More Guessing

Before I get to more inane draft talk, this is, by maybe a million miles, the best story ever. If I had to guess, this true life tale had to be the inspiration for one of the greatest movies of all time.

In this same vain -- ridiculous run-ins with famous and semi-famous people, that is -- my wife reminded me of a really weird encounter we had while living in Boston. In 1998, me and my buddy Doug went to California for a week to hang out with another college friend who moved out to L.A. after college. Anyway, the trip home put us into Boston's Logan airport late at night and as my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time) met us at the baggage claim who do we see huddled over a pay phone? If you guessed Drew Bledsoe you must be Miss Cleo ... and you'd be right. A couple of things made this kinda bizarre. First, it was like midnight on a Tuesday. Second, it was 1998, not 1978, and cell phones had been invented, which makes you think that Bledsoe might've actually had one. Now I didn't stop to shoot the breeze with him so I have no idea why he was actually using a public phone. Maybe he lost his cell phone and was calling a cab, who knows. Either way it was the last thing I expected to see.

And as long as I'm recounting silly stories, my same L.A. buddy I visited in 1998, I ended up living with during the summer of 1999. One of his friends who grew up in Southern California claims to have made out with Tori Spelling at a high school party before anybody knew her as anything other than Screech's girlfriend. True or not, it's still funny.

***
Okay, here's what John Clayton said yesterday on his "blog":

The White stuff? LenDale White had a good visit with the Steelers on Tuesday. The Steelers aren't concerned too much with his partially torn hamstring, and the team was left with the impression he probably won't fall to No. 32. There was only one problem during the trip. White missed his first flight and had to catch a later one. But at least the visit went well and the Steelers are interested.

Like I've said a million times before, I don't think White is Lawrence Phillips, but Jeebus, little things like missing a flight add up. But like I've also said enough times to make you nauseous, I also think White will be long gone when the Steelers pick at 32.

... The Sporting News updated their mock draft (and only a day late! You too can get all of this and more for the low, low price of $39.99 a year!) and at the very least, they seem to have put down the crack pipe for this version:

Round 1: Jason Allen, S, Tennessee
Round 2: Maurice Stovall, WR, Notre Dame
Round 3: Cedric Griffin, CB, Texas
Round 4: E.J. Whitley, OT, Texas Tech
Round 3: Leon Washington, RB, Florida St.
Round 4: Demetrius Williams WR Oregon
Round 5: Jahri Evans, G, Bloomsburg
Round 5: Marvin Philip, C, Cal
Round 6: Jason Hatcher, DE, Grambling
Rount 7: Brett Basanez, QB, Northwestern

I mentioned last week that Allen had been taken off some teams' draft boards because there's a concern that his hip could end up being a Bo Jackson situation, which ain't good. Jim Wexell had this Draft Report earlier this week, however:

"Word whipping around the rumor mill is that Tennessee defensive back Jason Allen has a serious problem. The dislocated hip he suffered at midseason, rumors allege, is a degenerative condition that’s caused two teams to reject him medically.

Hogwash say the Steelers, who remain keen on a player who was considered a top 10 prospect before the injury.

At the combine, the 6-1, 209-pound Allen ran a 4.39 40. His outstanding shuttle (3.81) and 3-cone (6.75) times put to rest any questions about his change-of-direction skills.

He can run like a corner and hit like a safety. An injured Jason Allen will fit the Steelers’ defense the way an injured Heath Miller fit the offense last year"

Huh. I don't know what to think, but I do know that a sports hernia is a lot different than a serious hip injury. Still, Wexell thinks the Steelers like Whitner, Allen and Bing at safety, in that order, and I can't disagree with that thinking. And just in case you haven't studied up on all the potential safeties available next week, knock yourself out.

I'm not crazy about the Maurice Stovall pick in round two primarily because he didn't do jack until Charlie Weis got a hold of him. I'm not smart enough to know that means he's just a great college player or if he actually improved a whole hell of a lot this past season. I do know that height is overrated, and in a decidedly weak draft class, this seems like an awfully high pick. (Now, I understand that in all likelihood, the draft won't even come close to what's above, but for the sake of discussion, I'm assuming it might.)

Cedric Griffin is an interesting guy. I saw him play a little bit at Texas and he didn't get a whole lot of publicity since he played in the same defensive backfield as Michael Huff. He could be one of those guys who never does anything spectacular, but always seems to make the plays he's supposed to. Or he could suck. It'll definitely be one or the other.

... As long as we're going through the (mock draft) motions, a few days ago DJ pointed out NFLDraftCountdown's newest mock draft had Pittsburgh taking, "LenDale White in the first, CB Danieal Manning in the second and WR Derek Hagan in the third. I'm pretty sure everybody knows my feelings on White (there very similar to DJ's feelings on taking a WR in the first round, but different), I've heard Manning could be Colclough-like (and that's a good thing), and from what I saw of Derek Hagan, and it wasn't much, he's not a third round pick.

Might as well do one more -- In their latest mock draft, NFLDraftScout.com has Pittsburgh taking Darnell Bing in the first, DE Ray Edwards (Purdue) in the second, and Danieal Manning in the third.

Make of these mock drafts what you will, but before you get yourself all lathered up, read this. Even though it's from 2001, it's more applicable now than it was then. Plus, you can never make too much fun of Mel Kiper.

... In other news, the Bengals added a little depth (and I stress the "little" part) when they signed Kyle Boller's doppelganger. Kitna bolted for a chance at a starting job and Harrington's still stuck in Detroit-area purgatory and instead of settling going into training camp with a depth chart that could potentially list Doug Johnson and Craig Krenzel as Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, they sign Anthony Wright, which should lead to a depth chart that looks like this:

1 - Carson Palmer (could start Week 1, even if it means he has to play in a wheelchair)
3a - Doug Johnson/Craig Krenzel/Anthony Wright
3b - Craig Krenzel/Doug Johnson/Anthony Wright
3c - Anthony Wright/Craig Krenzel/Doug Johnson

In all seriousness, if Palmer misses an extended period of time, the Bengals could be in real trouble. Just think of the '05 Steelers with Maddox running the show but potentially a lot worse given Cincy's schedule. Alrighty, only eight days to go.