Home >  Sports >  Steelers

Sunday, April 27, 2003

For the second year in a row, the Vikings forgot to play by rules to the NFL's version of Beat The Clock. The Vikings, however, insisted they got the guy they wanted, even though an embarrassing delay cost them two spots on the draft board when the clock ran out on their No. 7 pick.

Busy in trade talks with three teams, the Vikings missed the 15-minute deadline and took Oklahoma State DT Kevin Williams with the ninth selection. The issue might have been money since there is a substantial difference between what the No. 7 pick and No. 9 pick will get. The Vikings will look at Williams as the ninth pick; his agent, Tom Condon, will want seventh-pick money.

Buccaneers OT Kenyatta Walker was arrested early yesterday in Tampa and charged with disorderly conduct outside a nightclub in the Ybor City entertainment district. He was taken to Hillsborough County jail and later released on his own recognizance.

Having won the Super Bowl, the Buccaneers' owners are looking to make a purchase that could give them another prize -- the World Series. Malcolm Glazer and his sons are trying to buy baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said such a purchase would not violate the league's rules on cross-ownership or force them to sell the Buccaneers because money and management from the football franchise would not be used in any such purchase.

Ten 10 underclassmen went in the first round, including three of the first four picks. Non-seniors were WRs Charles Rogers of Michigan State (No. 2)and Andre Johnson of Miami (No. 3); DTs Dewayne Robertson of Kentucky (4) and Johnathan Sullivan (6)of Georgia; DE Terrell Suggs of Arizona State (10); C Jeff Faine of Notre Dame (21); QB Rex Grossman of Florida (22); RB Willis McGahee of Miami (23); TE Dallas Clark of Iowa (24); and OT Kwame Harris of Stanford (26).

The Miami Hurricanes kept winning, this time in the NFL draft. The dominant college football team of the past two seasons with one national championship and one second-place finish, the Hurricanes had four players selected in the first round: WR Andre Johnson (third overall to Houston), DE Jerome McDougle (15th to Philadelphia), RB Willis McGahee (23rd to Buffalo) and DT William Joseph (25th to the New York Giants). Penn State matched Miami with four first-rounders. DT Jimmy Kennedy went 12th to St. Louis, followed by DE Michael Haynes (14th to Chicago), WR Bryant Johnson (17th to Arizona) and RB Larry Johnson (27th to Kansas City).

Dick Vermeil, Chiefs obviously sensitive coach, discussing how he tried to prevent a problem from surfacing when Kansas City drafted RB Larry Johnson of Penn State in the first round, even though Priest Holmes (still recuperating from an injured hip) was the NFL offensive player of the year last season: "I talked to Priest this morning because I thought this could happen. I didn't want Priest to hear it from ESPN. I wanted him to hear it from me."

Could we stop the jokes, please. This Sammy Davis Jr. is no Mr. Bojangles.

Born Samuel "Sammy" Davis Jr., the Chargers' first-round pick is a cornerback from Texas A&M who clearly has a thick skin. He has been teased since eighth grade about sharing the same name as the late entertainer who was in the famed "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop.

"Everybody always calls me Sammy Davis Jr. and always asks me, can I dance," Davis said. "No, I can't dance. I can't sing, either."

But he can play bump-and-run, which is why San Diego Coach Marty Schottenheimer made him the 30th player chosen in Round 1.