Barry Tompkins

So, let me get this right. We talk about nothing but the NFL draft for about six weeks. We pontificate. We compare notes. We predict and we watch.

I'm just not a handyman. My solution to anything around me that might not be operating properly or is nicked, scratched or otherwise incapacitated, is

Who do you like in the Preakness? I'm guessing that's a question that is not likely Topic A at every breakfast table in Marin County this week.

Do you get the sense that even Kruk and Kuip would rather be watching something else on television these days?

We who do this sort of thing for gainful employment (or in my case, just employment) are taught from the moment we step out of our own neighborhood to be unbiased.

So who do you like?

I've bet on one football game in my life. It was the Rose Bowl game between Washington and Michigan in 1978.

So I hear there's a bit of a flap surrounding the hometown Giants these days.

Don't bother me right now, I'm watching Switzerland and Algeria. What did I just say?

It is that time of year. We're talkin' sports to be sure, but almost every syllable of conversation has to do with off field maneuverings.