WATERCOOLER CHAT: HEAT CRUISE ON, BULLS SQUEEZE WIN, NFL DRAFT SURPRISES

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks were hoping to grab at least one win against the Miami Heat as the series headed back to Milwaukee.  The arena has banners of Dwayne Wade in the rafters as he went to Marquette, but the fans there definitely weren’t rooting for the Heat.  The Bucks got out to a commanding lead, but the tenacious defense of the Heat kept Milwaukee in check for the second half, allowing the Heat to cruise to a victory.  Miami 104, Milwaukee 91.

And in Chicago, it seemed like the Bulls had found their mojo after Game 2 of the series against the Brooklyn Nets, and they would host Game 3.  This was a low scoring affair, but the Bulls defense contained the Nets for most of the first half.  But in the second, the Bulls couldn’t buy a bucket, and the Nets came surging back behind Brook Lopez.  But thanks to a huge game from Carlos Boozer, the Bulls were able to get just enough to hold on for the win.  The Bulls now lead 2-1 in the series. Chicago 79, Brooklyn 76.

FOOTBALL

The NFL Draft started  Thursday night for three days. After months of “expert” mock drafts telling us exactly who was going where, the pros couldn’t have been more wrong.  It was a night of surprises, and hopefully every team got what they wanted.  Left tackle (arguably the second most important position in football as it protects the quarterback’s blind side) Eric Fisher went #1 overall to Kansas City, and another left tackle Luke Joeckel went #2 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Other notable picks of the first round were more in the non-picks.  Quarterback Geno Smith was long projected to be a Top 5 pick, and when he fell out of the Top 5, most thought he would go to Arizona or Buffalo.  But Smith wasn’t even selected in the first round.  Same went for Heisman candidate Manti Te’o.  He kept slipping and slipping and never heard his name called.  And no running back was selected in the first round — that hasn’t happened since 1960.

The Rams traded up to take speedy wide receiver Tavon Austin out of West Virginia.  The Bengals got a terrific offensive weapon in Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert, and the Vikings made the most of the picks they received from trading Percy Harvin to Seattle by taking some highly touted defensive players (Sharriff Floyd and Xavier Rhodes) and hopefully replacing Harvin with Tennessee wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.  The only quarterback in the draft went to Buffalo at the 16th pick, but it wasn’t Geno Smith or Matt Barkley, it was Florida State QB E.J. Manuel.  He will be a fantastic edition to the Bills, and likely will start on opening day.  The draft continues Friday night with Rounds 2 and 3 on ESPN.  Expect to see more offensive players taken.

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