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NFL hype eclipses MLB intrigue

Pat Murray

The outcomes for the two baseball teams that I follow have been pretty good over the past couple of weeks. The Miami RedHawk squad, though still carrying a losing record, has been playing better ball as of late. It boasts a record of nine victories and seven defeats in its last 15 games. And, of course, the Chicago Cubs, despite being losers of four of the last six still sit in a tie atop the standings of the National League Central.

But just when I was ready to completely immerse myself in a summer of baseball, football is suddenly the game on the minds of most commentators and sports fans. The truth is that I believe that this phenomenon can be classified anywhere between mildly and very ridiculous. I will admit that I am an active participant in the hot stove league each winter, brainstorming ways for Chicago's National League Ball Club to add a player to its roster in order to finally end its World Series drought of 99 years.

But last winter, I began to realize how silly offseason speculation can become. As the Brian Roberts trade rumors between the Oriels and Cubs mounted from November to nearly Opening Day with nothing actually occurring, my view towards the speculation was dimmed considerably.

This, of course brings me to last weekend and the explosion of football into the sports fan's world. While the Spring Game here in Oxford was an important preview of what might be good things to come next year for Miami's football team, the NFL Draft dominated the sports news, much to my vexation.

There are essentially two reasons that can explain why the Draft and the analysis of the event have grown to what are now gargantuan proportions relative to just a few years ago. One is the American public's nearly insatiable demand for football, which is wonderful. The other, and less admirable reason, is the decision of ESPN to hyper-inflate this event.

The fact of the matter is that no matter the attempts of the prognosticators, no one has any idea what will be the long term outcome of the picks made by the teams last weekend in New York. Because of this, one is subject to months of NFL Draft pre-coverage, followed by scores of articles on Monday morning that caution that it will take years to sort out who the winners and the losers were.

As those of you who enjoy the Draft are no doubt shouting by now, "Then simply don't pay attention!" For the most part, that's exactly what I did. No RedHawks were likely to be taken, although Jerrid Gaines was signed by the Browns on Monday. And my NFL team, the Bears, has issues that run much deeper than those that can be solved in an auditorium in April.

For right now, I'll be putting football solidly on the very back burner until I roll back into Oxford at the beginning of the next school year. Until then, my attention will be almost solely devoted to baseball, assuming the status quo of the standings remains similar to what it is now.

Any football questions? I'm all ears in August.


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