1. A bad day on the course really is better than a good day at work. How else can you explain the positive feeling following my team's minus-4, tied-for-21st performance?
   
   
2. Wes Durham and Dave Archer can do anything. They were in the winning group, posting a 16-under par 56 in the best-ball format. The Falcons Radio team was joined by Falcons VPs Jim Smith and Dave Cohen and a Verizon executive. Linebacker Keith Brooking's team finished second with a 15-under day. I'm told Wes and Dave's squad posted 15-straight birdies...
   
   
3. Our squad may not have combined for the best day of golf, but my teammates: Eric Hager of WSB-TV, Kenny Price of WXIA, Matt Moore and fullback Corey McIntyre are some of the best guys around.
   
   
4. Matt drives the ball no less than 350 yards on every tee shot. Just one problem... We don't always know where it's going. He did come a good hop away from driving a green on a par four. We, of course, managed to get an uninspiring par. How none of us broke a window on some of the multi-million dollar homes in the area is indeed a miracle.
   
   
5. Corey can throw his club with incredible grace.
   
   
6. At these tournaments, it's more common to hear who someone nearly killed than how great a shot was (my burner out of the bunker on 16 could have taken out 11Alive's Fred Kalil on a neighboring green if not for a well-placed tree).
   
   
7. Golf carts need better brakes.
   
   
8. The SkyCaddie really does work (thanks for bringing it along Eric). Then again, 89 yards to the pin means little when your team can shoot the ball either 112 yards or 48 feet. SkyCaddie still needs work correcting a slice.
   
   
9. Size and muscle doesn't necessarily translate from the gridiron to the links. Punter Michael Koenen is your new long-drive champion, all 195 pounds of him.
   
   
10. Undoing the bag straps on your opponents' cart and laughing in sheer practical-joke glee as clubs fall to the ground upon acceleration is a gag that never gets old. Sure, Jonathan Babineaux and Chauncey Davis didn't think it was that funny... But Corey was on the ground in tears, literally. What else were we going to do? We were down 11 strokes with three holes to play.
    
    
11. It's possible to do some good on the course despite a bad day. More than $20,000 was given to various charities Monday. Bravo to everyone involved!
    
    
12. Murphy's Law: Golf Edition -- Water, no matter how minute, will attract golf balls. I made sure all my encounters with lakes, creeks and streams included monumental splashes. Had to, as they say, "get my money's worth."
    
    
13. New clubs can make a difference. Laurent Robinson's team placed in the top five with the wide receiver sporting a four-day old set of irons, including multiple wedges. Professional in every sense of the word.
    
    
14. My sand wedge is a versatile club. So versatile that I can chip to within three feet or launch a ball 50 yards past the green.
    
    
15. Putting ability is under-valued by many amateur golfers. It my team could putt...
    
    
16. It takes more than five chances to drain a 15-foot-putt for birdie. In fact, given our team's struggles on the green, I don't know how many strokes it takes.
    
    
17. A Verizon Wireless BlackBerry is an amazing thing. A special Blackberry was used to submit scores on the fly and keep up with the leader board Monday... Not real great for scoreboard watchers, but something techy for us web geeks when our game went south.
    
    
18. Your line of work may not reflect in your position on the golf course. Head Coach Mike Smith's team finished in a tie for 23rd... out of 23 teams. He did it with a smile, however. It was hard not to follow suit.

At the risk of losing my wrist watch to a mountain of desk clutter, I'm starting this blog from Matt Moore's work station.

(The information technology doctor is currently making a house call to inspect my sickly lap top).

Good news is that at least a half dozen writing tutorials and tip sheets suggest "changing one's environment" to start the creative juices boiling.

As I'm still trying to find that creativity after a relaxing vacation with Kelli to Savannah, I'm going to steal a little of Matt's video thunder.

"Falcon Al" and I caught up with cornerback Chris Houston yesterday to talk about the offseason (video below). I guess you can consider that a "vacation" for the players, but when you hear how busy Houston has been becoming the team's next top cornerback, you'll start to wonder when the NFL became a full-time, full-year job.

Now another mini camp is just around the corner. Rest assured that Houston is ready to take his game to the next level. As for me breaking the post-vacation writer's block...

Let's just say I should have done a little more writing in one of Savannah's picturesque public squares. It's better than Mookie's desk.

One of the neatest sights in the hours following the NFL Draft is that of all the scouts and personnel executives spilling out of the war room chattering on their cell phones.

But they're not calling their wives to tell them they'll make it home for dinner.

No, they're all negotiating with possible undrafted free agents.

We've all heard about the undrafted players that strike it big (Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith comes to mind). What we don't know is how much work goes into making sure our favorite teams get a crack at that talent.

It's a race against time -- and 31 other franchises.

General Manager Thomas Dimitroff said the team had undrafted players targeted before the Draft began. Now it's a matter of getting them on the phone and working out a deal.

Everyone feels good when the fax machine starts spitting out some contracts.

"We're in the process right now of landing all of our college free agents," Dimitroff said in his post-Draft gathering with the media. "We had them all pinpointed by position going in -- priority free agents. We have our scouting staff right now working hard as well as the coaches and everyone is doing a bang-up job up there."

We won't know which players the Falcons signed until tomorrow. Such is the late-night, midnight oil world of the NFL.

As for the second day of the Draft, the Falcons hit some needs and got the players they targeted.

I'm sure fans have plenty of questions about why the team chose some of the players it did. I too wanted to know how it all shook out behind closed doors. But, then again, I'm a Draft geek.

I think it best to let Thomas and Coach Smith explain... Click here for audio.

I'll leave everyone now with an exclusive peak inside Flowery Branch HQ as Matt Ryan made his rounds after his introduction presser.

He was a busy man today, as this brief clip (edited by the talented James Hicks) shows.

Enjoy and leave your thoughts about the Draft below!

I must admit, the initial thought of bringing together 31 members of the Atlanta media in the space of the Owner's Club for the purpose of selecting -- and debating -- players for the 2008 NFL Draft raised concerns.

Just now, more than three hours after the first Massive Media Mock Draft is complete, am I starting to realize what an awesome event it really was.

(Here I must thank Matt Moore, "Falcon Al" Daniel, Hamza Ahmad, the events marketing crew and James Hicks for their work on the live webcast).

What I learned at the Massive Media Mock was that Atlanta media really know the future of the NFL and I wouldn't be surprised if the Massive Mock draft board isn't very different from the one ESPN slides across thousands of television screens come Saturday afternoon.

Of course, Jake Long went first. He signed with the Dolphins already. That was a given. But, after that the group systematically selected and talked about every player up to the Falcons second pick in the second round.

Part Two | Part Three

We had some laughs. We shared some friendly competition. We had some fun.

I hope fans who had a chance to catch the live video or the archived coverage feel the same way.

We certainly had fun bringing it to you.

And, who knows, maybe the Falcons Draft crew got a peak at who we selected for the Birds. For the record... Matt Ryan in the first, Sam Baker and Antoine Cason in the second.

Let's see how accurate we end up being.

So, maybe we're not ready for our debut on "Today," but Matt Moore and I will always do our best to bring you some interesting topics of conversation including talking about what YOU think of the NFL Draft.

With this in mind, we took our made-for-radio faces and threw them up on a LIVE stream for a video chat. 

Hopefully we didn't scare away any children checking out the Internet for the first time.

Here's the archived video. Look for more live "web chats" as we near the Draft and for some major live events -- including the Massive Media Mock -- on MyFalconsDraft.com. 

He was also one of the surprises in Thursday's round of Combine interviews.

He was the last player to speak and the only running back made available to the media (the rest of the group will be interviewed later in the event).

What reporters got from Forte was sincere, straight-forward answers ranging from his desire to prove Tulane athletes can compete with those from the BCS and how he and his team copped when Hurricane Katrina hit campus more than two years ago.

Forte said the events surrounding the hurricane, which include the displacement of his team and his family from their Slidell, La. home, helped him "mature as a football player."

When it comes to his life on the field, the Senior Bowl opened some eyes.

"It gave me a big boost because some people say Conference USA isn't at the same level as the SEC," he said.

"I'm ready to get started (at the Combine) and get to test day and see how I compare to them."

When it comes to size, Forte is above average.

At 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, he has the build to pick up linebacker blitzes and, thus, become a three-down back in the NFL.

In four years at Tulane, Forte also rushed for 39 touchdowns and averaged just a shade under 100 yards per game on the ground while ranking second in all-purpose yards (5,261), rushing yards (4,265), rushing attempts (833) and 100-yard rushing games (16).

With numbers -- and a story -- like that, it's hard to imagine he'll be a surprise to anyone come draft day.

 
4:06:08 PM: Well, it's been a long day and we're packing up the mobile command center over in the media room. We'll have more coverage for you tonight after dinner including some notes on running back Matt Forte and our nightly Falconcast.

 
3:36:33 PM: It's not to late to get your questions in for Matt, Al and I's nightly podcast from the AF.com headquarters (hotel room). Click here to submit a question.

2:31:59 PM: Not every player that comes into the media room gets a spot on stage. Some are placed at banquet-style tables for a more informal Q & A.

As the content of Texas A&M tight end Martellus Bennett's conversation with the media came to light, more and more reporters and cameras started gathering around.

Bennett developed a relationship with Bills tight end Kevin Everett when he went on a recruiting visit the Miami. Everett suffered a severe neck injury in the first week of the 2007 season and -- for a moment -- doctors weren't sure if he'd be able to walk again.

Bennett wore Everett's number for a game last season.

"He had a little tear in his eye," Bennett said. "You could tell he was touched by it. A lot of people thought I did it for publicity, but it was more for a friend."

Bennett will leave Texas A&M early to have his own shot at the NFL.

He had more than 500 yards receiving last season and averaged five knockdown blocks per game.

He thought long and hard before leaving the school, where he also played basketball.

"I felt like I could do much more as far as progressing as a player so I decided to come out," he said.

Now he could continue his career with any number of NFL teams... perhaps the Bills.

 2:03:31 PM: We got to meet Jake Long a little earlier.

Much has been heard about his NFL-ready body and NFL-caliber stats (two penalties and one sack-allowed during his Michigan career).

With that, it's easy to see why the 6-foot-7, 317-pound tackle is expected to go high in the NFL Draft.

His entrance into the media room here drew the largest crowd of the day among offensive lineman, but once he made it to the podium, he was just "OL 26."

At least he was until his eye-popping stats came up in conversation.

"I actually got (a penalty) this season," he said with a smile. "I had a false start against Northwestern. The other was a holding penalty during my redshirt freshman year."

How do you do that?

"I think it's a skill," he said. "I make sure to get my hands inside so, if I hold, the referee won't see it."

I guess that proves Falcons defensive line coach "Sugar Bear" Hamilton's theory:

"Offensive lineman are big, fat hogs that hold you," he said.

And the games continue...

12:29:38 PM: Most players who switch sports allegiances from soccer to football fall under the kicking or punting category.

Not the case for for UTEP's Oneil Cousins, who was a soccer player before switching to football in 2000.

I must admit, it was hard to picture Cousins, who tips the scales at 304 pounds running around on a soccer field. Yet, he played goalie and sweeper during his time on the pitch.

Then he found a new love.

"I gave it a shot and I fell in love with it," he said of football. "I don't play (soccer) that much any more."

Cousins, who said he allowed one sack last season, also played defense early in his career for the miners.

Take the kicker the NFL just brought in for an interview:

• Shane Longest (that's a great kicker name).

• First player in Combine history to come from St. Xavier (that's an NAIA school).
  

• He's also a closer on the school's baseball team (kicker... closer... great connection there).

• He got his invite to the Combine the day after Christmas (OK, this is getting ridiculous).
  

Longest said he chose St. Xavier over schools like Northwestern, mostly because his family couldn't afford the walk-on year other schools were asking of him.

He was happy to get the chance to play baseball in college, which revealed a little bit about his passion.

"I like having the limited opportunities," he said when talking about his role as a game-winning kicker and relief pitcher. Pressure situations have always been my thing."

Longest said he's hit a 55-yard field goal in a game and has made 75-yarders in practice. He was also the school's only "kicker," handling punts, kickoffs and field goals.

He'll try to make a name for himself as a kicker at the Combine, however.

"It's been the time of a lifetime so far," he said.

Who's your agent?

Do you plan on working out?

What's your measurements?

What teams have you met with?

(pause)

Then the interview really starts.

These questions, of course, are vital for sports writers looking to build early relationships with this next crop of NFL talent and build good sources for future stories.

But man, are they boring.