April 29, 2004
No. 388

NO. 1 OVERALL CHOICE OF SPORTS FANS LAST WEEK?  THE NFL DRAFT!
It had drama...suspense...surprises.  Plus it was a record-setter.  And we're not just talking about the Miami Hurricanes having the most first-round players ever picked (six), or a record seven wide receivers chosen in the round.  We're also talking about the record number of fans who watched the NFL Draft last Saturday and Sunday on ESPN and the record-setting visits to NFL.com over the weekend.  For the first time in the 25 years ESPN has televised the draft, more than 30 million viewers (31.4 million) tuned in to see who would go where and when.  It was ESPN's third consecutive year of draft viewer growth.  On NFL.com, traffic increased an impressive 47 percent over last year's draft.  NFL.com set a Friday-Sunday record with 4.9 million visits (3.3 million last year) as it began its 10th season of NFL coverage.  "The NFL Draft," says Sports Illustrated, "is the kind of reality TV matched only by a playoff weekend in the NFL."      
    

DRAFT CLASS GOOD IN CLASS
They excelled on the field and in the classroom.  An impressive number of players selected last weekend in the NFL Draft have earned their degrees or will do so this year.  Some are already planning their master's work, such as Auburn linebacker DONTARRIOUS THOMAS, who was taken by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round. "I'll be working on getting my master's in management information systems and then my MBA," says Thomas, who has interned at a Georgia hospital in its IT department.  "I want to be well-balanced.  I want to be not just an athlete, but a guy who can handle business in the classroom." 

Ten -- but far from the only -- NFL draftees who have "handled business in the classroom":            

Player                            College/NFL Team            Major
DE Dave Ball                    UCLA/San Diego                Graduated -- history.
T Robert Gallery                Iowa/Oakland                     Graduated -- elementary education.
QB Craig Krenzel              Ohio State/Chicago             Molecular genetics (3.6 GPA).
QB J.P. Losman               Tulane/Buffalo                     Classical studies (3.3 GPA).
QB Eli Manning                Mississippi/NY Giants         Marketing (3.5 GPA).
QB Matt Mauck                LSU/Denver                        Graduated -- kinesiology.
RB Brandon Miree             Pittsburgh/Denver               Graduated -- public administration.
LB Dontarrious Thomas     Auburn/Minnesota               Graduated -- management info. systems.
LB Jonathan Vilma            Miami/NY Jets                    Finance (3.5 GPA).
LB Courtney Watson         Notre Dame/New Orleans    Graduated -- management.
 

HEY, ISN'T THAT THE POPE WITH TOM BRADY?
The New England Patriots -- those two-Super Bowl-titles-in-the-past-three-years Patriots -- will make what seems like their annual visit to the White House next month to meet President GEORGE W. BUSH.  But their on-field leader, quarterback TOM BRADY, has already met with another world figure -- POPE JOHN PAUL II at the Vatican in Rome several weeks ago.  And was the man who is known for keeping his cool no matter what the down and distance ever sweating!  "It's the most nervous I've ever been meeting anyone in my life," says two-time Super Bowl MVP Brady.  "I grew up a Catholic, so being able to visit and meet the pope is an experience I'll never forget.  It's one of the incredible things that playing football for the New England Patriots has afforded me.  I'll tell you, when you're in that position, you hope you said all the right things because to be able to meet the pope..."