Sports Fever

As the month of April continues on, the sports world enters an exciting few weeks with major developments in each respective sport. Needless to say, but I'll say it, it's a great time to be a sports fan.

Tomorrow night marks the first year that the NFL draft is set to begin on a Thursday night as the first round will be shown in prime time. I'm surprised that this change did not happen years ago and am very confident that it will lead to a rise in television ratings for ESPN.

With that in mind, I hope to see the Giants draft middle linebacker Rolando McClain out of Alabama. According to ever mock draft on television and on the internet, if McClain is available then the Giants will draft him. As of Wednesday morning, many experts were beginning to believe the Giants would look at trading up in order to draft the middle linebacker.

General Manager Jerry Reese should not even take the chance. Find a suitor and make the trade. A middle linebacker to replace defensive leader Antonio Pierce has to be the Giants focus on Thursday night. That is not to say that McClain will immediately become the leader Pierce was (and if it means avoiding situations like the Plaxico Burress shooting then McClain should never reach Pierce's level). But the Giants lack a fierce force in the center of their talented defense. McClain fixes that void immediately, and is worth a couple of draft picks to ensure it.

Other things I would like to see during the draft this weekend include the Giants drafting offensive line help, interior defensive line help, and another cornerback to provide depth to a secondary that cannot remain healthy throughout a season. I would also like to see University of Virginia cornerback Chris Cook getting drafted before anyone from Virginia Tech (need to beat them somehow in football), Tim Tebow falling to the third round (at the earliest), C.J. Spiller remaining out of the NFC East, and Jimmy Clausen staying out of Oakland and receiving a chance to be successful at the pro level. It should be fun.

In other news...

Although I do not enjoy seeing my friends happy with the success of the Washington Capitals, I cannot seem to turn off the NHL playoffs, most notably the Capitals series versus Montreal. Every shot could be the difference, every run could lead to the equalizer, and every penalty could lead to an advantage that may turn the series one way or another. As a former soccer player and current soccer coach, the similarities between an intense soccer and hockey game are too many to count. Which makes me excited for another big event this summer, the World Cup.

The most frustrating part of the blitz of great sporting events taking place right now is the lack of coverage of these games. I have the sports package through Direct TV, but do not get to watch any game on NBA TV. Hockey is barely televised as it is, but the advertisers for whatever channel covering hockey right now decided to take an extended Spring Break. Where is the hockey?

At least we have baseball right now. Although with all these playoff games taking place I guess ESPN has decided to only broadcast one Wednesday game and its typical Sunday game. Then again with the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres in double overtime right now ESPN made the right decision by not putting baseball on TV. If only I could find the hockey game.