As some of you know, I make a big deal out of the NFL draft.  Actually, my friends and I make a big deal out of the NFL draft.  While I don't spend a much time as many of you researching the draft, making mock drafts, etc, I probably spend more time planning the day of the draft as an event.  It all started several years ago when I was living in Seattle.  A few of my friends were up there at the time, and we got together on draft day for some early morning drinking and draft watching.  Every year since we've made the draft a bigger and more unforgettable experience.  Last year we went up to Davis to spend the whole weekend partying and draft watching - including making our own big board, and a healthy amount of drunken NN commenting. Here's the story from my buddy's now defunct blog.  We love Saturday draft day.  Or at least we used to.  Now the NFL has ruined everything.

We all work.  We won't all be able to be home by Thursday at 4:30 - or even 5:30.  There's no way we can all watch the draft live, together.  So we're going on media blackout.  We're gonna all take the day off on Friday and get together late Thursday night to begin the revelry.  We'll DVR the draft, get up early Friday morning and watch round 1, pretending it's Saturday.  We'll then roll right into round 2 at 3 pm.  I will probably be extremely intoxicated.  Sadly I won't be able to contribute my vitriol (or praise should the Niners do something right) during the open threads or recaps on Thursday.  But I'll keep a diary going so I can share my thoughts as they happened with all of you later on.  The challenge will be to avoid hearing about what happened.  I plan to turn off the computer and cell phone and not look at them until after we've watched the tape of round 1.  Thursday night we'll have to be very careful to not have the TV on any channel that might show anything related to the draft.  We'll probably limit ourselves to movies and video games.

So what are your plans for the draft Niners Nation?  After the jump I'll give some of my thoughts about this year's draft:

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Here's the link.

I can't believe it happened so fast.  i for one think it's a great move, as we get the franchise QB we need and we can put aside all the Mark Sanchez speculation.  Now we can definitely set our sights in the draft on defense and depth on the line.  This move makes us a contender for the NFC west and if the D comes together we could be a force in the playoffs.

In other news, April Fools day may have come about because of the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.  Or it may have been when the king of France changed he first of the year from April 1 to January 1.  This is a pretty stupid prank and I hope none of you fell for it, except of course HowTheyScored.

FOOCH'S NOTE 10:14AM: Great discussion topic.  Sanchez is my surprise pick, although if people are saying it so much elsewhere, is it really a surprise?  Also, a guy like Knowshon Moreno would shock me, but is it remotely realistic?

Last year, as you all remember, with the 29th pick in the draft, the 49ers selected Kentwan Balmer, a defensive tackle from UNC.  I think there was one reaction we can all agree we had: shock.  Nobody saw that one coming, not at all.  Many of us were thinking the Niners might go with an OT, or maybe a WR.  The first round had some big surprises and there were a lot of tackles off the board early in the draft.  Maybe this changed the 49ers plans.  But with guys like DeSean Jackson, James Hardy, and Malcolm Kelly all on the board when the pick came up, a lot of us thought we'd go with a big name receiver.  Instead we took Balmer, a guy we had probably barely considered before the draft.

Sadly I wouldn't be shocked if the Niners did something similar this year, and by that I mean take a player none of us are expecting.  So who do you think will be the shocking pick?

My money's on Sanchez.  I guess this wouldn't come as a shock, but it would piss a lot of us off.  Still, most of us think the Niners won't go with a QB even though a lot of less informed people out there certainly think we will.  So in my book, I'd be pretty shocked if we picked him.  But let's explore guys that would be really shocking: Moreno? Vontae Davis? Larry English?

Your pick for shocking Niners selection if you please...

As some of you may remember, during the NN Prediction Games, I managed to finish in second place in both the regular season game and the postseason bracket (both times to Ninerfromacrossthepond, that jerk).  When it came time to get my prizes I had a tough decision - take the Circuit City gift card, knowing they were soon to close and the might not have all the merchandise I wanted, or go with a book or video game or something.  Not being much of a gamer, and in need of some new electronics, I went with the gift cards.  Fooch sent them my way and I soon had $75 to spend before the clock ran out. 

Right after new years I had gone out on a crazy night with some friends that involved a limo, lots of booze, and the unfortunate loss of my camera.  I think I set it down in this one bar and it got swiped.  The biggest loss of course was the pictures from the night that were already on there - but in reality it was probably time for a new camera anyway.  Mine was several years old, had a tiny screen, and was really slow.  Also, there was a problem with the lens cover not opening all the way.

So I went down to Emeryville to see what I could find.  Lo and behold there was one Canon Powershot A1000IS left.  This was perfect for me - it was a Canon like my old camera, so I knew how to use it.  It uses AA batteries which I love, and it's faster, has a bigger screen, and more megapixels than my old model.  And the lens cover works.

With the discounted clearance prices and the gift cards, I ended up walking out the door having spent just 81 bucks of my own money on this brand new camera.  So thanks to NN for getting me this new camera, and to NFATP for not choosing the gift cards.

Hey Pats Pulpit, I'm here visiting from Niners Nation, where we're doing an early mock draft.  I've been assigned the Patriots, and I was wondering if you guys could help me out a little. 

What would you say are the team's biggest draft needs?  Any specific guys you think the Pats should go after?  Another WR to take pressure of Moss and let Welker go crazy in the slot?  Shore up the OL?  Another pass rusher?

Thanks, and I hope you've all enjoyed inauguration day.

This Fanpost idea is stolen from McCovey Chronicles, but I had wanted to post these pictures here anyway, so please enjoy my costume, it's the best costume I've done in a long time.  It actually wasn't my idea, a friend of mine had the idea but I stole it and made it my own.  It was pretty sweet:

I was Mike Nolan for Halloween.  Complete with pink slip, challenge flag, 49ers cup, headset, lapel pin, play sheet tucked into my pants and I even shaved from full beard to just goatee to look more like him.

Anybody else do anything sports related?  What were YOU for Halloween?

First saw this on Uniwatch today:  In this article on 49ers.com there are some pictures of guys practicing wearing gray facemasks, like the ones used in the glory years.  Uniwatch speculates that maybe Singletary is trying to put his own visual stamp on the team.  Could be, but I have 2 other theories...

1. Maybe they always wear gray facemasks in practice?  Anybody know?

2. Could this in some way be a preview/test run for some changes taking place next year?  There's been a lot of talk about the niners going to a new uni next season that at least invokes the 80's look.  Maybe a gray facemask is part of it.