Since We've Been Gone ...

You know, summer is one of those times of year that's always so conflicting. School's out; yay! Baseball season is being dominated by the Yankees and Red Sox; boo! We're going to the beach; yay! Your sole source of NFL news is about your team's seventh string running back; boo! ... And so it goes. This summer, however, has been quite an exciting one for the sports world. Here's a brief recap of what you've missed if you haven't seen a minute of ESPN since school ended.

Brett Favre announced he was coming back. But then everyone thought he was going to retire because of his arm. But then he made it clear he was coming back ... and then announced he was retiring for good. Finally, it's clear he's coming back for good (or at least until his arm gives way in week 6). The winners during this situation: the 13 teams on the Vikings' schedule. Brett Favre (pictured, left) is a joke. He can't throw the ball accurate more than 30 yards in the air,

and at this stage in his life, makes poorer decisions than ever. The losers during this situation? Everyone else. The Vikings, for having to put up with this distraction all summer. The fans, who used to be very pro-Favre around America, and now hate the guy. Sage Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson. One of those guys thought he was going to be the starting quarterback of a Super Bowl contending team this fall. That same guy is about to be a third stringer. Brad Childress, perhaps the biggest goat of all, who has admitted that he will sell his soul to the devil and abandon his team for a risky player. And, of course Favre. Brett, you're still going to the hall of fame; I just don't know whos going to be there to support you.

Elsewhere in the NFL, draft picks are showing why their teams drafted them. Except Michael Crabtree, because he thinks he deserves top three, not top ten, money because he feels he was a top three, not top ten, player. Oh, and Andre Smith, because who honestly thought the Bengals' organization could do anything right? Oh, and Tyson Jackson, because people are still wondering why the hell the Chiefs took him.

In the NBA, Shaq and LeBron are now together ... And every single fair-weather NBA fan in the entire world has become a Cavs fan, because you have no sense of humor at all if you dislike both of those players. I'm proud to say one of the very few predictions I got right last year was predicting LA would go all the way and win the NBA championship, and I made that prediction because of how much better LA was inside than Cleveland. Of course, I didn't realize that the Magic were that much better inside than Cleveland, too. If the big Shaqtus (pictured, right) has anything left in the tank, this should put Cleveland over the hump.

Of course, baseball is still in progress, and things are starting to get good, so there will be more on that soon. Maryland football is about to start up their regular season, and even though they're not supposed to be good, there will be more on that soon, too. And Maryland basketball is still months away, but they're supposed to be really good, so it's never too soon to start thinking about them either.

Mock Draft: Picks 17-24

Here we go again, for the third part of the mock draft we had. I stress once again, these picks were the ones made on Monday. Here's how it went ...

17. New York Jets

Herman: Everette Brown (DE, Florida State)

Radecki: Darrius Heyward-Bey (WR, Maryland)

Kiper: Darrius Heyward-Bey

McShay: Darrius Heyward-Bey

Wright: Josh Freeman (QB, Kansas State)

- Notes: Heyward-Bey being the most common pick is not surprising here; the Jets need offensive firepower in the worst way. However, Rex Ryan knows how important pass rush is to a defense's success, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Brown go here instead. The Jets need a quarterback, and Wright thinks they will reach for Freeman.

18. Denver Broncos

Herman: Michael Oher (OT, Mississippi)

Radecki: Robert Ayers (DE, Tennessee)

Kiper: Everette Brown

McShay: Everette Brown

Wright: Robert Ayers

- Notes: All four besides me went with Denver picking up the best available defensive end. I didn't see them spending both of their first round picks on the same position, though, and I thought Oher's value was too good for them to pass up here. 

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Herman: Peria Jerry (DT, Mississippi)

Radecki: Rey Maualuga (ILB, USC)

Kiper: Josh Freeman

McShay: Peria Jerry

Wright: Michael Johnson (DE, Georgia Tech)

- Notes: Defensive line was the theme here, with three of the five selections being along that front. Kiper thinks the Bucs would reach for Freeman in this position, and Radecki thinks Maualuga would fill their hole at linebacker nicely. 

20. Detroit Lions

Herman: Rey Maualuga

Radecku: Michael Oher

Kiper: Michael Oher

McShay: Michael Oher

Wright: Michael Oher

- Notes: Everyone agrees that if Oher is still available in this spot, then the Lions would draft him. The problem is, I don't think he will be here. Because of that, I think they would go for the captain of their defense, like they got the captain of their offense with the first pick. 

21. Philadelphia Eagles

Herman: Knowshon Moreno (RB, Georgia)

Radecki: Chris "Beanie" Wells (RB, Ohio State)

Kiper: Knowshon Moreno

McShay: Knowshon Moreno

Wright: Knowshon Moreno

- Notes: Runningback is the obvious choice here for Philadelphia. Moreno is the perfect fit, but if Wells is still there (like in Tyler's draft), Philly may opt for him. 

22. Minnesota Vikings

Herman: Percy Harvin (WR, Florida)

Radecki: Josh Freeman

Kiper: Kenny Britt (WR, Rutgers)

McShay: Percy Harvin

Wright: Eben Britton (OT, Arizona)

- Notes: Offense was the obvious choice here. McShay and I, of course, didn't realize that Harvin had failed his drug test; if so, he wouldn't be the Vikings pick here. Freeman is a definite possibility at this point, but I think Britt is a bit of a reach. Britton would make sense, as well. 

23. New England Patriots

Herman: Beanie Wells

Radecki: Everette Brown 

Kiper: Donald Brown (RB, Connecticut)

McShay: Clay Matthews (OLB, USC)

Wright: Rey Maualuga

- Notes: A rare choice where everyone thought something different. With Wells on the board and New England not having a reliable runningback, I thought Beanie would be too hard to pass up. Kiper had the same thought, but Wells was not on his board. Despite adding Jerod Mayo, New England probably is looking to continue to get younger at linebacker, hence the Matthews and Maualuga picks. Tyler thought they would go for best available player. 

24. Atlanta Falcons

Herman: Vontae Davis (CB, Illinois)

Radecki: Evander Hood (DT, Missouri)

Kiper: Brandon Pettigrew (TE, Oklahoma State)

McShay: Brandon Pettigrew

Wright: Evander Hood

- Pettigrew would have been the choice for Tyler, Wright and I were he not long off our board. As it is, we went for defense: Davis for me because I thought they would need to replace Foxworth at cornerback, and Hood for Tyler and Wright to give them some defensive line stability