The NFL Draft is just two weeks away, but the Miami Dolphins are already on the clock. Bill Parcells, who signed a 4-year deal to become the executive vice-president of football operations in the off-season, hands a big challenge ahead. 

The Dolphins were a freak play away from 0-16 season last year and there are holes all over the field.  Parcells made his biggest move of off-season right off the bat hiring old buddy Tony Sparano, who looks every part the gangster and was with Parcells in Dallas.  Beyond that, you can pick the position and you can argue a need to fill. With so many needs, it would be ideal for the Fish to trade down and stockpile picks, but it remains to be seen rather or not there are any suitors for the top pick.

The team opted to part ways with 97-year old Trent Green and currently have journeyman Josh McCown listed as No. 1 on the depth chart at quarterback, and former second-round pick John Beck has not matured. Running back is actually one of the team's more stacked positions with Ronnie Brown (coming off ACL injury) and Ricky Williams (coming off his bong) in the mix. The team added free agent wideout Ernest Wilford, who is expected to start opposite of last year's top pick Ted Ginn Jr. The offensive line is in a bit of disarray, especially on the right side.

On defense the rebuilding continues as evident by the release of long-time staple LB Zack Thomas and Jason Taylor won't be around much longer. The secondary is still a work in progress and the team's depth and experience is minimal.

"We've tried to address some of those needs, but as we go on, we're going to try to fill as many holes as we possibly can," Sparano told the Miami Herald. "We need linebackers, we need secondary players, we need receivers, we need linemen. We need a bunch of things right now."

Let's see what some of the industry experts are saying:

NFLDraftBlitz.com
1. Miami Dolphins - Chris Long (DE) Virginia
The Dolphins’ defense needs new blood and identity.  Chris Long can play multiple positions and be equally effective vs the run and the pass.  With Zach Thomas out and Jason Taylor either on his way or in his twilight, the Phins need playmakers.  

The FootballExpert.com
1. Miami Dolphins - Chris Long (DE) Virginia
If the Dolphins stay at this position there would be only three players I see the Dolphins drafting here:  Chris Long, Jake Long, or Glenn Dorsey.  For the Dolphins, a team that will utilize a 3-4 defensive scheme, Chris Long is a perfect fit.  Long is one of a few defensive ends who actually have experience in a 3-4 and he dominated in it.  Glenn Dorsey is a beast in the inside, but his transition to a nose in a 3-4 is questionable.  Actually, I see Sedrick Ellis as more of a possibility than Dorsey.  Jake Long would anchor the Dolphins' line for years to come, but with great depth at the OT position, the Dolphins can get a solid OT in the second round.  3-4 defensive schemes need three talented men up front to be successful, and Long is certainly a strong start.

DraftInsiders.com
1. Miami Dolphins - Matt Ryan (QB) Boston College
The Dolphins have already added many defensive FA in open market. New boss Parcells will focus on offense with their early selections beginning with their future leader and cornerstone performer.

Here's the press release from the Bengals on Tuesday: 

The Bengals signed free agent WR Doug Gabriel to a one-year contract.
 
Gabriel (6-2, 215; Central Florida) is a fifth-year NFL player in 2008. He has played in 57 games with 12 starts and has 101 career receptions for 1550 yards and eight touchdowns. He also has 86 career kickoff returns for a 21.5-yard avg., with one TD.
 
He was a fifth-round draft choice of Oakland in 2003 and played for the Raiders through 2005. He was traded to New England just before the start of the 2006 season and played for the Patriots before being reacquired by Oakland on waivers in December of that year., He was released by the Raiders on Aug. 27, 2007 and was not with an NFL team during the '07 season.

This was supposed to be the greatest Final Four ever, but Saturday did not live up to the hype, that was not the case on Monday.  Here is my recap of my live blog posts throughout the game.

KANSAS 75, MEMPHIS 68 OT

Overtime Observations
--How big was the review of Rose' three-point now? What about Dorsey's cheap 5th foul?
--This is the first overtime championship game since Michigan-Seton Hall in '89
--Damn, I wish I would have bet the OVER...LOL
--Kansas scores first six in OT in overtime on 18-3 over the last 4:26 (2:29 left in OT)
--The Jayhawks appear much more fresh; depth paying off
--Kansas ends the game with 24-4 run to overcome a 9-point deficit
--What a title game. I am struggling to think of one better in this decade.
--I won my first bracket office pool in 12 years; and I didn't middle it

Second Half Observations
--Memphis gets 7-2 run in the first two minutes of half to retake lead, 36-35
--Dorsey follows up great dunk on oop by Rose, by picking up third foul at 16:00 mark
--This game is about as intense as you can get. Finally, one that is living up to the hype.
--Rose just scored for the first time in nearly 24:30 minutes of play. Now has 5 points
--Rose adds seven more points and Memphis takes a four-point lead with 7 minutes to go
--Kansas has gone 4+ minutes w/out a field goal and is now down by 7 points
--Finally a Jayhawks' bucket, but still a big hill to climb
--Rose just banked a shot in as the shot-clock was expiring. Jim Nantz called it 'the shot of the tournament'
--Memphis is 2 minutes away from title, the game is theirs to win up 60-53 w/1:54 go
--Huge steal by Kansas to cut it to four
--Can Memphis make free throws under pressure (they have all tournament long)?
--Joey Dorsey picks up his fifth foul 30 feet from the basket after getting caught in double switch
--Man, I am glad I didn't take the OVER
--Kansas on 9-2 run and have cut it to two points, 62-60. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
--Memphis turned it over, but Kansas blew it
--No worries. Douglas-Roberts missed two more free throws, but MEMPHIS gets rebound
--Rose is going to line where he's made 13 straight and he missed his first one|
--Mario Chalmers hit a three-pointer to tie it with 2.0 seconds left
--WE ARE WATCHING THE GREATEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--Free Throws have to win games 1/6 on last three trips to the line

First Half Observations
--Billy Packer has done 34 of these games, I respect him but maybe its time for a change
--WOW! The first two minutes of this game has made me dizzy...I love this stuff!
--I love the Kansas backscreens. Khan continues to perform
--Robert Dozier and Josh Taggard both head to bench with two fouls with 12 minutes to go in 1st half
--I love HDTV, man I just never get sick of watching mine
--Kansas is on a 21-12 run, but Memphis isn't going away.
--Memphis just hit 2nd three-pointer (2/5 early on, better than I expected)
--The Tigers have answered with a 11-4 run. Are you seeing a trend?
--Over/Under on total lead changes in game - 18 (it's that good of a game)
--Chalmers has hands like glue already 3 steals w/two minutes to go
--Kansas outrebounding Memphis by 8 and shooting 60%, but 8 turnovers keeping it close
--After being tied at 28-28, the Jayhawks score the first half's final five points and lead 33-28 at the break.
--Big foul trouble for Memphis (Dorsey, Dozier, and Taggard w/2 each); they don't have the depth to KU does
--Derrek Rose has more rebounds (4) than points (3) and is only 1 of 4 from the field
--Kansas' bench outscored Memphis' bench 8-0

Opening Observations
--I need Kansas to win to take my bracket pool ($300). I can't decide whether or not I should middle it
--Memphis is favored by 2 points in most Las Vegas casinos with the over/under at 147.5
--Will Kansas have an answer for Derrick Rose? The Jayhawks have a deeper team and play better defense than UCLA did.  Heading into the Final Four, the Jayhawks were holding opponents to 37.9 percent from the field, which ranked third in the nation. The Bruins' opponents shot 41.8 percent, which ranked 73rd. If they are going to stop Rose and the Tigers they will need to stop the dribble penetration and force them to shoot from the outside. That's easier said than done.

Two of the three players selected Monday for induction into the NBA Hall of Fame were no-brainers (Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing).  The third, however, is one of those types of players that can inspire legendary barroom arguments that go on for hours.  Half of the hardcore hoopheads in the world would tell you that Adrian Dantley definitely belongs in the Hall, and half of them would probably tell you that he doesn't.  And this is one of those discussions that makes sports so great, because you can make a very persuasive case on either side of the argument.

Here's what you can say about A.D.  He was one of the most unique players in NBA history.  In his day, there were very few 6'4" players that made their living almost exlcusively within 20 feet of the basket.  He made no bones about it; he wasn't going to beat you from deep, he was just going to take you off the dribble or knock you around in the post.  And if the shot didn't go in, he'd just clean up from the free throw line - over his career, he averaged over eight attempts per game, an impressive number by any measure.

Dantley operated with an efficiency that most players six inches taller were unable to duplicate.  Who could imagine a small forward scoring 25+ points a game and shooting 55% from the field?  Through the early 80's, he was arguably the most feared scorer in the NBA.  He finished his career as the ninth leading scorer in NBA history, and had he not suffered a couple untimely injuries he could easily have cleared the 25,000 point barrier.

Here's what you can also say about him.  He gained a reputation early in his career as being a guy who could rack up points for a bad team, but couldn't make them a winner.  Utah didn't make the playoffs until Darrell Griffith and Rickey Green made the leap to being all-star level players.  He wasn't regarded as even a moderately skilled passer, and his idea of defense was to score more points than the player he was assigned to guard.  He played for seven teams over his career, four of them by his 23rd birthday.  There are various accounts of why a young and talented player such as Dantley was traded so often, but it's known that he was dealt from Utah in 1986 because he and coach Frank Layden had issues co-existing.

His greatest success came when he finally landed with the Pistons, a team practically ready-made to suit his skills.  They had an elite point guard that knew how and where to get him the ball, a center that was content to roam the perimeter on offense and allow Dantley to work in the post, and big men who could cover for his defensive liabilities.  Even that didn't work out for him, as he was dealt to Dallas for Mark Aguirre just months before Detroit won the NBA championship - though it's widely believed that Dantley was dealt not because he didn't get along with most of his teammates, but because Isiah Thomas wanted to get his best friend (Aguirre) a championship ring more than he wanted to for Dantley.

Now, most who dispute his induction will point to the fact that Bernard King isn't in the Hall, and Dantley shouldn't be in before King.  That's not really a fair comparison, however, as a good portion of the case for King is based on 'what could have been'.  King was a fantastic talent (go watch game 5 of the 1984 Knicks/Pistons playoff series if you have any doubts about that), and had he not blown out both knees multiple times, and had he not had issues with drug abuse, he could have been one of the greatest players ever.  But, even though the NBA Hall of Fame is somewhat forgiving towards those types of injury issues, you can't hold the fact against Dantley that he has a completed case based on his on-court resume, while King's is based partially on unrealized potential.

Personally, I don't believe that Dantley was the most deserving player of those veterans not yet in the Hall of Fame to get the call - I'd go with Dennis Johnson in that category.  But I feel pretty confident saying that he would be in my top five, and that's good enough for me to say that Dantley earned his place in Springfield.  Still, it's one heck of an argument to have if you're into great sports debates.

At the risk of sounding redundant, seeing as my colleague Bret Sims as already posted a wonderful little ditty on Mr. Packer, it's time for me to lay down the smack on Billy Packer. 

It can be debated as to whether or not the game has passed Packer by or whether his style of color commentating hasn't kept up with the modern era of sports media.  But what cannot be debated is what comes out of his mouth.  That is usually something moronic; therefore by extension, he is a moron. 

I can stomach the fact that Packer has crossed the line between announcing and personal opinion.  Most notably, he pulled this stunt several seasons ago when the NCAA Selection Committee chose to put in more mid-majors than ever before at the expense of some larger conference bubble teams.  In an interview with the committee head on Selection Sunday, Packer got into an argument about how he believed that the tournament would now be watered down because no matter how good a mid-major team appears to be, they never could be in the class of a major conference team due to talent level. Instead of arguing his personal opinion, he should have been questioning the committee on how and why they came to such a decision.

Never mind the fact that Packer completely ignored the fact that, at that point, the college ranks had been losing major high-school talent as they headed straight to the NBA.  Those consistent defections had leveled the playing field for all teams for all conferences.  Not the fact that the selection committee had some bias against large power conferences (or at least that's the way Billy Goat saw it).  When the mid-majors (Butler, Gonzaga, etc.) had deep runs in that year's tourney--thus proving the committee was correct--crotchety old Packer refused to admit that he was wrong.

Jackass.

But what I can't stomach are the moronic things that he says during the game.  Most the time they are so riduculously stupid that it distracts me from the game I'm watching.  I understand that most of you will say, "Hey, just turn off the sound on your TV."  Well as someone who has aspirations of being in sports media as a play-by-play announcer, or sports talk show host, that really doesn't work for me.  What would work for me is if CBS politely, or not so politely, pushed out Packer.

Or pushed him off a cliff.  Either one works.

Here are just two doozies from last night's National Championship game.

With about 45 seconds to go in overtime, Memphis is down by five.  As they are about to inbound the ball on the side, Packer says, "Jim, they need a three and a two to tie.  So they don't have to get a three this trip, but they are going to have to get one."  Memphis elects to take the shot at the three.  Douglas-Roberts miss fires, Kansas rebounds and Memphis immediately fouls.  As the players are walking to the other end....

Packer:  "Jim I really don't agree with that at all.  They didn't need a three."

Really Billy?  Considering they were down by five with a very limited amount of possessions left in the game, I think they actually did need a three.  Maybe not that particular trip down the floor, but eventually.  I'm no MIT graduate, but my remedial math skills say that 3+2=5.  But worse, you just said the very same thing (wait, double-checking quote above...yep, that's what he said) not more than 15 seconds before hand.  Is the senility finally starting to get to you Billy?

But my favorite quote from last night's contest had to be this gem:

Packer:  (utttered shortly before OT began) "Well Jim, Kansas certainly is no stranger to overtime in National Championship games.  They had to go to overtime in the 1959 National Championship game."  Yep.  You read that right.  1959.

Never mind the fact that outside of Packer himself, there might have been 2 people in the nation that can remember that particular game, what the hell does that have to do with the OT in 2008?  None of the players on the court were born then, most of the player's parents weren't born then and some of the player's grandparents weren't born then.

Are you kidding me with that?  It's those type of statements that take us as audience members right out of the action, not put us further in the action.

I now fully understand why Jim Nantz always works The Masters golf tournament after the NCAA National Championship game on such a short turnaround.  It's not because The Masters is so great (although it is), it's because he has to get the taste of working with Billy Packer for three weeks out of his mouth.

Oooh.  Unfortunate choice of words.  No one wants Billy Packer in your mouth. 

And no one wants him calling anymore NCAA tournament games either.

As a UK fan I have gotten used to Billy Packer and Digger Phelps being biased against the Wildcats to the point that I've had to turn the volume off on my television.

Last night was another example of Packer being about as unprofessional as you can get when covering a sport.  As an announcer you are supposed to be neutral but his bias towards Memphis was sickening.  Apparently he has a man crush on Rose and wants to catch sweat from Dorsey so he can put it in a bottle and put in on his mantle.  Throughout the entire game all he did was talk about Memphis players and how incredible they were, about their dream and winning the title.  Even after the game he was still talking about Memphis not fulfilling their dream instead of praising Kansas about their win.  Of course once he had to interview the players he was all Butt-Kissing Billy acting like he was with them the whole time.

The media was biased as well with them constantly showing every Memphis basket and very few highlights of KU.  If someone hadn't watched the game and only seen the highlights they would have thought Memphis won.

Billy Packer SUCKS and shouldn't be allowed to announce this type of game with his bias.