Hello, Rudy?

I got out of Camden Yards right around the first pitch of the second game, got through the traffic coming in for the game, fought traffic downtown, got to the Sun office, did a quick radio interview (Mark Gray's show on XM and on WOLB-AM 1010), turned to the TV, saw that they were three picks into the draft, watched three more picks, and then realized ...

Rudy Gay is still on the board.

That just goes to show you. Draft prognostication is one of the most pointless ventures ever imagined. Earlier in the day, before I headed to the ballpark, ESPN was airing reports on the half-hour about Rudy possibly being the first pick by Toronto, but that it probably was a red herring, with the Raptors trying to smoke out some trade offers. Fine. But still it was being dangled as a possibility that Rudy could upset the experts and go first overall. He was shooting up the charts, we were being told.

Wrong. As in, wrong direction.

Now, I can't be absolutely sure of this, because it was a little busy in the newsroom at that point, but I'm certain I saw Gay bent over, face in hands, liquid coming from the eyes, as he sat in the green room. Uh oh. How does he get past that? Easy: by hiring Adam Morrison's agent. Is that a gutsy campaign or what? Take the most humiliating moment of his career, the one that probably will chase him forever, and have him defend it as if it was something honorable, even desirable. It's the passion, he says. Right. If he were a little less passionate, he might have noticed that the game wasn't over yet and that he had a chance to win that game and be a hero. But that's just me. I'm cynical like that.

Meanwhile, speaking of surprises, wasn't everyone sure beyond the shadow of a doubt that the one guy Michael Jordan wouldn't take for the Bobcats at No. 3 was ... Morrison? I honestly don't know why I pay attention to draft predictions. You notice I didn't make any. I'm not crazy (most of the time).

Anyway, Rudy went eighth overall, to the Rockets - and, if I heard correctly, was dealt to Memphis in a deal that included Shane Battier. I hadn't thought about it that deeply, but if there ever was an ideal team for him, it's the Grizzlies. That style, that system, should let him flourish. And if Jerry West likes him, every team ahead of him should be second-guessing itself.

As for our hero, J.J. Redick, going 11th to Orlando isn't a surprise; that's about right in the middle of where he was predicted. The Magic apparently are one of those teams he says isn't worried about his herniated disk. We can at least assume he will play for them this season; that's more than the Magic can say about their No. 1 from last year, Fran Vasquez - he went back to Spain right before training camp started.

One more thing to ponder before I head home and dissect the Wizards' pick at No. 18: interesting that the Trail Blazers liked Randy Foye coming out of Villanova at No. 7 overall more than the point guard they took out of high school two years ago and who thus has two years of experience in the league, Sebastian Telfair. Not exactly a vote of confidence about Telfair's development.

More later ...