Let's keep it trivial

As someone who spends his days (and a lot of evenings) in pursuit of serious news, I like to spend my free time pursuing trivialities. Principally, this means sports and music.

So when I'm watching or listening to a sports program, I want it to actually be about athletic competition. If you start talking anything about collective bargaining, lockouts, Federal indictments or perjury, you've lost me. I'm on to another subject.

The problem for me is these aren't really sports topics. While they certainly are tangentially related to sports (OK, maybe the relationship is even stronger in the case of labor issues), they aren't really about sports.

So there might not be an NFL season next year? That is genuinely terrible, but they'll sort it out. There's way too much to lose. In the meantime, I'll be watching college football.

Might not be an NBA season either? College basketball is my favorite anyway. Besides that, maybe I can finally get back into hockey.

And as for a trial involving Barry Bonds or any other athlete, save your breath on me. I only care in that millions of tax dollars have been wasted on the pursuit.

Nothing gets my ire going more than the ultimate non-sporting event: the NFL Draft. Of the non-sports things I dislike, this is the one that has the most impact on the field. On the other hand, I just can't get my excitement going for something so vanilla and so far away from the real football season.

Thursday morning on Mike & Mike in the Morning, Greeny uttered a phrase that went something like, "Don't look now, but the NFL Draft is just three weeks away."

Don't look now? Are you serious? Do you actually believe the draft could sneak up on me?

Sportscenter has been getting semi-hourly reports from Todd McShay since about three weeks before the Packers hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy. (Man, it feels great to say that.) He and Mel Kiper debate on air four times a day and each one has changed his mock draft at least 4,817 times since January.

I like that the NFL is popular enough that people want news about it even when the season is far away, but it has gotten ridiculous.

I guess my approach is that on April 28 ... and April 29 ... and April 30 the teams are going to do what they want. (Why is it three days long?) After that, we should talk about what the teams did and how it will impact the coming year and years.

Somebody let me know when the Packers are on the clock. Until then, I'll be watching some April baseball. At least they're on the field this time of year.