I hope you enjoyed Yardbarker's 2008 NFL Draft coverage. I'm just about fresh out of photos, videos and stories from my weekend in NYC. I could tell you the story about eating onion rings with Glenn Dorsey, but it was one of those "you had to be there" moments.

Thanks for the support. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun as it was without all of you hanging out in the Yard throughout the weekend. Next year we'll do it bigger and even better. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend the rest of my afternoon checking out mock drafts and big boards for the 2009 NFL Draft.

See you in the Yard, football fans.

- Dewey

"Mr. Irrelevant" is the brainchild of former USC and NFL wide receiver Paul Salata, with whom I had the opportunity to speak during the waning moments of the 2008 NFL Draft. I also spoke with Paul's daughter, who runs Mr. Irrelevant Week, a series of events offered to the final pick as a way to support to the little guy, the underdog. In 1988, Jeff Bethard was Mr. Irrelevant, selected by the Rams, but only because Bethard had personal ties to the Rams, which traded down to select him so that Bethard could enjoy the perks that come along with being the final pick. A cruise, banquet, trip to Disneyland, et cetera. Shortly thereafter, the NFL enacted a rule disallowing teams the ability to trade the Draft's final pick. At least that's what Paul's daughter told me.

The story doesn't end there, though, because no NFL Draft (or any NFL event, for that matter) would be complete without finding an excuse to put Bill Belichick on Mac Blast. In 2005, Andy Stokes (William Penn University) was selected as Mr. Irrelevant by the New England Patriots. Paul's daughter told me that Belichick refused to allow Stokes to attend the week-long celebration, and only relented when Commissioner Tagliabue forced his hand. Belichick told the kid he could go, but that had to be back on Wednesday morning by 7:30 a.m. for practice. (The banquet was Tuesday night in Southern California.) Stokes showed up for practice at the team's facility, and the door was locked; the facilities were empty. There was never a practice scheduled for that day. Coach Belichick was just being a jerkstore.

- Dewey

Nothing beats embarrassing yourself in front of hundreds of reporters and TV cameras, which is exactly what I did at Darren McFadden's press conference last weekend after he was selected by Oakland. Don't believe me? I've got video proof. I asked McFadden if he was looking forward to playing twice a year against a former SEC rival, a guy who now would be a rival in the AFC West with the Kansas City Chiefs. Florida DE Derrick Harvey. It would have been a legitimate question had Harvey actually been drafted by the Chiefs. Oops. Darren reminded me that the Chiefs drafted Glenn Dorsey, not Harvey, who three picks later was chosen by the Jacksonville Jaguars. If you're wondering why the video is shaky, it's because I was turning my head back and forth, asking myself, "How many people just saw that?" Answer: Too many. I was actually more upset with my bumbling response to the error than the error itself. C'est la vie.

I wasn't alone in my ineptitude, though. Legendary Boston Globe reporter Bob Ryan was similarly clueless about New England's selection. A few minutes before my mistake, I overheard Ryan, who was sitting a few feet in front of me and to my right, mention that Sedrick Ellis had been drafted by the Patriots. I jumped into the conversation, confused, pretty sure that Sedrick got picked up by the Saints a few minutes earlier: " Sedrick Ellis went to New England?" He turned to me, rather condescendingly actually, and said, "Yeah, the Patriots took Ellis." I immediately checked the monitors, and Ellis of course went to New Orleans. At the time, the Patriots weren't even on the clock yet. Burn. Good times at the 2008 NFL Draft.

- Dewey

There is nothing I can say about Miss Liberty that rivals watching her in action. A fixture at Giants games and also the NFL Draft, she says hello the Yard in this exclusive Yardbarker video, which features embarrassing "cameos" from Ron "Jaws" Jaworski and Sylvester Stallone.

View at your own risk.

- Dewey

Joe Flacco spent a few minutes on the phone with the Yard today. I have to admit, as a Ravens fan, I was skeptical of the pick. Especially at eighteen. Not because of Flacco's skill or potential, but because Kyle Boller never amounted to anything more than a career backup. I'm scarred and scared. One thing I do love, though, is Flacco's accent. They'll love him in Baltimore. Nice guy. Hopefully a great QB, too.

You can read the full article at the link.

- Dewey

A handful of students from NYC public schools had a chance to interview this year's top NFL Draft prospects at Nike's "Play 60" event, and a few of these kids might rival the talking heads on TV. My favorite question was directed to Matt Ryan: "How do you feel about Jake Long being the top Draft pick and not you?" Well played, son.

Thanks to Nike for letting the Yard hang out at the event, which took place on Thursday before the Draft. The event featured a $500,000 turf field that is now being donated to a school in Brooklyn. That grass is worth even more than Pacman's personal stash.

- Dewey

It's not exactly breaking news, but check out T-Will's take on being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Congratulations, Thomas.

- Dewey

Don't be mad at us, Darren. We enjoyed this video too much to not post it. Oakland Raiders RB Darren McFadden tries to dunk... and comes up short. This was filmed in NYC a few days before the NFL Draft.

- Dewey

Go backstage at the NFL Draft with the McFadden family, and also get a glimpse at the madness that ensued when they hustled Darren off the stage and back to his family. Quote from Darren, immediately after getting drafted; on the Bay Area: "It's going to be my new home for the next five or 10 years or however long. They're going to get everything they want out of me."

- Dewey

Yardbarker will be inside Radio City Music Hall for rounds 3 through 7.

There are still some great players on the board, and Miami is on the clock. Yesterday an hour before the Draft there was a swelling calm before the storm. Today it's raining outside, but inside there's not much going on. There are probably more people running wires and testing cables than there are media folks covering the Draft live.

I'll post updates in the comments throughout the day. Hopefully some of y'all will hang out with us in the Yard today. It'll be interesting to see which of the guys drafted today will end up being Pro Bowlers. There are always a few. It's my opinion that Mario Manningham is the best player on the board. The only reason he's still around on day two is because of his flip-flopping with regard to his history with the sticky icky.

Signing off for now. Gotta get find myself some coffee. Yesterday the event was fully catered. Today there's not even coffee. Fortunately it's NYC, and smart money says there's a Starbucks within 50 feet of me, which is probably about how far Pat Sims can walk without eating a donut. And that's probably why the Auburn DT is still on the board.

- Dewey

What's up, Yard? Things are wild here in NYC. Strangely enough, even though I was at the Draft today, I feel sort of out of the loop when it comes to the big picture. There were so many things happening, and so much commotion, that it was easy to lose track of who went were and also who was on the clock. Thanks to all the Yardbarkers who kept posting throughout the Draft. Hopefully I'll see some of you back in the Yard tomorrow. It's getting late in New York, and I'll be back at Radio City Music Hall in about five hours. Time to catch some Zs between now and then. It's a long day tomorrow: five rounds, probably eight or nine hours.

In the meantime, congratulations to Raiders RB Darren McFadden and Bengals LB Keith Rivers. Tomorrow Yardbarker Thomas Williams will come off the board. Good luck to you, Thomas.

- Dewey

Keith Rivers: "I brought my charger with me because I knew the phone would be blowing up. It has been buzzing non stop. I have gotten 90 text messages and I don't know how many calls."

Cincy coaches and players, USC guys, friends and family, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart; everyone is excited for Keith to be a Bengal. Except the rest of the AFC North.

- Dewey

The draft is two hours away, and inside Radio City Music Hall is already bustling. Yardbarker will be here all day, blogging live about the first 2 rounds, and back again tomorrow for rounds 3-7. Updates will be posted here in the comment thread.

- Dewey

Draft Day has arrived. I'll be heading over to Radio City Music Hall shortly, at which point I'm going to dive right headfirst into all that has happened and is about to happen. There have been a few trades to digest, and a whole lot of rumors about what is going to happen after *surprise* Jake Long gets selected #1 overall by Big Tuna and the Miami Dolphins.

- Dewey

Until yesterday I had never heard of Tiffany Evans. I still really don't know who she is. But I do know that she has 165,000 friends and 5,000,000 page views on MySpace. She also has a beautiful voice. Yesterday she sang the anthem at a Nike event that I attended. The picture is a bit shaky for the first half because I was jockeying for position and also trying not to block the views of the kids at the event, but the second half of the video is solid. Some in the Yard might say way too solid.

- Dewey

PS: Thanks to the folks at Nike for showing Yardbarker some love.