Temporary stay expected, ESPN retracts report that stay was granted

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In the fluid situation that is the NFL labor mess, mistakes are being made — including a big one in the ESPN report that we cited just moments ago.

During the 1 p.m. Eastern SportsCenter, ESPN broke in with an on-screen graphic saying, “BREAKING NEWS: Court grants temporary stay of players’ injunction, reinstates NFL lockout.”

With that graphic on the screen, ESPN’s John Clayton reported that “The doors are going to be closing very, very quickly.”

But during the 2 p.m. SportsCenter, ESPN changed its graphic to, “DEVELOPING STORY: Court expected to decide whether to grant temporary stay of players’ injunction, reinstating NFL lockout.”

Clayton also changed his reporting to say that the decision hadn’t come down yet.

“Well, a stay at least is still being decided by the Eighth Circuit Court,” Clayton said. “A decision, according to sources in the clerk’s office, should come down this afternoon.”

My own guess is that someone in ESPN’s newsroom saw the report from Michael Silver of Yahoo that we referenced in our previous item, and that the report was misunderstood: Silver’s report said that the players expect the owners to get the stay, not that the stay had actually been granted.

So we’ll keep our eyes on the latest developments. And we’ll try not to jump the gun.

One of these days, I won’t be doing this anymore.  Florio Jr. already has put me on notice that he intends to be the one who sends me floating on a sheet of frozen tundra.

And so on the third day of the 2011 draft, he parked himself into the seat between yours truly and Rosenthal at Radio City Music Hall, and he took over the duties of tweeting each pick.

He did it until he got bored.  Which happened after about 14 selections.

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On April 12, Lashanda Armstrong drove a van containing her four children into the Hudson River.  La’Shaun Armstrong, 10, managed to escape.  He was the only survivor.

Now, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is helping La’Shaun.

According to the Associated Press, Lewis has gone bowling with La’Shaun, and Lewis said La’Shaun needs mentoring from a father figure.  His biological father is in prison.

La’Shaun was invited to Manhattan Saturday night for a United Athletes Foundation fundraiser.  Lewis is vice-chairman of the organization, and former NFL cornerback Reggie Howard serves as the group’s president.

Earlier this week, Howard took La’Shaun shopping for a new suit.  A portion of the money raised on Saturday night will help provide him with mentoring, counseling, and tutoring.

You aren’t supposed to root as a member of the media, but Florio and I were rooting like many others for former Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich to get drafted at the end of Saturday’s seventh round.

It didn’t happen, and now Herzlich is stuck like so many other potential undrafted free agents in limbo, waiting for the NFL lockout to end to see where they will go next.

Herzlich, who overcame cancer to return to play in 2010, was in New York for draft festivities during the week and was on stage Thursday before the draft started.  We heard that he left town on Friday because he knew he wouldn’t be taken until day three at least.

It had to be a big disappointment to Herzlich to go undrafted; after all he was considered a surefire first-round pick in 2009 before cancer struck.   He took this latest adversity in stride and with class, as you’d expect.

“Thanking everyone for their support tough times call for perseverance and a tough mind,” Herzlich wrote on Twitter.  ”Today sucked for me but everyone needs to pray for all the people in Alabama. They need us more than ever right now.

“I have been told that I can’t play football before. We all know what happened with that. #neverquit.”

Every year at the draft, representatives pass out promotional materials for “Mr. Irrelevant Week” in Newport Beach.  We’re always happy to see them for one reason:

It’s time to go home.

The Houston Texans selected Rice linebacker Cheta Ozougwu with the 254th pick of the draft, making him “Mr Irrelevant” for the rest of his life.   Or at least until next year at this time.

That ends our time here at Radio City Music Hall for 2011.   Florio, whose son took over the PFT Twitter page for a while Saturday, is heading off to dinner his family.

I’m going to jump in a cab and take the ten minute ride home.   And then probably start posting again.

Thanks for reading; it’s been fun.  Now back to life in a lockout.   (Sigh.)

UPDATE: Just to clarify for worried Texans fans, that’s not Ozougwu in the picture.  That man is Paul Salata, who started “Mr. Irrelevant Week” in Newport Beach, CA 35 years ago and reads off the final pick of every draft.   He repeatedly called Ozougwu “Cheddar.”

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In the same round that the Jets picked a possible backup for quarterback Mark Sanchez, they also drafted Sanchez’s best friend.

With the 227th pick, the Jets selected Colorado receiver Scotty McKnight.

Sanchez and McKnight were ball boys at Santa Margarita High School when Carson Palmer was the quarterback, and they have been friends since grade school.  Sanchez threw passes to McKnight at his Pro Day workout.

“He’s the best guy who didn’t go to the Combine,” Sanchez told PFT regarding McKnight.  “He didn’t drop a ball [at the Pro Day workout].  He’d be a steal for someone.”

He could end up being a steal for the Jets.

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The Jets selected an Alabama quarterback Saturday afternoon.   This one will come to town with slightly less fanfare than Joe Namath did 46 years ago.

Gang Green took Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy in the seventh round with the No. 208 pick.

Speaking on PFT Live last week, Jets G.M. Mike Tannenbaum said that he believed in the approach of taking a quarterback every year in the draft.  He proved it on Saturday.

Mark Brunell is expected to play only one more season, and Kellen Clemens could be a free agent depending on the next CBA. McElroy projects as Mark Sanchez’s long-term backup if all goes well.

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On multiple occasions before the 2011 draft, Broncos executive V.P. of football operations John Elway suggested that the team possibly would select a quarterback with the second overall selection.

We ultimately deemed it to be a ploy to get the most out of last year’s first-round pick, quarterback Tim Tebow.  If so, it worked.

“I believe in them, and they believe in me,” Tebow told Ed Werder of ESPN.

Elway essentially agreed with that assessment.  “I think where we are as an organization, we are going with Tim,” Elway said.

And so Tebow looks to be the guy who’ll get the nod moving forward, notwithstanding the presence of Kyle Orton.

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We’ve admired Mike Shanahan’s un-Redskins-like approach of stockpiling draft picks this weekend.  Still, it’s been a surprise they haven’t used any of their eight selections in the first six rounds on a quarterback.

So with Donovan McNabb on the way out and Rex Grossman a free agent, who will be Washington’s starting quarterback?  Can we interest you in a little John Beck, Redskins fans?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Redskins are “big believers” in Beck, and that signs point towards him possibly starting for the team next year.  The team reportedly never seriously considered a first-round QB, and never were going to trade up for one.  They reportedly thought Beck gives them a better chance to win.  (So what

Not liking this rookie crop is one thing.   Pinning your hopes on Beck is another.  The Redskins are trying to sell the idea that Beck had better stats as a senior at BYU than anyone in the draft.   That ignores the fact that Beck played in a weak conference and he hasn’t taken a snap in a game since 2007, when he was a disaster.

Beck is turning 30 years old this year and he has one career touchdown.   The Redskins say they love him, but they didn’t play him at all last year when Rex Grossman finished up the season.

No matter how much Shanahan believes in Beck, we have to believe for the sake of their fanbase that Washington’s starting quarterback isn’t yet on the roster.

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One of the weirdest draft stats we saw over the last month: The Patriots and Eagles have made a trade in every single draft since Bill Belichick took over in New England.

The streak apparently means more to the teams than we thought.

The Patriots sent the No. 193 pick in the draft to Philadelphia for . . .  (wait for it) . . . the No. 194 pick.

That’s so dorky, we sorta love it.

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We told you three weeks ago that Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz was beating the bushes looking for potential backup quarterbacks, including a trip to Moscow Idaho to visit with Nathan Enderle.

The trip was a productive one.  Martz convinced the Bears to take Enderle on Saturday with the No. 160 overall pick.

It was Chicago’s only fourth pick of the draft, so it’s not one to take lightly.  The Bears want long-term options to develop behind Jay Cutler other than Caleb Hanie.

Martz has only one year left on his contract.  He is going to have a lot of leverage because the team is putting a lot of resources into finding guys that fit his system.

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The New York Jets went to Texas two weeks ago to work out Texas Christian quarterback.  They also worked out TCU wideout Jeremy Kerley.

They must have liked what they saw. In round five, the Jets picked Kerley.

The 5’9″ receiver-return specialist ran the 40 in 4.56 seconds at the Scouting Combine, which hardly constitutes sprinter’s speed.  But the Jets liked him — and they got him.

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The Falcons wanted to add speed on offense during the draft.  Despite a lack of picks, they have done just that.

After trading up for Julio Jones, Atlanta added Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers on Saturday in the fifth round.  The jitterbug 5’6″ back was one of the most fun and explosive players to watch in college football last year.

Rodgers is a natural replacement for Jerious Norwood as a third-down option in Atlanta.  Jason Snelling is a free agent with an uncertain future as well.

The Falcons needed big play ability.  Even though he’s not an every down player, Rodgers adds more homerun ability to an offense that needs it.

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Well, if Pats coach Bill Belichick’s plan in drafting quarterback Ryan Mallett was to light a little fire under the lower strands of Tom Brady’s mullet, it worked.

NFL Network’s Kurt Warner said on this air earlier today that Brady plans to spend another decade in the NFL.

“I did text Tom Brady after this pick and he wanted me to know for sure that he was planning on playing 10 more years,” Warner said during the Total Access Pre-Draft show.

Brady will celebrate his 34th birthday later this year.

If he indeed plays 10 more years, the question is how many more of those seasons will be played with the Patriots.  Some think he’s destined to finish his career in California, either with the 49ers or a team that ends up in Los Angeles.

If the antitrust lawsuit that bears his name successfully defeats any and all restrictions on free agency, the Patriots will have no way to definitely retain Brady’s rights beyond 2014, the final year of his current contract.

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The Cardinals backfield is going to look rather different next year.

After taking Ryan Williams high in the second round, Arizona drafted UConn fullback Anthony Sherman in the fifth round.  He was the top-ranked fullback in the class.

Ken Whisenhunt is clearly not happy with the production he got in the running game last year.

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We’ve got a ton of respect for Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, a truly self-made man who built his financial empire and then purchased an NFL team.  As an owner, he knows what he doesn’t know — and he knows to hire good football people and give them the ability to do their thing, with minimal interference.

But the respect we have for Bisciotti makes his remarks regarding the failed round-one trade with the Bears even more disappointing.  He called out the franchise and the family that owns it for failing to compensate the Ravens for a trade that failed happen because the Bears didn’t call it in to the league.

“I’m disappointed in the Bears and the McCaskeys,” Bisciotti said. “It is in my opinion a deviation from their great legacy.  They concluded that their heartfelt and admirable apology was sufficient for our loss.”

First, the Ravens didn’t “lose” anything.  They wanted Jimmy Smith.  And they got Jimmy Smith.  They lost nothing.

Second, calling out the McCaskeys by name serves no purpose.  Just last month, Bisciotti lamented the public squabbling of the owners and the players.  “I’m embarrassed that we’re fighting over money, just like you would be embarrassed if you and your wife were fighting over money in public,” Bisciotti said.  “It’s an embarrassing topic to have to get into.”

Nevertheless, Bisciotti has opted to fight over trade compensation in public with one of his partners.  The fact that Bisciotti stepped so far out of character could be interpreted as a sign of the stress that he and other owners are feeling as the stutter-step lockout enters its eighth week, as the antitrust litigation heads to the Eighth Circuit, and as the sport seemingly has slid firmly into the eighth level of Hell.