I’m running out of bad Draft puns.

Last night, the NFL held the first round of its seven round annual player draft. As expected, Stanford QB Andrew Luck and Baylor QB Robert Griffin III went 1st and 2nd overall to Indianapolis and Washington, respectively. The biggest news of the draft may have come an hour prior to its start though, when the Cleveland Browns traded a fourth, fifth, and seventh round pick to swap their 4th overall pick with Minnesota’s 3rd. The Browns then took Alabama running back Trent Richardson, because if we know anything about the NFL, it’s that there’s never something as sure as a Running Back.

Other highlights of the night included 28 year old QB Brandon Weeden being drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 22nd overall pick. But the true star of Draft night was the trade. There were 8 instances of teams swapping picks last night, in what was easily the most hectic and rapid-fire first round of the NFL Draft in recent memory.

It was a night to celebrate in the Tri-State area, as the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils won their Game 7 matchups to advance to the second round of the NHL Playoffs. The Rangers defeated the Ottawa Senators behind solid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist and the Devils did their work in multiple overtimes, winning 4 minutes into double overtime on an Adam Henrique goal (his second of the game). 

The Rangers advance to face the Washington Capitals, while the Devils will face a relatively rested Philadelphia Flyers team. 

Out west, the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues begin their second round series tomorrow, while the Nashville Predators and the Phoenix Coyotes (two historic hockey hotbeds) kick the second round off tonight in the Desert Southwest.

Some highlights:

*The Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs finished tied for the best record in the league at 50-16.

*Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder beat Kobe Bryant for the League scoring title by 1/10 of a point. It’s Durant’s second consecutive scoring crown.

*Rajon Rondo finished the season with 24 consecutive games with at least 10 assists.

And some lowlights:

*The Charlotte Bobcats season ended on a 23 game losing streak. The Bobcats finished with a 9-55 record, which qualifies them as, statistically, the worst team in the history of the NBA.

*The Golden State Warriors tanked most of their season to hang on to a draft pick. In a previous trade with the Utah Jazz, the Warriors agreed to send a first round pick to Salt Lake City if they finished with the 8th worst (or better) record. If Golden State was one of the 7 worst teams (according to win/loss record) they would get to keep their pick. Knowing this, the Warriors benched their good players and played the latter part of the season with mostly rookies. They finished tied for the 7th worst record in the league. 

The Nationals, again, failed to execute a series sweep, losing late last night to the San Diego Padres by a 2-1 mark. Setup man Tyler Clippard was tagged with the loss, after surrendering a two-run double in the bottom of the 9th. The Nats failed to get a run across in the 9th, giving Padres closer Huston Street the save.

The Nats now drive up I-5 to Los Angeles for a weekend series with the Dodgers. Tonight’s game features reigning Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw facing the Nats’ Ross Detweiler. Game time is 10:00 p.m.

We’re firmly in that time of year that is a sports lovers dream. Playoff games in both the NHL and NBA will fill the schedule this weekend. In addition, the NFL draft will continue tonight with Rounds 2 and 3 (7:00 p.m./NFL Network and ESPN). Add to that a very intriguing series between the Dodgers and the Nationals and you’ve got a good excuse to abandon your loved ones and hole up, like a hermit, in your living room for the next 72 hours. Enjoy!