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What a tumultuous NFL Draft for Michigan State Quarterback Connor Cook.
Entering Thursday, many people thought he had a decent chance at becoming a first round pick. We covered the multiple destinations within round one where he could have conceivably landed. If he didn’t go round one, then we almost certainly thought he’d be selected in round two or three on Friday night. However, it didn’t happen as Connor Cook was to night two what Laremy Tunsil was to night one.
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The Ohio State football program has led the way in 2016 NFL Draft Green Room invites, scouting combine invites, and early entries to the draft. So it’s no surprise that they also led the way in players selected in the NFL Draft. Indeed Ohio State football IS the new Alabama Crimson Tide right now, proving the Buckeyes win over the Tide in the 2015 Sugar Bowl/National Semifinal game was the real deal Holyfield.
This weekend, the 2014 National Championship Ohio State football team went pro.
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When Oakland Raiders made Jihad Ward their second round pick, 44th overall, tonight it drew some mixed reaction. Ward was projected to be a second-rounder by most draftniks, and the NFL Network’s Mike Mayock has consistently been talking about Jihad Ward as a second round talent since February.
First off it’s pronounced juh-HODD, not jee-hahd as it’s spelled. Although it’s spelled the same, it’s not pronounced the same as a holy war being fought by ISIS. Twitter went nuts with this angle anyway.
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Former Notre Dame Linebacker Jaylon Smith will be taking a professional version of “a medical redshirt year.”
Smith will be out of football for 2016, as his recovers from nerve damage in his knee. Heading into the Fiesta Bowl, Smith was projected to be a sure fire top five pick in this year’s NFL Draft. Many draftniks had him the best overall defensive player on their big boards.
Some mock drafts had him going as high as #3, but the conversation drastically changed on New Year’s Day in Arizona. In the first half of the Fiesta Bowl he tore his medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments.
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Embattled Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal believes that a Leicester City league title is “good for the Premier League,” but of course wishes to keep them from clinching it on his home turf. Van Gaal said at his weekly press conference today, in advance of the match on Sunday between United and Leicester:
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Manchester United did not sign a single player in the winter transfer window, but they have brought in someone new for this summer already. Just like with Memphis Depay last year, the Red Devils made their first signing well before the transfer window opens. Just like with Depay, it’s a youngster.
Hopefully for Manchester United, it’s not a total flop like Depay.
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NFL Network Analyst Curtis Conway will be the first to tell you that he’s not a big mock draft guy. He made one and just one this year. He makes them for the NFL.com website for fun, not for the achievement of being the most accurate.
However, he totally nailed the Chicago Bears selection of Georgia Linebacker Leonard Floyd the day before the draft.
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Editor’s note: this article ran originally on April 7th. Now in light of the Ravens selecting Ronnie Stanley.
Ronnie Stanley, when he speaks at media opportunities, reminds me of The Simpsons episode when Homer joins the U.S. Naval Reserve. Entitled “Simpson Tide,” it’s a quasi-parody of Crimson Tide, as Homer, through fate and circumstance, ends up as a de facto Captain of a nuclear vessel.
Before boarding, Captain Tenile addressed the men:
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Happy Draft Day!!!! This will be our penultimate 2016 NFL mock draft update, with the final version coming late this afternoon. To get you ready for the draft, here’s a list of 40 NFL Draft buzzwords, catch-phrases and cliches that you’ll hear tonight, and all weekend, from the TV network draftniks.
“He can make all throws when you put him in space a hand in the round guy road grader space eater people mover who plays faster than his tape.”
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Juan Mata was a club record transfer fee signing for Manchester United, later broken by Angel Di Maria. Toni Kroos, or later Arturo Vidal for that matter, could have broken the bank again.
During April and May of 2014, then Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos was linked with a move to Manchester United incessantly. Remember when Toni Kroos made an innocent little Facebook status update, that was cut off and then misinterpreted by a couple United Supporters, who then flipped out online at him?
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Happy Draft Day everyone! It’s the Christmas of the offseason for NFL fans everywhere. We’ve done our Oakland Raiders NFL Draft mocksourcing already which you can check out here. Almost everybody has published their final NFL mock draft by this point and and you can check our offering here.
Bear in mind (pun intended) that we had a more accurate mock draft, with more picks correct than both Mike Mayock and Mel Kiper Jr. last year.
Mayock, in his one and only NFL mock draft, slotted UCLA Linebacker Myles Jack to the Silver and black.
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Happy Draft Day everyone! It’s the Christmas of the offseason for NFL fans everywhere. We’ve done our Chicago Bears NFL Draft mocksourcing already which you can check out here. Almost everybody has published their final NFL mock draft by this point and and you can check our offering here.
Bear in mind (pun intended) that we had a more accurate mock draft, with more picks correct than both Mike Mayock and Mel Kiper Jr. last year.
Follow paulmbanks