Not so fast dawg pound, Cleveland 's draft may turn out to be more bark then bite.

Obviously I'm talking about day 1 of the 2007 NFL draft. Incidentally, the longest day 1 in NFL history. (I love football more than anything but even I admit that something must be done about that.

With the 3rd overall pick, Cleveland selected offensive lineman Joe Thomas. Kind of a no brainier but still an excellent pick. That along with the free agent acquisition of Eric Steinbach should solidify the Brown’s O-line for the better part of the next decade. Cleveland also showed great courage and patience, letting Notre Dame Quarterback Brady Quinn free fall to the 22nd pick where they then shrewdly traded up to draft the hometown golden boy. So has Cleveland laid the foundation for a Super Bowl championship?

Ahh, there in lies the rub.

The entire free world saw Quinn’s emotional meltdown as he waited and waited and waited for his name to be called. I can’t help but wonder whether this is really the mental makeup that I would want in someone that’s been selected to lead my team over the next dozen years. Am I being harsh, or overly analytical? Maybe, but this entire process of scouting, evaluating, and selecting future NFL superstars is based in microanalysis. If Brady Quinn decided urinate in a dark alley, there is no doubt in my mind that an NFL scout would leap out from behind a dumpster, tape measure in hand, ready to measure the distance of his stream. Team’s hire private investigators and do extensive background checks, determined to leave no stone unturned in deciding to which player they hand over the reigns to the team, and millions of dollars.

If I were a Brown’s fan I would find Quinn’s lack of poise and dear in the head lights, eyes glazed over look, utterly alarming. If this is how he handles a setback how would I have any confidence in him making the correct decisions, when facing blitzing, blood hungry line backers in the fourth quarter of a playoff game.

In a twist, that would have been comedic if not for the fact that it was underscoring Quinn’s mental collapse, NFL commissioner Roger Goddell himself took pity on the young pivot and ushered him into a private suite in an effort to protect him from the media hoard capturing Quinn’s four hour implosion. When his name was finally called Quinn emerged through the curtains wearing the look of an eight year old girl who had just gotten off of her first roller coaster ride.

Again should I cut Quinn some slack? Would I not react in the same manner or worse, being put in that situation? I can almost guarantee that I would. The difference is, that Quinn has spent the majority of his life training and preparing himself for situations like this, and the fact that he was unable to at least project an aura of calm and confidence makes me question his ability to stand tall in the face of on the field adversity.

In all certainty Joe Thomas will be able to physically protect Quinn on the field, but after Saturday’s events, there aren’t enough All-Pro linemen in football available to protect Quinn’s fragile emotional psyche.

So it would appear that when looking for their franchise Quarterback, Cleveland may indeed be left barking up the wrong tree.

Gotta go, ‘Freddie Got Fingered’ is on.

Ah Yankees fans. I hate to say I told you so – ah what the heck – I TOLD YOU SO!

Man are you going to miss AROD when he’s gone. I do think that I speak for the majority of sports fans when I say that it looks good on you. Oh you did have your chances to welcome him into the Yankee brotherhood, knowing that an secure, wanted, and loved AROD would hang Playstation numbers on the rest of Baseball, but you were determined to heave tremendous amounts of unrealistic pressure upon him, holding him responsible for every Yankee setback, and booing him lustily at every conceivable opportunity.

You felt that Rodriguez’ average of 39 home runs and 119 RBI’s per season over his 1st 3 years in Gotham, and one MVP were simply not enough to meet your ridiculous astronomical expectations. No one is denying that Rodriguez’ post season numbers are mediocre but did any other Yankee tear the cover off the ball during those play off collapses? Yet the blame all somehow fell squarely on arguably, the best player of this generation. By the way, did it ever occur to the Yankee brain trust over the past 3 years to, somewhere along the way acquire a pitcher or two to compliment their always menacing batting line up? Did they really think that the answer to their ever mounting pitching woes, lay in the arms of Esteban Loaiza, Jaret Wright, OR Cory Lidle? (god rest his soul). Yet somehow it was all on AROD.

So isn’t it a fantastic morsel of irony that this season, where it looks like Rodriguez will finally earn his Yankees’ stripes, will be his last season in pinstripes. Sure through his torrid stretch in April, you fans have had the audacity to cheer him and demand curtain calls celebrating his heroics, when for the majority of the past 3 seasons you have berated him at every turn. A lesser man would have refused to acknowledge these gestures and dismissed them you as bandwagon jumpers, but in a true show of class, AROD has absorbed and reciprocated these tributes.

Some times, however, things can’t be taken back and fences cannot be mended. So AROD will undoubtedly opt out of his current contract, leaving behind all of the abuse, and move on, seeking not a financial windfall, but an emotional windfall, a place where he can be content and unconditionally appreciated. Meanwhile, the Yankees will be left with their current pitching concerns but will also have to deal with finding a way to fill a 50 home run, 130 RBI hole in their line up. Then Rodriguez would really be to blame for the demise of the Yankees – Rodriguez’ departure that is.

Gotta go, ‘Riptide’ is on.

Attention to all of you aspiring Hockey coaches, to all of you Hockey Moms and Dads hoping to raise the next Sidney Crosby, Niklas Lidstrom or Martin Brodeur, and to all of you who play the game, dreaming of one day achieving hockey greatness. The best advice that you will ever receive is to procure yourself a video copy of Saturday’s Canadiens / Maple Leafs game, and use it as a ‘how not to play the game’, manual.

Am I being overly harsh? Consider this.

With both clubs literally battling for their play off lives, Saturday’s match up should have been about two teams reaching deep down inside and producing their best hockey of the season. What ensued was a monumental battle of incompetance littered with blunders. A comedy of errors where it appeared that every player involved, buckled under the game’s immense pressure, and forgot every lesson ever learned about playing the game correctly.

I ask again, too rough? Where to begin.

Let’s start with the Christopher Higgins goal. Should a hockey fan feel disgusted at the ease with which Higgins skated past the cement shoed Pavel Kubina, or should he laugh, as I did at the sight of Tomas Kaberle toboganing past Higgins and into the boards. I suppose a little of both is appropriate.

Toronto did persevere however, and forged ahead on a goal by Captain Mats Sundin. Sure he caught a break since it was clearly a pass across that ricocheted off of the Canadiens’ defenseman and in past beleaguered goaltender Cristobal Huet, but a goal is a goal so with that snipe Sundin ties Maple Leaf great Darryl Sittler for most…what…so the puck was actually deflected in by Nikolai Antropov? So Sundin gets the assist? So your team Captain, your undisputed leader and your most talented player ends the season with 1 goal in 20 games. Hmmmm.

Was I the only one who noticed the Leafs fan sitting with his Andrew Raycroft jersey pulled up covering all but the very top of his head. Whether this fan was overcome by the pressure of the situation and could no longer bare to watch, or was simply nauseated with the circus unfolding on the ice and simply chose not to watch is an argument for another time. The fact of the matter is that this fan unknowingly, provided a delicious slice of irony fore being blindfolded or visually impaired would be the only fitting justification of Raycroft’s performance. Michael Ryder would have no trouble living up to expectations if he were able to face ‘The Razor’ every night.

Lets not forget Steve Begin who, with the 2nd period over and his team up 5-4, mistook Kyle Wellwood’s nose for a puck, slashing him in the face, drawing a double minor and opening the door for a Leafs comeback. Smart.

Toronto did come back to defeat the Canadiens, eliminating Montreal from play off contention, and the following Sunday afternoon, a memorable Islanders win snuffed out the Maple Leafs post season aspirations but the bottom line is that neither team was worthy of competing for Lord Stanley’s Chalice. Hockey in 2007 belongs to clubs that place a premium on skill and speed, guided by General Managers who are capable of acquiring missing pieces via trades or signings and are free of multi million dollar albatroses dragging team pay rolls into the abyss, i.e. McCabe, Bryan; Kovalev, Sergei (I honestly thought that he was a healthy scratch until I saw a shot of him with about 4 minutes left).

So the drought continues for the Maple Leafs while the 14 years since Montreal’s last championship represents the franchise’s longest dry spell. Forever rivals and now it appears, forever futile.

Gotta go, ‘Golden Girls’ is on.

The next time you complain about overpaid millionaire athletes, consider the case of New Jersey Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello.

The story begins way back during the 1999-2000 season. With New jersey, on its way to a 103 point season and another play off appearance, Lamoriello, with 8 games left until the play offs, inexplicably fires Devils Head Coach Robbie Ftorek and replaces him with former New Jersey Assistant Larry Robinson. Under Robinson's guidance, the Devils go a lackluster 4-4 and limp into the post season. Then the stars align, 4 leaf clovers spring all about the Brendan Byrne Arena, horseshoes and rabbit's feet are plentiful as New Jersey marches towards their 3rd Stanley Cup title in their history. Obviously, Lamoriello is hailed as a genius.

Fast forward to the present day. In a shocking attempt to once again, catch lightning in a bottle, Lamoriello fires Head Coach Claude Julien with another 100 point season and a play off spot firmly secured, and with just 3 games left.

So, is he a genius or an arrogant lunatic. You decide.

If the Devils add a 4th championship banner to the rafters then clearly, the former will apply. The problem is that in sports, such an unorthodox move rarely pays off, and on the off chance that it does, as it did back in Y2K, the odds of reaping that kind of reward grow even longer. Assuming that the issues leading to Julien's dismissal did not develop over the past several days, little can be gained and everything can be lost with such a bold move. Why risk team chemistry, why risk team cohesion, why risk opening the door to a tsunami of distractions when what the club should be focused on is their upcoming play off run.

Lamoriello will no doubt be given the benefit of the doubt regarding any move that he makes because he rolled the dice and came up sevens in 2000, and because of his deft ability to continuously replenish the Devils' roster with talented players. But in following my gambling analogy, the house eventually wins. So seven years later, the odds are strong that Lamoriello's rolling of the dice comes up snake eyes come May.

Gotta go, 'The Incredible Hulk' is on.