BOSTON - How can the Cavaliers be leading the Celtics midway through the third quarter despite shooting just 30 percent from the field.

Paul Pierce is 1 for 7. Ray Allen is 0 for 3. Boston has 16 turnovers (3 each by Pierce, Allen, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins). Cleveland is 20 for 23 from the line and Boston is 8 for 10.

Lebron James is laboring through a 1 for 9 start himself in his first 20 minutes on the floor but all by hisself he's 8 for 10 from the line.

This is a rockfight.

All right, here's the situation. The wireless wouldn't work out front in the main room so I scurried into the back behind the stage where NBC has a small room set up for 1-on-1's with the six gents in New York.

As I got back here and prepared to blogerate, Chris Long came into the 10x16 room stacked with equipment and staff. We got it done with Chris in two minutes and have since flowed in every one of the six guys in NYC except Vernon Gholston.

They've been outstanding in these 1-on-1 setting that we'll be putting up on-line hopefully before too long.  

Quick impressions from backstage ...

* Chris Long talking to his family: "I got 20 text messages while I was on stage!"

* Jake Long trailed backstage by ESPN and Miami Herald reporter Dan LeBatard.

* A Falcons official talking back to, presumably, Atlanta higher-ups about newly-drafted quarterback Matt Ryan: "He's handling the Mike Vick stuff great

And Mike Mayock on the NFL Network talking about corner Leodis McKelvin taken by the Bills: "I saw him get hit in the helmet three times with passes. Other than that, he's a Pro Bowl player."

You may be hoping to find out who your team selects in the draft. I, on the other hand, am giddy that the wireless just kicked back in for me while people to my right and left are kicking their computers in the groin because of a lack of wireless.

We're about five minutes from the start of this mess. Deion Sanders just came out to warm up the crowd which is fairly frothy (or course they are - you have to be twisted to COME to the draft). Carnival barking like he was born to this stuff, Sanders introduced the six New York invitees.

There was a smattering of boos for the Dolphins first overall pick, Jake Long and a few more for Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan.

With 90 minutes to go before the start of the 2008 draft, the soundtrack has started. The booming organ music is basically the best of NFL Films - Drunken Sailor and that "dunt dahdadiddyduntdihdigdahdahhhh" AKA the Raiders tune (I think).

A few other sights and sounds since I got here.

* On every team table there is a jar of M&Ms with shells in team colors. I personally like the Bucs colors.

* Just talked with Brian Billick who's going to be doing a full slate of games in a two-man booth for Fox in the fall. He's on the set for the NFL Network today.

* Asked Gene Upshaw how things have progressed since the Matt Stover Coup Attempt came to light a few weeks back. The NFLPA head said, "He's a kicker. If it was Ray Lewis, I might have been more concerned..." Ouch, doctor. Not sure how that's going to play with the rank&file special teamers.

* Now we have New York State of Mind piped in on the organ.

As we reported earlier in the week, Chris Long is most likely going to be the second overall pick in the draft going to St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which was saying LSU DT Glenn Dorsey was the guy, has moved off that story and now fallen in line with the notion of Long. ESPN has followed up that report saying Long is firm to the Rams.

I'm trying to get confirmation on the other reports of Matt Ryan to the Falcons and Darren McFadden to the Raiders.

The X-factor is quickly becoming, then, Dorsey. For him to remain on the board at  No. 5 with the Chiefs selecting, Kansas City has a quandary of whether to take him, Vernon Gholston or get out of the pick.

The Jets, Patriots and Ravens follow at 6, 7, 8.

The NFL just issued a release stating that former New England Patriots camera operator Matt Walsh is - after much wrangling - heading to the Commissioner's office on May 13.

Walsh, who intimated knowledge of diablolical taping practices by the Patriots while he was an employee in the video department in 2001 and 2002, has been wrangling for protection from the NFL in return for speaking. Currently a golf pro in Hawaii, Walsh won't be on the East Coast until May 13.

The statement by the league reads in part: "The agreement also requires Mr. Walsh to return any tapes and other items in his possession that belong to the Patriots (my note: there have been published photos of Walsh with a roomful of Patriots balls and memorabilia). In return, the NFL and the Patriots have promised not to sue Mr. Walsh. They also will indemnify him from any expenses, including legal fees that he incurs in connection with the interview."

Goodell will meet with the media following the Walsh debriefing.

UPDATE: Pats release statement 

STATEMENT BY THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ON NFL AGREEMENT TO MEET WITH MATT WALSH:

The New England Patriots are pleased to learn that Matt Walsh is finally willing to come forward to meet with the NFL. We are eagerly anticipating his honest disclosures to Commissioner Goodell next month and the return of all the materials he took during his time of employment. We fully expect this meeting to conclude the league’s investigation into a damaging and false allegation that was originally levied against the team on the day before this year’s Super Bowl. ...

In his first draft as Falcons GM, Tom Dimitroff holds the keys to the top 10 in Saturday's NFL Draft. Yeah, the Dolphins have the first overall pick, but the Falcons hold the swing pick - No. 3 overall - because so much will hinge on what they do.

The prevailing hunch - and the fear if you're the Baltimore Ravens - is that Atlanta will take Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan. If we assume that Jake Long and Chris Long go 1 and 2, this means the Falcons would be passing on Glenn Dorsey, Sedrick Ellis and Vernon Gholston in this scenario.

If Dimitroff goes the other way and takes Dorsey, the Ravens - quarterback-hungry and sitting at No. 8 - do handsprings and Atlanta still gets a critical building block.

There will be howling if Atlanta passes on Ryan. Chris Redman, Joey Harrington and D.J. Shockley comprise the depth chart at the moment. That's not a recipe for huge success. But there's another trump card in Dimitroff's pocket to play. With seven of the top 103 picks and 11 overall, Dimitroff can still get Atlanta a big quarterback upgrade and take Dorsey. How? Call the Jets. 

The Dolphins flirtations with Michigan tackle Jake Long over the past few weeks have been well-publicized  but this morning, with six days to go before the draft, a league source is indicating that a contract agreement is nearly in place.

Word that Miami initiated talks with Long's agent, Tom Condon, surfaced almost two weeks ago. Condon actually was in South Florida to meet with Dolphins officials. Miami's also made overtures toward Vernon Gholston but little other progress has been mentioned.

Meanwhile, with Jake Long off the board, the St. Louis Rams are a lock to go with defense at No. 2 and, according to the same league source, the camp of Virginia defensive end Chris Long is very confident that's where he'll be headed.

You know what was great about Steve McNair?

No, it wasn't his much-ballyhooed toughness - if there was ever a storyline overplayed consistently by booth jockeys it was the notion that McNair was the only quarterback in the NFL playing in pain every week.

It was the fact that he was so damn smart. Think about it. Here was a kid from Division I-AA Alcorn State who beat up on lesser competition in college and was perhaps a greater threat with his legs than his arm coming into the NFL. Yet only once in his just-completed NFL career did he throw more interceptions than touchdowns. And that came in 2004 when he only played eight games and finished with eight TDs and 9 picks. When you think of the learning curve he was dealing with coming into the league, to be that efficient (he also finished his career with a completion percentage over 60) is pretty damned impressive.

McNair, who retired as the Ravens quarterback Wednesday after 13 seasons and 161 games, was one of the top five quarterbacks of his era. But he wasn't good enough to be considered a Hall of Famer. His team only made it to one Super Bowl and lost. He made it to just three Pro Bowls. He was never first-team All Pro. And while he did share the 2003 league MVP with Peyton Manning, there just aren't enough other seasons where he was at or near the very best at his position in the league.

You're feeling pretty OK if you're a Giants fan and you've gotten a gander at the 2008 NFL schedule.

The defending champs only face two 2007 playoff teams after November 9 (at Redskins November 30, at Dallas December 14). And they open the season with their first seven games against teams that are just OK or a little better than that - Redskins, @ St. Louis, Bengals, Seahawks, @ Cleveland, 49ers.

The tough stretch for New York comes right there, though. On October 26, the Giants are at Pittsburgh then hosting Dallas and at Philly. Two of the three are Sunday night games on NBC.

Meanwhile, if Tom Coughlin's itching to find a sign of disrespect, his team has four prime-time games. Dallas and New England each have five. Hmmmmph.

Another tidbit: the Browns have three occasions in which they have back-to-back road games.