Old Kentucky notes …
It was early Sunday morning at Churchill Downs. One minute, veteran trainer Carl Nafzger was working out Street Sense in preparation for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. The next minute, he wanted to know whom the Broncos selected in the NFL draft.
That’s because the voice on the other end of his cellphone belonged to Jim Bates, the man with the plan for the Broncos’ defense. The same Jim Bates who will be in Louisville pulling for Nafzger’s colt in the Run for the Roses.
The two met during Bates’ days with the Dolphins, when they lived on the same floor of a condo building in Miami. They’ve remained close friends ever since, so close that their families vacation together in the offseason.
“We talk every day,” Bates said. “It’s really been interesting talking football and horse racing. There are a lot of similarities. You don’t know about horses until you work with them, and it’s the same thing with players. There are good times and bad times. That’s the way the horse business is, and it’s true with football, too.” …
Enough already with all these team-by-team grades. This is the NFL draft we’re talking about. Until further notice, every team gets an incomplete. …
Not that the draft is all in the eye of the beholder, but one media “expert” gave the Broncos a D-minus; another gave them an A-minus. Ginger or Mary Ann, fellas. Make up your minds. …
The Broncos’ draft of 2007, bringing new meaning to capturing the buzz. It’s not like Mike Shanahan is asking for trouble. Then again, he isn’t trying to avoid it, either. …
Just so you know, that slimy creature on the wrong end of Joe Thomas’ fishing lure Saturday wasn’t named Drew Rosenhaus. …
The bottom line on Marcus
Thomas: If he plays anywhere but the defensive line, Shana-
han doesn’t give up three picks to get him. Shanahan’s draft history can be defined by his eternal quest for a big lug who can dominate on the D line. …
Make ya a deal, Shanny. If Thomas turns into a monster player, I hereby vow to never again type the words Maurice Clarett or Grey Goose. …
Scratch one more oxymoron from the sports dictionary: Oscar De La Hoya, underdog. He’ll go into the ring vs. Floyd Mayweather as a 2-1 dog, give or take, in Las Vegas. …
So the Nuggets can’t seem to beat the Spurs. Maybe they can at least steal a page from their playbook. They need a veteran 3-point specialist on their bench, no matter how gray his temples have grown. …
Trivia time: Which school has accounted for the most No. 1 picks in NFL draft history? Answer several dots below. …
They pass on Drew Brees because of injury issues, then sign Daunte Culpepper. Now they draft Ted Ginn Jr., nursing a leg injury as we speak, instead of Brady Quinn. The lights are on, but is anybody home in the Dolphins’ medical offices? …
Little-known historical fact, courtesy of ESPN’s Jayson Stark: The last time the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by this many games on May 1 was 1912, when Babe Ruth was a teenager dreaming the dream. …
Did you notice? According to those crack numbers crunchers at the Elias Sports Bureau, a rookie pitcher has been credited with each of the Yankees’ past five W’s. …
Shocking, simply shocking. What’s that? No, not that fans at Talladega would shower Jeff Gordon with beer cans. The shocker is that some NASCAR ‘neck would waste a perfectly good six-buck beer. …
Trivia answer: According to the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, it’s Ohio State with 66, followed by USC with 65. CU, for the record, has accounted for 22 first-rounders, CSU five and Wyoming three. …
Ryan Harris, the newest member of the Broncos’ offensive line, used the word “eclectic” during a postdraft radio interview. And you thought he was going to fit in well with Tom Nalen & the Silent Knights.
Jim Armstrong can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
