About a month later the plan for SportsRadioInterviews.com was hatched. I had two better names for the site but one was too long and the other wouldn’t have explained what the site was about. Those names were FirstTimeCallerLongTimeListener.com and CosellsToupee.com. SportsRadioInterviews.com was obviously very descriptive and I’m glad that was ultimately the name we chose. The site was up with content for about five months with myself and one other writer tweaking the way the site looked and the way the blog postings would be formatted.  We launched the site a week before the 2009 Super Bowl.

I remember vividly sending out an email to every media person in my database and every friend in my contacts introducing them to SRI. Building the site had been a labor of love for me as I’m a former PD, Host, and Executive Producer in the world of sports radio. I’ve always felt that sports radio is an underappreciated medium and has the ability to cover stories from a multitude of angles. I also think that you’re going to get more compelling answers from a player on a phone interview with an engaging host that can typically disarm them with a good sense of humor over a media scrum with ten press members hovering over a naked player after a game when all that player wants to do is get the hell out of the locker room.

I received positive feedback from a plethora of members of the media off of that email.  The one exception was Woody Paige. Enough said, right then and there I knew the website was a good idea.

While I’m biased and I think I’m a very good writer, it didn’t take long for me to realize that I had to do less writing and focus more on marketing the site. It’s the old “if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it still make a sound” theory. So I started bombarding different websites and writers with emails with a list of our posts of the day. Thankfully, SRI’s content was found to be compelling, informative, controversial, and often funny. No longer could an athlete/coach/gm say something on a local radio station and have it disappear into thin air. SRI became a bit of a watchdog and you could even say a ‘shit-stirrer”. I never felt bad about that either because I wasn’t making up the quotes. These were all words that came from people’s mouths and finally they were being held responsible for what they said on sports radio.

Quickly, we were getting a positive name in the sports blogosphere and were getting linked everywhere. ESPN.com, Peter King’s MMQB, Fox Sports, Deadspin, The Huffington Post, ABC News, The NY Post, the Washington Post, PerezHilton.com, and a host of others. We’ve averaged about 75,000 uniques a month since our third month of our hard launch. To this day, it still gets my juices flowing to see our content linked.

Within a year, we had daily content on ESPN.com and Deadspin and were hopeful to sell the site. We had a lot of companies reach out and ultimately sold the site to SBN (SportsBlogNation.com) in late October of 2010.  This wasn’t the days of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, so we definitely didn’t get rich off of the sale. We basically made the money back we’d spent paying for writers for 18 months and a little pocket change.  Plus, it’s pretty cool to say you sold a website. I received a three year contract to stay on as Editor of SRI and a budget for writers and an assistant editor.

I was so excited for SRI to eventually move to SBN’s platform and allow me to stop marketing the site on a daily basis. I could actually write again! Well, it’s thirty months later and unfortunately SRI never moved over to SBN’s platform. I completely feel like the title of Jim Valvano’s book, “They Gave Me a Lifetime Contract, and Then They Declared Me Dead”. I’m not writing this to bash SBN. They bought the site, own the rights, and have the ability to do whatever they want with SRI. I really liked the people I was interacting with over at SBN as well. I’m more just disappointed that after a bunch of promises to integrate SRI into SBN’s platform, it never happened.

Companies change directions and their mind all the time and SBN just decided that SRI wasn’t a fit for them. At the beginning of 2013, I was informed that the funding of SRI was going to cease. My business partner and I weren’t quite ready to close the doors of SRI and discussed with SBN buying the site back and getting some new investors. We had a few meetings at the Super Bowl with potential new buyers of SRI but unfortunately nothing has come to fruition. So here we are today. I have a lot of emotions running through me right now. Sadness, anger, and relief probably are the three most prominent ones. SRI was my baby, a daily grind, and something very positive for me personally and professionally. I won’t know what to do with myself without having to check RSS feeds, Twitter, and Sports Radio Websites throughout the day. Or waiting for that email from a host or producer cluing me into an awesome interview they just had. But I think it will be somewhat therapeutic not to have that daily grind of searching for worthy interviews and hopefully I can channel the extra time I have into something creative again.

I truly feel like SRI was at the forefront of recognizing the great content, from an interview perspective, that sports radio consistently produces. Many of the bigger sites have taken a page from our book and are now transcribing interviews from sports radio and using them as content in their stories. My ego tells me I got that ball rolling. And as a former sports radio guy, I’m proud of that.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank a lot of people for their help along the way. First and foremost, my wife for dealing with me being online practically 24/7. My business partner Dan Zucker for putting up with my sometimes maniacal and sometimes aloof ways. Michael Bean for helping me get the site off the ground and writing for SRI for three years. SBN for buying the site.  All the loyal writers at SRI, especially my current staff of Eric Schmoldt, Chris Fedor, Steven Cuce, and Brad Gagnon. I’d also like to thank other people who wrote for the site in the past including Will Brinson, Tas Melas, Doug Farrar (for a week!), Tim Gunter, Paul Bessire, Lance Zimmerman, and Zach Krantz. Shockingly, I still haven’t met Eric, Steve, or Chris who have all worked for the site for over two years. One day I’ll meet you guys and dinner and drinks are on me. John Mortensen who built the site and taught me how to use it. All the radio stations for letting me link to their interviews, the producers for consistently keeping me abreast of the better interviews out there, and the hosts for conducting some great interviews. I’d also like to thank some people who championed the site early on and were tremendous advisors for SRI including Darren Rovell, Mike Florio, AJ Daulerio, Rick Chandler, Michael David Smith, Lynn Hoppes, and Jason McIntyre. I’m sure I’m forgetting someone, so my apologies in advance.

It’s been a great ride and I’ve learned so much throughout these past 4+ years. Thanks again for checking out SportsRadioInterviews.com.

Jimmy Shapiro

P.S.  Indulge me here, but since I haven’t written much in the past three years, here’s my favorite column that I wrote during SRI’s existence:

http://sportsradiointerviews.com/2009/04/14/baseball-will-never-sound-the-same-again-for-me/

Chip Kelly joined WIP in Philadelphia with Angelo Cataldi to talk about what the experience was like for him during his first draft, whether the Eagles entertained trade offers for the fourth pick, if it was an advantage to coach against many of these players in college, on the QB competition in Philadelphia, why he wanted to bring Michael Vick back and whether he thinks the Eagles can win as soon as this season.

What the experience was like for him during his first draft:

“To be honest, it was awful because you make a pick and then it seems like six hours later you get to make another pick. So it doesn’t happen like the game, it’s a lot slower in terms of, you make a pick, you get excited about the guy you get and then you’re not up for another three hours. The in between part kills you, being on the clock and waiting towards the do you get an opportunity to get this guy? He’s still on the board. When it gets closer to your pick it gets exciting, but the down time, I think, took a little bit to get used to.”

Whether the Eagles entertained trade offers:

“I think when you look at you can say ‘well they should have traded.’ But there has to be a partner to trade with. If no one is calling you then no one wants to move into your spot. You can look at it from the outside and say ‘hey if I was in that situation I would have traded back and done this, this and this.’ But you have to have somebody to trade back with. We entertained some calls but obviously the value wasn’t there. It’s like ‘trade your pick and we will give you a football.’ When you look at it that way you’re just like that is not very valuable to the franchise so we’re going to stick with it. For us, in every round, after the first we had guys on the board that were rated the round above. We always felt like we were getting value.”

Was it an advantage for you because you saw many of these players in college up close and personal?

“I think so, and not only did you game plan against them, but you know them a little bit better than some other people because you’ve interacted with them. I’ve been on media days and spent time with Matt Barkley. We tried to recruit Zach Ertz. Jordan Poyer is a local kid from Oregon, so not only do you know how fast they are, and what they jump, and how much they can lift, but you get a little bit better feel for what their personality is like and how that is going to fit and what we are trying to create here in the locker room.”

If he thinks the idea that he needs a prototype player to run his offense is overblown:

“In everything I think there is always a gap between perception and reality, no matter where it is. Whether it’s in your profession or our profession. We want people that are going to help us win games. Obviously if you can get a quarterback that has great size, is really smart, can run and do all those things then yeah let’s go get him. But you don’t always get the ideal guy. You don’t get in every category he is a 10. But you have to value some categories more than other categories. There have been some unbelievable athletes that have played quarterback both at the collegiate level and in the NFL that can throw the ball 80 yards, run 4.5 and all those other things. Really for a quarterback, you have to be a great decision maker first and foremost. If he can run I think of that as a bonus, not as a prerequisite.”

On the QB competition:

“Well right now it is because we are still in April heading into May. So we’ll continue to just get everyone reps and as they get reps, they get more familiar and comfortable with the system and then obviously as we get moving into August, you start to kind of pair it down. It becomes a two-horse race and those guys are getting more snaps than the others guys and you kind of pair it down. At this point in time, we’re just trying to get everybody up to speed in terms of how we’re doing things. The guys that are here, Michael [Vick] and Nick [Foles], and Dennis [Dixon] and G.J. [Kinne] have been here every day and they’re working extremely hard. We’ve been with them for about a month grasping how we call things, grasping the concepts we are trying to insert, how do we identify defensive players and those kind of things. They’re working really well at it. I’ve said it’s a competition and it is, but at some point in time we start to pair it down and it goes from five guys, to four, to three, to two, and eventually one. If you have anyone that’s worth anything at that position, they want competition. They relish competition and they are excited about it. If you have somebody whose ego is so fragile that well I wasn’t named the starter in April, well then how the heck are they going to play in front of our fans? I mean if they can’t handle not being named the guy in April, then what are they going to do when things go wrong in September and you throw an interception and the crowd is booing at you? Are they going to go fold and not be the guy that everybody looks to when things aren’t going well? So the competition part of it, we’re excited about it. We’re excited in the fact that we believe we have a couple of guys that I think can play for us and the best guy is going to win.”

What did you see that made you want to bring Michael Vick back?

“The one thing I think with a quarterback is they get too much blame when things don’t go well and they get too much praise when things do go well. But which Michael Vick do you have? The guy in 2010 who is the comeback player of the year and is running all over the field making great decisions? A lot of that because he’s clean in protection, he’s not getting hit immediately after he’s getting the snap. The one thing, when I watched the film and I saw Michael last year, you just kind of almost felt bad for him, is you lost four lineman to season ending injuries. There is a comfort level when you are playing quarterback when Jason Peters is your left tackle. There is not as much of a comfort level if I’m playing left tackle. So when you’re worried about a guy coming off the edge before you can get to the top of your drop and make a throw, then that’s a tough thing to do. The one thing I’ll give Michael, when you watch Michael Vick on film and no one, there’s absolutely no one that can question his toughness. As he stands in there with people bearing down at him and still is trying to throw the ball and deliver the ball. He can throw the ball, it comes off his hands, he can make people miss, but no one, there’s no quarterback in the NFL, there’s no quarterback in any level of football that can function when you are missing four of your offensive lineman. So a lot of things that happened when you watch the film last year, it isn’t all of Michael’s fault. When I look around at other quarterbacks out there and who is available and all those other things, to me it was a no-brainer to bring him back.”

How long he thinks it will take the Eagles to win:

“If I can gauge it based upon our attitudes of our players right, I’m really excited for next season. We’ve got a bunch of guys that have been here since April that are working extremely hard and have bought into what we’re doing here. And that was also the question for everybody, myself included, is will they do what we’re going to ask them to do? What I found with the guys that are here right now, and to be honest with you a lot of hype has gone into the draft, but we drafted eight guys. Even if all eight of those guys make our team, 45 of those guys are already here right now. So the biggest thing is getting everybody on the same page from the coaching staff to the players and then understand that it’s us against the 31 other teams out there, not us against us. So, so far, so good. Really excited about their attitudes, really excited about their efforts, really excited about their preparation and I believe that’s what wins. That will pay off. As we continue to add people that have a skill-set that can make us better as a team and we’re always going to be constantly looking for that and trying to to do that, but we’re also still conscious of not upsetting the chemistry and attitude of this team So far the chemistry and attitude has been great. Is that a prediction on how quick it can turn around? No. I don’t think anyone can say that because you don’t control injuries, you don’t control when a person, who we put all our eggs in one basket and that person gets hurt, then what do we do? Do you lose four offensive linemen again? That is a really difficult thing to overcome. No one I think can do that. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I think that the team that we put on the field next September and October, I think people are going to be proud to say that they are Philadelphia Eagles.”

Listen to Chip Kelly on WIP in Philadelphia here

The 12-year veteran was tired of living a lie and should be commended for the courage it took to make this announcement. John Amaechi became the first former NBA player to come out publicly after doing so in his book ‘Man in the Middle,’ in 2007. Amaechi spoke with Collins before this announcement and sheds some light on the emotions that Collins was dealing with.

John Amaechi joined Fox Sports Radio with Primetime to discuss his reaction to Jason Collins coming out as a gay basketball player, the impact of Collins coming out as an active NBA player, the reason why Collins came out now, the general public still being squeamish about a professional athlete coming out and the chances of an NBA team signing Collins after coming out.

So Jason Collins? Your thoughts?

“I think he is remarkable guy. I’ve been speaking to him over the last month and he was talking about this decision to come out and obviously one of the things I said was that being out was better than being in. It’s better and more healthy for you, but the reality is that he is just a perfect spokesperson. He’s eloquent. He’s smart. He’s thoughtful, and he’s going to be out there navigating through the nuisances of what, at times, might be a little bit turbulent water.”

Some people are saying that Jason Collins’ impact may not be that big because he’s a free agent and not in the prime of his career. What do you think?

“I think this line — and I know it’s not yours — is one of the most juvenile out there. The fact is that people will say this about Jason to try and minimize what he has done and to try and suggest what he has done is not brave or not bold, but it is. The reality is that they will say this about Jason and then the next player comes out and it’ll be the middle of their career and people will say, ‘Maybe if he is a better player this would be important.’ Then the next player will come out mid-career and then there will be a better player and he was an All-Star. Then maybe it’ll be important. The excuses will just keep coming. Maybe he’s the best player in the league. These are weak excuses. The fact is that what he’s done is brave. He’s done this in a country where there is still a great deal of anti-gay sentiment that is manifested in lore. Never mind anything else, and yet he’s out there as an eloquent spokesperson, not just for gay people, but to show difference is not something you need to be afraid of, and that perhaps the assumptions of who belongs in what jobs and what parts of society, you can be a little bit shaken up, and I think he’s going to do that very well.”

Why did Jason Collins come out now?

“I’m not necessarily going to talk about my conversations with Jason, but I know that he’s the kind of player that is very considerate. He was concerned about what would happen with his team in terms of whenever he came out. If he came out during the season, would that just throw his team into disarray? And I think that is a very legitimate concern. I think now shows a great deal of compassion for the people around him, that he did it at this time rather than some rooted cowardice, which I don’t think it is. I think the reality is that he considered it like all the players I have spoken to in football, basketball and other leagues around the world. Everybody dreams about the time they can come out with no fanfare, but knowing that there is going to be some huge fanfare, as you have seen by the scramble by the media in the last two or three hours. I got 760 interview requests in my e-mail inbox right now — 760. It’s still a big deal.”

When will professional athletes coming out about their sexuality stop becoming a big deal?

“When enough people with enough power grow up. Right now there are still people with great power in positions of leadership within politics, within business, who behave like 5-year-olds being touched by a girl for the first time when they talk about gay stuff. They are squeamish and act like they are going to get cooties for the first time by talking about it.”

Is Jason Collins aware of the whole dynamic now? Do you think someone will sign him under this kind of spotlight?

“He knew all the implications from the very beginning. That’s part of the reason why he deserves great credit. There are some people that are just not that smart. The ongoing implications for this decision might not hit them, but Jason Collins knew this from the beginning. He knew it might impact his career, but he also knew that he wanted to play more, but he wanted to play more in a way that was authentic. The other thing people don’t realize is that he’ll be a better player despite dealing with some attractions and some comments from the stands, I’m sure, maybe even from one or two players on other teams and people that don’t know him. He’s going to deal with some of that, but he’s going to be far less clouded by the fact that he could just be himself when he plays. It’s a huge weight to take off his shoulders.”

Listen to John Amaechi on Fox Sports Radio here

Seattle mayor Mike McGinn joined KJR in Seattle with Dave “Softy” Mahler to discuss the news that Seattle isn’t getting an NBA franchise, why he was concerned this could happen, what happens next, the initial timeline of how this would go down and if he’ll be talking with David Stern.

The news that a team is not coming back to Seattle is tough to swallow:

“I was disappointed, too. I was really hopeful that this was going to go our way. But, you know something? The fans have a lot to be proud of here. I’m speaking from where I sit. Without the fan support around the Sonics, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Obviously we have a great investor team. … If we can go a little bit higher, too, when we entered into that memorandum of understanding, we didn’t know what team we’d be getting. We didn’t even know what team was on the horizon. And we put five years on it, too. So the fact that it was happening this fast was amazing.”

If we were just hanging out on Friday night and I asked if you thought the team would be coming here, what would you have said?:

“I was hopeful, but I’ve had a feeling that there might be some more twists and turns in the story. That’s the truth. I was wondering what the twist and turn was going to be. I was just waiting to see how it would turn out.”

What was your biggest concern?:

“I think the biggest concern is we’ve heard the number of times that David Stern mentioned the arena situation here. And while we’ve got a great arena plan and a great market, the fact that he mentioned it almost every time gave me a level of concern.”

What’s next?:

“I don’t speak for Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, but I can say this: Here at the city, we made a commitment. In fact, I made it when I was running, that we would put ourselves in a position to take advantage of a good opportunity if it came along. And we’re in that position right now. We still have the MOU, we still have the arena plan, we’re still in a great market, so I’m hoping we can take the long view on this.”

But you can say that this thing isn’t just done and over?:

“When we entered into the MOU, it was with the understanding that there might be some twists and turns along the way. … It was an understanding from the front end that we’d go through the process of getting a permit for the arena. Of course, we have worked to protect ourselves as a city. We’re not building an arena until there’s a team. That was part of the deal as well. We put ourselves in a position and we put five years on it and that’s where we stand today, still.”

What was your initial timeline for hoping to get this done?:

“I probably would put more odds on the longer timeline, but I was also hopeful that maybe there would be a shorter timeline.”

Do you plan on speaking with Stern?:

“I have been committed to making sure that Seattle’s in a position to get a team. And in terms that make sense for Seattle. That’s one of the really great parts about this arena plan, is the way in which it protected our budget. And we were creative in how we structured the deal. … I’ve reached out to David Stern in the past and I’ll do what’s required to bring a team back to Seattle.”

Listen to Mike McGinn on KJR in Seattle here

Not so, says Reid. They were dead set on taking Nico Johnson all along.

Andy Reid joined Soren Petro on WHB in Kansas City to discuss some of his team’s later draft picks, particularly two guys — Travis Kelce and Sanders Commings — who come with character concerns. He also talked about the difficulties attached to coaching players with those concerns, a popular draft rumor involving his former team and Luke Joeckel, whom the Chiefs passed on with the top pick.

On third-round pick Travis Kelce, who has gotten into some trouble in the past and whose older brother Jason played for Reid in Philadelphia:

“He’s kept himself on the straight and narrow here for the last couple years and done well with that. I told him if he acts up I’m gonna just sick his brother on him.”

On fifth-round pick Sanders Commings pleading guilty to domestic violence charges after striking a woman last year:

“I’m not very good with those situations. I have kind of a no-tolerance with that, and so we made sure we did our homework on it, and his roommate was actually a kid [Brandon Boykin] that played for us last year as a rookie at Philadelphia, and I knew the character of the kid. I talked to the coaches about the situation and we looked into it from the law-enforcement standpoint, and we found out what we think really happened and we felt comfortable taking him at that position. Obviously I can’t get into all the details of that, but neither John nor I, we’re against those type of things, but again, we did our homework on it and we feel pretty comfortable with him.”

On the distractions that come with having to watch over players who are also known troublemakers:

“You don’t want to do too much babysitting because then it takes away from everybody. Everybody’s babysitting and not coaching football, so I don’t wanna do too much of that. And I don’t think this kid [Commings] falls into that category, although we’ll see. We tried to do our homework so we wouldn’t have to do too much of that. And particularly in those kinds of situations, again, we made sure we were as thorough as we possibly could be.”

On the belief out there that the Eagles jumped ahead of them at the beginning of Round 4 because they thought they were going to take Matt Barkley:

“Well, we weren’t going there. I actually was on the phone with Nick Saban from Alabama before that day ever started, so that’s just not the direction [we were going]. We had pinpointed Nico [Johnson] and that’s who we were going after. I know how rumors start and how people justify picks and all this other stuff, but I think if you look at our roster, we’ve got Akeem Jordan at middle linebacker; that’s the only player that we have there. So we needed a middle linebacker, we had a good one sitting right there and it fell that way and we were tickled pink to go get Nico and bring him on board. That rumor started and I heard it, and I had to laugh at it. That wasn’t even in the picture.”

On picking Eric Fisher over Luke Joeckel first overall:

“Those are two great players. We just felt, not that one’s gonna be better than the other — we just felt that Eric fit in better what we were doing. And Joeckel’s gonna be a great player, but that’s how it works.”

Listen to Andy Reid on WHB here

Bjoern Werner joined 1070 the Fan in Indianapolis with JMV to talk about where the Colts were in terms of level of interest in him, on learning about the NFL by playing Madden, how it felt to finally hear his name called and how big of a deal him getting drafted into the NFL was for his family.

On where the Colts were in terms of level of interest:

“I knew they were really, really interested. Talked to my agent, they were talking to my D-Line coach at Florida State a lot. So I knew if I fell to the 24th pick then they had a good chance to take me. I was hoping they would take me because it’s a great organization and a great football team. They picked me. I can’t complain. I’m so happy.”

On learning about the NFL by playing the video game Madden:

“That is so correct. I knew every NFL star probably when I was 12, 13 or 14. I learned every team, every player in the game and I always created my little All-Star games, All-Star teams. I was just telling a few people when I was 12, 13, 14, I played with Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. They were like the dynamic duo for years. Now I’m going to play with Robert Mathis. He’s going to be my veteran. I can ask questions, I can look up to him. This is just so amazing and so unbelievable.”

How it felt to finally hear his name called:

“It was the craziest moment. I was so relieved. So much pressure was building and when they called me, I could just let everything out. I knew I made it to the NFL. now I’m looking forward to getting some respect and trying to compete for a job. Now the fun begins. I don’t have school anymore and I’m just going to play football.”

How big of a deal was this for you family?

“It’s so big for an American family. But then for a German family, they never even thought it was possible. They were really excited. I’ve never seen my whole family crying at the same time. That never happened before. Really happy for me.”

What did Coach Pagano say to you when you first met?

“When he was on the phone, he just said ‘I knew we had a connection when we had an individual workout.’ And he’s right. I like him. Not only as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts but as a person he is amazing. What he has gone through and what he has brought his team, I’m so happy he is my head coach and I can’t wait to get started.”

Listen to Bjoern Werner on 1070 the Fan in Indianapolis here

Matt Barkley joined WIP in Philadelphia with Reuben Frank to discuss keeping a positive attitude despite slipping to the fourth round of the NFL draft, how much scouts’ opinions of him changed in one year, not having a chip on his shoulder, joining a couple of other solid quarterbacks in Philadelphia, what it would be like to not start and the process of watching the draft.

On having a positive attitude despite slipping all the way into the fourth round:

“I think I’ve learned a lot over the last couple years, that has been able to give me that positive outlook and attitude. And regardless of where I ended up, I think just the fact that I ended up on a team, and to end up on a team like Philadelphia, with the organization that they have and the fan base, I could not be more excited. I knew that wherever I was going to end up, it’s just the beginning. It was just the starting point, and everything’s a clean slate. I know I have to work my way up from here.”

Was it surprising to you that scouts’ evaluations of you changed so much in one year?:

“Yeah, I’ve definitely learned a lot through that whole process, just what people thought about my year. It was a tough year, but I think because of the expectations that we had on ourself, coming off the 2011 season, and on top of that, what the media and the country placed on us in regards to what they expected of us. … We played tremendous football at times. … The injury, it was painful and took a while to get back up to speed, but it by no means will affect me in the future.”

Do you have a chip on your shoulder after all this?:

“That’s not going to be my main goal. Maybe, looking back over the years, you can say that, but I don’t think that can be your outlook from the start. You’ve got to go in and just prove yourself and prove it to your team. … That’s my main goal, to come in and put my head down and work.”

You’ve been a starter all your life. Mike Vick and Nick Foles are here, so what’s your goal?:

“It’ll be a full quarterback room, and I’m not shy or nervous or scared or anything about that. I think it just spurns competition. And the fact that you get to learn from a vet like Michael and compete against, I’ve known Nick Foles for a while now. … No matter what happens, I’m looking forward to coming in and just competing.”

How do your talents translate to what Chip Kelly wants to run in Philly?:

“It’ll be interesting to see what it is like. I’ve known what it’s like to be on the other side of the ball, watching that offense work when I’m on the sideline. It’s intimidating, as an opponent, when you see that offense just moving that ball up and down the field. … I’m looking forward to being a part of that.”

How tough would it be to sit and watch if you’re not the starter?:

“It would be a challenge, but at the same time I’d take it as a learning curve. And week by week, just go in knowing that anything could happen and I could get my shot, anytime during that year, to be able to play. You have to approach it like you’re going to play that week. … That’s how I’m going to approach it.”

Were you watching the whole draft until you were picked or how did that go?:

“We didn’t have people over at all. We just wanted to keep it low key on Thursday and Friday. It was a little disappointing, but to get that call Saturday morning, right off the bat … we just turned it on, got a call from a 215 area code and just heard Eagles. I was just overjoyed. There were a lot of emotions that weekend, but definitely ended with excitement.”

Listen to Matt Barkley on WIP in Philadelphia here

D.J. Hayden joined 95.7 The Game in San Francisco with Bucher and Towny to discuss being selected No. 12 overall, working out for the first time after surgery to repair a torn vein near his heart, what he remembers about the day he suffered the injury, his mindset now and being taken by the Raiders.

After all that you’ve been through, what was it like for you and your family when you found out you were drafted No. 12 overall?:

“It was just a true blessing. Just for me to be picked 12 overall, it was just crazy. From where I came from, because I’ve been through some trials and tribulations, I should say, and just for me to overcome my injury and all the odds is just amazing.”

After your heart injury and surgery, when was the first time that you worked out and what was that experience like?:

“I was at … a workout facility that I’ve been training at. My trainer, he wasn’t even there. I was there early, and I was just in there just backpedaling. I’m kind of fresh, just two to three weeks out of the hospital, and I’m still kind of skinny, and my back was still kind of hurting me. I was just out there trying to test myself to see where I was. I kind of sprinted a little bit and I kind of broke a sweat. I got so happy, I got so excited then.”

What do you remember about what happened to you during that practice leading up to the injury?:

“Basically me and the safety … went up for a ball and we collided into each other and his knee hit me in my chest. I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. I’m kind of gasping for air and trying to get my breath back, but I couldn’t get it back. … All of the sudden, I can’t see anything. My left eye goes pitch dark and I can barely see anything out of my right eye. … They call the ambulance and rushed me to the hospital. The doctors did a scan of my stomach to see if I had any internal bleeding, and I did. They thought I had my spleen ruptured. … They cut my stomach, all my organs were good, and then they had saw through my sternum. They saw the … vein and they saw that it was tore, so they just stitched it up.”

What’s your mindset at this point?:

“Now I’m just thankful to be here. Again, I just need to shake the rust off. I haven’t been out in pads, with helmets on, since that day. … My mindset is just, I don’t feel like I’ll be timid to get out there. I just have to go out there and do it. I could sit here and tell that I’m going to hit everybody. … I just have to get out there and actually get a lot of reps — just keep pounding and pounding and pounding into the ground.”

On joining the Raiders:

“It feels good just for them to even consider me to come help them win and play games. … The Oakland Raiders, they have a lot of tradition of having great DBs, and for them to want to invest their time into me, I’m just truly thankful.”

Why should Raider fans be excited they picked you?:

“Because I’m a great dude, hard worker, love to compete. I’m just ready to come in and make plays and play good football.”

Listen to D.J. Hayden on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco here

Kyle Long joined Boers and Bernstein on WSCR in Chicago to discuss his role with the Bears, what he has to improve, his position, how he’ll avoid temptations at the pro level, his relationship with the game of football, being picked higher than expected and the Bears’ efforts during the pre-draft process.

On expecting to play a big role as a rookie:

“Everybody that comes into an organization and gets drafted should have the confidence to be able to come in and make an impact. Saying that would be kind of a bold statement, but I can promise you I’m gonna show up and I’m gonna work my butt off.”

On what he believes he has to improve:

“My technique. I’m very raw in the game, I’m inexperienced, but I feel like my best football is ahead of me.”

On if he thinks he’ll eventually play tackle, rather than guard:

“You never know. There’s five positions up front and neither of them are much different from the other. So guard, tackle, it doesn’t matter. I’m an offensive lineman.”

On avoiding temptations as a millionaire athlete after dealing with substance-abuse issues earlier in life:

“You just focus on the task at hand. You wake up in the morning, you go to work, you go home, you look at your playbook, you look at your film for the day, probably eat a healthy meal and then get some sleep and get back into it the next day. It’s pretty simple.”

On why he decided to return to football after shying away earlier in life:

“Yeah, I kind of shied away from football out of high school for some reason. I think I was kind of running from the microscope that I was under. I wasn’t really prepared for the expectations, but as I’ve gotten older and grown more mature, I’ve realized that this is where I need to be. I’m a football player and it’s what runs through my veins. It’s in my DNA.”

On why he doesn’t play defensive line like his brother and father:

“I felt like playing offensive line had more of a natural progression for me. I can come off the ball and attack people, and I tried to just do that at the defensive side of the ball and I found myself out of the play most of the time, trying to get in a fight with the offensive tackles. … I need structure, so I think that’s what I like about the offensive side of the ball.”

On the Bears going to great lengths while interviewing him in the pre-draft process:

“It was clear to me that they had done their research. A lot of teams may have just taken the information that they may have Googled my name and asked me questions about what they found from the results. I really felt like the Chicago Bears did their research. They were asking me questions about stuff that I had completely forgotten. Middle school things, elementary school situations. It was clear to me that they went the extra mile to find out about who they were gonna get when they made their draft choice.”

On being picked higher than he expected:

“I hadn’t expected to be picked so high, but I was obviously grateful and excited about the opportunity and really thrilled about getting to work under Coach Trestman and for Coach Kromer.”

Listen to Kyle Long on WSCR here

The former Alabama cornerback was regarded as the best player at his position in this draft despite injury issues. Milliner is excited to be a Jet and is looking forward to the opportunity of playing for Rex Ryan.

Dee Milliner joined 98.7 ESPN New York with The Michael Kay Show to discuss his excitement of being drafted by the New York Jets, visiting the Jets during the workout process, Alabama’s defense being similar to the Jets’ style of defense, filling in for Darrelle Revis and being considered the best cornerback in the NFL draft.

How excited were you to get drafted by the New York Jets?

“Oh man, it was fun. I enjoyed the process and to finally get to a team and know that I could call it my home.”

Going into the draft, how much knowledge did you have of the Jets and the city of New York?

“I had taken a visit, but going out there I knew everything was going to be fine. There was going to be no problem, and when it comes down to it I didn’t know I was going to be available at the time, but I was there and they decided to take me when I was available.”

Has Rex Ryan told you that Alabama does very similar things that the Jets do?

“Yeah, very much. They like press-man coverage and being in your face and trying to get your hands on the receivers and coming at the quarterback.”

Are you ready to fill in Darrelle Revis’s position and the scrutiny that will come with that?

“Yeah, I’m fine with it. I don’t look at it like that. I’m just trying to go about my business. I’m trying to get myself right and do the things that I need to do and go out there and control.”

A lot of analysts felt you were the best cornerback in the draft. How does that make you feel?

“I mean, I feel great man. It’s great people said that about me. I believe in myself and have faith and confidence in what I can do. I think I can get the job done. For people to say that about me, I feel blessed and very grateful for the opportunity.”

Listen to Dee Milliner on 98.7 ESPN New York here