SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And so nice to say - and now it's time for sports.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SIMON: Remembering the holiest of soccer fans, the NFL draft, the NHL playoffs. And, for the first time live, Michele Steele...
MICHELE STEELE: Yay.
SIMON: ...Of ESPN joins us in our studios. Michele, thanks so much for being with us.
STEELE: Gosh, it's great to be here, Scott. But I have to ask you - where in the heck is B.J. Leiderman, who wrote the theme music to this august and...
SIMON: (Laughter).
STEELE: ...Distinguished show?
SIMON: He's home listening very avidly to what you're going to say, Michele.
STEELE: Of course.
SIMON: Thanks for being with us. And let's begin by remembering Pope Francis, a lifelong fan of the Buenos Aires soccer club - soccer football club, San Lorenzo. Club made an announcement this week on how they're going to honor the late pontiff, didn't they?
STEELE: Yeah, Scott. They said that they're actually naming their new stadium after him. They're going to call it Papa Francisco Stadium. And apparently, and understandably, he was quite emotional when they informed him that they would like to honor him in this way. Pope Francis loved the beautiful game. He was a soccer fan longer than he was a priest. He actually grew up going to these games...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...With his father as a young kid. He was a card-carrying member of the club. And you know what, Scott? His number on his card, 88, 2, 3...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...5, corresponded exactly with his age and the time in Argentina when he passed. Maybe divine inspiration there.
SIMON: Yeah. From football to football, 'cause the NFL draft began Thursday. No surprises at the top. The Titans picked Cam Ward, first pick overall. But the big surprise that didn't happen - Shedeur Sanders. The Colorado quarterback fell out of the first round, then the second, now the third. Now, look, there's a celebrated history - right? - of great quarterbacks who weren't drafted until the later rounds, and, for that matter, first-round picks who washed out. But what do you think's at work here?
STEELE: Gosh, I have been watching the draft now for decades. You've been watching the draft for a...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...Very long time. I have never seen, in my lifetime, a slide like this one. This was a guy - a couple weeks ago, people projected him as a very, very possible first-round pick, and certainly at least gone by the third round. He won the Johnny Unitas Award this past season for the best senior quarterback in the country. He had something like a 70% completion percentage in college. He built a custom room in his house, Scott...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...For the draft.
SIMON: Oh.
STEELE: I'm kind of getting tired of looking at those custom pillows on that custom couch for the draft. Even quarterback-needy teams - I'm talking about the Saints, the Seahawks, the Browns passing on this guy.
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: The reporting is he didn't interview well. The NFL is a place where you have to earn it every day. And if they get the sense that you're not in it for all the "right reasons," quote-unquote...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...They're going to pass on you. Now, that doesn't mean they're right. They could be wrong. I'd love for Shedeur to prove them wrong. We'll see what happens. He should be gone today, based on his performance on the field, in these later rounds, but...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...Not so far.
SIMON: I mean, they never picked Kurt Warner, who, you know, was...
STEELE: Sure. And we know where Tom Brady went...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...Right?
SIMON: Yeah. Yeah.
STEELE: But Tom Brady wasn't projected to go in the...
SIMON: Right.
STEELE: ...First, second or third rounds, either.
SIMON: You consulted some especially eminent opinion on the NFL draft this week, didn't you?
STEELE: Very eminent. A friend of the show...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...Austan Goolsbee...
SIMON: Yes.
STEELE: ...The president of the Chicago Federal Reserve. Now, you might be asking, what does Goolsbee have to say about the draft? Quite a bit. He oversees the Upper Midwest, which, of course, includes Green Bay. And you know what? In this economy, sports has been a bright spot. And he told me this week that one of the most patriotic things you can do, apparently, as an American, as far as our economic recovery, is to watch the NFL draft because...
SIMON: (Laughter).
STEELE: ...Sports is not affected as much by the tariffs or all the trade activity and all that. But apparently, they're projecting $100 million in economic activity for the State of Wisconsin.
SIMON: Oh...
STEELE: So good for them. That's a lot of cheese.
SIMON: ...Mercy from the Green - that's a lot of Cheeseheads, too. Look, an important week for Canada. Oh, yeah, there's an election on Monday. But before that, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators. It's at 3-0 right now. Toronto leads. Can a Canadian team finally end Canada's Stanley Cup drought?
STEELE: Right. It might be Canada's sport, but the Stanley Cup has lived in the United States, Scott, since 1993. I actually interviewed a Canadian player last year on the Panthers and asked him if he wanted that Canadian drought to continue, as a red-blooded Canadian. And he was like, that's the idea. I play for the Florida Panthers. We want to win...
SIMON: Yeah.
STEELE: ...The cup. That is what happened. The Leafs will likely beat the Senators tonight. I don't think the Leafs are the Canadian team to win the Cup. Look at the Winnipeg Jets. They had the best record in the regular season, Scott. They have the best goalie in the regular season. They have a good shot among all teams, not just the Canadians. So that's what I have to say about Canadian hockey this morning.
SIMON: Michele Steele, what an absolute pleasure to have you with us. Thanks so much.
STEELE: I didn't think you'd be in full Cubs uniform this morning...
SIMON: Ha.
STEELE: ...But I love your enthusiasm.
SIMON: (Laughter) I'm always in Cubs uniform.
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