Search the Community

My blog is still not dead...getting closer though. But I remembered the NBA Draft was this week so I can get another Draftback entry in. With the NBA Draft I take different approach as I rank the players using the basketball version of Win Shares. I don't know how reliable the statistic is, and I don't quite agree with all the rankings, but at least it's an objective way to compare these player's careers at this point. 1997 NBA Draft per Career Win Shares 1. Tim Duncan, San Antonio - 399 Career Win Shares (1st Pick) 2. Chauncey Billups, Boston - 252 (3rd) 3. Tracy McGrady, Toronto - 246 (9th) 4. Antonio Daniels, Vancouver - 131 (4th) 5. Derek Anderson, Cleveland - 120 (13th) 6. Keith Van Horn, Philadelphia (traded to New Jersey) - 115 (2nd) 7t. Tim Thomas, New Jersey (traded to Philadelphia) - 94 (7th) 7t. Bobby Jackson, Seattle (traded to Denver) - 94 (23rd) 9. Tony Battie, Denver - 91 (5th) 10t. Kelvin Cato, Dallas (traded to Portland) - 83 (15th) 10t. Brevin Knight, Cleveland - 83 (16th) 12. Austin Croshere, Indiana - 81 (12th) 13. Stephen Jackson, Phoenix - 79 (42nd) 14. Scott Pollard, Detroit - 78 (19th) 15. Alvin Williams, Portland - 61 (48th) 16t. Adonal Foyle, Golden State - 60 (8th) 16t. Anthony Johnson, Sacramento - 60 (39th) 18. Danny Fortson, Milwaukee (traded to Denver) - 57 (10th) 19. Mark Blount, Seattle - 56 (54th) 20. Jacque Vaughn, Utah - 51 (27th) 21. Marc Jackson, Golden State - 38 (37th) 22t. Maurice Taylor, L.A. Clippers - 37 (14th) 22t. Anthony Parker, New Jersey (traded to Philadelphia) - 37 (21st) 24. Ron Mercer, Boston - 33 (6th) 25. Cedric Henderson, Cleveland - 21 (44th) 26. Chris Crawford, Atlanta - 19 (50th) 27. Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Sacramento - 17 (11th) 28. Predrag Drobnjak, Washington - 15 (48th) 29. John Thomas, New York - 9 (25th) 30t. Chris Anstey, Portland (traded to Dallas) - 7 (19th) 30t. Charles Smith, Miami - 7 (26th) 32. Ed Gray, Atlanta - 3 (22nd) 33t. Rodrick Rhodes, Houston - 2 (24th) 33t. Keith Booth, Chicago - 2 (28th) 33t. Charles O'Bannon, Detroit - 2 (31st) 33t. Jerald Honeycutt, Milwaukee - 2 (38th) 33t. DeJuan Wheat, L.A. Lakers - 2 (51st) 38t. Johnny Taylor, Orlando - 1 (17th) 38t. Marko Milic, Philadelphia - 1 (33rd) 38t. Bubba Wells, Dallas - 1 (34th) 38t. Kebu Stewart, Philadelphia (35th) 38t. Jason Lawson, Denver - 1 (41st) 38t. Eric Washington, Orlando - 1 (46th) The Zero Club Paul Grant, Minnesota (20th) James Cotton, Denver (32nd) James Collins, Philadelphia (36th) God Shammgod, Washington (45th) Never Played in the NBA Serge Zwikker, Houston (29th) Mark Sanford, Miami (30th) Eddie Elisma, Seattle (40th) Gordon Malone, Minnesota (43rd) Alain Digbeu, Atlanta (49th) C.J. Bruton, Vancouver (52nd) Paul Rogers, L.A. Lakers (53rd) Ben Pepper, Boston (55th) Nate Erdmann, Utah (56th) Roberto Duenas, Chicago (57th) Most Win Shares with Team they were Drafted by 1. Tim Duncan, 399 2. Austin Croshere, 74 3. Keith Van Horn, 60 (draft day trade) 4. Adonal Foyle, 56 5. Brevin Knight, 37 6. Tracy McGrady, 36 7. Cedric Henderson, 21 8. Derek Anderson, 20 9. Chris Crawford, 19 10. Ron Mercer, 15

Hey look my blog isn't dead! Okay it's pretty close to being dead but decided to throw together a Draftback baseball entry before this upcoming week's MLB Draft. 1. Phillies - Pat Burrell, Third Baseman, Miami Heavily scrutinized, but very productive player throughout his career outside a dreadful 2003 season. 2. Athletics - Mark Mulder, Pitcher, Michigan State Rotator cuff problems have pretty much ruined a once promising career. 3. Cubs - Corey Patterson, Outfielder, Harrison High School (Harrison, GA) Toolsy player who has never figured out the strikezone. 4. Royals - Jeff Austin, Pitcher, Stanford Usually doesn't take three picks to get to the first bust in a baseball draft. 65 1/3 career innings in the Majors. 5. Cardinals - J.D. Drew, Outfielder, Florida State Of course the year before Drew (and agent Scott Boras) infamously refused to sign with the Phillies after being the #2 pick overall. Incredibly talented player but injuries have hampered him for most of his career. 6. Twins - Ryan Mills, Pitcher, Arizona State Didn't reach Triple-A until 2003 and was out of baseball after 2004. 7. Reds - Austin Kearns, Outfielder, Lafayette High School (Lexington, KY) Has shown flashes of potentially being a great hitter in the past but injuries and a lack of consistency have held him back. 8. Blue Jays - Felipe Lopez, Shortstop, Lake Brantley High School (Altamonte Springs, FL) Had one great year offensively in 2005 but not much else and is poor defensively. 9. Padres - Sean Burroughs, Third Baseman, Wilson High School (Long Beach, CA) Never developed any power and now appears to be out of organized baseball. 10. Rangers - Carlos Pena, First Baseman, Northeastern Very odd career, broke out with a monster season last year but remains to be seen if it was a fluke or not. 11. Expos - Josh McKinley, Shortstop, Malvern Prep School (PA) Never got past Double-A, hit .254/.340/.375 in seven minor league seasons. 12. Red Sox - Adam Everett, Shortstop, South Carolina Great defense, terrible offense. 13. Brewers - J.M. Gold, Pitcher, Toms River North High School (Toms River North, NJ) Topped out at high Single-A ball. 14. Tigers - Jeff Weaver, Pitcher, Fresno State Easy to forget he was pretty impressive early on his career but now hanging by a thread with the Brewers Triple-A squad. 15. Pirates - Clint Johnston, Pitcher, Vanderbilt Gave up pitching after 2001, but becoming a first baseman only got him to Double-A. 16. White Sox - Kip Wells, Pitcher, Baylor Sorta like Weaver in that he showed some promise early on his career but has stringed together some truly awful seasons. 17. Astros - Brad Lidge, Pitcher, Notre Dame The demise of his career post-Pujols has been greatly exaggerated. 18. Angels - Seth Etherton, Pitcher, USC 6.30 ERA in 115 1/3 innings in the Majors. 19. Giants - Tony Torcato, Third Baseman, Woodland High School (Woodland, CA) Only had 53 MLB plate appearances. 20. Indians - C.C. Sabathia, Pitcher, Vallejo High School (Vallejo, CA) Cy Young winner last season who barring injury will cash in big this offseason, even with a potential down year. 21. Mets - Jason Tyner, Outfielder, Texas A&M Has some how fooled teams into giving him 1400+ plate appearances in the Majors. Has hit four homeruns in nearly in 5000 plate appearances in professional baseball and he's a corner oufielder! 22. Mariners - Matt Thornton, Pitcher, Grand Valley State Next Randy Johnson he was not but has become a decent reliever. 23. Dodgers - Bubba Crosby, Outfielder, Rice Great name but not so good player. 24. Yankees - Andy Brown, Outfielder, Richmond High School (Richmond, IN) .219 career hitter in eight minor league seasons. 25. Giants - Nate Bump, Pitcher, Penn State Had a bumpy career. *rim shot* 26. Orioles - Rick Elder, Outfielder, Sprayberry High School (Marietta, GA) Never got past high Single-A and lasted only five seasons in the minors. 27. Marlins - Chip Ambres, Outfielder, West Brook High School (Beaumont, TX) Pretty much a career minor leaguer. 28. Rockies - Matt Roney, Pitcher, Edmond North High School (Edmond North, OK) An extended stint with the 119-loss Tigers in 2003 has been about it for him. 29. Giants - Arturo McDowell, Outfielder, Forest Hill High School (West Palm Beach, FL) Another swing and a miss for Brian Sabean. 30. Royals - Matt Burch, Pitcher, Virginia Commonwealth Double-A was as good as it got for him. Other Picks of Note 33. Expos - Brad Wilkerson 35. White Sox - Aaron Rowand 43. Yankees - Mark Prior (did not sign) 50. Reds - Adam Dunn 57. Tigers - Brandon Inge 83. Rangers - Barry Zito (did not sign) 162. Devil Rays - Aubrey Huff 176. Brewers - Bill Hall 210. Rockies - Matt Holliday 225. Athletics - Eric Byrnes 258. Cardinals - Jack Wilson 265. Red Sox - Mark Teixeira (did not sign) 272. Astros - Morgan Ensberg 390. Rockies - Juan Pierre 411. Blue Jays - Jay Gibbons 499. Twins - J.J. Putz (did not sign) 500. Reds - B.J. Ryan 550. Marlins - Adam LaRoche (did not sign) 609. Orioles - Cliff Lee (did not sign) 1139. White Sox - Mark Buehrle

I "reviewed" the draft from 20 years ago so might as well do the one from 10 years ago. Like the 1993 draft, this draft featured quarterbacks being selected #1 and #2 overall. Also like that draft the #1 pick (Drew Bledsoe) turned out to be much better than the #2 pick (Rick Mirer) but in 1998 it was by a much larger scale as we would have a future Hall of Famer at #1 and all-time bust at #2. 1. Indianapolis - Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee My WEST COAST BIAS~ convinced myself that the next guy would be the better quarterback. 2. San Diego - Ryan Leaf, QB, Washington State 25 Career Games, 48.4% Comp Pct, 50.0 QB Rating, 14 TD, 36 Int, and a handful of public temper tantrums. 3. Arizona - Andre Wadsworth, DE, Florida State Knee injuries killed his career barely after it got started. 4. Oakland - Charles Woodson, CB, Michigan Outstanding early in his career but nagging injuries slowed him down quite a bit. 5. Chicago - Curtis Enis, RB, Penn State Held out, showed up out of shape, and then blew out his knee. Pretty much useless. 6. St. Louis - Grant Wistrom, DE, Nebraska Eight year starter but a tad overrated. 7. New Orleans - Kyle Turley, T, San Diego State My guess is he'll end up killing someone during the usual, post-NFL lineman depression stage of his life. 8. Dallas - Greg Ellis, DE, North Carolina Has had a career resurrection the last couple of years. 9. Jacksonville - Fred Tayor, RB, Florida Passed the 10,000 yard rushing mark this past season. 10. Baltimore - Duane Starks, CB, Miami Really good his first few years in the league, although probably helped by a great Ravens defense around him, and then flamed out pretty quickly once he left Baltimore. 11. Philadelphia - Tra Thomas, T, Florida State Ten year starter and selected to three Pro Bowls. 12. Atlanta - Keith Brooking, LB, Georgia Tech Overrated but still has had a pretty good career. 13. Cincinnati - Takeo Spikes, LB, Auburn Was one of the best linebackers in the league for a few years. 14. Carolina - Jason Peter, DE, Nebraska Check out his Real Sports segment to find out what happened to him. 15. Seattle - Anthony Simmons, LB, Clemson Decent for a few years. 16. Tennessee - Kevin Dyson, WR, Utah Place in NFL history is cemented due to the Music City Miracle and the final play of Super Bowl XXXV but really nothing special as a player. 17. Cincinnati - Brian Simmons, LB, North Carolina Eight year starter. 18. New England - Robert Edwards, RB, Georgia Infamously blew out his knee in an NFL flag football game on the beach during Pro Bowl week after his rookie year. 19. Green Bay - Vonnie Holliday, DE, North Carolina Another decent UNC defensive player. 20. Detroit - Terry Fair, CB, Tennessee Seven interceptions in four years. 21. Minnesota - Randy Moss, WR, Marshall His off the field problems dropped him this far. Still pissed he broke Jerry Rice's single season, receiving touchdown record this past year which I thought was near unbreakable. 22. New England - Tebucky Jones, S, Syracuse Nothing special. 23. Oakland - Mo Collins, G, Florida Five year starter but was pretty terrible. 24. N.Y. Giants - Shaun Williams, S, UCLA Just a warm body. 25. Jacksonville - Donovin Darius, S, Syracuse Throws a nice lariat. 26. Pittsburgh - Alan Faneca, G, LSU Seven time Pro Bowl selection. 27. Kansas City - Victor Riley, T, Auburn Was a decent run blocker, terrible pass blocker. 28. San Francisco - R.W. McQuarters, CB, Oklahoma State Great name, pretty good punt returner, awful cornerback. 29. Miami - John Avery, RB, Mississippi XFL's all-time leading rusher. 30. Denver - Marcus Nash, WR, Tennessee Four receptions in 11 career games. Other Notable Picks 33. Arizona - Corey Chavous, CB, Vanderbilt 35. Chicago - Tony Parrish, S, Washington 38. Dallas - Flozell Adams, T, Michigan State 39. Buffalo - Sam Cowart, LB, Florida State 44. Miami - Patrick Surtain, CB, Southern Miss 46. Tennessee - Samari Rolle, CB, Florida State 48. Washington - Stephen Alexander, TE, Oklahoma 58. San Francisco - Jeremy Newberry, C, California 64. Chicago - Olin Kreutz, C, Washington 65. St. Louis - Leonard Little, DE, Tennessee 72. Philadelphia - Jeremiah Trotter, LB, Stephen F Austin 76. Seattle - Ahman Green, RB, Nebraska 78. Cincinnati - Mike Goff, G, Iowa 91. Denver - Brian Griese, QB, Michigan 92. Pittsburgh - Hines Ward, WR, Georgia 93. Indianapolis - Steve McKinney, C, Texas A&M 111. N.Y. Jets - Jason Fabini, T, Cincinnati 119. San Francisco - Lance Schulters, S, Hofstra 139. Tennessee - Benji Olson, G, Washington 173. Minnesota - Matt Birk, C, Harvard 180. San Francisco - Fred Beasley, FB, Auburn 187. Green Bay - Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Boston College 199. Atlanta - Ephraim Salaam, T, San Diego State 226. Arizona - Pat Tillman, S, Arizona State

NFL Draft is only three weeks away and this year it might actually go by at a relatively brisk pace with the shortened draft times. Since it is that time of year it's time for me to pick out a past NFL Draft and run down the first round from that year with little to no insight. I picked 1988 because it was 20 years ago, simple enough? 1988 featured several great wide receivers but little depth overall after the first two rounds. It's also the draft where there wasn't a single quarterback taken in the first two rounds and the first one taken in the 3rd round was Tom Tupa who would later become a punter. 1. Atlanta - Aundray Bruce, LB, Auburn Lasted 11 years but only two of them were spent as a starter so that would definitely would equal to a bust for a #1 pick overall. 2. Kansas City - Neil Smith, DE, Nebraska Good pick. Six Pro Bowls and over 100 career sacks. 3. Detroit - Bennie Blades, S, Miami Halfway decent defensive back but not quite the career you'd hope for a pick this high. His brother Brian was taken in the 2nd round of this draft. 4. Tampa Bay - Paul Gruber, T, Wisconsin 12 year starter but kind of surprising he never went to a Pro Bowl as I seem to remember him being regarded as one of the better left tackles in the league during his prime. Maybe he just has a good rating Tecmo Super Bowl and that's why I thought he was good. 5. Cincinnati - Rickey Dixon, S, Oklahoma Lasted five years, doing nothing of note. 6. L.A. Raiders - Tim Brown, WR, Notre Dame Slam dunk future Hall of Famer. 7. Green Bay - Sterling Sharpe, WR, South Carolina Was on his way to a Hall of Fame career it seemed before a neck injury cut it short in 1994. 8. N.Y. Jets - Dave Cadigan, G, USC I honestly never heard of him but apparently he was a five year starter. 9. L.A. Raiders - Terry McDaniel, CB, Tennessee Five time Pro Bowl selection. 10. N.Y. Giants - Eric Moore, G, Indiana Another guard for a New York team that I have no memories of. 11. Dallas - Michael Irvin, WR, Miami I don't think there is a football player I despised more than him. 12. Phoenix - Ken Harvey, LB, California Selected to four Pro Bowls but he went to Cal and therefore he sucks. 13. Philadelphia - Keith Jackson, TE, Oklahoma Very good receiving tight end who went to five Pro Bowls. 14. L.A. Rams - Gaston Green, RB, UCLA Short career. Rushed for over 1000 yards in 1991. 15. San Diego - Anthony Miller, WR, Tennessee Obviously overshadowed by the three receivers taken ahead of him but had a very good career as well. 16. Miami - Eric Kumerow, DE, Ohio State Pretty impressive that we got 15 picks in before getting to a complete bust. 17. New England - John Stephens, RB, Northwest State Made the Pro Bowl as a rookie but did little else after that. 18. Pittsburgh - Aaron Jones, DE, Eastern Kentucky Played eight years but did anyone notice? 19. Minnesota - Randall McDaniel, G, Arizona State 12 Pro Bowl selections and should be a future Hall of Famer. 20. L.A. Rams - Aaron Cox, WR, Arizona State Well the great run of wide receivers in this draft had to end eventually. 21. Cleveland - Clifford Charlton, LB, Florida Bust. 22. Houston - Lorenzo White, RB, Michigan State Had one great year in 1992 but didn't see a whole lot of carries in his career playing in the run and shoot. 23. Chicago - Brad Muster, RB, Stanford Decent fullback who, like most running backs, had a short career. 24. New Orleans - Craig Heyward, RB, Pittsburgh Very popular, fat fullback who died at age 39 due to brain cancer. 25. L.A. Raiders - Scott Davis, DT, Illinois Not quite as good as the Raiders first two picks. 26. Denver - Ted Gregory, DT, Syracuse Was cut during training camp. Seriously how does a team fuck up so bad on it's first pick that the guy can't even make it out of camp? 27. Chicago - Wendell Davis, WR, LSU Pretty good receiver who's best known for having his career ended when he tore both ACLs while running a pass route on the god awful Veterans Stadium turf in 1993. Other Notable Picks 29. Detroit - Chris Speilman, LB, Ohio State 30. Philadelphia - Eric Allen, CB, Arizona State 31. Cincinnati - Ickey Woods, RB, UNLV 36. N.Y. Giants - Jumbo Elliott, T, Michigan 39. San Francisco - Pierce Holt, DE, Angelo State 40. Buffalo - Thurman Thomas, RB, Oklahoma State 41. Dallas - Ken Norton, LB, UCLA 43. New England - Vincent Brown, LB, Mississippi Valley State 44. Pittsburgh - Dermontti Dawson, C, Kentucky 46. L.A. Rams - Flipper Anderson, WR, UCLA 49. Seattle - Brian Blades, WR, Miami 50. Cleveland - Michael Dean Perry, DT, Clemson 63. N.Y. Jets - Erik McMillan, S, Missouri 68. Phoenix - Tom Tupa, QB, Ohio State 74. N.Y. Jets - James Hasty, CB, Washington State 76. Indianapolis - Chris Chandler, QB, Washington 80. San Francisco - Bill Romanowski, LB, Boston College 125. Houston - Chris Dishman, CB, Purdue 159. Washington - Stan Humphries, QB, Louisiana-Monroe 239. Miami - Jeff Cross, DE, Missouri 252. Pittsburgh - John Jackson, T, Eastern Kentucky

The NBA Draft is this week so time for a NBA Draftback. Now I've done this twice before for past NBA Drafts (1989 and 1993) but I do them differently from the NFL and MLB ones as I rank the players from the draft by their career totals in the basketball version of Win Shares. As always I have no idea how reliable the basketball version is but it is interesting way to compare the careers of players from an individual draft class. Like when I chose the 1987 MLB Draft this year I picked the 1992 NBA Draft because most of these players careers are over or winding down. Also like the 1987 MLB Draft this draft featured one of the most hyped #1 picks ever and like Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987, Shaquille O'Neal in 1992 would go on to become an all-time great in his sport. Hey it also featured Baby Jordan! 1992 NBA Draft per Career Win Shares 1. Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando - 501 Win Shares (1st pick) 2. Alonzo Mourning, Charlotte - 262 (2nd) 3. P.J. Brown, New Jersey - 243 (29th) 4. Robert Horry, Houston - 199 (11th) 5. Christian Laettner, Minnesota - 176 (3rd) 6t. Doug Christie, Seattle - 167 (17th) 6t. Latrell Sprewell, Golden State - 167 (24th) 8. Clarence Weatherspoon, Philadelphia - 163 (9th) 9. Tom Gugliotta, Washington - 128 (6th) 10. Jim Jackson, Dallas - 112 (4th) 11. Jon Barry, Boston - 110 (21st) 12. Walt Williams, Sacramento - 97 (7th) 13. Anthony Peeler, L.A. Lakers - 94 (15th) 14. LaPhonso Ellis, Denver - 90 (5th) 15. Matt Geiger, Miami - 83 (42nd) 16. Bryant Stith, Denver - 79 (13th) 17. Hubert Davis, New York - 76 (20th) 18. Adam Keefe, Atlanta - 75 (10th) 19t. Tracy Murray, San Antonio - 66 (18th) 19t. Oliver Miller, Phoenix - 66 (22nd) 21. Popeye Jones, Houston - 57 (41st) 22. Malik Sealy, Indiana - 50 (14th) 23. Todd Day, Milwaukee - 48 (8th) 24. Sean Rooks, Dallas - 46 (30th) 25. Brent Price, Washington - 35 (32nd) 26. Don MacLean, Detroit - 27 (19th) 27. Lee Mayberry, Milwaukee - 21 (23rd) 28. Harold Miner, Miami - 13 (12th) 29. Sasha Donilovic, Golden State - 12 (43rd) 30. Byron Houston, Chicago - 11 (30th) 31t. Elmore Spencer, L.A. Clippers - 7 (25th) 31t. Chris Smith, Minnesota - 7 (34th) 33. Marlon Maxey, Minnesota - 6 (28th) 34. Tony Bennett, Charlotte - 5 (35th) 35. Litterial Green, Chicago - 4 (39th) 36t. Randy Woods, L.A. Clippers - 3 (16th) 36t. Chris King, Seattle - 3 (45th) 38t. Reggie Smith, Portland - 2 (31st) 38t. Robert Werdann, Denver - 2 (46th) 38t. Matt Fish, Golden State - 2 (50th) 41t. Dave Johnson, Portland - 1 (26th) 41t. Corey Williams, Chicago - 1 (33rd) 41t. Duane Cooper, L.A. Lakers - 1 (36th) 41t. Darren Morningstar, Boston - 1 (47th) 41t. Brian Davis, Phoenix - 1 (48th) The Zero Club Isiah Morris, Miami (37th) Elmer Bennett, Atlanta (38th) Matt Steigenga, Chicago (52nd) Never Played in the NBA Steve Rogers, New Jersey (40th) Henry Williams, San Antonio (44th) Ron Ellis, Phoenix (49th) Tim Burroughs, Minnesota (51st) Curtis Blair, Houston (53rd) Brett Roberts, Sacramento (54th) Most Win Shares with the Team they were Drafted by 1. Shaquille O'Neal, 142 2. Latrell Sprewell, 81 3. Alonzo Mourning, 73 4. Clarence Weatherspoon, 72 5. Byrant Stith, 64 6. Robert Horry, 59 7. LaPhonso Ellis, 57 8. Christian Laettner, 48 9. Hubert Davis, 46 10. Jim Jackson, 38

The MLB Draft is this week and for the first time it will be televised which will likely replace the NFL Draft for the boringest sports program ever. At least with the NFL Draft you've seen the top players play because college football is everywhere on Saturday's in the Fall but you are rarely able to catch any college baseball on t.v. outside the College World Series plus on top of that many of the top prospects are drafted out of high school. I just picked 1987 to do a Draftback since by now most of the players from this draft careers are either done or winding down which just makes me feel so very old. It also has two first ballot Hall of Famers in the 1st Round with the #1 pick overall being one of the most hyped prospects ever and almost immediately living up to that hype. 1. Mariners - Ken Griffey Jr., Outfielder, High School By far the best #1 pick of the 1980's Griffey would already be a superstar by 1990 and help turn around what was the Clippers of Major League Baseball into a respectable franchise. 2. Pirates - Mark Merchant, Outfielder, High School On the other side of the coin we get this guy. Ironically enough he ended being traded to the Mariners organization in 1989 but never made it to the Majors and did not reach Triple-A until 1993. 3. Twins - Willie Banks, Pitcher, High School Walked 107 batters in 125 2/3 innings in low A ball in 1988. Had one solid year in the Majors in '93 (11-12, 4.04 ERA) and that was it. Pitched for seven different teams in nine years in the Majors. Per the Baseball Cube in 2005 he gave up 15 runs in two innings pitched for the independent Newark Bears. 4. Cubs - Mike Harkey, Pitcher, Cal State Fullerton Harkey had shoulder problems almost immediately but did to put together a very good rookie year in 1990 (12-6, 3.26 ERA) finishing 5th in the N.L. ROY voting. But that was his high point as he could rarely ever stay healthy. 5. White Sox - Jack McDowell, Pitcher, Stanford Made his MLB debut just three months after being drafted. Very good pitcher for a few years including picking up a Cy Young in 1993 but started to break down by age 30. Probably best known for flipping off the Yankee fans in 1995 after being pulled from a game in his one season in New York. 6. Braves - Derek Lilliquist, Pitcher, Georgia To no surprise he became expendable in the Braves organization and was traded to San Diego in 1990. Had two very good years as a middle reliever with the Indians in the mid-90's but little success at any other point. 7. Orioles - Chris Myers, Pitcher, High School I found almost nothing on this guy. As you can imagine he never pitched in the Majors. 8. Dodgers - Dan Opperman, Pitcher, High School Another guy where it is almost like he never exsisted. He apparently blew out his arm very early into is pro career. 9. Royals - Kevin Appier, Pitcher, High School Excellent pitcher during his early to mid-20's with the Royals and I think was bit overlooked during his peak. Pitched reguarly into his mid-30's but was not particularly effective after age 29. 10. Padres - Kevin Garner, Pitcher/Outfielder, Texas All I found out is he became a first baseman and was traded in 1991 with Joey Cora to the White Sox. Never sniffed the Majors. 11. Athletics - Lee Tinsley, Outfielder, High School Never played for the A's and didn't make is MLB debut until 1993 with Seattle spending the majority of his brief career as a 4th or 5th outfielder. 12. Expos - Delino DeShields, Shortstop/Second Baseman, High School A speedy, decent hitting, but poor fielding second baseman who spent 13 seasons in the Majors. Probably best remembered though for being the guy the Dodgers traded Pedro Martinez for. 13. Brewers - Bill Spiers, Shortstop, Clemson 13 years in the Majors mainly as a utility infielder. 14. Cardinals - Cris Carpenter, Pitcher, Georgia No this is not Chris Carpenter. This Cris Carpenter pitched eight years in Majors primarily as a reliever. 15. Orioles - Brad DuVall, Pitcher, Virginia Tech Chose to return to school the next year but didn't help his stock as he dropped to 23rd overall to St. Louis in the '88 draft and would never reach the Majors. 16. Giants - Mike Remlinger, Pitcher, Dartmouth Only pitched 123 2/3 innings in the Majors thru 1996 he wouldn't have any real success until age 33 as a middle reliever with the Braves and was able to hang around until last year. 17. Blue Jays - Alex Sanchez, Pitcher, UCLA Spent 18 days in the Majors in 1989: 11 2/3 IP, 16 H, 13 ER, 14 BB, 4 SO. Ouch. 18. Reds - Jack Armstrong, Pitcher, Oklahoma Has to be one of the most obscure pitchers ever to start an All-Star Game doing so in 1990 but he'd collapse in the second half that year, would be left out of the Reds postseason rotation and really was never good again. 19. Rangers - Brian Bohanon, Pitcher, High School Despite 5.19 career ERA still threw over 1000 innings in the Majors which again proves if you have a son who is left handed you better make him learn how to pitch. 20. Tigers - Bill Henderson, Catcher, High School Another almost non-exsistant player. 21. Tigers - Steve Pegues, Outfielder, High School Well at least one of the Tigers back-to-back picks made it to the Majors but Pegues didn't do it until 1994 with the Reds and played a total of 100 games in the Majors. 22. Astros - Craig Biggio, Catcher, Seton Hall Okay he is washed up now and is just barely hanging by a thread to get to 3000 hits but he's had a remarkable career and doesn't need to get 3000 to be a lock for the Hall of Fame. 23. Rangers - Bill Haselman, Catcher, UCLA Career back up catcher who played 13 years in the Majors. 24. Mets - Chris Donnels, Third Baseman, Loyola Marymount Non-descript career in the Majors, played four years in Japan from 1996-1999. 25. Angels - John Orton, Catcher, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Damn teams sure were in desperate need of catchers in 1987. In 448 plate apperances in the Majors he hit .200/.265/.274. 26. Red Sox - Reggie Harris, Pitcher, High School Had a five year gap between apperances in the Majors between 1991 and 1996, only threw 121 career innings. Other Picks of Note 2nd Round, Blue Jays - Derek Bell 2nd Round, Indians - Albert Belle 2nd Round, Mariners - Dave Burba 2nd Round, Mets - Todd Hundley 2nd Round, Yankees - Pete Schourek 3rd Round, Cardinals - Ray Lankford 3rd Round, Brewers - Jaime Navarro 5th Round, Blue Jays - Mike Timlin 6th Round, Dodgers - Darrin Fletcher 6th Round, Padres - Dave Hollins 7th Round, Twins - Mark Guthrie 7th Round, Pirates - Mickey Morandini 7th Round, Reds - Reggie Sanders 11th Round, Orioles - Mike Mussina (did not sign) 13th Round, Orioles - Steve Finley 13th Round, Braves - Mike Stanton 18th Round, Orioles - David Segui 20th Round, Athletics - Scott Brosius 24th Round, Brewers - Jeromy Burnitz (did not sign) 26th Round, Yankees - Dan Wilson (did not sign) 28th Round, Twins - Bret Boone (did not sign) 30th Round, Astros - Darryl Kile 32nd Round, Rangers - Robb Nen 34th Round, Astros - Scott Erickson (did not sign) 37th Round, Cubs - Jeff Cirillo (did not sign) 45th Round, Blue Jays - Darren Lewis (did not sign) 48th Round, Yankees - Brad Ausmus 58th Round, Royals - Jeff Conine

I've been lazy with this blog for a few months now so no surprise I'm only getting around to second Draftback before the draft. Decided might as well do one from 10 years ago with the 1997 Draft and it is interesting to look at because one first rounder is in jail and another is dead. Can't beat that combo. 1. St. Louis - Orlando Pace, T, Ohio State Not always glamerous to pick a lineman with the first pick overall but hard to argue with the Rams choice here. Selected to seven Pro Bowls. 2. Oakland - Darrell Russell, DT, USC Lived up to the hype his first few years in the league but drug problems would derail his career among various other issues. Out of the league by 2004 and out of this life by 2005 when he was killed in a car accident. 3. Seattle - Shawn Springs, CB, Ohio State Very good corner all be it a bit inconsistent at times during his career. 4. Baltimore - Peter Boulware, LB, Florida State Would win Defensive Rookie of the Year and was selected to three Pro Bowls. 5. Detroit - Bryant Westbrook, CB, Texas Not a total bust but pretty close to one considering he was a Top 5 pick. 6. Seattle - Walter Jones, T, Florida State A complete bitch when it comes to contracts but he gets the job done. Six Pro Bowl selections. 7. N.Y. Giants - Ike Hilliard, WR, Florida Okay receiver but when you take a receiver this high you'd hope they'd have at least one 1000 yard season and Hilliard has had none. 8. N.Y. Jets - James Farrior, LB, Virginia The Jets had the #1 pick but they traded down. Farrior was considered a bit of a dissapointment while with the Jets but excelled with the Steelers. 9. Arizona - Tom Knight, CB, Iowa It's the Cardinals, so really what did you expect? Three interceptions in his career. 10. New Orleans - Chris Naeole, G, Colorado Big risk taking a guard this high but Naeole has been a solid player. 11. Atlanta - Michael Booker, CB, Nebraska Not very good at all. 12. Tampa Bay - Warrick Dunn, RB, Florida State Has a chance to pass the 10,000 yard mark in rushing this year and one of the true good guys in the NFL. 13. Kansas City - Tony Gonzalez, TE, California Likley on his way to the Hall of Fame but he went to Cal so fuck him. 14. Cincinnati - Reinard Wilson, DE, Florida State Well I guess on the plus side Wilson wasn't horrible like most Bengals' 90's first round picks but still not anything to get excited about. 15. Miami - Yatil Green, WR, Miami Tore his ACL on literally the first day of training camp and never fully recovered. Only played one season in 1999. 16. Tampa Bay - Reidel Anthony, WR, Florida I thought he'd be awesome. I was wrong. 17. Washington - Kenard Lang, DE, Miami Average at best. 18. Tennessee - Kenny Holmes, DE, Miami Another unspectacular Miami end. 19. Indianapolis - Tarik Glenn, T, California Has developed into a very good tackle and selected to the last three Pro Bowls. But another Cal product, bleh. 20. Minnesota - Dwayne Rudd, LB, Alabama A complete beast at Alabama...not so much in the NFL. Best known for his helmet tossing incident in 2002 that cost the Browns a game. 21. Jacksonville - Renaldo Wynn, DE, Notre Dame Mediocre. 22. Dallas - David LaFleur, TE, LSU LaSucked. 23. Buffalo - Antowain Smith, RB, Houston Decent although he has to be one of the worst backs ever to have two 1,000 yard seasons. 24. Pittsburgh - Chad Scott, CB, Maryland Has been a solid DB. 25. Philadelphia - Jon Harris, DE, Virginia Two years. Two sacks. Bust. 26. San Francisco - Jim Druckenmiller, QB, Virginia Tech Jesus tap dancing Christ, I had blocked this pick out of my memory. Horrible. Seriously do not know what the fuck they were thinking here especially with Jake Plummer on the board who seemed like a pefect fit for the 49ers offense at the time. 27. Carolina - Rae Carruth, WR, Colorado Yessss it's everyone's favorite hiring a guy to kill your pregnent girlfriend and get found hiding in the trunk of your car wide receiver. Complete disphit. 28. Denver - Trevor Pryce, DE, Clemson The string of mediocre ends, um, ends here. Four time Pro Bowl selection. 29. New England - Chris Canty, CB, Kansas State Lasted four years and no one really noticed. 30. Green Bay - Ross Verba, G, Iowa I just like the Deadspin entry on him. Other Players of Note 34. Baltimore - Jamie Sharper, LB, Virginia 36. N.Y. Giants - Tiki Barber, RB, Virginia 42. Arizona - Jake Plummer, QB, Arizona State 43. Cincinnati - Corey Dillon, RB, Washington 44. Miami - Sam Madison, CB, Louisville 52. Buffalo - Marcellus Wiley, DE, Columbia 60. Green Bay - Darren Sharper, S, William & Mary 65. Dallas - Dexter Coakley, LB, Appalachian State 66. Tampa Bay - Ronde Barber, CB, Virginia 69. Chicago - Bob Sapp, G, Washington 71. Philadelphia - Duce Staley, RB, South Carolina 73. Miami - Jason Taylor, DE, Akron 91. Pittsburgh - Mike Vrabel, LB, Ohio State 98. Tennessee - Derrick Mason, WR, Michigan State 108. Chicago - Marcus Robinson, WR, South Carolina 229. N.Y. Jets - Jason Ferguson, DT, Georgia

Oh it's the time of year again where idiots like me waste an entire weekend watching the most boring possible thing to watch in sports, the NFL Draft, but for someone reason we just can't turn away. So in honor of this I'll do what I did last year and take a look back at the 1st Rounds of a few drafts of the past providing zero analysis and bad jokes. Here were the ones I did last year: 1990 1993 1983 1995 This year I picked 1986 to start as the #1 pick didn't even sign and it was quite the draft for my 49ers but they had no 1st round pick so I won't be talking about it. 1. Tampa Bay - Bo Jackson, RB, Auburn No we are well aware that it is not unheard of for #1 picks to whine their way into the trade like John Elway and Eli Manning but for one to not sign at all? Only the 80's Bucs could have pulled off such a feat. Jackson decided he'd rather play baseball for the Royals, who weren't a joke back then, than for the sorry Bucs. The Raiders would then steal him in the 7th round the following year where he'd play partial seasons for them for four years before suffering a career ending hip injury in the playoffs following the 1990 season. 2. Atlanta - Tony Casillas, DT, Oklahoma Solid but never a standout player for 12 years, best known for winning two Super Bowls with the Cowboys. 3. Houston - Jim Everett, QB, Purdue Always seemed like an odd pick as Houston of course already had Warren Moon, Everett never signed and his rights were eventually traded to the Rams. Dubbed the "Quarterback of the 90's", no I'm not making that up, after two very good years in 1988 & 1989 but a complete ass beating at the hands of the 49ers in the '89 NFC Championship Game seemed to shake his confidence and he never lived up the hype. 4. Indianapolis - John Hand, DE, Alabama Another solid but unspectacular top 5 pick, had 10 sacks in 1989. 5. St. Louis - Anthony Bell, LB, Michigan State A bad pick by the Cardinals? A shocking development to say the least. 6. New Orleans - Jim Dombrowski, T, Virginia Primarily a guard in the NFL, started every game for the Saints between 1988 and 1995. 7. Kansas City - Brian Jozwiak, T, West Virginia Bust, lasted three years and never made a start. 8. San Diego - Leslie O'Neal, DE, Oklahoma State Would win Defensive Rookie of the Year after registering 12.5 sacks, finished with 132.5 career sacks and was selected to six Pro Bowls. 9. Pittsburgh - John Rienstra, G, Temple "The Raging Rhino" lasted seven years, almost exclusively as a back up. 10. Philadelphia - Keith Byars, RB, Ohio State Made a name for himself as superb receiver out of the backfield, eventually moving to tight end later in his career. Finished with 610 career receptions. 11. Cincinnati - Joe Kelly, LB, Washington Played 11 years but hell if I remember him. I'll just assume announcers always called him "Jim" by accident. 12. Detroit - Chuck Long, QB, Iowa Lions probably should never take a quarterback in the 1st round ever again. Maybe that's why Millen always takes receivers. 64.5 career passing rating. 13. San Diego - James Fitzpatrick, T, USC Chargers didn't fair nearly as well with their second pick of the 1st round. Lasted six years, did nothing of note. 14. Minnesota - Gerald Robinson, DE, Auburn Total non-descript career only playing two years with the Vikings. 15. Seattle - John L. Williams, RB, Florida I guess this was the year for drafting receiving backs as John L. had 546 career receptions and made two Pro Bowls as a fullback. 16. Buffalo - Ronnie Harmon, RB, Iowa Holy crap, had to be more receptions by running backs than any other draft. Harmon had 582 career receptions, better known for his days in San Diego. 17. Atlanta - Tim Green, LB, Syracuse Better known now as an announcer and writing a lot of bad novels. 18. Dallas - Mike Sherrard, WR, UCLA Suffered a badly broken leg in a scrimmage before the 1987 season, he wouldn't play a down again until 1990 making a comeback as third receiver with the 49ers and Giants. 19. N.Y. Giants - Eric Dorsey, DE, Notre Dame 7 sacks in seven years. 20. Buffalo - Will Wolford, T, Vanderbilt Very good tackle for the majority of his 13 years, made three Pro Bowls. 21. Cincinnati - Tim McGee, WR, Tennessee One very good year in 1989, but merely decent the rest. 22. N.Y. Jets - Mike Haight, T, Iowa Haight wasn't even considered a lock to get drafted at all so this was your typical Jets' 1st round pick. Did last 7 years though. 23. L.A. Rams - Mike Schad, T, Queens University That's Queens University in Ontario, Canada and was the first Canadian university player to ever be picked in the 1st round and did nothing to make his country proud after that. 24. L.A. Raiders - Bob Buczkowski, DE, Pittsburgh Who are you to doubt the scouting genius that is Al Davis? Played a total of two games for the Raiders. 25. Tampa Bay - Rod Jones, CB, SMU Hey at least the Bucs signed him. Did play 11 years, mainly as a back up. 26. New England - Reggie Dupard, RB, SMU Hey he's a running back from SMU so he must be another Eric Dickerson! Um, not quite. 704 career rushing yards. 27. Chicago - Neal Anderson, RB, Florida Had the misfortune of having to replace Walter Payton but he did a fairly good job with three straight 1,000 yard years from 1988 to 1990. Other Players of Note 34. Houston - Ernest Givens, WR, Louisville 43. Cleveland - Webster Slaughter, WR, San Diego State 50. L.A. Rams - Tom Newberry, G, Wisconsin-La Crosse 51. N.Y. Giants - Pepper Johnson, LB, Ohio State 56. San Francisco - Tom Rathman, RB, Nebraska 60. New Orleans - Pat Swilling, LB, Georgia Tech 67. Pittsburgh - Bubby Brister, QB, NE Louisiana 76. San Francisco - John Taylor, WR, Delaware State 78. Cincinnati - David Fulcher, S, Arizona State 84. Green Bay - Tim Harris, DE, Memphis State 96. San Fancisco - Charles Haley, DE, James Madison 101. San Francisco - Steve Wallace, T, Auburn 102. San Francisco - Kevin Fagan, DE, Miami 135. Pittsburgh - Brent Jones, TE, Santa Clara 146. Washington - Mark Rypien, QB, Washington State 162. San Francisco - Don Griffin, CB, Middle Tennessee State 208. Philadelphia - Seth Joyner, LB, UTEP 213. Washington - Kurt Gouveia, LB, BYU 233. Philadelphia - Clyde Simmons, DE, Western Carolina 254. St. Louis - Vai Sikahema, KR, BYU

I had almost forgotten that the NBA Draft was only a week away. I used look forward to the draft before ESPN took over coverage of it from TNT. Now in the early days of my blog (waaaaaaaaay back four and a half months ago) I did an entry on the 1989 NBA Draft, ranking the players drafted using the basketball version of win shares. I decided that would be a better way to do a Draftback entry for the NBA rather than the usual listing of the first round making stupid comments. I picked the 1993 draft because it ended up leading to the downfall of the Golden State Warriors franchise, not that they didn’t have the right idea at the time. They of course struck a blockbuster draft day with the Orlando Magic to acquire the draft rights to Chris Webber in exchange for the draft rights for Anfernee Hardaway and three future first round picks. The Warriors would win 50 games in the ’93-’94 season while Webber went on to win the Rookie of the Year. But a feud with head coach Don Nelson would lead to a holdout and then an eventual trade of Webber to Washington that would set the course for 12 years (and going) of futility. So even in a year where the Warriors ended getting arguably the best player to come out of the draft it blew up in their face. 1993 Draft Rankings per Career Win Shares 1. Chris Webber, Orlando/Golden State – 241 Win Shares (1st Pick) 2. Sam Cassell, Houston – 233 (24th) 3. Anfernee Hardaway, Golden State/Orlando – 189 (3rd pick) 4. Nick Van Exel, L.A. Lakers – 169 (37th) 5. Allan Houston, Detroit – 162 (11th) 6. Bryon Russell, Utah – 141 (45th) 7. Vin Baker, Milwaukee – 137 (8th) 8. Shawn Bradley, Philadelphia – 132 (2nd) 9. Jamal Mashburn, Dallas – 127 (4th) 10. Rodney Rogers, Denver – 114 (9th) 11. Ervin Johnson, Seattle – 110 (23rd) 12. Lindsey Hunter, Detroit – 101 (10th) 13. George Lynch, L.A. Lakers – 100 (12th) 14. Chris Mills, Cleveland – 97 (22nd) 15. Lucious Harris, Dallas – 77 (28th) 16. Calbert Cheaney, Washington – 67 (6th) 17. Isaiah Rider, Minnesota – 62 (5th) 18. Chris Whitney, San Antonio – 57 (47th) 19. Corie Blount, Chicago – 56 (25th) 20. Gheorge Muresan, Washington - 50 (30th) 21. Scott Burrell, Charlotte – 45 (20th) 22. Terry Dehere, L.A. Clippers – 21 (13th) 23. James Robinson, Portland – 20 (21st) 24. Rex Walters, New Jersey – 16 (16th) 25. Eric Riley, Dallas – 8 (33rd) 26t. Greg Graham, Charlotte – 6 (17th) 26t. Acie Earl, Boston – 6 (19th) 28. Bobbie Hurley, Sacramento – 7 (7th) 29. Mike Peplowski, Sacramento – 3 (52nd) 30t. Doug Edwards, Atlanta – 2 (15th) 30t. Josh Grant, Denver – 2 (43rd) 32t. Scott Haskin, Indiana – 1 (14th) 32t. Darnell Mee, Golden State – 1 (34th) 32t. Richard Petruska, Houston – 1 (46th) The Zero Club Luther Wright, Utah (18th) Geert Hammink, Orlando (26th) Malcolm Mackey, Phoenix (27th) Evers Burns, Sacramento (31st) Alphonso Ford, Philadelphia (32nd) Ed Stokes, Miami (35th) Rich Manning, Atlanta (40th) Adonis Jordan, Seattle (42nd) Kevin Thompson, Portland (48th) Never Played in the NBA Sherron Mills, Minnesota (29th) John Best, New Jersey (36th) Conrad McRae, Washington (38th) Thomas Hill, Indiana (39th) Anthony Reed, Chicago (41st) Alex Holcombe, Sacramento (44th) Mark Buford, Phoenix (49th) Marcelo Nicola, Houston (50th) Spencer Dunkley, Indiana (51st) Leonard White, L.A. Clippers (53rd) Bryon Wilson, Phoenix (54th) Most Win Shares with the Team they were Drafted by Note: Even though Hardaway wasn’t technically drafted by Orlando since he was acquired in a draft day trade he might as well have been drafted by them. 1. Anfernee Hardaway, 143 2. Bryon Russell, 121 3. Nick Van Exel, 94 4. Lindsey Hunter, 81 (two different stints) 5t. Vin Baker, 68 5t. Chris Mills, 68 7. Gheorge Muresan, 49 8. Calbert Cheaney, 43 9. Sam Cassell, 33 10. Allan Houston, 31

The draft is tommorrow so I've decided just to do a quick list of the top players of each draft from the 1980's per Win Shares with a couple of other things thrown in. Now when putting this together I was quickly skimming over the list of players who played in the Majors from each draft so it's entirely possible I might have missed a key player or two so feel free to point out any omissions. For each year I only take in account players who signed. 1980 Top Pick Overall: Darryl Strawberry, 252 Win Shares, Mets Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #2 Garry Harris, Blue Jays Most Career Win Shares: Strawberry Most Career Win Shares by a Pitcher: Craig Lefferts 91, 9th Round, Cubs Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Eric Davis 224, 8th Round, Reds 1981 Top Pick Overall: Mike Moore, 133 Win Shares, Mariners Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #11 Mike Sodders, Twins Most Career Win Shares: Tony Gwynn 398, 3rd Round, Padres Most Career Win Shares by a Pitcher: David Cone 205, 3rd Round, Royals Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Joe Carter 240, #2 Overall, Indians; Kevin McReynolds 202, #6 Overall, Padres; Paul O'Neill 259, 4th Round, Reds; Devon White 207, 6th Round, Angels; Fred McGriff 326, 9th Round, Yankees; Lenny Dykstra 201, 13th Round, Mets Other Pitchers with 180+ Career Win Shares: Mark Langston 184, 2nd Round, Mariners; Frank Viola 187, 2nd Round, Twins; John Franco 183, 5th Round, Dodgers 1982 Top Pick Overall: Shawon Dunston, 151 Win Shares, Cubs Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #2 Augie Schmidt, Blue Jays Most Career Win Shares: Jose Canseco 272, 15th Round, A's Most Career Win Shares by a Pitcher: David Wells 203, 2nd Round, Blue Jays Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Terry Pendleton 202, 7th Round, Cardinals Other Pitchers with 180+ Career Win Shares: Dwight Gooden 187, #5 Overall, Mets; Jimmy Key 188, 3rd Round, Blue Jays; Bret Saberhagen 193, 19th Round, Royals; Kenny Rogers 185, 39th Round, Rangers 1983 Top Pick Overall: Tim Belcher, 132 Win Shares, Twins (did not sign) Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #5 Stan Hilton, A's Most Career Win Shares: Roger Clemens 421, #19 Overall, Red Sox Most Career Win Shares by a Player: Wally Joyner 253, 3rd Round, Angels Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Ron Gant 206, 4th Round, Braves 1984 Top Pick Overall: Shawn Abner, 13 Win Shares, Mets Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #13 Bob Caffrey, Expos Most Career Win Shares: Greg Maddux 371, 2nd Overall, Cubs Most Career Win Shares by a Player: Mark McGwire 342, #10 Overall, A's Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Jay Bell 245, #8 Overall, Twins; Ken Caminiti 242, 3rd Round, Astros Other Pitchers with 180+ Career Win Shares: Tom Glavine 290, 2nd Round, Braves; Jamie Moyer 184, 6th Round, Cubs 1985 Top Pick Overall: B.J. Surhoff, 231 Win Shares, Brewers Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #5 Kurt Brown, White Sox Most Career Win Shares: Barry Bonds 661, #6 Overall, Pirates Most Career Win Shares by a Pitcher: Randy Johnson 297, 2nd Round, Expos Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Will Clark 331, #2 Overall, Giants; Barry Larkin 347, #4 Overall, Reds; Rafael Palmeiro 394, #22 Overall, Cubs; David Justice 233, 4th Round, Braves; Mark Grace 294, 24th Round, Cubs Other Pitchers with 180+ Career Win Shares: John Smoltz 257, 22nd Round, Tigers 1986 Top Pick Overall: Jeff King, 115 Win Shares, Pirates Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #14 Greg McMurty, Red Sox (did not sign) Most Career Win Shares: Gary Sheffield 398, #6 Overall, Brewers Most Career Win Shares by a Pitcher: Kevin Brown 241, #4 Overall, Rangers Other Players Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Matt Williams 241, #3 Overall, Giants; Todd Zeile 221, 2nd Round, Cardinals 1987 Top Pick Overall: Ken Griffey Jr., 358 Win Shares, Mariners Highets Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #2 Mark Merchant, Pirates Most Career Win Shares: Craig Biggio 411, #22 Overall, Astros Most Career Win Shares by a Pitcher: Kevin Appier 189, #9 Overall, Royals Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Albert Belle 243, 2nd Round, Indians; Ray Lankford 228, 3rd Round, Cardinals; Reggie Sanders 201, 7th Round, Reds; Steve Finley 286, 13th Round, Orioles 1988 Top Pick Overall: Andy Benes, 139 Win Shares, Padres Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #5 Bill Bene, Dodgers Most Career Win Shares: Mike Piazza 309, 62nd Round, Dodgers Most Career Win Shares by a Pitcher: Benes Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Robin Ventura 272, #10 Overall, White Sox; Tino Martinez 216, #14 Overall, Mariners; Marquis Grissom 248, 3rd Round, Expos; Luis Gonzalez 285, 4th Round, Astros; Jim Edmonds 263, 7th Round, Angels; Kenny Lofton 261, 17th Round, Astros 1989 Top Pick Overall: Ben McDonald, 83 Win Shares, Orioles Highest Pick Not to Play in the Majors: #4 Jeff Jackson, Phillies Most Career Win Shares: Jeff Bagwell 387, 4th Round, Red Sox Most Career Win Shares by a Pitcher: Trevor Hoffman 144, 11th Round, Reds Other Players with 200+ Career Win Shares: Frank Thomas 362, #7 Overall, White Sox; Mo Vaughn 201, #23 Overall, Red Sox; Chuck Knoblauch 231, #25 Overall, Twins; John Olerud 301, 3rd Round, Blue Jays; Tim Salmon 228, 3rd Round, Angels; Ryan Klesko 222, 5th Round, Braves; Jim Thome 279, 13th Round, Indians; Brian Giles 228, 17th Round, Indians; Jeff Kent 295, 20th Round, Blue Jays

Next up is 1984 and I selected this particular year as it features easily the worst #1 pick of the 1980's. The Mets had the #1 pick and they wanted to draft Mark McGwire but could not agree on a contract so they settled for this... 1. Mets - Shawn Abner, Outfield, High School Abner never put on a real Mets uniform as he was traded to San Diego after the 1986 season in the Kevin Mitchell/Kevin McReynolds deal. .227/.269/.323 line in 392 ML games with only 13 career Win Shares. 2. Mariners - Bill Swift, Pitcher, Maine Another player involved in a Kevin Mitchell deal, traded to the Giants in a five player deal after the 1991 season. It was in San Francisco where Swift broke out, winning the ERA title in 1992 and winning 21 games in 1993. That was his peak though as he had elbow, shoulder, and other various arm problems through out his career going back to his Seattle days. 3. Cubs - Drew Hall, Pitcher, Morehead State Fewer than 200 IP in the Majors, primarily as a reliever. 4. Indians - Cory Snyder, Shortstop, BYU Could hit for power but had zero plate discipline. In 1987 he stuck out 166 times with only 31 walks. 5. Reds - Pat Pacillo, Pitcher, Seton Hall His 85 walks in 149 innings at Triple-A in 1986 was a bad sign. Only a little over 50 IP in the Majors. 6. Angels - Erik Pappas, Catcher, High School Nice strikeout/walk numbers (53/48) but results weren't pretty when he put it in play in his very short career. But hey he was the MVP of the 2002 European Baseball Championships. 7. Cardinals - Mike Dunne, Pitcher, Bradley I must have had thirty 1988 Topps Mike Dunne cards. Traded to the Pirates in the Andy Van Slyke/Tony Pena deal right before the 1987 season. On the surface had a very impressive rookie year (13-6, 3.03 ERA) but his poor K/BB ratio (72/68) spelled doom for any future success. 8. Twins - Jay Bell, Shortstop, High School Yet another #1 pick traded before they reach the Majors. Traded to Cleveland in 1985 in a deal for Bert Blyleven. Good hitting shortstop who lasted 18 years. 9. Giants - Alan Cockrell, Outfield, Tennessee Didn't make his ML debut until 1996 for a cup of coffee with the Rockies. 10. A's - Mark McGwire, First Base, USC My favorite player of all-time. I want him in the Hall of Fame but under the current circumstances might never get in. 11. Padres - Shane Mack, Outfield, UCLA Very good hitter but only played nine years filled with several nagging injuries. 12. Rangers - Oddibe McDowell, Outfield, Arizona State One of the great first names in baseball history. Already a regular player by 1985 but beyond a decent second year, not much of a career. 13. Expos - Bob Caffrey, Catcher, Cal State Fullerton An Olympian but never a Major Leaguer. 14. Red Sox - John Marzano, Catcher, Temple Believe it or not actually played in 10 different ML seasons but only 301 games played in that span. 15. Pirates - Kevin Andersh, Pitcher, New Mexico I searched his name on Google Groups and there was a total of one entry. 16. Royals - Scott Bankhead, Pitcher, North Carolina One decent year in 1989 but otherwise an erratic career. 17. Astros - Don August, Pitcher, Chapman College Traded for Danny Darwin late in 1986, had a decent rookie year but was a mess after that. 18. Brewers - Isaiah Clark, Shortstop, High School Brother of mid-90's Padres scrub Phil Clark. That's all I got. 19. Braves - Drew Denson, First Base, High School Only 41 career ML at bats. 20. White Sox - Tony Menendez, Pitcher, High School Threw over 1000 innings in the minors, only 29 in the majors. 21. Phillies - Pete Smith, Pitcher, High School Traded to Atlanta after the 1985 season in a deal for Steve Bedrosian, the Braves hot shotted him from Double-A in 1987 which probably doomed his career. Threw almost 200 innings at age 22 in 1988 and it's no shock he had arm problems after that. 22. Yankees - Jeff Pries, Pitcher, UCLA The Yankees first, 1st Round pick since 1979 (kept giving them up for free agent signings) and never made it to the Majors. 23. Dodgers - Dennis Livingston, Pitcher Oklahoma State One of several bad 1st round picks by the Dodgers in the 80's. 24. Giants - Terry Mulholland, Pitcher, Marietta College Hasn't been effective in about seven years but he's left handed so he's still getting a Major League salary at 103 years old. 25. Orioles - John Hoover, Pitcher, Fresno State Pitched just two games in the Majors. 26. White Sox - Tom Hartley, Outfield, High School Never made it. Other Picks of Note 1st Round (Compensatory) Expos - Norm Charlton 2nd Round Braves - Tom Glavine 2nd Round Yankees - Al Leiter 2nd Round Cubs - Greg Maddux 3rd Round Astros - Ken Caminiti 6th Round Cardinals - Lance Johnson 6th Round Cubs - Jamie Moyer 12th Ruond Mets - John Wetteland (did not sign) 13th Round Expos - Jeff Brantley (did not sign) 14th Round Brewers - John Jaha 15th Round Angels - Chuck Finley 17th Round Angels - Dante Bichette 20th Round Red Sox - Jack McDowell (did not sign)

MLB Draft is a couple of weeks away so might as well do some Draftbacks, plus I'm having to wait to do 2006 MVP Watch #2 as Hardball Times doesn't have update Win Shares yet. I picked the 1990 draft because it is an infamous draft for the Oakland A's. They had 4 of the first 36 picks and took four pitchers who would were dubbed the "Four Aces." Those four pitchers were Todd Van Poppel, Don Peters, Dave Zancanaro, and Kirk Dressendorfer. Um ya, they didn't quite live up the hype. 1. Braves - Chipper Jones, Shorstop, High School Braves certainly can't complain about how this worked out. Has put up a .303/.401/.538 line thru 2005 and won an MVP in 1999. If he can manage to put up a few more good years he may have a case for the Hall of Fame. 2. Tigers - Tony Clark, Outfield, High School Of course converted to first base has to put together an okay career that peaked early from the ages of 25 to 27. Seemed finished a couple of years ago until having a great year out of no where last season. 3. Phillies - Mike Lieberthal, Catcher, High School Decent career and any franchise has to be happy if they get over 12 years in the Majors out of a catching prospect. 4. White Sox - Alex Fernandez, Pitcher, High School Pretty good pitcher who's career was cut short by shoulder problems. 5. Pirates - Kurt Miller, Pitcher, High School Our first bust and it's baseball so there will be plenty more. Was never effective above Double-A but still some how made it to the Majors as a member of the Marlins. 7.48 ERA in 80 2/3 innings in the Majors. 6. Mariners - Marc Newfield, First Base, High School Outside of a decent 1996 season was never a factor in the Majors. Twice traded with Ron Villone. 7. Reds - Dan Wilson, Catcher, Minnesota Another decent career out of a catcher here although it came with the Mariners as the Reds traded him after the 1993 season with Bobby Ayala for Bret Boone and Erik Hanson. 8. Indians - Tim Costo, Shortstop, Iowa Traded to the Reds in 1991, only played 43 games in the Majors. 9. Dodgers - Ron Walden, Pitcher, High School First player on the board who never made it to the Majors. 10. Yankees - Carl Everett, Outfield, High School Put together a pretty good career filled temper tantrums and disbelief of dinosaurs. Never played for the Yankees as the Marlins picked him up in the '92 expansion draft. 11. Expos - Darrell Andrews, Shortstop/Pitcher, High School Could go both ways apparantly but not to the Majors. 12. Twins - Todd Ritchie, Pitcher, High School Oddly enough his best year in professional baseball came in the Majors with the Pirates in 1999 when he went 15-9 with a 3.49 ERA. Lousy at pretty much any other point. 13. Cardinals - Donovan Osborne, Pitcher, UNLV Moderatley effective pitcher early in his career but injuries pretty much shut him down by age 28 although has made a couple of comebacks including with the Yankees last season. 14. A's - Todd Van Poppel, Pitcher, High School Ahhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooooooooooo. Would have gone much higher in the draft but teams were worried he'd enroll at Texas but ended up signing with the A's which ended up being the wrong choice for both parties. 15. Giants - Adam Hyzdu, Outfield, High School 254 career homeruns in the minors, 14 in the majors. 16. Rangers - Daniel Smith, Pitcher, Creighton Just 29 innings pitched in the Majors. 17. Mets - Jeromy Burnitz, Outfield, Oklahoma State I suppose he's a journeyman power hitter? Over 300 career homeruns with seven teams. 18. Cardinals - Aaron Holbert, Shortstop, High School Career minor leaguer who had only three at bats in the Majors until last season when he appeared in 22 games for the Reds. 19. Giants - Eric Christopherson, Catcher, San Diego State Probably wished they drafted the next guy. 20. Orioles - Mike Mussina, Pitcher, Stanford Very consistent, good pitcher through most of his career and some would argue he may have a case for the Hall of Fame, although I wouldn't be one of them. 21. Astros - Tom Nevers, Shortstop, High School Whole career spent in the minors, mostly at Double-A. 22. Blue Jays - Steve Karsay, Pitcher, High School Once traded for Rickey Henderson, injuries prevented from ever making it as a starter but resurrected his career in 1998 as a reliever after the A's traded him to the Indians for Mike Fetters. D'oh. 23. Cubs - Lance Dickson, Pitcher, Arizona Debuted just two months after he was drafted making three starts and then never returned to the Majors. 24. Expos - Rondell White, Outfield, High School Never lived up to the hype but has put together a pretty good career. 25. Padres - Robbie Beckett, Pitcher, High School 6.09 career ERA in the minors yet he still got a couple of cups of coffee with the Rockies. 26. A's - Don Peters, Pitcher, St. Francis Not even close. FOUR ACES! Other Picks of Note 2nd Round, White Sox - Bob Wickman 4th Round, Angels - Garret Anderson 5th Round, Mariners - Bret Boone 6th Round, Mariners - Mike Hampton 6th Round, Angels - Troy Percival 7th Round, Indians - David Bell 9th Round, Mets - Fernando Vina 10th Round, Rangers - Rusty Greer 11th Round, Mets - Darren Dreifort (did not sign) 21st Round, Twins - Eddie Guardado 22nd Round, Yankees - Andy Pettitte 24th Round, Yankees - Jorge Posada

Before I go into the draftback with the current state of ESPN Classic, why not have a marathon of old drafts? Just edit down the first round of each draft to two hour blocks as I think it would be mildly interesting to see how each player was evaluated as they were drafted. It certainly can't be any less interesting than "classic" pool. What exactly constitutes classic pool anyways? Maybe a match where at the end a guy breaks his pool cue over the guy's head or any match with that hot asian chick. My guess though is that ESPN might not want to air those old drafts and show that Mel Kiper Jr. is really no better than your average draft prognosticater at predicting future success. Anyways just picked the '95 Draft at random and it features quite a few busts starting at #1. 1. Cincinnati - Ki-Jana Carter, RB, Penn State Hands down, the #1 rated player in the draft, can't miss, guarenteed star. But he injured his knee in the preseason and that pretty much doomed him for the rest of his career. 2. Jacksonville - Tony Boselli, T, USC Had the potential to be a future HOF but injuries plus a botched shoulder surgery ended his career early. Selected to five Pro Bowls. 3. Houston - Steve McNair, QB, Alcorn State Has put together a pretty good career and nearly won a Super Bowl. Injuries have slowed him down in recent years. 4. Washington - Michael Westbrook, WR, Colorado Big debate over who was the top receiver going into the draft, Westbrook or J.J. Stokes. Did it really matter in the end? One good season and that's about it. 5. Carolina - Kerry Collins, QB, Penn State Ocassinally has his moments but overall a dissapointing career. But hey he can drink any player in the league under the table. 6. St. Louis - Kevin Carter, DE, Florida Decent career, led the league with 17 sacks in 1999. 7. Philadelphia - Mike Mamula, DE, Boston College Probably the poster child for workout wonders who shoot up the draft board but then don't produce on the field. Played only five seasons. 8. Seattle - Joey Galloway, WR, Ohio State Although was highly rated, Seattle was crticized for taking him over Stokes. Has had to battle some injuries over the years but overall a fairly productive career. 9. N.Y. Jets - Kyle Brady, TE, Penn State This pick was of course a classic televised draft moment as every Jet fan in the audience wanted them to pick Warren Sapp and they were none too pleased when Brady's name was announced. Not bad numbers for a tight end but certainly not worth a Top 10 pick. 10. San Francisco - J.J. Stokes, WR, UCLA This was a pretty big deal at the time as the defending champs traded up to get the next Jerry Rice. So much for that. Never cracked 800 yards in a single season. 11. Minnesota - Derrick Alexander, DE, Florida State Another team that passed on Sapp. Five seasons. 20 sacks. Bust. 12. Tampa Bay - Warren Sapp, DT, Miami A positive drug test for marijuana (OMG, professional athletes smoke weed? No way!) dropped him in the draft and Tampa ended being the benefactor. Very good career, although massively overrated in recent years. 13. New Orelans - Mark Fields, LB, Washington State Pretty good career. 14. Buffalo - Ruben Brown, G, Pittsburgh Good pick, eight time Pro Bowl selection. 15. Indianapolis - Ellis Johnson, DT, Florida Solid career. 16. Philadelphia - Hugh Douglas, DE, Central State I suppose the Eagles wanted to make sure they got one good end out of this first round. Selected to three Pro Bowls. 17. N.Y. Giants - Tryone Wheatley, RB, Michigan Kiper had a big hard on for Wheatley but only put together one good season. 18. Oakland - Napolean Kaufman, RB, Washington Most felt the Raiders were reaching here. Not a workhorse by any means but when he touched the ball he could make big plays. Retired early to became a pastor. Loser. 19. Jacksonville - James Stewart, RB, Tennessee Decent back when healthy. 20. Detroit - Luther Elliss, DE, Utah Merely adequate. 21. Chicago - Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado Think Ricky Williams without the talent. A Heimsan Trophy bust? Never saw it coming. 22. Carolina - Tyrone Poole, CB, Fort Valley State Just an average corner. 23. New England - Ty Law, CB, Michigan Maybe a tad overrated but not too shabby of a pick here. Selected to four Pro Bowls. 24. Minnesota - Korey Stringer, T, Ohio State We know what happened here. 25. Miami - Billy Milner, T, Houston Shitty. Where else can you get in depth analysis like that? 26. Atlanta - Devin Bush, S, Florida State Unspectacular. 27. Pittsburgh - Mark Bruener, TE, Washington Very few catches but made his mark as a good blocking tight end. 28. Tampa Bay - Derrick Brooks, LB, Florida State Wow, what a first round by the Bucs. Potential future Hall of Famer. 29. Carolina - Blake Brockermeyer, T, Texas Decent and had a great lineman name. 30. Cleveland - Craig Powell, LB, Ohio State Played a whole three games with the Browns. 31. Kansas City - Trezelle Jenkins, T, Michigan Nine games in three years. Yikes. 32. Green Bay - Craig Newsome, CB, Arizona State Showed a lot of promise when his career started but a knee injury did him in. Other Players of Note 37. Washington - Cory Raymer, C, Wisconsin 38. St. Louis - Zach Wiegert, T, Nebraska 47. Arizona - Frank Sanders, WR, Auburn 48. Indianapolis - Ken Dilger, TE, Illinois 50. Philadelphia - Bobby Taylor, CB, Notre Dame 60. Pittsburgh - Kordell Stewart, QB, Colorado 74. New England - Curtis Martin, RB, Pittsburgh 79. Indianapolis - Zack Crockett, FB, Florida State 90. Green Bay - Antonio Freeman, WR, Virginia Tech 132. Carolina - Frank Garcia, G, Washington 181. Atlanta - Travis Hall, DT, BYU 192. Detroit - Cory Schlesinger, FB, Nebraska 196. Denver - Terrell Davis, RB, Georgia 206. N.Y. Giants - Charles Way, FB, Virginia 230. Green Bay - Adam Timmerman, G, South Dakota State

Vern asked for it so here it is. All the attention goes to the quarterbacks in the draft but there are some pretty impressive players at other positions that came out of this draft. This draft did live up to the hype. 1. Baltimore - John Elway, QB, Stanford Right FBI Agent: Don't worry Mrs. Simpson we've helped hundreds of people in danger. We'll give you a new name, a new job, new identity. Homer: (Raising hand) Oooh, I want to be John Elway! (Homer starts day dreaming about being John Elway. The ball is snapped to Homer and he dives over the pile into the endzone.) Announcer: Elway takes the snap and runs it in for a touchdown! Thanks to Elway's Patanent last second magic the final score of Super Bowl XXX is Denver 7, San Francisco 56. Homer:(Back to reality) Woo Hoo! 2. L.A. Rams - Eric Dickerson, RB, SMU Probably due to his numerous contract holdouts Dickerson gets left out a lot now when talking about the greatest running back of all-time but he deserves consideration. How about that the #1 and #2 picks lived up to the hype? Doesn't happen very often. 3. Seattle - Curt Warner, RB, Penn State A Penn State running back who wasn't a bust, strange. Had two 1400+ yards seasons. 4. Denver - Chris Hinton, T, Northwestern Obviously didn't stay in Denver as he was traded to Baltimore in the Elway trade. Seven time Pro Bowl selection. 5. San Diego - Billy Ray Smith, LB, Arkansas Took us to the 5th pick to find a non-Pro Bowl player but Smith was decent. Now an awful analyst on FSN's college football show that no one watches. 6. Chicago - Jimbo Covert, T, Pittsburgh Certainly sounded like an offensive lineman. Two Pro Bowl selections. 7. Kansas City - Todd Blackledge, QB, Penn State First true bust of the draft and it's fitting he was the one true bust of the famous quarterback class. 8. Philadelphia - Michael Haddix, RB, Mississippi State Now we're getting some busts. Career high in rushing yards was 311. 9. Houston - Bruce Matthews, G, USC Simply one of the greatest offensive lineman ever. Selected to 14 Pro Bowls. 10. N.Y. Giants - Terry Kinard, S, Clemson Decent, 31 career interceptions. 11. Green Bay - Tim Lewis, CB, Pittsburgh Had 12 interceptions in his first two years but a neck injury forced him into early retirement in 1986. 12. Buffalo - Tony Hunter, TE, Notre Dame Only lasted four years. 13. Detroit - James Jones, RB, Florida Hung around for a while but never cracked 1000 yards and only 3.6 career ypc. 14. Buffalo - Jim Kelly, QB, Miami Didn't join the Bills until 1986 as he spent three years in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002. 15. New England - Tony Eason, QB, Illinois You'll get differing opinions on whether Eason was a bust or not though he had a couple of good years but flamed out pretty quick. 16. Atlanta - Mike Pitts, DE, Alabama Played 12 years despite not being all that good. 17. St. Louis - Leonard Smith, DB, McNeese State Lasted nine seasons. 18. Chicago - Willie Gault, WR, Tennessee Never really broke out as a star but was a big time deep threat. 19. Minnesota - Joey Browner, S, USC 37 career interceptions, six Pro Bowls. 20. San Diego - Gary Anderson, RB, Arkansas Solid all-purpose back who had almost as many receiving yards as rushing. 21. Pittsburgh - Gabriel Rivera, DT, Texas Tech Paralyzed in an accident while driving drunk during his rookie year. Take a bow loser. 22. San Diego - Gill Byrd, CB, San Jose State Holds franchise record for interceptions with 42. 23. Dallas - Jim Jeffcoat, DE, Arizona State Never a star but lasted 15 seasons and had 102 career sacks. 24. N.Y. Jets - Ken O'Brien, QB, UC Davis I don't believe in '83 the draft had an audience yet but it would have been pretty fun to have seen Jets' fans react to them drafting a QB from UC Davis. Selected to two Pro Bowls. 25. Cincinnati - Dave Rimington, C, Nebraska Unspectacular seven year career. 26. L.A. Raiders - Don Mosebar, T, USC Played every o-line position in his 12 year career. 27. Miami - Dan Marino, QB, Pittsburgh Who? 28. Washington - Darrell Green, CB, Texas A&I Another all-time great to close out the first round. Other Players of Note 32. L.A. Rams - Henry Ellard, WR, Fresno State 37. N.Y. Giants - Leonard Marshall, DT, LSU 39. Buffalo - Darryl Talley, LB, West Virginia 49. San Francisco - Roger Craig, RB, Nebraska 61. Kansas City - Albert Lewis, CB, Grambling 64. Chicago - Dave Duerson, S, Notre Dame 84. Washington - Charles Mann, DE, Nevada 110. L.A. Raiders - Greg Townsend, DE, TCU 167. Miami - Reggie Roby, P, Iowa 203. Chicago - Richard Dent, DE, Tennessee State 223. Miami - Mark Clayton, WR, Louisville 276. Cincinnati - Tim Krumrie, DT, Wisconsin 289. San Francisco - Jesse Sapolu, C, Hawaii 310. Denver - Karl Mecklenburg, LB, Minnesota 334. Miami - Anthony Carter, WR, Michigan

Took a different rout with the next Draftback by just focusing on the top quarterbacks to come out of each draft with brief comments on each class. 1980 Good depth but not one star came out of this class. Marc Wilson only had one year as a starter that he threw more touchdowns than interceptions. Mark Malone had to follow Terry Bradshaw and he was just awful. David Woodley had his 15 minutes of fame when he started Super Bowl XVII but he was not a good quarterback and only lasted until 1985, although as an 8th round pick you’d have to consider him a good value pick. Gary Hogeboom now of course now best know for being a contestant on Survivor. Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Marc Wilson, 15th overall by L.A. Raiders, BYU, 14391 yards 2. Erik Hipple, 85th overall by Detroit, Utah State, 10711 yards 3. Mark Malone, 28th overall by Pittsburgh, Arizona State, 10175 yards 4. Gary Hogeboom, 133rd overall by Dallas, Central Michigan, 9436 yards 5. David Woodley, 214th pick by Miami, LSU, 8558 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Gene Bradley, 37th overall by Buffalo, Arkansas State 1981 Very little depth although did produce two pretty good quarterbacks from small schools in Neil Lomax and Wade Wilson. Rich Campbell was selected 6th overall by the Packers in one of the all-time draft blunders as he threw just 68 passes in the NFL. They passed on Ronnie Lott to pick Campbell. Whoops! Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Neil Lomax, 33rd overall by St. Louis, Portland State, 22771 yards 2. Wade Wilson, 210th overall by Minnesota, East Texas State, 17283 yards 3. Dave Wilson, Supplemental pick by New Orleans, Illinois, 6987 yards 4. Mark Herrmann, 98th overall by Denver, Purdue, 4015 yards 5. Bob Gagliano, 319th overall by Kansas City, Utah State, 3431 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Brad Wright, 96th overall by Miami, New Mexico 1982 Basically just Jim McMahon and a whole lot of nothing. Mike Pagel hung around for a long time as a back up. Does feature one of the greatest busts in sports history as the Colts drafted Art Schlichter as the 4th pick overall who’s career would derail very quickly due to the fact that he was a degenerate gambler. Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Jim McMahon, 5th overall by Chicago, BYU, 18148 yards 2. Mike Pagel, 84th overall by Baltimore, Arizona State, 9414 yards 3. Oliver Luck, 44th overall by Houston, West Virginia, 2544 yards 4. Matt Kofler, 48th overall by Buffalo, San Diego State, 1156 yards 5. Art Schlichter, 4th overall by Baltimore, Ohio State, 1006 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Mike Kelley, 149th overall by Atlanta, Georgia Tech 1983 This draft doesn’t need introduction as it produced three Hall of Famers. Todd Blackledge was the one true bust of this famous 1st round and it’s amazing that he went so high. Bad luck back-to-back years for the Colts as we all know Elway was drafted #1 by them but whined his way into a trade. Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Dan Marino, 27th overall by Miami, Pittsburgh, 61361 yards 2. John Elway, 1st overall by Baltimore, Stanford, 51475 yards 3. Jim Kelly, 14th overall by Buffalo, Miami, 35467 yards 4. Ken O’Brien, 24th overall by N.Y. Jets, UC Davis, 25094 yards 5. Tony Eason, 15th overall by New England, Illinois, 11142 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Jeff Christensen, 137th overall by Cincinnati, Eastern Illinois 1984 No first round quarterback in this draft but it did produce decent depth with one standout in Boomer Esiason and a Super Bowl winner in Jeff Hostetler. I don’t know how Jay Schroeder ended up with 20,000+ yards passing. Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Boomer Esiason, 38th overall by Cincinnati, Maryland, 37920 yards 2. Jay Schroeder, 83rd overall by Washington, UCLA, 20063 yards 3. Jeff Hostetler, 59th overall by N.Y. Giants, West Virginia, 16430 yards 4. Randy Wright, 153rd overall by Green Bay, Wisconsin, 7106 yards 5. Steve Pelluer, 113th overall by Dallas, Washington, 6870 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Rick McIvor, 80th overall by St. Louis, Texas 1984 Supplemental The ’84 Supplemental Draft was different from any other as it was to draft the rights to USFL players (those who NFL teams didn’t own the rights to already) and a handful of CFL players. The draft was three rounds with 84 picks. Steve Young was #1 overall and was only one of two quarterbacks from the draft to throw a pass in the NFL. Young had already signed with the Los Angeles Express so he wasn’t eligible for the regular draft. 1. Steve Young, 1st overall by Tampa Bay, BYU, 33124 yards 2. Frank Seurer, 76th overall by Seattle, Kansas, 340 yards 1985 In terms of overall depth there was very little as there was no quarterback picked in the first round and only 11 quarterbacks selected overall, but a very good group of quarterbacks did come out of this draft all with very different career paths. Due to quirk the in the draft rules at the time because he wasn’t a senior Bernie Kosar was able to declare himself eligible after the regular draft and be taken in the supplemental draft so he could play for his hometown Browns. Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Randall Cunningham, 37th overall by Philadelphia, UNLV, 29979 yards 2. Bernie Kosar, Supplemental pick by Cleveland, Miami, 23301 yards 3. Doug Flutie, 285th overall by L.A. Rams, Boston College, 14715 yards 4. Steve Bono, 142nd overall by Minnesota, UCLA, 10439 yards 5. Frank Reich, 57th overall by Buffalo, Maryland, 6075 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Scott Barry, 168th overall by San Francisco, UC Davis 1986 Lots of quarterbacks drafted in the first few rounds but some what of an underwhelming group led by Jim Everett and Mary Rypien. Featured a pretty big bust in Chuck Long. I always hated Bubby Brister. Come on his name was Bubby! Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Jim Everett, 3rd overall by Houston, Purdue, 34837 yards 2. Mark Rypien, 146th overall by Washington, Washington State, 18473 yards 3. Bubby Brister, 67th overall by Pittsburgh, NE Louisiana, 14445 yards 4. Jack Trudeau, 47th overall by Indianapolis, Illinos, 10243 yards 5. Hugh Millen, 71st overall by L.A. Rams, Washington, 6440 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Robbie Bosco, 72nd overall by Green Bay, BYU 1987 Doesn’t the have star power of the ’83 Draft but this was a very deep quarterback class with four first round picks. Just outside the Top 5 in passing yards was Packers quarterback Don Majkowski who had one great season in 1989 but injuries derailed his career. Draft does feature a huge bust in Kelly Stouffer who the Cardinals picked 6th overall. A first round bust by the Cardinals? Go figure. Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Vinny Testaverde, 1st overall by Tampa Bay, Miami, 45252 yards 2. Rich Gannon, 98th overall by New England, Delaware, 28743 yards 3. Jim Harbaugh, 26th overall by Chicago, Michigan, 26288 yards 4. Steve Beurlein, 110th overall by L.A. Raiders, Notre Dame, 24046 yards 5. Chris Miller, 13th overall by Atlanta, Oregon, 19320 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Doug Hudson, 186th overall by Kansas City, Nicholls State 1988 Although it did produce two quarterbacks who started Super Bowls, this was an incredibly weak class with zero depth. No quarterback was taken until the 3rd round when the Cardinals picked Tom Tupa who’s long term future ended being as a punter. Of the 13 qb’s selected, only five threw a pass in the NFL. Did feature two CFL standouts in Danny McManus and Kerwin Bell. Top 5 Passing Yards 1. Chris Chandler, 76th overall by Indianapolis, Washington, 28484 yards 2. Stan Humphries, 159th overall by Washington, NE Louisiana, 17191 yards 3. Tom Tupa, 68th overall by Phoenix, Ohio State, 3430 yards 4. Scott Secules, 151st overall by Dallas, Virginia, 1311 yards 5. Kerwin Bell, 180th overall by Miami, Florida, 75 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Don McPherson, 149th overall by Philadelphia, Syracuse 1989 Pretty much the Troy Aikman class although I suppose Rodney Peete had his moments. Cowboys picked Aikman #1 overall and then took Steve Walsh in the supplemental draft. Many thought Walsh would be better than Aikman. Many of us don’t know anything. 1. Troy Aikman, 1st overall by Dallas, UCLA, 32942 yards 2. Rodney Peete, 141st overall by Detroit, USC, 16338 yards 3. Billy Joe Tolliver, 51st overall by San Diego, Texas Tech, 10760 yards 4. Steve Walsh, Supplemental Pick by Dallas, 7875 yards 5. Timm Rosenbach, Supplemental Pick by Phoenix, Washington State, 3676 yards Highest Pick Not to Throw a Pass: Jeff Graham, 87th overall by Green Bay, Long Beach State

Installment two of my whoever knows how long part series where I give very little insight to past NFL Drafts. The '93 draft had a lot intrigue going as it was your classic draft where the top two picks were expected to be quarterbacks but it was only a question of who the New England Patriots would select, Rick Mirer or Drew Bledsoe, and who the Seattle Seahawks would end up with. 1. New England - Drew Bledsoe, QB, Washington State Okay so he isn't going to be a Hall of Famer but Bledsoe has put together a pretty good career that just peeked early. At least New England did pick the correct quarterback here. 2. Seattle - Rick Mirer, QB, Notre Dame Boy Bill Walsh really took a hit in the "genius" department when he proclaimed Mirer was the next Joe Montana. He had a decent rookie year but it was all downhill from there. 3. Phoenix - Garrison Hearst, RB, Georgia His first four years in the league were plagued with knee injuries and he was looking like a bust but turned his career around in San Francisco. Ended up with just under 8,000 career rushing yards. 4. N.Y. Jets - Marvin Jones, LB, Florida State Jones was probably the #1 rated player going into the draft. Decent player but never became star everyone projected him to be. 5. Cincinnati - John Copeland, DT, Alabama Just decent. 6. Tampa Bay - Eric Curry, DE, Alabama Bust. Only 12 sacks in his seven year career. 7. Chicago - Curtis Conway, WR, USC Decent career. More than 8,000 yards receiving and over 50 touchdowns is nothing to be ashamed of. 8. New Orleans - Willie Roaf, T, Louisiana Tech Arguably has had the best career of any player from this draft and pretty much a lock for the Hall of Fame. 9. Atlanta - Lincoln Kennedy, T, Washington Forgot he played for the Falcons. Was rated even with Roaf going into the draft, obviously didn't have the career of Roaf but was still a pretty good lineman. 10. L.A. Rams - Jerome Bettis, RB, Notre Dame ESPN killed any love I could have for Bettis and they do that for a lot athletes for me. Anyways good pick for the Rams, too bad for them they didn't hang on to him. 11. Denver - Dan Williams, DE, Toledo Workout wonder who moved up the board but was nothing special. Hey that never happens. 12. L.A. Raiders - Patrick Bates, S, Texas A&M Bust. Lasted only three years, left the Raiders before the 1995 season without notice, lots of off the field problems. 13. Houston - Brad Hopkins, T, Illinois Been a rock at tackle for the Oilers/Titans franchise, good pick. 14. Cleveland - Steve Everitt, C, Michigan Pretty good but only lasted seven years. 15. Green Bay - Wayne Simmons, LB, Clemson Showed flashes of brilliance early in his career but never reached his full potential. Was killed in a car accident a few years ago. 16. Indianapolis - Sean Dawkins, WR, California Made a career out of being a second or third option but not what you want out of a 1st round pick. 17. Washington - Tom Carter, CB, Notre Dame Average at best who cashed in on a big money deal with the Bears in 1997 who waived him two years later. 18. Phoenix - Ernest Dye, T, South Carolina Injury riddled, short career that was spent primarily as a back up. 19. Philadelphia - Lester Holmes, G, Jackson State Nothing special, started for three teams. 20. New Orleans - Irv Smith, TE, Notre Dame I don't know why but I always thought he'd up being good. He wasn't. 21. Minnesota - Robert Smith, RB, Ohio State Like Hearst injuries hampered him early in his career but he turned it around. Not your typical pro football personality as he had his best year in 2000 and then promptly retired. 22. San Diego - Darrien Gordon, CB, Stanford Average corner but an excellent punt returner. 23. Pittsburgh - Deon Figures, CB, Colorado Just another average corner. 24. Philadelphia - Leonard Renfro, DT, Colorado Lasted two years, yup that's a bust. 25. Miami - O.J. McDuffie, WR, Penn State Had a few decent years but lacked the size to become a great NFL wideout. 26. San Francisco - Dana Stubblefield, DT, Kansas Maybe remembered more now for being a big contract bust for the Redskins but was a great pick for the 49ers. 27. San Francisco - Todd Kelly, LB, Tennessee I remember my friends all thinking Kelly was going to be great and that we thought Stubblefield was a bad pick. Probably had to do with Kelly having a much easier name to say. Nothing career. 28. Buffalo - Thomas Smith, CB, North Carolina Solid cover corner. 29. Green Bay - George Teague, S, Alabama Decent player who's best known for being the guy who hit Terrell Owens when he posed on the Dallas Cowboys' star. Other Players of Note 37. Cincinnati - Tony McGee, TE, Michigan 40. N.Y. Giants - Michael Strahan, DE, Texas Southern 52. Minnesota - Qadry Ismail, WR, Syracuse 70. Denver - Jason Elam, K, Hawaii 74. Kansas City - Will Shields, G, Nebraska 79. Minnesota - Gilbert Brown, DT, Kansas 82. Tampa Bay - John Lynch, S, Stanford 118. Green Bay - Mark Brunell, QB, Washington 170. Seattle - Michael McCrary, DE, Wake Forest 181. L.A. Raiders - Greg Biekert, LB, Colorado 196. Dallas - Brock Marion, S, Nevada 207. N.Y. Giants - Jesse Armstead, LB, Miami 214. Houston - Blaine Bishop, S, Ball State 219. San Francisco - Elvis Grbac, QB, Michigan 222. San Diego - Trent Green, QB, Indiana

Draftback...ain't I clever? The NFL Draft is later this month and the point of this blog is a lot of nostalgia so might as well look back at some old drafts, plus I've done no football content to this point. Pretty much picked in 1990 at random and because at first glance the 1st round looks rather uninspiring. I will only be looking back at the first round picks as to hell with going over the whole thing. Don't expect any real insight as unlike baseball there isn't much in terms of statisical analyst to do when it comes to football. There is Football Outsiders but their data only goes back five or six years. 1. Indianapolis - Jeff George, QB, Illinois The Colts traded up to make this controversial choice at the time as it surprised many that he left Illinois early and some weren't even sure he was worth a 1st round pick, let alone the #1 choice overall. All things considered George didn't have that bad of a career but his habit of being a jackass kind of always painted him a bad light. Didn't help that he never made it to a Pro Bowl either. 2. N.Y. Jets - Blair Thomas, RB, Penn State An overhyped Penn State running back who is a bust in the NFL? GET OUT! Actually showed signs of being a good NFL back in his rookie year but bad knees did him in. 3. Seattle - Cortez Kennedy, DT, Miami Seven time Pro Bowl selection who would spend his entire 11-year career with the Seahawks. Definently a good pick here. 4. Tampa Bay - Keith McCants, LB, Alabama Was rated #1 overall by many but he was a huge bust. Last I thing heard on him was he stole a car last year. Ya life didn't turn out to well for him. 5. San Diego - Junior Seau, LB, USC No brainer here, 11 Pro Bowl selections and a future spot in Canton. 6. Chicago - Mark Carrier, DB, USC Good NFL career as he burst on the scene his rookie year with a 10 interceptions on his way to Defensive Rookie of the Year. Selected to three Pro Bowls. 7. Detroit - Andre Ware, QB, Houston Hands down the #1 rated QB coming into the draft and everyone thought he'd be star because he was drafted by a team that had the run and shoot offense. Hey how'd that turn out? 8. New England - Chris Singleton, LB, Arizona Lasted seven years...um ya that's all I got. 9. Miami - Richmond Webb, T, Texas A&M Another good pick here, made it to seven Pro Bowls, playing 11 of his 13 years in Miami. 10. New England - Ray Agnew, DE, N.C. State Halfway decent player who hung around forever it seemed. 11. L.A. Raiders - Anthony Smith, DE, Arizona Pass rushing specialist who was an absolute beast his first few years in the league. 12. Cincinnati - James Francis, LB, Baylor Solid player who played nine seasons with the Bengals. 13. Kansas City - Percy Snow, LB, Michigan State The only thing I remember about Snow was I had one of the "behind the scenes" NFL tapes and one segment was on the Chief's war room before the '90 Draft and they were pretty excited about Snow. He ended lasting a whole three years. 14. New Orleans - Renaldo Turnbull, DE, West Virginia Part of those scary good Saints' linebacker cores from the early 90's. Decent career with his best year coming in 1993 when he had 13 sacks. 15. Houston - Lamar Lathon, LB, Houston You can see this was a very deep linebacker draft. Solid career. 16. Buffalo - James Williams, DB, Fresno State With a common name like that you think I'll actually know anything about the guy? 17. Dallas - Emmitt Smith, RB, Florida Safe to say everyone except maybe San Diego regretted not taking him. 18. Green Bay - Tony Bennett, LB, Mississippi Yet another linebacker who had a solid career. 19. Green Bay - Darrell Thompson, RB, Minnesota 1641 yards rushing, 3.5 YPC, 7 career touchdowns, gone after 1994. Ya not a good pick 20. Atlanta - Steve Broussard, RB, Washington State You know it would have been kind of interesting to see what Broussard would have done in a standard offense rather than the run and shoot. Okay maybe not that interesting but might have given a not so non-descript career. 21. Pittsburgh - Eric Green, TE, Liberty Pretty good tight end who made it to two Pro Bowls. 22. Philadelphia - Ben Smith, DB, Georgia Played six years and really who noticed? 23. L.A. Rams - Bern Brostek, C, Washington I don't think I paid as much attention to the NFL as I thought (and I don't pay that much attention today) I did. The guy played for the Rams so being a 49er fan you think I'd remember the guy with them playing each other twice a year but I don't. 24. N.Y Giants - Rodney Hampton, RB, Georgia Good career, had five consecutive 1000 yard seasons from '91 to '95. 25. San Francisco - Dexter Carter, RB, Florida State 49ers had the right idea drafting a running back as they would end up being correct in their concerns about Roger Craig lasting much longer (he didn't) but Carter wasn't the guy to replace him. Actually led the 49ers in rushing his rookie year but that just tells you had bad their running game was.