Kiper is also a high-ranking official of a large underground sports power cabal called The Peaks (its like the Freemasons of sports). Ever wonder why Mel has remained the No. 1 ESPN draft expert despite using more hair gel then Jimmy Johnson?

When it comes to the NFL, the only thing more exciting to watch than the Super Bowl and its commercials is the NFL Draft. Its a time for teams to think to the future, restock their rosters and begin a new season filled with talent and hope.

For fans the NFL Draft is a time for prayer and hope that their team will draft that running back or wide receiver and not the defensive end with the first pick in the draft (smooth move Houston).

However, the draft is much more than that. The NFL Draft is a time for teams to really evaluate their personnel, specifically its general manager (GM) and head coach. We have all seen the effects of a bad draft ruining the team for years to come. (Matt Millen and you crazy Lions. What were you smoking?)

We have all seen the great fortune a sleeper pick in the last round of the draft has given a team (Marques Colston, picked 252 overall last year and led the Saints with 1,039 yards receiving and eight touchdowns).

It takes a real skill to take that wide receiver from Hofstra in the last round of the draft, and mold him into a real competitor. It takes even more skill to see that guy as a competitor at draft time. Here is where Mel Kiper and his team of NFL analysts come into play.

The man knows more about the NFL and College Football than Marv Albert knows about toupees. He eats, sleeps and breathes nothing but football from February to September. The guy is a machine, pumping out stats, players, positions and needs of every pro team and athlete in the NFL today.

So what is it with the draft? Why do we watch it and listen to Mel Kiper and his band of brothers banter on about the NFL and the draftees?

Alliteration aside, the reason we watch the NFL Draft is because were fans. We love to see that up coming rookie get his break. We love to see Chris Berman and Mel Kiper going at it about Kipers picks.

We cant escape it either. The draft is everywhere from the start of the college football season until the day the draft is over, and Kiper is the star.

With the emergence of ESPN, the NFL Draft and Kiper have risen to epic proportions, but in order to understand why the man has a job; its always a good start to talk about his life.

Kiper has said that Ernie Accorsi, the general manager of the then-Baltimore Colts, encouraged Kiper to become a draft analyst. He said that Accorsi told him that there was a market for draft information and that Kiper should convert his expertise into a business.

Thus, Kiper started Kiper Enterprises in 1981. It is responsible for all aspects of a series of annual publications including the NFL Draft Report and Draft Preview.

Kiper is also a high-ranking official of a large underground sports power cabal called The Peaks (its like the Freemasons of sports). Ever wonder why Mel has remained the No. 1 ESPN draft expert despite using more hair gel then Jimmy Johnson? Mel Kiper is the sports equivalent of Dick Clark “ he hasnt aged a day and is only relevant one day a year.

Since his climb to the top of the NFL Draft analyst hill, Kiper has had his share of enemies, specifically GMs.

In 1994, then Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Tobin commented in a live interview with a mortified Chris Mortensen, Who the hell is Mel Kiper anyway? He has no more credentials to do what hes doing than my neighbor, and my neighbors a postman.

Kiper had criticized the Colts choice of linebacker Trev Alberts over quarterback Trent Dilfer in that years NFL entry draft (Kiper turned out to be right).

Kiper responded to Tobin with a biting tirade that drew huge cheers from the fans in the gallery and wry smiles from Chris Berman and the other ESPN commentators.

Although the man is a great analyst, he has had his share of failures. Kiper thought that Heisman Trophy winner and University of Houston quarterback Andre Ware would be an excellent NFL quarterback and a great match for the Detroit Lions. Wares tenure in the NFL was short and ordinary.

Kiper also projected quarterback Jeff George of the University of Illinois as a mid-round pick; George was selected as No. 1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts. Kiper projected Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer as the 30th pick; he was selected second overall by the Seattle Seahawks and went on to have a mediocre career at best.

One of Kipers most well known (and recent) mistakes was when he stated that USC wide receiver Mike Williams would be the best player in the 2005 draft. When ESPN analyst Merrill Hodge disagreed, Kiper uttered the now infamous line, Ill see you at his Hall of Fame induction. Thus far, Mike Williams has been a disappointment, relegated to the sidelines and showing no signs of improvement.

So the question remains: Why does this guy have a job? Wasnt Bill Tobin right in saying that Kiper doesnt have any real experience outside of being a really good reader? Anyone can pull stats out of an article, or watch a game, but what makes Kipers word so gospel true?

Simply put, no one else is that right. No doubt, the man can pick talent, and yeah he has about as much authority to do what he does as us sports writers do, and yet hes considered the best. In my opinion, however, he shouldnt.

He isnt really an analyst because the guy has about a week or so of talking (which he does, whether you ask him to or not) and he vanishes till the next draft. Yeah, hes smart, but so am I and I dont have an ESPN draft job.

If you ask me, the draft should be hosted by football analysts, not Mel Kiper and his maddening theories and attitude.

By Nathan Anthony

Special to the Post

> Comments