ESPN's Suzy Kolber had the "definitive moment" of the NFL Draft's first round Thursday night after the Saints drafted former Alabama RB Mark Ingram, according to Jason McIntyre of THE BIG LEAD. Kolber "went to her smart phone and read an email from Mark Ingram’s incarcerated father to his son, and in seconds the former Heisman Trophy winner was reduced to tears" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 4/29). SI.com's Jimmy Traina writes Ingram reading the e-mail was "the night's most emotional moment" (SI.com, 4/29). In Pennsylvania, Ray Eckenrode writes Ingram's "emotional answer to Suzy Kolber's loaded question about his father ... made a nice TV moment" (ALTOONA MIRROR, 4/29). CBS NEWS' Stephen Smith writes the "reaction is no surprise considering the bond the two share." The younger Ingram in '09 said, "He's not only my father, he's my best friend too" (CBSNEWS.com, 4/29).
WHO SHOULD YOU CHOOSE? USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand writes NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock "deserves look-ins from viewers as draft coverage continues through coming weeks." Mayock correctly predicted the first five picks, and he was "prescient in quickly predicting that Atlanta had traded up to get Cleveland's No. 6 pick -- to take Alabama's Julio Jones, who Mayock had originally predicted to be the sixth pick." But USA TODAY's Michael McCarthy writes ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is "still the guy that everybody, including Mayock and ESPN colleague Todd McShay, has to knock out before they can claim the heavyweight draftnik crown." Kiper also "correctly called the first five picks this year," and McCarthy writes, "Love him or hate him, Mel Kiper is still Mr. NFL Draft" (USA TODAY, 4/29). But THE BIG LEAD's McIntyre writes ESPN's coverage Thursday night was missing the "back-and-forth between Kiper and … anyone." McIntyre: "With nobody to disagree with, Kiper also seemed reduced to simply liking every pick" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 4/29).
RATINGS DELAYED: Overnight ratings for NFL Draft coverage on ESPN were not available at presstime (THE DAILY). CABLEFAX DAILY's Heiges & Arenstein write "given the league's labor unrest and possibility of cancelled games," it was "anybody's guess" whether ESPN would exceed the 5.3 rating for last year's Thursday night coverage (CABLEFAX DAILY, 4/29).
