Because the NFL couldn\u2019t be any more full of itself, Roger Goodell predicted that \u201cwell over a million people\u201d would pack Washington\u2019s National Mall for the NFL draft in two years. Not a million. Well over.<\/p>\n
America\u2019s top sports carny then turned his pomposity up to 11 when he said that the 2027 event \u201ccan have a tremendous impact on this community \u2026 and show the world how far the nation\u2019s capital has come and where it\u2019s going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mostly, what the million-fan march will show the world is that D.C. traffic is a nightmare. The draft crowds could shut down the capital. A good thing, most likely.<\/p>\n
Dreaded thought: Judging from the over-the-top, cringy theatrics the NFL threw into this last draft, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the league asks Snoop Dogg to recite Martin Luther King\u2019s \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech on the mall.<\/p>\n
Wondering: When Goodell was in the Oval Office, might he have discussed Donald Trump\u2019s plan to eliminate major federal funding for traumatic brain-injury research? Goodell likes to give the impression he cares about players\u2019 health.<\/p>\n
Numbers game: In a recent Washington Post poll of 651 people, 55% of respondents \u201cfavor strongly\u201d or \u201cfavor somewhat\u201d the use of D.C. funds to help build a new Commanders stadium. We\u2019re supposed to believe that the opinions of such a small sample represent the sentiment of most D.C. taxpayers. C\u2019mon now.<\/p>\n
Future watch: Only when it comes to the NFL \u2014 a 12-month national obsession \u2014 is the release of the league schedule considered a big deal among the faithful. It takes place next Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Mixed message: The Ravens released place-kicker Justin Tucker, accused by multiple massage therapists of sexual misconduct, but appear to be content with edge rusher Mike Green, a second-round pick from Marshall who was accused of sexual assault in high school and college. Of all teams, the Ravens couldn\u2019t find another strong prospect with fewer red flags? It\u2019s a stunning self-own by a franchise under heavy scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Giddy-up: The Triple Crown \u2014 in decline the last 20 years \u2014 forfeits a lot of casual interest when the Kentucky Derby winner skips the Preakness. This marks the second time in the last four years that the Derby winner ditched Baltimore.<\/p>\n
And on it goes: There was an Aaron Rodgers sighting at the Kentucky Derby, but there\u2019s still no definitive word on when he might saddle up for the Steelers. Any day now, we\u2019re told. Any day.<\/p>\n
In passing: I\u2019m still surprised the Steelers didn\u2019t draft Shedeur Sanders.<\/p>\n
Problematic: The Warriors\u2019 season \u2014 and the general level of national interest in the NBA playoffs \u2014 hangs by Steph Curry\u2019s left hamstring.<\/p>\n
Courting trouble: Enough already about the importance of home court. Going into Thursday\u2019s NBA playoff action, teams were 1-6 in front of family and friends.<\/p>\n
Collapsing: The Knicks would like it to be phrased another way, but the Celtics are the first team to blow 20-plus-point leads to lose back-to-back playoff games. That the calamities took place on the parquet only added to Boston\u2019s embarrassment.<\/p>\n
Next chapter: He didn\u2019t dunk or help sell sneakers, but Gregg Popovich\u2019s retirement from the sidelines is a big loss for basketball.<\/p>\n
Stat stuff: With the American League\u2019s worst ERA, run differential and production with runners in scoring position, the Orioles appear to be built for last place.<\/p>\n
En fuego: By no means has Shohei Ohtani\u2019s season been chopped sushi, but New York is home so far this season to baseball\u2019s most fearsome hitters \u2014 the Yankees\u2019 Aaron Judge and the Mets\u2019 Pete Alonso.<\/p>\n
Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.<\/p>\n
Originally Published: May 8, 2025 at 2:02 PM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Because the NFL couldn\u2019t be any more full of itself, Roger Goodell predicted that \u201cwell over a million…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[339,7,929,6060,6,15,9,2833],"class_list":{"0":"post-34475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl-draft","8":"tag-college-sports","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-latest-headlines","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-nfl-draft","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-sports-columnists"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114473863982966687","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}