Floyd Reese knows all about getting ready for the NFL Draft pouring over the scouting reports and looking over the personal notes he made watching and talking to perspective picks.

Reese, the Former Tennessee Titans General Manager (1994 - 2006) is currently a writer for ESPN.com and television commentator on NFL Live on ESPN. He is known for drafting 3 NFL Rookies of the Year with only 11 first round draft choices. Eddie George (1996), Jevon Kearse (1999) and Vince Young (2006) he also drafted Steve McNair as well as Adam Packman Jones.

Examiner: What is it going to be like in the Ravens War Room Saturday?

Reese: “They will be praying that Matt Ryan drops to them. I don’t see the Ravens trading up to get Ryan however that is always a possibility. The more likely route is to stay where they are and take a corner and then pick up a quarterback in the second round.”      

Examiner: Do the Ravens have a legitimate starting QB on their roster?

Reese: “Not that I see. Troy Brown is not ready yet and it will be up to the organization to decide just where he is in their future plans. As for Kyle Boller the thing that worries me is that they signed Steve McNair to be their #1 guy and that sent the signal to Kyle that you aren’t our guy. Now there is a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator and they are saying to him that you are our guy. It is my experience that those mixed signals seldom work. It is only human nature for Boller to always be looking over his shoulder.”   

Examiner: Talk about two guys you know well Steve McNair and Packman Jones?

Reese: “I watched Steve’s retirement press conference and he went out with class just like he came in with us at the Titans. I remember telling the press that he would sit for a couple of years and then we would work him into the system. In his 5^th year I said that he would take us to the playoffs. I was wrong. In his 5^th year we won the Super Bowl and then for the next six years we were the winningest franchise in the NFL. Ravens fans know in his last full season at Baltimore he set a franchise record for wins. Steve was a player that never gave up and played 100% every down he ever played and he made every one that he ever played with him a better player. What more can you ask of anyone?

“As for Adam Jones well we saw that he had one small fight in college and it did not seem to be a big thing. We drafted him and all hell broke loose once he had money and started hanging out with some friends who really weren’t his true friends. I will tell you this he has the potential to be one of the best cornerback’s in the NFL and if he goes to Dallas and truly wants to play football and gets his act together then the Cowboys will have a true steal. However if his goes there and has any trouble he will be banned for life from the NFL and that would be a very sad thing, so it really is up to Adam and I hope that he makes the best of this second chance.”

Floyd Reese will be part of ESPN’s Draft day coverage both on TV and online at ESPN.COM starting Saturday at 3p.m.

Fisrt things first...

Coverage of the Caps-Flyers begins with WPL and host Russ Thaler at 5pm and moves on to SportsNite at 6pm, then Caps Pre-Game live at 6:30pm all on CSN and out side the area on Versus at 7pm.   

The Ice man Steve Kolbe will have the action on WJFK-FM 106.7 and XM at 7pm.

Now to the big news.

The love of the Washington Capitals is for real and the signs are that the Stanley Cup Playoff run… no matter how long it last has launched in some cases a new found love of hockey.

The love of the red and the sellout crowds at the Phone Booth are proof that hockey has gotten a grip on the Nation’s Capital and with the young like the duo of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, on this team the future is very, very bright.

The Tuesday telecast was the highest-rated Capitals game on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic in five seasons and the highest-rated Flyers game on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia in two seasons.  Comcast SportsNet’s post-season audience gains follow strong regular season ratings growth for both the Flyers and the Capitals.  Capitals ratings on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic increased 75% over last season and Flyers coverage on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia increased 47% over last season.

The game drew a peak audience of 247,000 households (8.3 rating) and averaged 161,000 households (5.4 rating) on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, and on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, attracted a peak audience of 87,400 (3.8 rating) and an average viewership of 59,800 (2.6 rating) in Washington, D.C., and peaked at 23,100 households (2.1 rating) and averaged 13,200 households (1.2 rating) in Baltimore.  The audience peaked in all three markets during the 9:30-9:45 quarter hour.

Trust me these are big numbers for hockey and music to the ears of the team because plenty of new fans are watching all over the Washington-Baltimore area. When you can draw more than your base and the Caps have done that, it is very good news for the franchise.

Also kudos to the wonderful coverage that CSN has provided throughout the final games of the season and then into the race for the Stanley Cup it clear that the Washington CSN coverage, game and post game team is much better than the Philly CSN squad and once again proves that when it comes to big game coverage the men and women of CSN – Bethesda are best in regional sports.

Jill Sorensen, Michael Jenkins, Lisa Hillary, Al Koken, and Ex Cap Joe Reekie have been awesome in their pre and post game coverage. Meanwhile Joe Beninati and his partner Craig Laughlin form one of the best broadcast trams in the NHL.

Comcast SportNet just keeps rising to the occasion when it comes to event coverage and giving the fans every storyline possible both the good and the bad – it is what sports television is all about following the story and CSN always delivers.

On the radio side thanks to WJFK-FM 106.7 and XM we are able to hear the games with underrated Steve Kolbe. He does a fine job on the broadcasts and if you haven’t listen to a Caps game on the radio give it a try.