In this Feb. 27, 2020, file photo, LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
By Barry Wilner
The NFL will hold a practice remote draft Monday, three days before the real thing is done in the same way.
Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Friday morning that the mock draft will be Monday. He didn’t provide any details on the proceedings, other than what the Lions will be part of.
“We’re going to do a couple internal tests and trial runs here,” Quinn said in a Zoom meeting with reporters to preview the draft. “The league is having a mock draft, mock trial run on Monday that we’ll participate in.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered all team facilities closed in March and later required club personnel to conduct the draft from their homes. Because of the reliance on free-flowing communication, the league decided to stage a mock draft to ensure that the proceedings next Thursday, Friday and Saturday would go smoothly.
The draft originally was scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, but the NFL canceled all public events last month as a safeguard against the coronavirus. On April 6, Goodell instructed the teams on how they should plan to make their selections.
“We will reopen facilities when it is safe to do so based on medical and public health advice, and in compliance with government mandates,” he wrote.
NHL players will be allowed to use Pride tape this season after all with the reversal of a ban that sparked a backlash around hockey and among LGBTQ+ advocates in sports.
The NBA’s 78th season starts Tuesday, with a ring ceremony in Denver — the traditional celebration of the reigning champions — highlighting the opening-night celebration. The Nuggets beat Miami last June to become the league’s fifth different champion in the last five years, a run of parity the likes of which the league hasn’t seen in more than 40 years.
The Las Vegas Aces became the first team in 21 years to win back-to-back WNBA championships, getting 24 points and 16 rebounds from A’ja Wilson and a defensive stop in the closing seconds to beat the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the Finals.
