Kaepernick almost wore silver, black
The San Francisco 49ers obviously struck gold when they picked quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Kaepernick was just as lucky.
Instead of leading a team to the Super Bowl, he almost ended up with the Oakland Raiders, who, as it turns out, were left with a lump of coal.
Peter King of SI.com detailed how former Oakland coach Hue Jackson and late owner Al Davis were fixated on Kaepernick, the dual threat star from UNR, and tried to trade up to get him.
“We wanted the kid in the worst way,” Jackson said. “Scouting him, I fell in love with the kid. No doubt in my mind he was going to be good.’’
The 49ers were aware of the Raiders’ affinity for Kaepernick because the media had reported it, King wrote, so coach Jim Harbaugh played coy.
“Coach Jackson told me before the draft they were going to do everything they could to try to get me,’’ Kaepernick said. “I thought there was a good chance they’d pick me. I never heard anything from the 49ers before the draft after I worked out for them. I just figured they weren’t interested.”
According to King, Oakland ranked Kaepernick the top quarterback on its draft board, above the five QBs who were selected ahead of him (Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder and Andy Dalton).
San Francisco pulled off a deal with Denver to move up from the 45th spot to No. 36, where the 49ers grabbed Kaepernick. When the pick was announced, Davis reportedly threw a glass across the room.
Some scouts claim it was a better throw than JaMarcus Russell ever made for the Raiders.
■ FOR CRYING OUT LOUD — The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a 2-0 hole in the Eastern Conference finals, and their star player, Sidney Crosby, said he deserves some of the blame for his poor play. Crosby is a scorer, but he’s not scoring.
After the Bruins blasted the Penguins 6-1 on Monday, several members of the Boston media boarded a JetBlue flight home. As the story goes, a crying baby was on the plane.
The pilot, according to Joe Haggerty of CSN Boston, got on the intercom and asked if “Crosby was in the back crying.”
Pilots can be real comedians after a few too many drinks at the airport bar.
■ COSTUME PARTY — LeBron James led the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals with another remarkable performance Monday night. So, of course, one of the hot topics after the Heat buried the Indiana Pacers was Justin Bieber.
Sitting courtside, Bieber made himself the sideshow. He wore a leather shirt, gold chains and sunglasses, and topping off his goofy costume was a Heat hat propped awkwardly on his head. (Another reason for grown men to hate the Heat.) Even worse, it appeared he was sporting lip gloss.
ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt took him to task on Twitter: “Every guy needs at least one friend who is not on the payroll who can say, hey fella — don’t wear lip gloss to the Heat game. #Biebs”
But if Bieber’s only friends are teenage girls, who is going to tell him lip gloss isn’t cool?
The only guy who emerged from the Eastern Conference finals looking like a bigger clown was Chris Bosh.
COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
