The Most Boring Sports Day Ever

No cheap seats this weekend. Just a big sofa, a lot of chips, and a lot of soda. It's the single most boring day of the entire sports year, yet so many people -- myself included -- will sit in front of their TV's for about six hours on Saturday, waiting for their favorite team to steal the guy who is supposed to be "the future" from his relatively humble college life. Yes sir, the NFL Draft is upon us. Where thousands of self-respecting football fans stare fixedly at their televisions and wait for NFL Commish Roger Goodell to read a name from a piece of paper.

Now, my most favorite of professional football teams, the Washington Redskins, are supposed to be picking sixth overall in the 2007 edition of the draft. Of course, this is all dependent still on how desperate the 'Skins are to get linebacker Lance Briggs from the Chicago Bears and how desperate the Bears are to get rid of Briggs. So far, both teams are saying that whatever deal they were going to strike is off, but things change at this time of year. After all, everyone seems to be saying that the Redskins will be taking a linebacker at that sixth pick anyway, so why not get Briggs and have the Bears replace him with that draft pick.

Of course, while everyone else is saying that the sixth pick will be used for a linebacker, I choose to disagree. I don't believe that the 'Skins need a linebacker from the draft, especially since the acquisition of London Fletcher from the free agent market and last year's drafting of Rocky McIntosh from Linebacker U (Miami). The team's big problem area from the 2006 season was putting pressure on the quarterback and stopping the run. Thus, it would be a prudent decision to pick up a defensive lineman. My choice: Amobi Akoye, DT, Louisville. If Akoye isn't there: Alan Branch, DT, Michigan. Akoye is the highest-rated tackle in the draft, so that would make him an obvious choice. That would also make him an obvious choice for one of the five teams picking ahead of Washington. Still, picking Branch from the very solid Michigan defense would be a fine alternative.

What all the pundits think and what all of the team managers think are two completely different things, so no one outside of the front offices knows exactly what's going to happen. I would imagine that, once all seven rounds have been completed, everyone will be scratching their heads over something the Detroit Lions or New York Jets have done, and there will be that one steal-of-a-pick that no one thought would be going wherever he is going. Then, for the next three months, the guys on ESPN will be dissecting every aspect of this weekend and how it will make or break the season. Why the draft is such a big deal is beyond me, but it's an important part of the sports year, so we'll all watch it, talk about it, and get on with life. Oh, how I can't wait for September to come...