Geoff Grace

Oh, and the Rams have draft picks again. They used their first rounder on Jared Verse, who they must hope will help fill the huge rushing void created by Aaron Donald’s retirement. Best, Geoff

The Packers used their first round pick on tackle Jordan Morgan. Jordan (Morgan) protecting Jordan (Love). Nice. Best, Geoff

Quarterback Bo Nix to the Broncos. No defensive players so far. Best, Geoff

...And now we finally have a trade up: the Vikings are now in the Jets' spot, presumably to grab quarterback J. J. McCarthy. Edit: and so they did. Best, Geoff

Okay, now Michael Penix Jr. to the Falcons, that's a surprise! I guess they're copying the Packers' strategy of letting a promising quarterback sit behind a top veteran for two or three seasons. Kirk Cousins is no Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers, but he could be helpful for Penix to learn from. Best, Geoff

Round 1 of the NFL Draft is in progress. No real surprises so far. Nonetheless, it's satisfying to see great college players go to teams who need them. Looking forward to watching the rest unfold... Best, Geoff

The Suns have some great players, but they don't have enough good ones. Best, Geoff

Jets trading QB Zach Wilson to Broncos, source says Best, Geoff

Sad news for us Rams fans: Roman Gabriel, NFL's first Filipino American QB, dies at 83 I had Gabriel’s poster on my wall when I was a kid. He still holds the Rams' team record with 154 touchdown passes, despite playing in an era when the ground game was much more prominent. Best, Geoff

Blake Griffin announces retirement from NBA after 14 years Best, Geoff

More sad news for baseball: Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog dies at age 92 Best, Geoff

Sad day for Dodgers fans… Dodgers great Carl Erskine dies at age 97 Best, Geoff

Any interest in the NBA playoffs? The Suns have had a disappointing season so far, but at least they played well enough to make the postseason. Today, we’ll see whether or not that happens for the Lakers and Warriors, two formerly dominant teams with aging superstars. Best, Geoff

Oh, I don't doubt that the powers in baseball want to preserve the image of their biggest star. That said, the conclusion I posted is coming from federal investigators, who have their own set of criteria. Even so, human beings are fallible and sometimes even corrupt. I don't know whether or not either of these factors has affected the federal investigation, but we'll see what comes of it all in the months (or years) ahead. In the meantime, this is from the US Attorney’s office, the IRS, and Homeland Security: I should add that, unlike the two-week-old video in the post above that operates under the assumption that Ohtani voluntarily paid a 4.5 million dollar gambling debt for Mizuhara, the video in this post is today's news that states the opposite. Best, Geoff

Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter faces federal charges, source says It appears that the federal investigators have concluded that Ohtani is an innocent victim. Best, Geoff