I met a fellow named Zach Stone about five years ago.  We make for good friends.  We love our sports, we hide our wrestling fandom from no one, and even enjoy a drink (maybe 2) once in a while.

That said, Zach Stone and I make for much better enemies.

Zach lives for the Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers; Conor depends on his Jets, Mets, and Islanders.  Zach prefers the Undertaker's legion of darkness; Conor has always been a registered member of Shawn Michaels' clique.  Zach is a fan of the arts--enjoying his fair share of theater arts; Conor...has seen Kid Rock in concert three times.

You get the idea?  Same interests, combating viewpoints.  it makes for a fantastic friendship.  Now's probably where you ask, "Conor, what the hell does this have to do with anything related to your sports blog?"

Good question.  Well, since graduating BU last may, I see Zach and my other college compadres only once in a blue moon or so.  The internet is great for communication.  Texts work as well.  But to make a telephone call to each other?  That would take a major, major event.  Something epic.  Maybe it's the Phillies beating the Mets after trailing by 5 in the 9th inning.  Maybe it's Zach seeing Ric Flair walking down the street.  Maybe it's 3 am on a Saturday and Zach is lost in a graveyard.  All are valid examples of what would constitute a phone call instead of a simple text, facebook message, etc.  Or...

"With the 25th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select Tim Tebow, quarterback, Florida."

Since the Draft is now held in primetime, 2010 was the first time I watched it in a public setting.  I gotta tell you, watching it without sound is like eating a $200 steak without taste.  Teams are picking out of order and you have no idea why.  Mel Kiper is visibly sickened by something and you don't know what it is.  But one image didn't need any sound whatsoever.  It was the image of the Broncos being 'on the clock' and a shot of Tebow at his home bawling his eyes out.  With Clausen and McCoy still on the board, surely he couldn't have been crying over the joy of being picked.  I mean, maybe he saw an ant get smooshed and was overcome with sorrow for the Earth's loss.  That would definitely make more sense than Tebow being  a first round pick, the second quarterback drafted overall.

But Denver saw it all differently.  How surprising was the pick?  My phone rang within seconds and it was Mr. Stone calling.  We chatted about it.  We had to.  How can this be?  The pick was bizarre on so many levels.  If Denver is so set on Tebow being their guy, that's fine.  But it was the FIRST ROUND!  With Clausen and McCoy on the board, there was no chance Tebow would be taken for the rest of the first round and a good amount of the second round.  Couldn't the Broncos just keep trading down for as long as Clausen and McCoy were available?  They would get valuable picks by trading down, and would pay Tebow millions less if they picked him later.

Sorry if that whole thing is confusing.  Maybe you had to be there watching.  I was.  Zach Stone was.  It was the shock of the NFL draft.  I suppose the Broncos have their 'now' quarterback (Orton) their short-term future QB (Quinn) and their mega-project long-term mastodon (Tebow.) 

Don't get me wrong.  The Broncos know a whole lot more than me when it comes to these things.  Maybe they have plans for Tebow that they're (understandably) aren't revealing to anyone.  In any case, Denver sure made a splash in round one of the draft.  How do I know this?  Because Zach Stone came calling.

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So how did our New York boys do?  Well, there were no shocks when it came to the Giants' strategy.  Their defense gave up a billion points toward the end of last year, so they chose to go ahead and address that tiny bugaboo.  Big Blue had seven picks, and only one was on the offensive side (guard Mitch Petrus.)  The big prize was defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul out of South Florida. 

Yes, defensive end.  "But Conor, aren't the Giants fine on the D-line and need a linebacker that can tackle someone?"  Well, kinda.  as the cliche goes, you can never have too many pass rushers.  especially if you're the Giants.  This is the team that used a vicious line to trample the supposed best offense in NFL history and stage one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets ever in 2008.  Can you really blame them for trying the same strategy in building this new defense? When the Giants took this Pierre-Paul, the doomsday clock on Osi Umenyiora's departure seemed to start.  We'll see if it ever reaches 0:00 for Osi as the months go on.

The Jets...what can you say?  So much had already happened prior to the 2010 draft.  Tomlinson, Cromartie, Taylor, Holmes, etc.  Can you believe that it's only been one full year they've had Mark Sanchez now?  Hasn't it felt more like 3-5 years?  Unreal.

In any case, the widespread belief is that Gang Green got themselves a player in Kyle Wilson.  A cornerback out of Boise State, Wilson will likely start out in a nickel role, using his excellent speed and physicality to matchup with those speedy guys in the slot.  Wilson can also bring plenty to the return game, which is especially important considering the Jets traded the beloved Leon Washington to Seattle.

Vlad Ducasse isn't exactly a household name.  But the Jets hope the offensive lineman out of UMass will be able to step in right away.  The Ducasse pick meant the end of the Alan Faneca era in New York (as Chris amply described in his post.)  Hopefully the young stud can excel as a guard before eventually replacing the aging Damien Woody at right tackle. 

As for the Jets' other two picks, running back Joe McKnight out of USC will help replace the departed Washington.  Fullback John Conner out of Kentucky will fill the void once 38-year-old Tony Richardson finally hangs them up (which may not be for 5-7 more years.  Take as long as you need, Tony.  We love ya.)

Well, that's all I got from the 3-day circus that was the NFL draft.  Thanks for reading.  Stay tuned for hockey playoff updates and baseball coverage in the coming week or so.