| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Apr 28, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! The Jaguars are on the clock. Today's word count: 1,664 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏈 Draft day in Vegas |  | | | Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios | | | | The NFL draft kicks off in Las Vegas tonight, two years after Sin City's planned debut was moved to Roger Goodell's basement, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Details: 262 players will hear their names called across seven rounds over the next three days, beginning with round one tonight (8pm ET). - Location: Goodell will announce the picks from a stage near the Bellagio fountain, where the 21 invited prospects will get their (often awkward) hug.
- Broadcast: Hosts Mike Greenberg (ESPN), Rece Davis (ABC) and Rich Eisen (NFL) will be joined by Mel Kiper Jr. (ESPN), Todd McShay (ABC), Kurt Warner (NFL) and others.
Final mock: - Jaguars: Travon Walker (DE, Georgia)
- Lions: Aidan Hutchinson (DE, Michigan)
- Texans: Derek Stingley Jr. (CB, LSU)
- Jets: Ikem Ekwonu (OT, NC State)
- Giants: Sauce Gardner (CB, Cincinnati)
- Panthers: Evan Neal (OT, Alabama)
- Giants: Charles Cross (OT, Miss. State)
- Falcons: Kayvon Thibodeaux (DE, Oregon)
- Seahawks: Drake London (WR, USC)
- Jets: Jameson Williams (WR, Alabama)
Notes: - "F--k them picks": The Rams' strategy of brazenly trading away picks led to a championship and birthed a meme. Others followed their lead, with 25 of the first 82 picks this year being made by teams who traded into those spots.
- No consensus: Who's going No. 1 to the Jaguars tonight? Depends on who you ask. The betting favorite is Georgia DE Travon Walker, but Michigan DE Aidan Hutchinson is firmly in the mix.
- No top QB: This will be just the seventh draft this century where a QB isn't the top pick, joining 2000 (DE Courtney Brown), 2006 (DE Mario Williams), 2008 (OT Jake Long), 2013 (OT Eric Fisher), 2014 (DE Jadeveon Clowney) and 2017 (DE Myles Garrett).
- New York, New York: The Jets and Giants are two of a record eight teams with two first-round selections, and all four of their picks land in the top 10.
- Top-light, but deep: The top of the draft is weaker than usual, with one exec telling ESPN the first 10 players last year would likely all go No. 1 this year (subscription). But thanks to players using their extra year of COVID eligibility, the 2022 class is quite deep.
- Dawgs on D: Georgia's defense could produce a record five first-round picks, surpassing the four defensive players drafted out of Miami (2004) and Florida State (2006).
- Most, fewest: The Jaguars and Chiefs (12) have the most picks overall, while the Dolphins (4) have the fewest.
- Broadcast prep: ESPN has put together more than 500 player highlight packages to ensure they have one for all 262 picks.
Go deeper: |     | | | | | | 2. 🇺🇸 Proposal: Scholarships for service time |  | | | Illustration: Annelise Capossela and Shoshana Gordon/Axios | | | | The U.S. military is mulling a plan that would fund college athletic scholarships in exchange for mandatory service, Sportico reports. Why it matters: The initiative could solve two key issues: inefficient recruiting within the armed forces, and financial unease in college athletics, where non-revenue sports face increasing cuts. By the numbers: The Pentagon has requested a record $773 billion budget for 2023, which includes $1.32 billion for recruiting and advertising, and billions more for basic training. - By comparison, FBS schools reported spending $653 million in scholarship costs outside of football and basketball in 2020-21.
- Nearly 300 NCAA sports programs have been eliminated or suspended in the COVID era, which wreaked financial havoc on athletic departments.
Details: The idea is the brainchild of Dave Maloney, a former Auburn track athlete whose company, Orchestra Macrosystems, is an Air Force contractor. - Under his plan, the Department of Defense would offer to replace school-funded athletic scholarships for every sport other than football and basketball.
- Those athletes would have no obligations while in school, but would be committed to a yet-to-be-determined amount of service once their college careers conclude.
The backdrop: There are already options for high school athletes interested in both college sports and military service, including competing at service academies and going through ROTC. - That said, service academies can only provide a limited number of opportunities for student-athletes, and the rigors of ROTC make it difficult to combine with sports.
- Of the 27,000 Army ROTC cadets on campuses each year, roughly 500 to 700 are NCAA athletes, per the Army's recruiting arm.
State of play: Maloney says he and his paid advisers — including retired Army and Air Force generals — have discussed the plan with high-ranking military officials. - In a September memo that circulated around Washington, D.C., it was dubbed the Scholar-Athlete Intelligence and Leadership Program.
- Yes, but: The proposal has not made similar inroads within college sports. The NCAA told Sportico it was unaware of it.
| | | | | | | | 3. ⚾️ MLB snapshot: Three-week All-Stars |  Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios Three weeks isn't enough time to know much of anything in baseball, but that didn't stop us from picking an All-Star squad, Jeff writes. - C: Will Smith (LAD): .250/.353/.455, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 0.5 WAR
- 1B: Ty France (SEA): .366/.446/.620, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 1.1 WAR
- 2B: Jazz Chisholm (MIA): .308/.356/.673, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 1.1 WAR
- 3B: Nolan Arenado (STL): .375/.452/.703, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 1.5 WAR
- SS: Wander Franco (TB): .319/.333/.611, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 1.3 WAR
- OF: Mike Trout (LAA): .347/.458/.776, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 1.3 WAR
- OF: Byron Buxton (MIN): .289/.347/.778, 6 HR, 11 RBI, 1.1 WAR
- OF: Seiya Suzuki (CHC): .333/.458/.632, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 1 WAR
- DH: Daniel Vogelbach (PIT): .302/.373/.528, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 0.4 WAR
- SP: Carlos Rodón (SF): 3-0, 1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 38 K, 8 BB, 1.1 WAR
- RP: Josh Hader (MIL): 10 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 15 K, 4 BB, 0.7 WAR
Bench: - Pitchers: Kevin Gausman (TOR), Max Scherzer (NYM), Pablo López (MIA) Logan Gilbert (SEA), Michael King (NYY), Keegan Thompson (CHC)
- Hitters: C Salvador Pérez (KC), 1B Anthony Rizzo (NYY), 2B Ozzie Albies (ATL), 3B Manny Machado (SD), SS J.P. Crawford (SEA), OF Joc Pederson (SF), OF Aaron Judge (NYY), OF Steven Kwan (CLE), DH Connor Joe (COL)
Go deeper: Bold predictions (ESPN) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Share Axios Sports and earn rewards | | |  | | | | Get free Axios merchandise when you refer your friends to Axios. The more subscribers you refer, the bigger the rewards! Start sharing. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Liverpool's Jordan Henderson celebrates his goal. Photo: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images | | | | ⚽️ Champions League: In Europe, Liverpool beat Villarreal, 2-0, in their UEFA semifinal first leg ... In Mexico, the Seattle Sounders and Pumas UNAM played to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the CONCACAF final. 🏀 NBA fraud case: Jazz assistant coach Keyon Dooling was arrested Wednesday for his alleged role in defrauding the league's health and welfare benefit plan while he was VP of the NBPA. ⚾️ Seventh-fastest: Giancarlo Stanton became the seventh-fastest player to reach 350 HR, trailing only Babe Ruth, Albert Pujols, Harmon Killebrew, Alex Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez and Mark McGwire. 🏒 82 years later: The Canadiens (21-49-11) will finish with the NHL's worst record for the first time since the 1939-40 season. | | | | | | | | 5. 🏒 Player poll: Love-hate relationship |  | | | Photo: Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images | | | | NHL players have a love-hate relationship with Bruins mercurial star Brad Marchand, according to the NHLPA's annual player poll. What they're saying: The poll asked, "Which player do you least enjoy playing against, but would like to have on your team?" Marchand got the most votes (26.4%), followed by Connor McDavid (18.3%) and Tom Wilson (10.7%). - McDavid was the skater that most players would want on their team if they needed a win (42.4%). Sidney Crosby was second (17.3%) and Victor Hedman was third (6.7%).
- Other winners included Crosby (most complete player), Patrick Kane (best stickhandler), Leon Draisaitl (best passer), P.K. Subban (best social media follow) and Joe Pavelski (most likely to excel in another sport).
| | | | | | | | 6. 🌎 The world in photos | | What a shot. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry scored 30 points in his first start of the postseason as the Warriors beat the Nuggets, 102-98, to win the series 4-1. - In the East: The Bucks beat the Bulls, 116-100, to win the series 4-1. They'll play in the conference semis for the fourth straight season.
Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images PORTLAND, Ore. — The Timbers (MLS) and Thorns (NWSL) joined forces on Wednesday for a charity match to benefit Ukraine, raising more than $500,000. Abraham Ancer throws his glove in the air. Photo: Hector Vivas PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — What is this sorcery? | | | | | | | | 7. 📺 Watchlist: A trio of Game 6's |  | | | Jose Alvarado hounding Chris Paul. Photo: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images | | | | Three Game 6's tonight, all with the leading team on the road. Buckle up. More to watch: - 🏈 NFL draft: Round 1 (8pm, ESPN)
- 🏒 NHL: Capitals at Rangers (7pm, ESPN+)
- ⚾️ MLB: Mariners at Rays (1:10pm, MLB) ... Chris Flexen (1-2, 3.63 ERA) vs. Corey Kluber (0-1, 3.68)
- ⚾️ College baseball: No. 21 Texas A&M at Vanderbilt (8pm, ESPNU)
- ⚽️ Premier League: Man United vs. Chelsea (2:45pm, USA)
- ⛳️ PGA: Mexico Open (8:45am, ESPN+; 3:30pm, Golf)
- ⛳️ LPGA: Palos Verdes Championship (6:30pm, Golf) ... Anna Davis, 16, makes her LPGA debut.
| | | | | | | | 8. 🏁 The Ocho: Competitive typing | | Source: Giphy "Competitive typing, which peaked in popularity in the first half of the 20th century before fizzling out, has found a new home online," NYT reports. - Typewriter manufacturers used to hold well-funded competitions at venues such as Madison Square Garden, with the events usually tied to business conventions and drawing thousands of spectators.
- Now, the culture has moved online, with websites like TypeRacer, which displays cars on a track for each racing typist, and Keymash, a favorite of many top-tier competitors.
Dive in. | | | | | | | | 9. 🏈 NFL draft trivia |  | | | Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. Photo: Logan Bowles/NFL via Getty Images | | | | Two schools have produced multiple No. 1 overall picks this century. - Question: Can you name them?
- Hint: One produced three, one produced two.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏈 1 NFT thing: The infamous gas mask |  | | | Photo: Jon Durr/Getty Images | | | | Laremy Tunsil's worst moment cost him $7 million. Now he's selling it as an NFT. Flashback: Six years ago, a now-infamous video of Tunsil donning a gas mask and smoking marijuana leaked on draft night. - That caused Tunsil — a star offensive lineman expected to be one of the first few picks — to slip to the 13th selection.
- The NFL's salary scale for draft picks is based on draft position, so the incident likely cost him $7 million over his first four years.
The big picture: Tunsil, who has since made over $52 million in salary, plans to donate a portion of the NFT proceeds to the Last Prisoner Project, which supports those incarcerated for cannabis offenses. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Share Axios Sports and earn rewards | | |  | | | | Get free Axios merchandise when you refer your friends to Axios. The more subscribers you refer, the bigger the rewards! Start sharing. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Typed this whole newsletter in 15 seconds" Baker Trivia answer: Oklahoma (Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray) and LSU (JaMarcus Russell, Joe Burrow) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |  | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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