Great news for intelligent TV: Keith Olbermann is doing sports again. He is going to be part of NBC's NFL coverage.

Here is what the Associated Press reported: Keith Olbermann will return to sports for the first time in six years to join Cris Collinsworth as co-host of the pregame show for NBC's Sunday night NFL telecasts. Olbermann, who currently hosts a prime-time newscast and opinion show called ‘‘Countdown with Keith Olbermann’’ on MSNBC, will join with host Bob Costas and analysts Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber and Peter King on NBC's ‘‘Football Night in America.’’ An anchor for ESPN's SportsCenter from 1992-97, Olbermann last appeared on network television in 2001 as host of postseason baseball coverage for FOX. His job on the NBC show will be to narrate highlights and discuss NFL news and issues.

For those that listen to Dan Patrick's show on ESPN Radio, Olbermann has been part of that show for about a year. He is the closest personality to Howard Cosell on the air today.

Did you see the NBA referee who ejected Tim Duncan for laughing? Duncan also said the referee challenged him to a fight. It is sad that these type of individuals are allowed to referee NBA games. I think we all know the individual that Duncan is. If David Stern doesn't figure out how to get the referees to be invisible, the league is going to have a problem. Another NBA referee gives Allen Iverson a techincal foul in every game they are on the court together. It would be nice if the reprimands that officials receive would be public. It would help the fans, the players and the officials to stay calm during the games. Right now, the officials have too much power and it is taking away from the game.

Most sports fan keep an ear to the radio, too. XM Radio is running a special this week to honor Larry King, who has been on the air for 50 years. It is great listening for those who remember King before he was only a TV talking head at CNN. King's great love of baseball is quite evident. Don't forget he was part of the radio team that covered the perfect season for the Miami Dolphins.

A lot of the mock drafts have the Browns taking someone other than Joe Thomas after the Lions and Raiders pass on him, too. Can the Browns really afford to take a pass on him if he is available?

ESPN's Todd McShay has the Browns taking Adrian Peterson after the Raiders take QB JaMarcus Russell and the Lions take DT Gaine Adams.

John Murphy at Yahoo! Sports sees QB Brady Quinn coming to the Browns after Russell (Raiders) and Thomas (Lions). I think this is the most likely sequence if there are no trades. Murphy also projects the second round, and he has the Browns taking USC linebacker Ryan Kalil.

Don Banks of SI.com agrees with Yahoo! on Quinn. Here is his reasoning: I wouldn't assume the Browns' interest in trading for Trent Green is an indicator of their first-round thinking, because Green would merely be playing the same temporary stand-in role filled last year by Kurt Warner in Arizona, Kerry Collins in Tennessee, and Jake Plummer in Denver. And remember, two years ago Cleveland signed Trent Dilfer and then made Charlie Frye a first-day pick.

Clark Judge at Sportsline.com sees Peterson for the Browns and he has them passing on Thomas.

I think Brady Quinn is going to end up with the Browns, and I think that will just be another mistake. They should take Thomas if he is there, and if he is not take Calvin Johnson, the wide receiver.

How do you all see the first three picks going?

As I said I hope to point folks from this blog to well-done articles on Ohio.com, here are a couple of Sunday's best.

Patrick McManamon has two one on the risks/reward factor of taking a quarterback early in the draft.
He points out in is weekly NFL column , sad to say, that the defense actually might be in worse shape than the offense.

Marla Ridenour gets an indepth look at Adrian Peterson, whom the Browns could call their own in the NFL Draft, which, by the way, is less than two weeks away now.

Sheldon Ocker talks about the scheduling problems baseball has.

David Lee Morgan reminds folks that U. of Akron coach J.D. Brookhart has given up some of his offensive play-calling to coordinator Joe Moorhead.

Brian Windhorst has game coverage of the victory over the Hawks, and Terry Pluto looks at Larry Hughes in his column the View from Pluto.

Two sports that don't receive much talk, the NHL and Major League Soccer, are finally receiving great support from their TV partners. The NHL is getting two weekend dates on NBC during the playoffs, which included coverage Saturday of the Penguins' victory in Game 2 in Ottawa. MLS gets its own night on ESPN on Thursday, and Fox Soccer Channel on Saturdays.

This is important for the leagues to continue to grow. ESPN buried the NHL at the end of their contract and it really set the league behind. Now the NHL has NBC and Versus, who seem to be interested in growing the sport, and dedicating talented broadcasters to bring it to you. Like I have written before, the intensity of the NHL playoffs can not be matched by any other sport.

With MLS, both networks are adding pre- and postgame shows, and in those shows, they are including information on soccer around the world. With the increase in immigrants in the United States, soccer has an informed fan base that is only going to grow. So it makes sense to have more information than just about the game in America. Expect with David Beckham coming to the Galaxy for more coverage of the league.

The University of Akron football program seems to be getting more and more fan friendly. Mike Rasor points out on his blog a couple of ways new information director Mike Cawood has helped. And he also gives a couple of positions to watch going into the spring game Sunday.

I can't help but think that J.D. Brookhart will get this program where 8 wins is normal but a new stadium sure would help with local recruiting.

Brian Windhorst points out that the Cavaliers veterans seem to have their heads on straight, ready to support the younger players in the playoffs. For all of the heat Eric Snow takes, if he is put in the right spots by coach Mike Brown, he can be valuable in the postseason. And Donyell Marshall showed his stuff a couple of times last postseason. This is setting up as an interesting ride the next few weeks … maybe months.

Jake Westbrook signs a three-year contract extension for $11 million per season. Good idea or bad? I do know that it probably makes Hafner worth, at least, $15 million per season when he signs his new contract with the Tribe or someone else.

C.C., he is getting $100 million or more where he signs. Think West Coast more than North Coast.

Look for plenty of NFL Draft coverage in this Sunday's paper.

1. Patrick McManamon is writing about drafting quarterbacks and how tough it is to get a good one in the first round.
2. Patrick also will write more about the Browns in his weekly column.
3. Marla Ridenour continues her Sunday series on top prospects. This week it is Adrian Peterson, the running back from Oklahoma. She already has written about Joe Thomas and Calvin Johnson.