The NFL draft is all about possibilities. As Tom Petty sang, "The future was wide-open."
And keep in mind that Petty grew up in the state that's home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Sunday and Monday, you can watch your favorite NFL team and fantasize that its first-round selection will be the next Lawrence Taylor. Of course, that's assuming that you still have a favorite team and that you can stand to have Paul "Baltimore? Isn't That a Washington Suburb?" Tagliabue on your screen without tossing a shoe at the TV.
But let's put aside petty concerns (though not Petty ones) for the moment and consider the momentous nature of this year's NFL draft coverage on ESPN and ESPN2 (whose motto is: "Sport Coats R Not Us"). (For some reason, I'm feeling very parenthetical today.) (I'm not sure what it is.) (Maybe I should see a doctor.) (Or something.)
Between the two networks, each selection during the seven rounds of the draft will be covered. And best of all, this means more of Mel Kiper Jr., Draft Expert.
In his 11th year analyzing the draft for ESPN, Kiper will be on the air more than those NFL helmet phones that I think you used to get for subscribing to Sports Illustrated before they started giving you videos such as "Michael Jordan: Tying His Shoes." But if you think that Kiper somehow will run out of things to say during the 14 hours of draft coverage, you haven't being paying attention for the first 10 years.
"This will be more fun," Kiper said in a news conference Wednesday.
"A lot of times, we talk about guys, and they don't even get drafted," he said, referring to shows covering just the first two rounds.
The draft shows won't be All Kiper, All the Time, though we fervently might wish it so. Chris Berman, who can rattle off nearly as many names as quickly as Kiper can, will be host of Sunday's coverage, joined by analysts Joe Theismann, Mike Gottfried and Craig James. (Kiper, of course, is a Draft Expert, far beyond a mere analyst.) (Oh, no, the parentheses are back.)
In addition, ESPN will station its folks at eight team headquarters: Cardinals, 49ers, Patriots, Vikings, Eagles, Colts, Cowboys and Buccaneers. NFL insiders say Fred Edelstein will be with the 49ers.
Ron Jaworski will be at NFL Films, where perhaps he will summon up the ghost of John Facenda to comment on Edelstein's choice of double-breasted jacket.
