Recapping the NFL draft
April is widely considered to be the best month on the sports calendar, and there’s plenty of evidence to back up that claim. Starting things off? The men’s and women’s Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament. The middle of the month? The NBA and NHL playoffs begin. Baseball is on pretty much every day. But once the late stretch of April rolls around, it’s back to football talk with the NFL draft stealing many of the headlines.
This year’s draft was quite a busy one from both the Giants and Jets. That should come as no surprise given that both teams are still in an all-too lengthy rebuilding period. With Big Blue making seven selections and Gang Green with eight, there were plenty of opportunities for them to screw up in the eyes of the so-called ‘draft experts.’ After all, this is the Giants and Jets we’re talking about here.
But at least on paper, the draft was a major success.
The Giants were the only team to make two selections in the top 10 after trading away Dexter Lawrence to the Bengals the week prior. With their first pick at fifth overall, the G-Men desperately needed a star on defense to replace Lawrence, even if it wasn’t his exact position as a defensive tackle. I predicted they would take two Ohio State players in linebacker Sonny Styles and safety Caleb Downs. As it turned out, they would pass on both Buckeyes and were subsequently selected by the Commanders and Cowboys, respectively. In any other circumstance, I would be upset if I saw my team pass on two talented prospects and see them go to division rivals. But given who they took instead, I’m more than at peace with the decisions.
Arvell Reese fell right into the laps of the G-Men. Many prognosticators thought the Ohio State product would be selected before then, but the Jets passed on him for another defensive stalwart (more on that later), the Cardinals opted for Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love, and the Titans took Ohio State wideout Carnell Tate. Like last year with Abdul Carter, the Giants seemed to strike gold again with a player whose potential is arguably the highest in his draft class, regardless of position. While some might argue Reese doesn’t address a need since they’re already pretty set at linebacker with Carter, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux already in the room, Reese is a versatile weapon who can play at any linebacker role and off the edge. An even simpler rationale? You can never have enough linebackers.
I thought they would go defense again with the 10th overall pick, especially after seeing that unit collapse down the stretch in virtually every game last season. Instead, Big Blue took offensive guard Francis Mauigoa out of Miami. There’s no reason to complain about beefing up a line that has been one of the most consistent areas of struggle ever since they last hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in 2012. It’s also much-needed protection for Jaxson Dart, who will need all the protection he can given his aggressive play style when running the ball.
With Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood going in Round 2 and Notre Dame wide receiver Malachi Field being taken in Round 3, the Giants used their other selections (including their trio of sixth-round picks) to fill in other needs. All in all, a lot to be happy about for Big Blue.
The same goes for the Jets. The draft really began when they went second since everybody and their mother knew the Raiders would take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall. Gang Green could have prevented the team they share a stadium with from getting Reese by taking the 20-year-old with a ceiling as high as Mount Everest. Instead, they went for the older and safer pick with 22-year-old edge rusher David Bailey out of Texas Tech. There was really no going wrong for the Jets with whoever they took between the two, but it seemed like they wanted someone who could immediately contribute to their lackluster pass rush.
The Jets were back on the board 12 picks later where they expectedly took a pass catcher. However, they sprung a bit of a surprise by going for tight end Kenyon Sadiq out of Oregon instead of a wide receiver like USC’s Makai Lemon. It would have been hard to pass on Sadiq’s freakish athleticism, so fans would at least be content with the selection. Their frets on not boosting their wide receiving core were short-lived, as they traded up to the 30th overall pick to take Indiana wideout Omar Cooper Jr.. Not only does Cooper slot in as their second receiver behind Garrett Wilson and is already a vast improvement on AD Mitchell, he adds some championship pedigree after helping the Hoosiers go undefeated and win the national title. For a franchise that hasn’t had a whole lot of winning in recent memory, perhaps a winner like Cooper can help fix that issue.
As for their later-round selection, the biggest one that stands out is Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik with the 110th overall pick. If you were to say he’d be taken this late in the draft at around this time last year, you’d be getting looks of disbelief. But after a stellar junior campaign, Klubnik had the rare senior slump as the Tigers limped to a 7-6 finish. The Jets clearly see something in him to at the very least give Geno Smith some competition in the quarterback. But is this the future savior at a position that’s seemingly cursed for the franchise? Only time will tell.
As for the Bills, general manager Brandon Beane really tested the patience from Bills Mafia. Fans that stayed up late to see who they would take with the 26th pick would have to wait a bit longer after Beane traded back to 28. Then the wait lasted three more picks after another trade back to 31. Then it turned into almost an entire day as they dropped back to pick 35.
Was the wait worth it? Well they did address their defensive issues by taking edge rusher TJ Parker out of Clemson and then took cornerback Davison Igbinosun out of Ohio State with their other second-round pick. Any help defensively is much-appreciated help for Buffalo. They know that all too well from their recent playoff shortcomings.
Their later-round pick that caught my eye? Skyler Bell. The fourth-round wide receiver out of UConn could very well be the steal the draft. And I’m not just saying that as a Huskies fan who watched plenty of his games. Or maybe I am. But either way, the more help for Josh Allen, the better.
Cornell men’s lacrosse repeats regular season title
Two Saturdays ago, Cornell men’s lacrosse had its backs against the wall. The Big Red trailed the Big Green 4-2 early on and trailed 7-6 late in the third quarter. But it responded with a six-goal run to help secure a 15-9 victory. Flash forward one week later, and things played out quite similarly, this time with a lot more at stake.
Saturday’s regular season finale against Harvard was simple: A win clinches top spot in the conference and home-field advantage for the Ivy League tournament, while a loss would most likely mean Princeton would earn hosting right for the tourney. The Big Red made sure it did not leave matters up to fate.
Once again, the Big Red found themselves down front the get-go, falling behind 4-1 early in the second quarter. But yet again, the Big Red found an answer, rattling off four straight goals to take a 5-4 lead into the halftime break and extended its run to five unanswered early in the third quarter.
The Crimson would not go away so easily as it took back the lead 80 seconds into the fourth quarter. Ryan Goldstein and Willem Firth each scored to restore Cornell’s advantage, only for Harvard to tie things up at 9-9 with 3:43 remaining. But Goldstein and Firth struck again to seal a 11-9 Big Red victory, a 34th Ivy League regular season crown, and at least one more game at Schoellkopf Field.
After the Big Red’s loss to Yale, goalie Matt Tully said that they’ve treated every game like a playoff game. Those types of contests call for big-time players, and Goldstein and Firth certainly fit the bill with seven and five points, respectively. Tully also fits into that definition after a 12-save performance.
The Big Red successfully defended ‘George’s House.’ But they’ll have to do it all over again this Friday in the semifinals against… Harvard. Again. The winner will take on either Princeton or Yale in Sunday’s championship.
Two other local college lacrosse teams will also have home-field advantage for their respective conference tournaments. Ithaca’s 14-9 win over Skidmore secured top spot in the Liberty League and will also be in semifinal action on Friday. Cortland steamrolled through the SUNYAC with an unblemished 7-0 record and will host Plattsburgh for the semifinals on Wednesday.
Yankees catch fire in late April
As one side of town continues their freefall (I’m referring to the now 9-19 Mets that just got swept by the Rockies out of all teams), the other side is flying high one month into the season.
The Yankees sit atop the American League with a 18-10 record. Over the past week-plus, they swept aside the Royals at home, took all three games in enemy territory against the Red Sox, and won two out of three in Houston. While I once again remind you that it is still very early on and that the Yankees have been accustomed to getting off to hot starts only for their form to take a nosedive around June and July, I can’t help but be amazed by how dominant the starting pitching has been to start off the season.
During their recent eight-game winning streak, the Yankees’ starters combined for an astonishing 1.17 ERA. Max Fried has looked the part of a true ace once again. Cam Schlittler is proving that his captivating cameos last season are not a fluke. The real question marks were on Will Warren and Ryan Weathers, but even they have been a pleasant surprise to this shorthanded rotation. Did I mention that they’re doing all this without Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt? Once they’re all up and running, Aaron Boone is going to have quite the headache in figuring out the right rotation for the rest of the year.
One thing’s for certain: Luis Gil will not be part of those plans. Four innings of six-run ball and no strikeout in Sunday’s loss to Houston to snap the streak earned him a one-way ticket to Pennsylvania with a demotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. As the old saying goes, they can’t all be home runs. I guess in this case, replacing ‘home runs’ with ‘strikeouts’ would be more fitting.
Other things that caught my eye:
- Sabres fans must be in dreamland right now. They now hold a 3-1 lead over the Bruins in the first round of the postseason as the series heads back to Buffalo on Tuesday night. If you thought the insane reactions from their first playoff game, goal(s) and victory for the first time in 15 years were, imagine the scenes if they take care of business on home ice and win their first playoff series since 2007.
- It’s been a much more challenging first-round series for the Knicks. Following a pair of one-point losses to the Hawks, the former of which included a blown 12-point lead entering the fourth quarter, New York evened the series with a pretty comfortable 114-98 win on Saturday night powered by Karl-Anthony Towns’ first career playoff triple-double. The hope is that the victory kills off any more momentum Atlanta was building up, but you can’t rule around another trademark playoff collapse back at the Garden Tuesday night for Game 5.
- A tough way to end a great season for Cornell women’s lacrosse over the weekend. Needing a win and a Penn victory over Brown to make the Ivy League Tournament, the Big Red did its part by edging Yale 11-10 on Saturday. They must have been the biggest Quaker fans imaginable on Sunday, but the Bears broke two teams’ hearts at once with a 14-13 overtime victory. Meanwhile, Ithaca will host Clarkson on Tuesday for the first round of the Liberty League tournament, and Cortland hosts New Paltz on Wednesday for the SUNYAC semifinals.
- I mentioned in last week’s column that Groton’s Elisa Allen tied the all-time home run record for Binghamton University softball. The junior now stands alone with 45 dingers after blasting another ball out of the park on Tuesday. Out of all teams to break the record against, it was only apropos that it was against the closest Division I school she grew up near: Cornell.
- Lastly, a farewell to one of the most successful volleyball coaches in Division III. On Tuesday, SUNY Cortland volleyball head coach Erin Glickert announced that she would be stepping down after leading the Red Dragons for seven years. And what a seven years it was: 149 wins, five straight SUNYAC regular season and tournament titles, five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and three SUNYAC Coach of the Year honors. There’s dominance, and then there’s what the Red Dragons did in conference play in the Glickert era. The most staggering statistic? Between 2021 and 2025, Cortland did not lose a single match against a SUNYAC opponent. That’s the standard of excellence Cortland prides itself on no matter the sport, and the Red Dragons under Glickert embodied that gold standard time and time again.
