The NFL Draft "came close to not happening," according
to Will McDonough of the BOSTON GLOBE. The Colts "were
ready to go to court" on Friday to seek an injunction that
would have held up the Draft, but "were dissuaded" by NFL
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. The Colts "were irate" over
what they perceived to be "a special deal made to allow" the
Raiders DT Chester McGlockton to sign a deal with the
Chiefs. As part of the deal, the league gave the Raiders a
compensatory pick at the start of the second round -- the
31st pick -- previously held by the Colts, in addition to
the Chiefs' second-round pick. Colts GM Bill Polian: "This
deal is one of the worst things I have ever seen in
football." McDonough reported the deal was reached between
the Raiders, the NFL's Harold Henderson and NFLPA Exec Dir
Gene Upshaw (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/18). Colts Owner Jim Irsay:
"I'm a supporter of the league and a supporter of
Commissioner Tagliabue. Paul and I talked at length Friday
and I felt better after that conversation" (Bal. SUN, 4/19).
TAGLIABUE TALKS: Commissioner Tagliabue was interviewed
by ESPN's Chris Berman during the NFL Draft. On the Browns,
Tagliabue said the league "will hopefully reach a decision
on the owner in the upcoming months by midsummer." On
having an odd number of teams: "It's not ideal, but as you
know we've had odd numbers of teams in the past. But I
think the key thing now is we have a window of opportunity
to expand to a 32nd team. We're working with people in Los
Angeles and Houston -- those would be our priority cities --
and hopefully we can get something done in the next couple
of years" ("NFL Draft," ESPN, 4/18).
PEYTON'S PLACE: Irsay said that drafting QB Peyton
Manning with the first pick was "further indication" --
after the extension of their lease in Indianapolis and the
hiring of Bill Polian and Jim Mora -- "of the commitment the
franchise has made to put together a winning team" (THE
DAILY)....The league noted that 29 of its 31 teams were
represented by merchandise worn by fans attending the Draft.
Only the Bills and Panthers were not represented (NFL)....At
the Draft, DirecTV and NFL Enterprises presented Manning,
Ryan Leaf, Charles Woodson and Curtis Enis -- the four
players present at the Draft -- with a RCA-brand DSS system
and a free one-year DirecTV and NFL Sunday Ticket
subscription. All the other 26 first round picks will also
receive a complimentary system and subscription (NFL).
FULL AGENT LISTING: Starting tomorrow with the first
round, THE DAILY will list the agents of players picked in
the first three rounds of this weekend's NFL Draft.
