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<\/a><\/p>\nEd Valentine<\/p>\n
This was also an eventful day in the interview room. Chatted with potential future Giant linebacker Sonny Styles<\/a> at 8 a.m. Snagged a few minutes 1-on-1 with Chris Simms<\/a>. Chatted with NFL Media draft analyst Chad Reuter. Spent a few minutes talking with the great Greg Cosell. Whether he was telling me the truth or just trying to be nice, Cosell said he remembered the interview he did with me about the quarterback class at last year\u2019s Combine.<\/p>\n Walking is a way of life in downtown Indianapolis. Everything is close enough to walk to. Only, the Indiana Convention Center is massive and by the time you have walked everywhere you have walked A LOT. I put 7.3 miles on my black, old man, Nike Air Monarchs on Wednesday. From Monday thru Thursday, I logged 22 miles of walking.<\/p>\n More on the Simms interview<\/p>\n Simms is well-known to be a Giants fan, which makes sense since his father is Phil Simms. A few years ago, I stood in a lengthy line of media members waiting my turn to get five to seven minutes of Simms\u2019 time for a brief one-on-one interview.<\/p>\n When my chance came, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Simms both knew of Big Blue View and knew who I was \u2014 or at least made me believe he did.<\/p>\n Anyway, that chat was such fun that I now try to reprise it every time I attend the Combine. I missed Simms a year ago, but was happy to catch up this time. Maybe he is BS\u2019ing me, but Simms always greets me like an old friend. If you missed our chat, get reading<\/a>!<\/p>\n Simms, by the way, is hogging all the \u201ccredit\u201d for starting the Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love to the Giants rumors<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thursday, Feb. 26: A discovery, and an old friend of BBV<\/p>\n Remember when I said that on Monday I went walking in the wrong direction while heading out to get some dinner? Well, sometimes you discover cool things by accident. That is what happened here.<\/p>\n Maybe a half-mile down the street from the house we were in, going away from the stadium and all the things I was supposed to be in Indianapolis for, I found an old delicatessen that didn\u2019t look like much. I was, though, curious. Those kinds of out of the way places that don\u2019t look like anything can sometimes turn out to be SOMETHING.<\/p>\n That was the case with Shapiro\u2019s Delicatessen.<\/p>\n Each day, media members who want it can get a breakfast of bagels, pastries, and muffins in the Convention Center\u2019s media workroom. My flight was early enough on Friday that I wasn\u2019t going there before leaving, so I needed to find some baked goods or pastries to wolf down before going to the airport.<\/p>\n Enter Shapiro\u2019s. I meandered down there Thursday afternoon to see if they sold baked goods. I wasn\u2019t optimistic when I had to go past two \u201cexit only\u201d doors before I could get into the place. I finally entered, though, and it was like stepping into a different world.<\/p>\n Shapiro\u2019s is like time-warping your way into something from the 1940s that seems like two eateries \u2014 a pastry shop and a diner \u2014 in one. Because, well, if you read the history of the place<\/a> that is exactly what it is. An awesome selection of pastries and muffins, including Greek specialty items, on one side. A dining hall-style restaurant and deli on the other.<\/p>\n I bought my pastries and went back two hours later for dinner, where I discovered that when you at Shapiro\u2019s you EAT AT SHAPIRO\u2019S. Massive portions bigger than most humans should be able to eat, plentiful sides, tantalizing pie slices forcing you to buy them because they are at the front of the line when you still have an appetite. That\u2019s called product placement, and it worked on me.<\/p>\n I will go back the next time I\u2019m at the Combine.<\/p>\n Yes, a lot of this post seems to be about food.<\/p>\n Thursday, I skipped out on the media workroom free boxed lunch containing some sort of mysterious sandwich I had never seen before and had lunch with former Big Blue View contributor Joe DeLeone.<\/p>\n I always enjoy seeing contributors come through BBV and then go on to build successful media careers of their own. I hope I have helped them in some small way. DeLeone is now a well-regarded draft analyst for A to Z Sports, co-hosts the Ruffino & Joe Show<\/a> college football podcast, and has a few other irons in the fire. He is on his way to a successful career.<\/p>\n Good job, Joe! It was nice to catch up.<\/p>\n Friday, Feb. 27: Home, sweet home!<\/p>\n Travel day. No trek to the Indiana Convention Center for media scrums with draft prospects. Off to the Indianapolis Airport for me.<\/p>\n Why does dirty laundry take up more space than clean clothes?<\/p>\n Even packed and rolled up as tightly as possible in a mesh bag, the dirty stuff was harder to jam into my carry-on than it was when it was clean. Of course, maybe this is because before I left for Indy my wife took one look at how I packed for the trip, took everything out and re-packed it. Magically, it fit better.<\/p>\n Again, wives can come in handy!<\/p>\n Why is travel day always the best weather day in Indianapolis?<\/p>\n This never fails. Every time I come to the Combine, the best weather and warmest day comes on the day I leave. The temperature was in the teens when I got here on Monday afternoon. As I left on Friday morning, it was a beautiful, sunny day with high temperatures expected to be in the low 60s.<\/p>\n Now that I am home, here is a debate that I am having with myself. Was it actually worth it to fly rather than drive the 790 miles?<\/p>\n It is a 13-hour drive from Albany to Indianapolis. While I have done it alone twice, I am not getting any younger. Here is the thing, though. From the time I left the house Monday morning until I got to Indianapolis was more than eight hours. Returning home, it was 10 hours. All of that for two hours of time in the air each way.<\/p>\n I keep thinking I would rather just drive than deal with all the airport hassle and sitting in a crammed airplane that makes my knees and my back hurt. Plus, driving saves a few bucks.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n