Rough Draft

While our local baseball scribes from the Sun-Sentinel and the Miami Herald contemplate whether questions Major League Baseball refused to comment on are worthy of their attention; let’s take a look at this past Saturday’s football draft.
In the infinite wisdom of network sports, and the Entertainment Tonight format so prevalent in sports “journalism;” the results of Percy Harvin’s drug test results from pro football’s combine last February becoming public just days before the draft astounds me. Sensationalism is fine for gossip pages and the evening news, not for sports news. Can’t we keep it at another athlete arrested for drunk driving the lead story?
The rumor mill had been rampant over the last few weeks with allegations of several players at the combine testing positive for drugs. The story lay dormant until just a couple of days before the draft. Then, only Percy Harvin’s name surfaces, no one else. What did ESPN thinking they were going to accomplish by airing, and becoming fixated with this news item? To make matters worse, after the “news” “broke” ESPN continually alluded to Harvin’s character issues. Not once was there mention of the run-in with the law Mark Sanchez and Rey Maualuga had.
Back in 2006, Sanchez had to post $200,000 bond stemming from sexual assault charges. Charges were eventually dropped due to lack of evidence. Results from medical exams were “inconclusive” on the “issue of force.” No charges were filed against Maualuga after assertions were made he had punched another student at an off-campus party. Eric Wright, a defensive back for the same USC squad had his charges dropped in an assault as well. He had the good sense to transfer to UNLV. Nothing was mentioned by ESPN prior to, or on draft day concerning these transgressions. No mention was made pertaining to the strength of character of these two players, quite the contrary.
The draft day ESPN coverage team fell over each other trying to see who could kiss the USC football program’s ass the most, or best. The cover of the pre-draft Sports Illustrated was adorned with the linebacking corps of USC. ESPN gushed about which linebacker of the quartet would be taken first. Chris Berman referred to USC “crushing” Penn State in the Rose Bowl this past January.
I watched that game. What I saw was USC having their way with Penn State for one half. The score was tied after the first period. USC did everything right and Penn State did everything wrong in the second quarter. The third quarter was a stalemate with neither team scoring. In the forth quarter, Penn State finally got its act together and hung seventeen points on USC. This was with the starting lineup still on the field in this “blowout.” Berman then went on to add that “I’m surprised USC gave up any points last season,” or something to that effect. C'mon Chris you're a graduate of Columbia act like it for Christ's sake. You're not some idolizing high school cheerleader. This went down in the first half hour of the draft’s broadcast. No mention was made to the previous arrests of USC players. How could they? That would hinder the future canonization of the entire program.
USC’s head coach Pete Carroll is a great recruiter, a great college football coach, and a true humanitarian. Is he up for a Nobel Prize? I don’t think so. He’s a former NFL head coach who took his pro schemes and adapted them to fit the college game. Albert Schweitzer he’s not. Once the ESPN crew got done its first round of Trojan worship (the team, not the condom), it was on to the “character issues" of the draft’s most dynamic player, Percy Harvin. There would be plenty of time, and ESPN used it, to praise the USC program and their amazing players.
Harvin tested positive for pot, grass, reefer, weed, crack, not really, I just wanting to make sure you were paying attention. When did someone’s character come under suspicion due to getting stoned? Smoking pot is like anything else, if done to excess there can be serious problems. Becoming of poor character is not one of them unless you still think the movie Reefer Madness is an accurate depiction of the effects of marijuana. ESPN, those keepers of moral propriety; also alluded to the suspension Harvin received for fighting….in high school. That’s pertinent, but more recent and serious contraventions by USC players aren’t? The only character flaw testing positive indicates is stupidity. Players know they’re to be tested at the combine. C’mon Percy, you shoulda’drank the tea. I find it hard to believe Harvin’s a daily smoker without it dousing his competitive fire. For all anyone knows, Harvin got high after the Gators won the National Championship in January. That meant the marijuana would be in his system for three months. Hence, a positive test, but character issues?
If ESPN aired this Inside Edition item maliciously to lower his draft status they’re obviously a little too full of themselves. They don’t have that much sway. Besides, pro teams already had that nugget on Harvin, remember it’s their combine. Harvin’s draft position wasn’t going to change. He was chosen when draftniks said he would be, in the first round, end of story. ESPN just felt a need to share this news the public because….? Does this mean that Barack Obama is of questionable character because he got high? I certainly hope not. Thankfully, ESPN couldn’t devote any more coverage to Harvin’s trials; they had to get back to convincing everyone watching how fucking great the USC football program is.
Since the pro football draft started getting so much coverage I wish I could remember if the ESPN crew was this effusive when the University of Miami was so dominant, always having multiple early round draft choices. The same could be said for past Ohio State squads. I wonder if the ESPN fellas knew they were embarrassing themselves. They didn’t need to know, I was embarrassed for them. Aside from all the Southern Cal bullshit, I’m glad ESPN devotes sixteen hours of coverage to the draft.
I have a newfound interest in the draft since attending college so recently. I used to watch only the draft’s first round in its entirety. After that, I’d periodically tune in to see who my team, the Cincinnati Bengals took. All that changed since the 2005 draft, that’s when my interest peaked. My alma mater never had a draft choice, ever. Granted, the program is entering only its ninth year, but still, there have been some players I thought might warrant a late round pick. Several players have signed free agent contracts as soon as the draft ended, but that’s not the same as a “draft choice.”
I was sure this year was going to be the year. Frantz Joseph, a linebacker from Florida Atlantic, got high grades from many draft “experts.” Frantz was projected to go anywhere from the third to seventh rounds. I wasn’t leaving my house until his name was called, save for the first two hours the second day. I didn’t expect this real student-athlete, with the big heart, and his priorities in order, to go on the first day. He’d have to wait until Day Two. The player who was second in the nation in tackles last season; the player who stepped up his game in the biggest games, didn’t get his name called. I took it personally. I cursed the teams who passed on him, but took a linebacker in the later rounds. I felt bad for my school not able to reach another milestone. I didn’t feel bad for Frantz because his head’s on straight. It is what it is. He’ll just have to show he belongs via free agency. He can do that, that’s the kind of guy he is. I guess I’ll have to wait till next year for fullback Willie Rose to get drafted. I don’t think I’ll have to watch the whole draft. Thank god! I’d have to hear those ESPN guys go off about their new school du jour whose bandwagon they’ve just climbed on.