Read and React: What on earth are the Giants doing?
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Happy Friday, Read and Reactors, and thanks for reading! We’re gonna wrap you in a big ol’ bear hug, because you’re always our No. 1 draft pick. Here’s hoping you leap into the weekend with all the joy of former Clemson Tiger and newly-minted Miami Dolphin Christian Wilkins, flying high above.
Hype, hope, but little drama
The NFL draft is underway, and it’ll last right up until kickoff in August. Set this year in Nashville, the draft has turned into a full-scale party, with thousands of rabid fans cramming jersey-to-jersey to watch a man in a suit read names off a card.
But of course the draft isn’t about the now; it’s about the future. It’s about hope, the belief that the dude walking across the stage in a fancy suit this week will be storming across the field in your colors in September. It’s Cardinals fans thinking Kyler Murray will revolutionize the quarterback game, 49ers fans hoping Nick Bosa will lock down their defense for a decade, and Redskins fans hoping Dwayne Haskins will be the answer to their prayers. Hope always sells, and the NFL’s got an endless supply.
Check the pick-by-pick grades right here.
Giants, baby, what are you doing?
Every team’s picks will undergo surgical scrutiny; that’s how these drafts work. But no team’s going to face a harsher glare than the New York Football Giants, who piled odd decision atop odd decision, starting with the choice of Duke QB Daniel Jones. Our Yahoo analysts pegged Jones as the 56th-best prospect in the draft, and yet the Giants took him … sixth, only to watch rival Washington snag higher-rated QB prospect Haskins … nine picks later. Follow that with two more first-round picks, and it’s clear the Giants gambled much of their future on Thursday night.
The draft continues Friday and Saturday. Stay by the phone, because it’s entirely possible the Giants could be calling your name before it’s all over.
NFL: Audio recording reveals ugly side in Tyreek Hill case
Even as the draft put a bright face on the NFL’s future, a leaked audio recording put a stain on its present. A recording between Hill and his fiancee seems to indicate that Hill’s son told police that “Daddy punches me.” No charges have been filed yet against Hill, but this story is nowhere near over.
NBA: Did the Jazz show the NBA how to beat James Harden?
Houston’s James Harden will use any and all means at his disposal, up to and including his butt, to clear out space for his scoring deluges. Granted, Houston knocked off Utah, but did the Jazz give the rest of the NBA a glimpse of how to shut down, or at least slow down, Harden? Perhaps.
GOLF: Pro golfer attempts to hit hole-in-one in 500 shots
The European Tour’s Andy Sullivan got 500 balls to hit an ace at a 171-yard hole. His shots came close, so close, within-inches close … but could he get an ace? Click through and find out, of course!
DAN WETZEL: NCAA corruption is on display, but leaders aren’t bothering to watch
VINCENT GOODWILL: Russell Westbrook just isn’t good enough to lead the Thunder
TIM BROWN: An appreciation of C.C. Sabathia’s remarkable, two-decade-long baseball career
After watching old man Tiger Woods win the Masters, a retired PGA Tour golfer has un-retired.
Eight-time NBA champion John Havlicek has died at 79. Here’s an appreciation of his career.
When even the president hates your draft, you’re in trouble
(Not really. Check the date.)
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