Baltimore Beatdown will be blogging the 2010 NFL Draft "LIVE" from the Baltimore Ravens Training Facility in Owings Mills, Maryland. The draft begins Thursday evening (tonight) at 7pm, with the first pick currently still belonging to the St. Louis Rams, who are expected to select Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford first overall. I was invited by the Ravens' PR Department to join the other media in the team's auditorium, complete with wireless access to post my stories on the progress of the draft, including of course, the Ravens selection (if they choose to keep it) at the 25th pick in the first round.
The Ravens take great care of the media that follow them so closely and have a separate media room for the regular folks who have been following them for years, such as the Baltimore Sunpapers, Carroll County Times, PressBox, as well as the radio and television stations. There will be food available for what will be a long night, as the Ravens turn in the draft is not expected to come up until around 10:30-11:00pm, close to 4 hours after the first pick is announced by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
I will be placing an "NFL Draft Open Thread: 1st Round" story up as we get closer to the beginning of the draft for all to join in. I will be posting my comments about not only the picks as they are made, but on the activities at the Ravens HQ, although I somehow doubt I will get anywhere close to the team's 'War Room.'
Any inside info I can get, such as Front Office or player's comments, if any are around or available, will be put up as well. Although an unnamed front office person stated it would be pretty boring for the most part, I am super excited for this opportunity to see the draft unfold from the "inside," and plan to bring you readers of The Beatdown with me.
If there is anything you want to know or see, let me know and I will keep an eye out for you and be sure to post what is going on with the mood around me as the time gets closer to the Ravens pick. Specifically, from the time that the Ravens are "on the clock," I will post another story of what is going on in that time alloted for the team to decide what to do with the pick, be it choose a player or move back to collect extra picks.
Looking forward to an exciting Thursday evening, as well as the opportunities to return for Friday and Saturday as the draft continues through those two days as well.