aspect to an entirely different level.

A shot clearing the boundary is no longer a six, but a “DLF Maximum”. Take a game changing catch, or bowl a toe-crushing Yorker and it isn’t just a compliment the commentators give you, but a “Citi Moment of Success”.

There are “Strategic Time-Outs” instead of drinks breaks, and Robin Jackman is permanently chatting with his co-commentator about the “Search for a Bollywood Star” from the crowd.

It’s cricket, Jim, but not as we know it.

The ECB are believed to want to run an English Premier League alongside the Twenty20 Cup. I love Twenty20 – but only in moderation. I believe that an English Premier League could work, providing the ECB doesn’t go into overkill mode – which they invariably will.

If the EPL turns out like the IPL, it will loose all credibility. The key will be to keep the “Englishness” and not bow to Americanisation.

Hamming up Twenty20 is just not cricket.

By Tom Snee, Live Media UK

Andy Flower appointed England Team Director

His playing career was full of examples of overcoming adversity. But has Andy Flower bitten off more than he can chew with his latest venture?

Earlier this week Flower was appointed as the Team Director for the English cricket team. The job is Flower’s first “head coach” role – no matter how it’s dressed up, that is effectively what the job is – and it has come at a crucial time for English cricket.

There is, at this moment, 82 days until the Ashes – the biggest clash in the cricket world. Last time the series was in England, the Ashes were reclaimed for the first time in 16 years. Last time it was in Australia, England were humiliated by a 5-0 series defeat.

This is a crucial time for the ECB, and thus this is a crucial appointment. Rookie coaches have had success in recent times – Gary Kirsten with India being the prime example – but this is a genuinely huge challenge.

However, the slightly disturbing aspect of the appointment is that nobody else wanted the job. This isn’t to say Flower wouldn’t have been impressive in the interview, but the fact that numerous high profile names – Micky Arthur of South Africa and Tom Moody of Sri Lanka - ruled themselves out of the running.

Unfortunately for England, the most likely candidate for the role would have been the late Bob Woolmer. The Englishman, who was coach of Pakistan at the time of his death, had been successful in uniting fractured dressing rooms – a seemingly key skill in the present climate.

Sadly, Woolmer died of a suspected heart attack during the 2007 World Cup, and cricket was deprived of a fine coach. The world was deprived of a fine man.

There are no doubts about Andy Flower’s mental strength. On numerous occasions, Flower challenged Robert Mugabe’s regime in his home country of Zimbabwe, most notably during his black armband protest during the 2003 World Cup.

Flower will need to draw on all of his undoubted coaching talent to bring everything together in time for the Ashes. He is a tough street fighter, and an innovative one at that, but only time will tell if the Flower regime will bloom in time for the Ashes.

By Tom Snee, Live Media UK

NFL Draft 2009

On April 25th, the National Football League hosts it's annual college draft. Over two hundred of the finest college athletes from around America will be up for grabs as professional American Football teams search for the next generation of superstars.

The whole event is a carnival, a two day festival with all the melodrama and ceremony you expect from American sport.

The build-up is a key part of the draft experience, with teams visiting various college "Pro Days", where prospective draftees show their skills in a variety of drills. This, coupled with interviews and "private workouts", give the teams ample opportunity to pick ther right player.

The team who finished last season with the worst record - Detroit Lions - will get the first pick in the first round of the draft. After they make their pick, the team with the second worst record - this year it's St. Louis - will choose their player to sign, and so on until all 32 teams have had a chance to pick.

That concludes the first round out of seven. Now you begin to understand why it needs jazzing up. Essentially, it is the same thing we all used to do when picking teams for playground football or tag rugby, only on a much grander scale.

There is a whole industry that centres around the selection of draft picks. The system is a bit more complicated than just picking the best player who is left.

Most teams who have the first pick will go for a "playmaker", someone who is going to be a focal point for their team. Eight out of the last ten Number One picks have been Quarterbacks, but for many teams, the need is in the less glamourous positions along the offensive line.

With this in mind, Detroit will probably Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has long been predicted as the first pick. There are a couple of offensive linemen - Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe - who are good enough to be Number One, but the Lions are now likely to go with a Franchise Quarterback in Stafford.

There are some freakish athletes in this years crop. BJ Raji, a defensive tackle from Boston College, can run the 40-yard dash (a staple of the Pro Day) in 5.23 seconds, despite weighing in at nearly 340 lbs. Brian Orakpo, a pass rushing defensive end, is built like a Greek god and tackles like a sledgehammer. These are not gentlemen who you would like on top of your prize quarterback!

The draft is, all told, an entertaining experience. Once it is out of the way, the NFL cools down for the summer training camps. But for now, interest in the draft is red hot.

Live Media UK's Top 5 Draft Picks

1. Detroit Lions - Matthew Stafford (QB)
2. St Louis Rams - Jason Smith (OT)
3. Kansas City Cheifs - Brian Orakpo (DE)
4. Seattle Seahawks - Eugene Monroe (OT)
5. Cincinnati Bengals - Aaron Curry (OLB/DE)

By Tom Snee, Live Media UK

Hillsborough

I was in Nottingham yesterday for the marking of the 20th Anniversary of the Hillsborough stadium disaster. As happened in Liverpool and Sheffield, the town hall bell tolled 96 times to remember those lives tragically lost on 15th April 1989.

As a Forest fan myself, Hillsborough has always been mentioned in hushed tones. Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest were Liverpool’s opponents that fateful match – the match which paled into insignificance as the scale of what was happening at the Leppings Lane end unfolded.

The disaster is not a personal memory of mine – I had just celebrated my first birthday when it happened – but one that has been passed on to me. Passed on by those who was there on the Leppings Lane terraces. Passed on by those football fans watching on TV who could not believe what he was seeing. Passed on by everyone who can remember the events of that day.

Since Hillsborough, stadiums have become safer. Many are now all-seater, while perimeter fencing has long become a thing of the past.

The 96 deaths on that day taught football a lesson. Unfortunately, in the words of a Hillsborough anthem, “If a lesson's been learned, it's a lesson too late.”

By Tom Snee, Live Media UK