Yes, you read that correctly. Below you will find my mock draft for Round 2. Before I get to that though, some quick hits:

1.) With the Bruins and Capitals both eliminated from the NHL playoffs, I’m squarely on the Pittsburgh Penguins bandwagon. If they are to be eliminated, I feel like I could see myself on the Rangers’. After that, it’s sort of a crapshoot. Let’s try to keep a watchful eye on these developments.

2.) With every New Orleans Hornets victory, I feel slightly more vindicated. If you have been reading this blog since day one, you know that I’m an admirer of the Hornets. To listen to people talking about how they’re beating up the Mavericks makes me laugh. NBA people! Not random folks. People hired to talk about the NBA because they apparently know stuff about professional basketball, shocked that the New Orleans Hornets are actually good. My allegiance is obviously with the Celtics, and I would love a Lakers/Celtics final just as much as anyone, however, second best to that would be seeing the Hornets bring home a title to the Crescent City. A real possibility. Even if Tim Legler, Stephan A. Smith (the “A” is for “A person who cannot engage in civil discourse), Jeff “The Ankle-Biter” Van Gundy, Hubie “Watch Me Talk About Zone Defenses for 86 Seconds While Mike Tirico Contemplates the Most Fun Way To Commit Suicide on National Television” Brown, and the other talking heads don’t see it coming.

3.) As a sidebar, Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic (The Sports Savants that they are) would like you to know that they just discovered that Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are young superstars. Glad you guys showed up to the party. Too bad we’re out of beer, pot, and food. There’s plenty of Fresca in the fridge, though.

4.) Barry Zito

5.) It’s still early, yes, but consider that last night, the Boston Red Sox called up David Pauley to make an emergency start against the second best team (right now) in the American League with their ace (in the absence of Kelvim Escobar and John Lackey) pitching. Not only that, but the Sox’s Captain (also catcher) was out of the lineup and their starting Second Baseman was the emergency catcher in the game. So this is a classic, “Get out of here in under 3 hours with everyone as healthy as possible” game. Instead the Red Sox, behind Jacoby Ellsbury’s 2 homers (Rookie of the Year…remember that), defeated the LA Angels of Anaheim, California Angels (I’ll never stop doing this). I honestly cannot envision a scenario in which this team does not make it to the playoffs.

Now, on to Round 2 of my Mock Draft. We’ll use Round 1, V.2 as the guideline for this draft. I may only do half today and half tomorrow. However, I’ll see how I feel around pick 45.

33. Miami Dolphins
THE PICK: Joe Flacco (QB Delaware)
If you think John Beck is the answer for this team at quarterback, you probably don’t watch much football. Just take a look at the highlight video of him throwing. Every pass is a wobbly duck. Flacco has a big arm. He isn’t terribly mobile. Hmmm…Drew Bledsoe? Bill Parcells? They Dolphins don’t want to wait to see who’s left at QB at pick 57.

34. St. Louis Rams
THE PICK: Donnie Avery (WR Houston)
Scouts compare him to Torry Holt. That worked too perfectly for me.

35. Atlanta Falcons
THE PICK: Antoine Cason (CB Arizona)
Look, I’m not Mel Kiper Jr. But Cason was the best shut down corner I saw play last year in college. I’m glad to see him climbing up draft boards, where he is being projected now as a late first round pick. In my scenario, he falls to the Falcons in early 2. This team has so many holes, but also has a pick at 38, so they can wait on QB and RB.

36. Kansas City Cheifs
THE PICK: Calais Campbell (DE Miami (FL))
If they miss out on Chris Long in the first round, which I still think they will , they need to go D- lineman after trading Jared Allen to the Vikings. Campbell is good value in the second round and should help a subpar defense get younger.

37. New York Jets
THE PICK: Quentin Groves (DE Auburn)
Groves is a really intriguing prospect because of his ridiculous speed (4.57 40-yard) and athleticism. Line him up with the newly acquired Kris Jenkins to his right, as a strong-side edge rusher and the Jets should be a contender in the AFC East again.

38. Atlanta Falcons
THE PICK: Brian Brohm (QB Louisville)
Yes he is a disciple of Bobby Petrino. However, as much as I like Joey Harrington, he’s probably not the answer here. Neither is DJ Shockley. So for the Falcons it comes down to whether or not they want to draft Jonathan Stewart (who even I am surprised is still on this board, but do you really see a team that needs to use a first round pick on a running back?) and team him with Michael “The Burner” Turner or go QB with Brohm.

39. Baltimore Ravens
THE PICK: Kenny Phillips (SS Miami (FL))
At this point, the Baltimore Ravens 2008 season looks lost. They missed out on Matt Ryan in Round 1. Now they miss out on Brian Brohm in Round 2. So it’s Kyle Boller in ’08! I think Boller can be an effective QB in the NFL. Just not in Baltimre. His time has passed here. The Ravens could take Stewart, but they’re terrible and have a front line back in Willis McGahee. Phillips has fallen for no good reason other than teams not going safety. So they line him up with Ed Reed to at least solidify their secondary.

40. San Francisco 49ers
THE PICK: Lawrence Jackson (DE Southern California)
This is another team similar to the Ravens who have so many glaring holes, it’s almost impossible to predict where they’ll go. With the exception of the newly acquired Justin Smith, their defensive line is rife with low-level talent. This is their attempt at an upgrade. I don’t see the 49ers and Ravens playing in the Super Bowl next year. Just a hunch.

41. New Orleans Saints
THE PICK: Dan Connor (OLB Penn State)
An insane steal at pick 41. Connor is a defensive genius. A guy that Bill Belchick would wake up thinking about in the middle of the night. This would be such a great pick for a terrible New Orleans defense to end up with such a smart player. It makes too much sense.

42. Buffalo Bills
THE PICK: Early Doucett (WR Louisiana State)
A nice complement in the slot at receiver for a team thin at receiver.

43. Denver Broncos
THE PICK: Jonathan Stewart (RB Oregon)
This is the insane steal section of the draft. The Broncos don’t really need a running back, with Selvin Young (who emerged last season) and Travis Henry on the depth chart. This pick is more about value than need. The Broncos are not a bad team. They helped their subpar OL in Round 1. Now they get a speed back who can break tackles. A team to fear in ’08.

44. Carolina Panthers
THE PICK: Jamaal Charles (RB Texas)
They’d love to get a Defensive End here, but there’s no one on the board worth taking. Running back could be a real problem for this team. After De’Angelo Williams (who is no stud back) they’re left with LaBrandon Toefield or Nick Goings. Charles’ would be a nice addition to the Panthers backfield.

45. Chicago Bears
THE PICK: Xavier Adibi (OLB Virginia Tech)
You might think I’m crazy here, having a team with Lance Briggs and Brain Urlacher take a linebacker in Round 2 when they have huge offensive problems. However, they also have huge problems with Urlacher and Briggs not wanting to be here. Adibi was great throughout college at Virginia Tech and, if nothing else, would be a huge insurance policy for a team with some emerging defensive questions to join their stagnated offensive problems. And really, there’s no player available here that can help their offense more than someone found in later rounds could.

46. Detroit Lions
THE PICK: Sam Baker (OT Southern California)
Again, they could go cornerback and would love to see Antoine Cason available. He’s not. They’re weaker than me doing squat lifts at offensive tackle. Baker is a nice addition that will hopefully help keep Jon Kitna on his feet, making miracles with the power of Jesus.

47. Cincinnati Bengals
THE PICK: Tyrell Johnson (S/CB Arkansas State)
In case you weren’t already aware, this team is a dysfunctional mess. Their head coach needs to be fired. Marvin Lewis, a supposed defensive genius is doing to the “genius” label what Brian Billick did to it in Baltimore. Johnson is athletic enough to play corner if the Bengals so see fit. But it’s not like they’re full of talent at safety either.

48. Minnesota Vikings
THE PICK: Duane Brown (OT Virginia Tech)
This team is loaded, especially now with the addition of Jared Allen on defense. Brown is a potential stud, who just needs some good coaching. He’ll be teamed with Steve Huchinson and Matt Birk on the Vikings OL, so he’ll have two of the best lineman in the game to teach him. This team has two question marks to me: Quarterback (I still believe Tavaris Jackson can be the answer) and receiver. The NFC North should be there’s for the taking next season.

Tomorrow, I will have the conclusion of Round 2.

Game O’ The Day: New York Mets @ Washington Nationals. Johan Santana is pitching. I’m going. Sounds like a Game O’ The Day to me.