The National Football League has made the annual college draft an event that defies explanation. No game is played, no one wins or loses anything, and the most action you will see is a person walking up to the podium at New York?s famed Radio City Music Hall.
But you can bet that Ravens? fans will be glued to the tube or listening to their radios as they gobble up every last bit of information. It is football in April, and what more could you want?
Baltimore?s own Mel Kiper Jr. is one very busy man this time of the year. It is the 28th year that he has put out a report and the 23rd year that he has been part of the ESPN coverage. The network will dedicate 17 hours to the draft, and no one does it better than ESPN.
Here is what Kiper told me the Ravens are likely to do.
“They need help at defensive tackle, a real space-eater that can free up Ray Lewis. I think a great fit would be Haloti Ngata from Oregon. He can clog up the middle and also penetrate the backfield. I also see them taking a quarterback like Brodie Croyle from Alabama, if they can sign Steve McNair, as I believe they will.”
Can?t watch on TV? No problem. Here is what you can expect on radio.
WBAL1090-AM will broadcast Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. The hosts will be Steve Davis, Gerry Sandusky, Stan White and Peter Schmuck. WBAL provides an all-access pass to Ravens? fans from inside the team complex.
Some highlights of the its coverage will be comments from Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta on the prospective first-round choices. They will also have interviews with the draft choices and in-depth analysis of all the day?s big stories, with access to the coaches and players for comments.
ESPN 1300-AM will broadcast Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Gary Stein and a surprise partner will be live at the Dave and Busters in Hanover, providing Ravens? fans with plenty of useful information. Live reports from the Ravens? complex will be handled by Damon “The Bull Dog” Yaffe, as the station makes sure you don?t miss anything related to the draft.
JIm Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.
