Cultural Cuisinart

Okay, so despite my best hopes, it seems Pennsylvania has screwed us yet again. Hillary has won, and by a double digit lead, thus meaning this endless slog to the convention continues. Perhaps if Obama can win big in Indiana next week, this may still end in a timely fashion, allowing us to focus on the general election against McCain.

In other news, it's official - the Dolphins will be drafting Jake Long with the #1 pick. This was what I thought would happen, despite Jeff Ireland's little "verbal slip" the other day. This is good news for fantasy players who might want to take a chance on a running back like Ronnie Brown, who now has a solid player at tackle to help move the defensive line and open up running lanes. This also means breathing room for John Beck, who really needs to shine this year if he expects to stick around with the Dolphins past this season.

Now the question is what domino effect this will have on the rest of the Top 10. It looks like Chris Long might slip all the way down to #6 or below. This might not necessarily be a bad thing - he may end up on a team that could be a contender next year. The Dolphins look like they're on the right track finally, but they've got a good 2-3 years before that program is going to really turn around and prove a winner. The Falcons and Raiders are a total mess. Falling down means a team like the Patriots, Saints or Ravens might be around to catch him. The Rams may still pick him, though I believe that they'll go with Glenn Dorsey instead.

I predict that the Falcons will draft Matt Ryan in the first round, leaving the Ravens, Chiefs, and Panthers (and possibly Jets) to circle around Brohm, Henne and Flacco in the second round (or possibly late first, a la the Cleveland Browns from last year).