draft world

Introducing the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008...

2008-08-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

On the eve of this year's Hall of Fame induction ceremony, let's review the draft history of the players who will be honored for their distinguished NFL careers:

All together now... "It's about time!" In his 8th year of eligibility, wide receiver Art Monk will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio. The 18th overall selection out of Syracuse in 1980 lived up to expectations and was a big part of the 3 Super Bowls captured by the Washington Redskins, where he played through the 1993 season. He played a season with the New York Jets in 1994 and finished up his career with the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles in 1995.

Another Washington Redskins player going into the Hall is Darrell Green. Picked 28th overall in 1983, the speedy cornerback from Texas A&I played his entire career with the Redskins, retiring in 2002 having made the Pro Bowl 7 times.

The start of offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman's career was notable because he was drafted 36th overall in the 1984 USFL Draft by the Los Angeles Express, as well as being chosen in the supplemental round of the NFL Draft by the New York Giants, who he never played for. After 2 seasons with the Express, he found a home with the Minnesota Vikings until 1992, when he moved on to the Denver Broncos, closing out his career there in 1997 after 7 Pro Bowls.

We can't give you a draft position for cornerback Emmitt Thomas because he didn't have one. The undrafted free agent out of Bishop College played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1966 until 1978, making the Pro Bowl 5 times and contributing to their Super Bowl IV victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Perhaps more notable than his playing career is his coaching career, which has spanned 26 years and continues on as he is currently with the Atlanta Falcons.

The New England Patriots used their 2nd round pick (41st pick overall) in 1982 on linebacker Andre Tippett. The 5-time Pro Bowler, who played in Super Bowl XX against the Chicago Bears, never left the Patriots, ending his great career in 1993.

Defensive end Fred Dean was the San Diego Chargers 2nd round pick (33rd overall) in 1975. He was traded early in the 1981 season to the San Francisco 49ers, where he was a part of the championship team that year and another one 3 years later. After getting to the Pro Bowl 4 times, he finished his career in 1985.

Today's installment of Classic Draft Moments

2007-11-23T00:05:00.000-08:00

A look back at the first ever NBA Draft Lottery in 1985. You'll no doubt recognize a much younger David Stern.

History of the MLB Draft...

2007-11-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

This timeline summarizes some of the highlights of the MLB First-Year Player Draft's evolution.

1965
The first ever amateur draft is held in June. Originally, there was a second draft, held in January for high school & college players who graduated in the winter, which continued until 1986, and a third draft, held in August for summer league players, which existed for only two years.

2007
For the first time in its history, the draft can be seen live. The espn network televises the first round on its espn2 station.

History of the NHL Draft...

2007-11-20T00:05:00.000-08:00

This timeline summarizes some of the highlights of the NHL Entry Draft's evolution.

1963
The first annual draft is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec on June 5th. Any amateur player 17 or older and not already sponsored by an NHL club was eligible to be drafted.

1969
The eligibility rule was altered to state that any amateur player under the age of 20 was eligible.

1979
The World Hockey Association folded, allowing some professional players to be included in the draft.

1980
The current eligibility rules were adopted whereby any player 18-20 years old, as well as any non-North American player over 20 can be selected. Also this year, the event was held publicly for the first time ~ at the Montreal Forum.

1984
The Canadian Broadcasting Company provided live television coverage to Canadian viewers for the very first time.

1989
SportsChannel America stepped in to fill the void caused by the lack of U.S. live television coverage of the draft.

History of the NBA Draft...

2007-11-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

This timeline summarizes some of the highlights of the NBA Draft's evolution.

1947
It was still called the Basketball Association of America when it held its first annual draft.

1950
The number of rounds in this draft, the first true NBA draft, was expanded from 8 to 12.

1958
The number of rounds ballooned to 17.

1959
As the result of an odd rule whereby a player who went to high school within 50 miles of the team's arena could be chosen if that team forfeited their first round pick, the Philadelphia Warriors selected Wilt Chamberlain.

1976
The merger of the American Basketball Association with the NBA resulted in the addition of the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets (who quickly changed their name to the New Jersey Nets), & the San Antonio Spurs. A separate dispersal draft was held for the players of the Kentucky Colonels & Spirits of St Louis teams, which both folded.

1978
Although Larry Bird was still playing with Indiana State, he was selected by the Boston Celtics in this draft due to a rule that was in play at the time which allowed teams to draft players who had not graduated yet.

1985
To discourage the possibility of 'throwing' games late in the season by teams eligible for the higher picks in the draft, the NBA Draft Lottery is introduced. It added a whole new level of excitement to the determination of the final order of the draft.

1989
After a varying number of rounds through the years, it settled at 2, where it remains currently.

2001
Kwame Brown became the first number 1 overall pick to be drafted right out of high school when he was taken by the Washington Wizards.

2002
Yao Ming became the first international player with no American basketball experience to be selected as the number 1 overall pick when he was taken by the Houston Rockets.

2006
A new age limit rule requires that in order to be eligible for the draft, U.S. players must be at least one year removed from their high school graduation, and that any player must turn at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft.

History of the NFL Draft...

2007-11-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

Today I'm starting a 4-part series covering historical summaries of the drafts. First we'll look at the NFL Draft, followed by the NBA Draft on Monday, the NHL Draft on Tuesday, & the MLB Draft on Wednesday.

This timeline summarizes some of the highlights of the NFL Draft's evolution.

1936
It could be argued that Bert Bell was the Father of the Draft. The Philadelphia Eagles owner at the time and later NFL Commissioner, his efforts in the 1930s resulted in the first ever NFL Draft. It was held in Philadelphia and consisted of 9 rounds. His concept of a college player draft, in which the order was determined by the records of the teams during the previous season, helped bring parody to what had been a free-for-all system of signing players.

1937
The number of rounds was increased to 10.

1938
A tweek to the system, allowing only the 5 worst teams to make selections in the 2nd and 4th rounds, was experimented with until 1944.

1939
The number of rounds was expanded to 20.

1943
Another tweek, in which only the 5 worst teams were permitted to make selections in the final rounds, gave those teams up to 30 players.

1947
Yet another tweek was added which would continue until 1958. A bonus first pick, was chosen by lottery but each team could only have that pick once. During the late 1940s, the All-American Football Conference formed and began holding their own college draft, creating a situation in which teams from both groups competed to sign the college players.

1956
Another entity, the Canadian Football League, adopted the strategy of trying to sign the biggest names of the college player ranks. The NFL countered by moving first 4 rounds of the draft back to a late November / early December time frame.

1960
The upstart American Football League replaced the CFL as the NFL's main competition for signing the college stars so the early draft became a secret one.

1967
Although the NFL and AFL would not merge until 1970, this was the year that the two leagues agreed to start holding a joint draft.

1970
The merger brought the number of NFL teams up to 26.

1977
The number of rounds was reduced from 17 to 12.

1983
The United States Football League sprang up to once again compete with the NFL. After an antitrust trial in which it was awarded $1 in damages, it ceased operations before the 1986 season ever started.

1993
The number of rounds decreased to 8.

1994
The number of rounds was set to 7, where it remains currently.

Changes implemented for 2008 NFL Draft...

2007-11-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

Last month, the NFL announced some changes to the draft format beginning in 2008 which Commissioner Roger Goodell hopes 'will make for a more streamlined and efficient draft'. I will describe them and then share a few of my thoughts.

1. The time allotted for a selection in the 1st round has been decreased from 15 minutes to 10 and in the 2nd round from 10 to 7 with the remaining rounds staying at 5 minutes. You could see this coming since the 1st round took over 6 hours last year.

2. The Saturday start time, which was previously 12 noon eastern time, has been changed to 3pm eastern, obviously to push more of the 1st round into prime time. The Sunday start time will begin at 10am eastern, one hour later than before. Those of us on the west coast will just have to get up a little earlier for day two ;)

3. The 3rd round has been moved from Saturday to Sunday.

I think it was a GREAT idea to shorten the time allowed for each team in the opening 2 rounds. It may, in fact, cut down on the number of trades that could be completed during the draft but in my opinion, it is worth the tradeoff to get from #1 to #32 in a quicker amount of time.

I do not have a beef with the time changes or shifting the 3rd round to the second day. It will just make Saturday quite a bit shorter and Sunday somewhat longer.

But here's what would be AWESOME...to have the 1st round in prime time on Friday night. It could kickoff at 7pm on the east coast, and with the reduced times between picks, the whole round should now only take 4 hours or so. The 2nd & 3rd rounds would be held on Saturday and the last 4 rounds on Sunday. A guy can dream, can't he ?? :)

Introducing the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2007...

2007-11-13T00:05:00.000-08:00

In light of this year's Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony held last night, let's review the draft history of the players who were honored:

Probably the best known of the group is center Mark Messier, the Edmonton Oilers 3rd round pick (48th overall) in 1979. After winning 5 Stanley Cups alongside Wayne Gretzky there, he moved on to the New York Rangers in 1991, where he led them to a championship in 1994. After a detour to Vancouver in 1997, he returned to the Big Apple in 2000 to finish his career.

Center Ron Francis was the 4th overall pick by the Hartford Whalers in 1981. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins late in the 1991 season, where he stayed for 7 more full seasons. In the meantime, the Whalers had relocated to Carolina and changed their nickname to the Hurricanes. Ron hooked up with his former team there in 1998 and helped them get to the Finals in 2002. In 2004, he moved on to finish his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Known for one of the fastest slap shots ever, defenseman Al MacInnis was taken with the 15th overall pick by the Calgary Flames in 1981. After helping them capture the Stanley Cup in 1989, he moved on in a trade to the St Louis Blues in 1994 and retired in 2005.

The Washington Capitals used their 5th overall selection in 1982 on defenseman Scott Stevens. He moved on to St Louis in 1990 as a free agent, then to the New Jersey Devils the following season, where he won 3 Stanley Cups and eventually retired in 2005.

We Are Marshall...

2007-11-12T00:05:00.000-08:00

After recently watching the DVD 'We Are Marshall', a moving film about the plane crash in 1970 that killed most of the players and coaches of the Marshall University football team, I thought it a good time to review all of the players who were drafted from that school to play in the NFL since that tragic day.

Defensive back Carl Lee, taken 186th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 1983, was the first one to be drafted out of Marshall after the crash.

In 1989, the San Francisco 49ers grabbed wide receiver Mike Barber with the 112th overall pick. In that same draft, running back Sean Doctor was the 164th overall pick by the Buffalo Bills.

One of the most notable players to be drafted was Troy Brown, who the New England Patriots acquired with an 8th round pick (198th overall) in 1993.

The most well-known name, due to his incredible athleticism, is Randy Moss, who the Vikings used their 21st selection overall to take in 1998. The Jacksonville Jaguars took center John Wade 148th overall that same year.

With 4 players taken, the 2000 draft saw the most Marshall players ever selected in one draft. Quarterback Chad Pennington was taken by the New York Jets at number 18. Rogers Beckett, a defensive back, was chosen in the 43rd spot by the San Diego Chargers. Running back Doug Chapman was nabbed by the Vikings with the 88th selection and the Seattle Seahawks made wide receiver James Williams the 175th pick.

The following year, defensive end Paul Toviessi was taken as the 51st selection by the Denver Broncos.

The trend continued in 2002 when center Chris Massey was taken as the 243rd selection by the St Louis Rams.

In the 2003 draft, the Jaguars used the 7th overall pick on quarterback Byron Leftwich, becoming the highest Marshall selection ever. DB Chris Crocker was the 84th overall by the Browns and the Indianapolis Colts made guard Steve Sciullo the 122nd pick.

The Broncos used their 2nd round (54th overall) pick on wide receiver Darius Watts in 2004.

Detroit continued the streak in 2005 when they chose Jonathan Goddard, a defensive end, with pick number 206 in the 6th round.

The Giants used a compensatory pick in 2007 to select RB Ahmad Bradshaw in the final round at 250th overall.

Boston Red Sox...2007 World Champions

2007-11-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

Top of the 7th inning, Game 7 of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park in Boston. You could almost feel the momentum swinging back over to Cleveland, like the Indians were about to take control of the game and steal the pennant away. But when Kenny Lofton was stranded at third base on an inning-ending double play, the Red Sox proceeded to score 8 more runs in the next 2 innings and the rest is history...they went on to win that game and then pull off their second World Series sweep in 4 years.

But how did these guys get to this point ?? Here's some draft history on the major players of the 2007 Boston Red Sox:

After an All-American college career playing shortstop at Arizona State, second baseman Dustin Pedroia was a 2nd round pick (65th overall) by the Red Sox in 2004.

First baseman Kevin Youkilis was selected by the Red Sox in the 8th round (243rd overall) in the 2001 draft out of the University of Cincinnati.

Born in the Dominican Republic, DH David Ortiz was actually an undrafted free agent who was signed in 1992 at the age of 17 by the Seattle Mariners. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins and made his major league debut late in the 1997 season. Boston signed him as a free agent in 2003.

Also born in the Dominican Republic, LF Manny Ramirez was drafted as the 13th selection in the 1st round of the 1991 draft. Boston signed him as a free agent prior to the 2001 season.

The World Series MVP 3B Mike Lowell was drafted in the 48th round (1532nd overall) by the Chicago White Sox in 2002 but went on to attend Florida International University instead. Then ironically was picked by the arch-rival New York Yankees in round 20 (562nd overall) of the 1995 draft. The Puerto Rican-born player was traded to the Florida Marlins in 1999, where he helped them win a championship, then traded from there to Boston in 2006.

With high expectations, the Philadelphia Phillies grabbed RF J.D. Drew with the number 2 selection in the 1997 draft. Due to his holdout that year, he was again drafted in 1998 with the 5th overall pick by the St Louis Cardinals. After stints with the Braves and the Dodgers, he signed as a free agent with Boston before this season. His clutch grand slam in the first inning of Game 6 of the ALCS propelled the Sox to the win and tied the series at 3 games apiece.

The captain, catcher Jason Varitek, was also drafted twice. In 1993, he was the 21st overall selection taken by the Minnesota Twins. Since he chose to return for his senior year at Georgia Tech, he ended up being drafted even higher in the 1994 draft, with the Seattle Mariners picking him at number 14 overall. He was traded to the Red Sox, along with pitcher Derek Lowe, in 1997.

A key member of the team this season was CF Coco Crisp. Like J.D. Drew, he was also originally drafted by the St Louis Cardinals. They took him in 1999 with the 222nd overall pick in the 7th round. The Red Sox picked him up in a trade from Cleveland prior to the 2006 season.

Although drafted in the 43rd round (1193rd overall), Julio Lugo has become one of the premier shortstops in the game. After finishing last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he signed as a free agent with the Red Sox this season.

A late season contributor to the success of the Red Sox, Jacoby Ellsbury was first drafted in the 23rd round (674th overall) by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2002. Then after 3 stellar years at Oregon State, he was nabbed by the Red Sox with the 23rd pick in the 2005 draft. He was called up from Pawtucket on September 1.

Other members of the Red Sox who 'pitched' in...

Josh Beckett has developed into a big game pitcher. Taken 2nd overall in the 1999 draft by the Florida Marlins, he was a teammate of Mike Lowell when they won the World Series in 2003. He came over to Boston in a trade before the 2006 season.

The major league career of Curt Schilling has come full circle. Originally selected by the Red Sox with the 39th pick in the 2nd round of the 1986 draft, he moved on to play for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, and Diamondbacks before landing back in Boston before the 2004 season. He has now participated in the World Series 4 times.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was at one time drafted...not in America, but in Japan by the Seibu Lions with the 1st pick of their 1998 draft. His journey to become a member of the Red Sox is more well known ~ Boston outbid the other teams and signed him to a 6-year contract, with the bid and the contract each valued in excess of $50 million.

Known for his knuckleball, Tim Wakefield was the 200th pick (8th round) in the 1988 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He joined the Red Sox in 1995.

The closer, Jonathan Papelbon, is the first Boston pitcher to have back-to-back 30+ save seasons. Even though the Oakland A's drafted him 1208th overall in the 40th round in 2002, Boston was able to grab him in round 4 (114th overall) a year later because he wanted to play another year at Mississippi State, hoping the Bulldogs would get to the College World Series, which they eventually did not.

And I can't leave out the skipper...manager Terry Francona. As a player, he led his Arizona team to the College World Series championship in 1980 and was then selected 22nd overall by the Montreal Expos that same year. He was mostly a journeyman player and coach until being hired by the Red Sox in 2004, where everything he has touched has turned to gold.