Draft rarely kind to Clippers

Oklahoma star forward Blake Griffin insists he can turn around the Los Angeles Clippers. History indicates otherwise.

Griffin is expected to be selected by the Clippers, who own the No. 1 overall pick, at today's NBA Draft in New York. However, Griffin might not be aware of his probable new employer's propensity for getting it wrong on draft day.

Want proof? In 1988, the Clippers had the No. 1 overall pick and took Danny Manning. He had an injury-plagued career. In 1998, in the same enviable position, the Clips took Michael Olowokandi. The Kandi Man, who also had his share of injuries, doesn't need to worry about penning a Hall of Fame induction speech.

Need more evidence? In 1996, the Clippers could have selected Kobe Bryant. Instead, they took Lorenzen Wright.

Here are a few more first-rounders that didn't exactly pan out: Darius Miles in 2000, Shaun Livingston in 2004 and Yaroslav Korolev in 2005.

Chris Kaman (2003) has done OK and Al Thornton (2007) is legitimate, but that doesn't make up for all the Clippers' misses. Of course, the biggest whiff might have been in 1985. That was the year Benoit Benjamin was selected third overall, ahead of Chris Mullin, Charles Oakley, Karl Malone, Detlef Schrempf, Joe Dumars and Terry Porter.

If Griffin thinks he can overcome all of that and make the Clippers relevant, he's better than anyone thought.

• TRAVELIN' MAN -- Draft Day has arrived, and nobody is happier than Jonny Flynn.

The Syracuse guard has been crisscrossing the country the last three weeks, working out for several teams. He has visited Golden State, Sacramento (twice), Chicago, Minnesota, Milwaukee, New Jersey and New York.

Flynn has been keeping a video diary of his "Have jump shot, will travel" escapades. The last episode comes today from the green room at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Flynn has been invited. He has been tabbed from No. 4 to No. 11 in most mock drafts.

• T.O. TURNS OFF SUPERMODEL -- Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo now have more than one reason to be attracted to supermodel Joanna Krupa.

She publicly stood up to Buffalo Bills receiver Terrell Owens.

T.O. and Krupa teamed up Tuesday in the television debut of ABC's "The Superstars," but Krupa quickly experienced the frustration Garcia, McNabb and Romo have felt while playing with T.O. in the NFL.

"I don't want a teammate like that!" Krupa yelled after T.O.'s feet got tangled up in nets on an obstacle course. "Calls himself an athlete? What does he get a million dollars for?"

"You're the one that (messed) up!" Krupa yelled after T.O. blew a lead during their first run over the course. "We could have won! So shut up!"

Afterward, Krupa refused to shake hands with Owens.

Said Krupa: "So cocky? For what? You got in the NFL?"

Owens responded. "I feel really bad for your boyfriend. I feel really bad for him."

COMPILED BY STEVE CARP LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL