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Draft Moves to Prime Time and Will Add a Third Day

The N.F.L. draft used to be little more than a dry business meeting held in a hotel, so nondescript that it was held on various weekdays during the 1980s. But with a boost from draft gurus like Mel Kiper Jr. and fanatical fans responding in anguish to their teams’ selections, viewership of the draft has soared in the last decade. About 39 million people watched this spring.

Now, the N.F.L. is making a move to raise the profile of the draft even higher, scheduling the first round of the 2010 draft for prime time on a Thursday night and spreading the event over three days instead of a weekend.

“We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans,” N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television.”

The 2010 draft, the 75th in N.F.L. history, will begin at Radio City Music Hall at 7:30 p.m. on April 22 (the N.F.L. hopes it will end by 11 p.m.). The second and third rounds will be held the next day starting at 6:30 p.m. The final four rounds will be held on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.

ROETHLISBERGER SPEAKS Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger vowed Thursday to fight rape accusations against him made by a Lake Tahoe casino hostess, calling them “false and vicious.”

Roethlisberger was served with a civil lawsuit last weekend when he returned to Lake Tahoe, where a 31-year-old Nevada woman charged that Roethlisberger raped her in a hotel penthouse in July 2008. Roethlisberger was in Nevada on both occasions to compete in a celebrity golf event.

The woman has not filed a criminal complaint.

“Saturday was the first I heard of her accusations,” Roethlisberger said. “Her false and vicious allegations are an attack on my family and on me.”

In his first public comments on the lawsuit, Roethlisberger read a statement at the Steelers’ practice complex. He spoke for less than two minutes and did not respond to questions. Roethlisberger, who is not married, said he would fight what he called “outrageous allegations,” but he said he would not discuss his private life or the lawsuit. (AP)

VICK MEETS WITH GOODELL Michael Vick and Commissioner Roger Goodell talked Wednesday at a security firm in New Jersey, according to multiple news media reports. Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely after Vick admitted bankrolling dogfighting. He has said Vick must show remorse before he will consider reinstating him. ESPN reported on its Web site that an anonymous source said that Goodell had decided on a conditional reinstatement that would allow Vick to attend training camp if he signs with a team.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/sp...24nfl.html?hpw

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