Draft Night Thoughts **LIVE**

I'm watching the NBA Draft and I feel like blogging, so here is a real-time diary of my thoughts during the draft:

On the date of last year's NBA Draft, June 26, 2008 to be specific, Maggie Bennett and I were in a town in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais called Conselheiro Lafaiete, staying with her former mission companion, and I was sick. I had been sick for a few days with sore throat, a wicked cough, and overall I felt like absolute crap. It was clear that the sickness wasn't going away on its own, so that night I slipped out by myself and went down to the pharmacy to pick up some drugs and a whole lot of unsolicited Brazilian medical advice from bystanders in the pharmacy.

As I left the pharmacy, my mind was on the draft, which I knew had just gotten underway at Madison Square Garden. I was disappointed that I was missing it and I was curious to see whom my Utah Jazz would pick. When I reached the apartment where we were crashing, I noticed that on the ground floor of the building was an internet café, so I hopped on a computer and loaded up ESPN.com. The Jazz weren't picking until number 23, so I sat there impatiently refreshing the page every couple minutes waiting for the latest draft picks to appear. The café owner warned me several times that he was about to close down for the night, but I kept begging him to let me stay on for a few more minutes (I tried to explain the NBA Draft to him, but he didn't get it and he seemed amused that someone could be consumed by a sport other than soccer). Finally I saw the name "Kosta Koufos" flash up on the screen and the owner kicked me out. Because I had been in Brazil, I hadn't been following all the draft coverage and I had no idea who Kosta Koufos was, but his name was stuck in my head all night long (it kept my mind off being sick, at least) and first thing the next morning I ran back down to the internet café to read up on all the Jazz's picks. Anyways, I guess my point is that it's nice to be able to watch the whole Draft as I chill on my couch with a bowl of chocolate ice cream with some Honey Nut Chex swirled in for good measure.

They keep showing this Right Guard commercial with Chris Paul, whom I naturally have to dislike as a Deron Williams fan (even though the two are friends in real life and their rivalry is just a media creation). But fortunately the commercials feature the actor who plays the dim-witted, low-level meth dealer Badger on Breaking Bad. Of all the show that I followed this season, Breaking Bad had the strongest season. By far. The show was already great in its first season, but this season they took it to a whole new level. In an earlier post this year I compared my TV schedule to my class schedule, and if I had to fill out a course evaluation for Breaking Bad, it would read something like this:

List two of the course's strengths: The course moved at a very thoughtful pace and placed the emphasis on the characters, but also floored me with jaw-dropping twists and hard-hitting drama. Prof. Gilligan [Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan] expertly created compelling moral and ethical dilemmas that his characters, and his audience by extension, had to work through.
List two ways in which the course could improve: Continue to develop and empower the character of Skylar (it looks like Mr. Gilligan has set up a strong arc for her in season three) and bring Jesse back onto center stage as soon as possible.
The professor made efficient use of the time: Strongly Agree
The professor displayed thorough knowledge of the subject: Strongly Agree
I learned a lot from this course: Strongly Agree
I would recommend this course to others: Strongly Agree

Tyler Hansbrough picked at 13?!? Are you kidding me? A lot of experts were expecting him to fall to the Jazz at 20. I guess I feel alright about that - I didn't like him very much as a Tar Heel, but he would've been the kind of "nasty" player that Jerry Sloan is looking for.

So, the Jazz are still seven picks away, so while I wait, I'll share a video clip with you. I have a very vivid memory of watching this performance live as a seven-year old kid and it made a big impression on me:



I saw an interview with a rock musician one time where he was asked about his influences. He listed off a few artists and then said, "And of course Michael Jackson," which was followed by a brief pause before he interjected, "Michael Jackson the singer." Yes, it was hard to separate the singer/performer from the weirdo he became, but when I was a kid, Michael Jackson was the man. "Bad," "Beat It," "Billy Jean," were all among my favorite songs and all my friends and I all made fools of ourselves trying to moonwalk. I'll chose to remember Michael Jackson the singer, the moonwalker, and the man in the mirror.

MERF???!!!??? The Timberwolves just picked their third point guard of the first round?!? What are they thinking? Oh - ESPN just reported that the Wolves are going to trade him to Denver. That makes a lot more sense.

By the way, if you've never tried ice cream with cereal swirled in, you need to try it. I've eaten ice cream with cereal my whole life and I thought it was a widespread phenomenon, but a shocking number of my friends have told me that they have never even heard of doing that. All you need to do is pick a base ice cream flavor (you can't go wrong with chocolate), swirl it around with a spoon until it is smooth like soft-serve ice cream, and then pour in cereal. Most cereals will work, but I recommend something in a Chex or Crispix - your pointy, crunchy cereals. You can try flake cereals, but they don't work as well, but Cheerios and Grape Nuts are especially nice. Try it and it will change your life.

So the pick is in: With the 20th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select ERIC MAYNOR! Dude, I'm stoked about this. The Jazz have needed a reliable backup for Deron Williams and I didn't think that Maynor would fall all the way to 20. Some experts had him projected as a late lottery pick. Good times.

Well the Jazz won't draft again for 30 more picks, so I'm taking a little break.

10:47 - I just got back from my last training run before the 5K in Charlevoix on Saturday. The fireflies were out, the frogs were croaking, and there was a fine mist coming off the ponds as I ran past. I'm not gonna lie - it was kinda magical. I somewhat expected Sebastian the Crab to appear and start singing "Kiss the Girl." Some random female pedestrian would have gotten a big surprise.

Here's what ESPN.com's draft expert Chad Ford has to say about The Jazz picking Eric Maynor:

I thought they might go with Sam Young here, but I have to admit that I love this pick for the Jazz. They needed a backup for Deron Williams, and Maynor is perfect for Utah as one of the most NBA-ready players in the draft. He has a high basketball IQ and great leadership qualities. The Jazz fill a need and get a guy who I think is the most underrated player in the draft.

Well, the Jazz don't pick again until number 50 (thirteen picks away) and I need to hop in the shower and get to bed, so I'll wait until tomorrow night to read about the Jazz's later pick. At least this time I can read about the draft on Laddie rather than pay to use a Brazilian internet café. Good night!