We come not to mock the mock-jock drafts, but to concoct our own sense of interest in how the NFL has moved its annual shindig to Nashville, Tenn., and invited ABC to make it a prime-time event.
ABC’s plan, by the way, is to have Robin Roberts at the controls in sort of a “remember me from ESPN?” meets “Good Morning America” vibes. Joining her are the College GameDay crew of Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor, plus Jesse Palmer and special guest Patrick Mahomes. Country singer Luke Bryan is also involved somehow. That leaves ESPN’s coverage with the crew of Trey Wingo, Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay, Louis Riddick, Booger McFarland, Chris Mortensen, Adam Schefter and Suzy Kolber.
It’s not quite all hands on deck, but it sure smells like it.
Meanwhile, the NFL Network has its own burst of boys in the 15th year of operation with Rich Eisen and his gang of merry men.
The Rams pick next-to-last in the first round based on winning the NFC (31st pick) with the Chargers locked in at No. 28. Arizona chooses first, most expecting it to take Heisman winning quarterback Kyler Murray — but that’s the drama of it. San Francisco, N.Y. Jets, Oakland, Tampa Bay and the N.Y. Giants are next in line as the prime movers and shakers. No one from USC or UCLA are expected to sniff first-round territory or even rank in the Top 100 of prospects.
How it happens:
* Thursday: First round, 5 p.m., Channel 7, ESPN, NFL Network
* Friday: Rounds two and three, 4 p.m., Channel 7, ESPN/ESPN2 and NFL Network
* Saturday: Rounds four through seven, 9 a.m., Channel 7, ESPN and NFL Network
****************
Considering the Angels had a game snowed out recently at Wrigley Field, the Dodgers can’t take anything for granted with a starting pitching staff that seems to be bordering on the snowflake flexibility range.
How it lines up for the Dodgers this week:
* At Chicago Cubs, Tuesday and Wednesday at 5:05 p.m. and Thursday at 11:20 a.m. (all on SportsNet LA, with Channel 5 also on Wednesday)
* vs. Pittsburgh at Dodger Stadium: Friday at 7:10 p.m., Saturday at 6:10 p.m., Sunday at 1:10 p.m. (SportsNet LA, with Channel 5 also on Saturday)
The Angels this week find a New York Yankees team ripe for batting around because of the key injuries they’re still trying to overcome. The latest, by Aaron Judge, means there are 13 Yankees on the disabled list just three weeks into the season. He joins Giancarlo Stanton (strained left biceps), Aaron Hicks (strained left lower back), Gary Sanchez (strained left calf), Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery), Miguel Andujar (torn labrum in right shoulder) and Greg Bird (torn plantar fascia in left foot).
How it lines up for the Angels this week:
* vs. New York Yankees at Angel Stadium, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:07 p.m., Thursday at 6:07 p.m. (all on Fox Sports West).
* At Kansas City, Friday at 5:15 p.m., Saturday at 4:15 p.m., Sunday at 11:15 a.m. (all on Fox Sports West)
******************************
Game 5 in the Clippers-Warriors NBA Western Conference first round became bothersome and necessary. Only because of the Game 2 aberration. You’re welcome, Oakland. One way or another, it ends this week, and L.A. will be all the poorer.
How the week could lay out for the Clippers:
* Game 5: Clippers at Golden State in Oakland, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Prime Ticket, TNT
* Game 6 (if necessary): Golden State vs. Clippers at Staples Center, Friday, TBD
* Game 7 (if necessary): Clippers at Golden State in Oakland, Sunday, TBD
What else is worth following:
Eastern Conference:
= Milwaukee at Detroit, Game 4, Monday at 5 p.m., TNT
= Orlando at Toronto, Game 5, Tuesday at 4 p.m., NBATV
= Brooklyn at Philadelphia, Game 5, Tuesday at 5 p.m., TNT
Western Conference
= Houston at Utah, Game 4, Monday at 7:30 p.m., TNT
= San Antonio at Denver, Game 5, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., NBATV
= Oklahoma City at Portland, Game 5, Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., TNT
**********************
The LPGA’s Hugel-Air Premia L.A. Open allows those who’ve always wanted to check out the Wilshire Country Club in Hancock Park a chance to do so as the place celebrates its 100th anniversary (it had the PGA’s L.A. Open four times in years gone by). In last year’s inaugural (sort of) event (it’s really a renamed continuation of the Office Depot Championship that used to be in the San Fernando Valley). A year ago, Moriya Jutaugarn won it by two strokes over Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko at the par 71, 6,450-yard layout. There’s a $1.5 million purse at stake.
The schedule: Thursday-Sunday, 3-to-6 p.m., Golf Channel
********************
Three Pac-12 teams are atop the latest college baseball rankings (officially, it’s on the NCAA page by D1Baseball.com) – No. 1 UCLA has the edge over Oregon State and Stanford. And 30-win Arizona State is lurking. With USC nowhere near any of it.
How this week lays out:
* UCLA (30-7): at Cal State Fullerton, Tuesday at 6 p.m.; vs. Utah at Jackie Robinson Stadium, Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m.
* USC (17-20-1): vs. UC Irvine at Dedeaux Field, Tuesday at 6 p.m.; at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m.
* UC Irvine (25-9): at USC, Tuesday at 6 p.m.; at Cal State Fullerton, Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m.
* Cal State Fullerton (16-19): vs. UCLA, Tuesday at 6 p.m.; vs. UC Irvine, Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m.
* Cal State Northridge (16-22): At Cal Baptist in Riverside, Tuesday at 6 p.m.; vs. Hawaii at Matador Field, Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.
* Long Beach State (7-30): at Loyola Marymount, Tuesday at 6 p.m.; at UC Davis, Friday at 2:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.
* Loyola Marymount (24-15): vs. Long Beach State at Page Stadium, Tuesday at 6 p.m.; at Pepperdine, Friday and Saturday at 3 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m.
* Pepperdine (17-16): vs. Loyola Marymount at Malibu, Friday and Saturday at 3 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m.
== The LAFC (7-1-1), with the best record in the MLS and a league-high 25 goals, finishes a back-to-back match with the Sounders in Seattle (Sunday, 12:30 p.m., ESPN). The Galaxy (6-1-0), right back of the LAFC in the Western Conference, goes to Minnesota (Wednesday, 5 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet) before coming back to Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson to face Real Salt Lake (Sunday, 5 p.m., Spectrum SportsNet).
== The NHL playoffs as they line up this week to finish first-round matchups:
Western Conference:
* Nashville at Dallas, Game 6, Monday at 5:30 p.m., CNBC (Dallas leads series 3-2)
* Vegas at San Jose, Game 7, Tuesday at 7 p.m., NBCSN (series tied 3-3)
Eastern Conference:
* Washington at Carolina, Game 6, Monday at 4 p.m., NBCSN (Washington leads series 3-2)
* Toronto at Boston, Game 7, Tuesday at 4 p.m., NBCSN (series tied 3-3)
Tom Hoffarth's The Drill: More Farther Off the Wall 