Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 15: Draft Pick (Scout)

With Brett's order, I quickly found a phone and called Troy, who's number Brett had gotten from the league for us to make the selections. After a few rings, I saw Troy's agent answer the phone on TV.

"Hello," his agent said.

"Hey, Scout Ranger for the Texans here. I need to know if the Cowboys have spoken to Troy."

"To be honest, no. We were thinking that was going to happen when they made the trade, but they haven't called us."

I turn to Brett and give her a smile. She was pretty curious of what was going on.

"Okay," I then said. "If they don't pick you, we'll get back with you." I hung up the phone and spoke to Brett. "There's been no conversation with Dallas and Troy."

"That's interesting," Brett said. "Maybe they want to surprise Troy. Why would Troy not be excited about being a Cowboy?"

"My gut feeling says when they say best linebacker, they're not talking about Troy."

"Well, who else would they be talking about?"

Before I could answer, there was a loud cheer on the TV screen as the commissioner returned to the podium.  As I sat there, all of a sudden, I felt a hand holding on to mine. It was a soft hand. I turned to see that it was Brett who was holding my hand. She was nervous and I suppose she needed someone to calm her down. Well, it was me that had the responsibility.

"With the 13th pick in the NFL Draft," the commissioner said.

Here we go. The moment of truth.

"The Dallas Cowboys select..."

My hand was getting tighter and tighter as Brett was clinging on. Her head was down and she was scared that she couldn't watch.

"Linebacker..."

Here comes the heartbreaker. This was it. The boo birds were ready to boo us if we didn't get our guy.

"Nick Tubbs from the University of Arkansas."

What? Who did the Cowboys pick?

Brett looked up on the screen as the analysts appeared to be surprised.

Analyst #1: Wow! That is a major development.

Analyst #2: Well, according to our sources, the Cowboys had been interested in Nick Tubbs for a while. This was a guy who battled with Troy Paulson for the tackles record in the Southeastern Conference and they feel that even though Troy got all the love, Nick was the better linebacker. They had thought of Troy, but it seems Nick gave them enough of leverage and value that they said Tubbs was the better player.

Analyst #3: That is a major shock. I know that this will only add fuel to Troy's fire when he's drafted. However, the Cowboys got a great steal in Tubbs, who I think will be instrumental in the defense for years to come.

Analyst #1: And add in the trade for Brad Cummings at quarterback, it seems like Dallas wins the day as far as this draft goes.

I was totally in shock. The Cowboys said they would take the best linebacker in the draft. The Cowboys said they were interested in Troy, but chose Nick Tubbs instead. Now, Nick Tubbs was a great linebacker from Arkansas. He was a guy who would intimidate you even before you got the snap off on offense. Yet, I could only shake my head. Dallas made a major mistake.

Before I knew it, Brett was hugging me and in tears.

"God, I was so scared," She said. "I can't believe Luke would do that to me."