News. Sports. Arts & Entertainment. Politics
Welcome to the 2018 NFL mock draft. Order was based on an amalgam of NFL power rankings from across the internet. If you have issue with the order, well so do many others. That’s what the comments section is for! Just keep it above board and professional in your criticism.
Team needs were not taken into account for the 2018 NFL mock draft as it’s just too early. 2017 NFL Draft picks were mostly not taken into account for our projections.
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(Editor’s note: re-posting from November 18th, 2016, placing this back at the top, in light of the #ImWithKap protests outside of NFL headquarters right now)
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to acknowledge the passing of the phrase “stick to sports.”
It has now passed on into the great abyss.
Of course, to be honest with ourselves, we must first acknowledge
a.) that “stick to sports” only existed as a phrase conveniently leaving off the second, more important, self-defining portion of the expressed sentiment.
b.) that it was impossible for stick to sports to ever really exist in the first place.
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Chad Beebe might be the most compelling player on the 2017 Northern Illinois football team, and for reasons that go well beyond his having a famous father. You know the name Don Beebe, as he the former NFL wide receiver played in six Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers.
Chad Beebe’s dad caught 219 passes for 3,416 yards, rushed for 28 yards, returned 81 kickoffs for 1,735 yards, and scored 25 touchdowns (23 receiving, one kickoff return, and one fumble recovery).
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Julie Johnston became Julie Ertz right before she, along with her husband Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, did the ESPN magazine Body Issue photo shoot. Johnston at the time, and Ertz today said the session helped her become accustomed to life with a new legal name.
“They kept calling me Mrs. Ertz, and that kind of helped me get used to it,” the United States Women’s National Team and Red Stars Defender said Saturday night after Chicago lost 3-2 to the Portland Thorns; the team’s first home setback this season.
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Long-lived is the debate of who is the better NFL starting quarterback: the Atlanta Falcons’ Matt Ryan or the Baltimore Ravens’ Joe Flacco.
Perhaps what helped spark it in the first place is the fact they’re both members of the 2008 draft class – Ryan was taken third, Flacco 18th by their respective current teams.
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Jay Cutler has decided to delay his foray into broadcasting. He was slated to work the week one broadcast of his former team, the Chicago Bears, but it appears that contract to work in the media business has been torn up. Instead, Cutler will be back on the field this fall, agreeing to a contract with the Miami Dolphins.
“Insiders” (whatever the hell that word means these days) from both ESPN and NFL Network just minutes ago tweeted out news of the new deal.
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Former Chicago Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt is a football pundit these days, and his gig requires that he must opine on every team out there. That includes teams with which he has direct first hand, negative experience. Wannstedt replaced Mike Ditka, another Pittsburgh alum, when he took over the Bears job.
The Bears of Dave Wannstedt made only one postseason appearance in 6 years and compiled a 41–57 record. After Wannstedt posted back-to-back 4–12 seasons and a 1–11 overall record against long-time rival, the Green Bay Packers, he was let go.
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From Chicago, the heart of Illini country, it’s the IlliNation Show with Paul M. Banks. Welcome to the third ever episode of the IlliNation show, your home for audio of the biggest and best interviews in all of Illini Nation.
This episode features an exclusive with Dave Wannstedt, who is now an analyst for FOX Sports. Next we have some of the best audio with Lovie Smith at B1G Media Day. (We tried to book Marc Trestman and Dick Jauron too just to complete the theme!)
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A majority of American sports fans may not love Robert Kraft, but they may have to root for him now anyway. At least, if they want the U.S. (along with Mexico and Canada) to land the World Cup in 2026. New England Patriots Owner Bob Kraft may have deplorably awful politics, or at least terrible taste in politicians, but the man certainly dominates the sports executive game.
Since Robert Kraft purchased the New England Patriots in 1994, the club has won more games, playoff games (28), division titles (16), conference titles (8) and Super Bowl championships (5) than any other team in the NFL.
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Sports television networks LOVE to bombard the journalists on their email distribution lists with mass mailings they refer to as “news,” but which are in reality nothing more than product promotion. Ninety-nine point nine percent of these press releases are instantly deleted, due to their worthlessness, but hey, it’s the age of shameless self-promotion, and everyone must to do it to try and survive.
Besides, it’s not like the pointless mass emails from the pro and college teams themselves, are any more useful, right?
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Welcome to The IlliNation Show, inaugural edition! It’s volume I, chapter I of The Sports Bank’s special, exclusive Illini podcast. We have an action packed first show for you which covers the following topics in the segments below:
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In summarizing the Chicago Bears consistent recent ineptitude, the legendary Dick Butkus concluded: “It’s embarrassing. I don’t give a damn (about) the draft or whatever; there’s no reason we should be in this situation, one of the best franchises.”
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