Stafford to upcoming top overall pick: ‘Be yourself’ More Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford knows a thing or two about being the top overall pick of an NFL draft. With the 2018 NFL Draft on the horizon, Stafford offered a bit of advice to the next man to hold that title — whether it’s USC quarterback Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Wyoming’s Josh Allen or reigning Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma. I think that’s all you can do is just be yourself, the 30-year-old Stafford said, via the Detroit Free Press. Just go in there, work hard, show those guys in that locker room what you’re about. And whatever it is you’re about, it’ll come out and they’ll either accept you or they won’t and then you go play.

That’s the kind of lasting impact that a great analyst can have on a football fan. And that’s the kind of simple wisdom that results in a multi-decade career as a big-game analyst. While plenty of people have the ability to explain what just happened at any given moment in any given game, it’s that kind of inherent brilliance that only a few analysts regularly demonstrate.

The second period went from bad to worse for the Jets, when Myers was checked by Foligno and caught his skate at the bottom of the boards. He needed help off the ice and into the locker room and did not return. Maurice had no update on the defenseman’s condition, but without elaborating he suggested the injury could have been avoided.

Didn’t love it, Maurice said, referring to both the hit and the outcome.

There was a lot to like, at least, about the Wild’s performance. All four lines produced at least one goal, and the rookie defenseman Seeler had a breakout game in the back with four blocked shots and a breakaway shot that hit the post and barely stayed in front of the line.

That’s playoff hockey. You need everybody, Staal said. You don’t win unless you have four lines and all your defensive core going.

Ravens wide receiver Michael Crabtree and Rams cornerback Aqib Talib aren’t scheduled to face each other in the regular season, but they will have a chance to catch up with one another over the summer.

According to multiple reports, the Ravens and Rams have agreed to hold joint practices this summer before they play a preseason game in Baltimore on August 9. It will be the first preseason game for the Rams while the Ravens will be playing in the Hall of Fame Game against the Bears in the league’s first exhibition game of the summer.

The Bruins’ power play -5 for 10 in the first two games — got its first opportunity early in the third only to see Pastrnak hit the post.

The Maple Leafs sealed it with 3:35 left when Marleau scored his second of the night on a 2-on-1 rush for his 70th career playoff goal.

We were on it all game, Marleau said. We had our legs, we were playing the right way.

It just kind of never happened, Gettleman said. There was nothing ever meaningful enough that would keep me from a player that was our first take. You can out-smart yourself. In Carolina, nobody ever made us a meaningful enough offer to trade back.

Here is what three longtime  NFL executives with extensive scouting experience, including one ex-general manager, said the Giants should do about fielding trade-down offers.

Beal deflected any excuses for his Game 2 performance, which certainly got off to a bad start after he picked up his second personal foul with 3:59 remaining in the first quarter. Wall already had been whistled for his second foul with 7:42 left in the first quarter, when the Wizards were down by 11. Without those two All-Stars, Washington would fall behind 37-15 before entering the second quarter trailing 44-27.

Not really, Beal said when asked if averaging the most minutes of his career and carrying more responsibility with Wall out has caught up to him. I mean John’s back, so it would be totally different if he wasn’t, then it would be a different story. Even if he wasn’t, I still wouldn’t make an excuse for it.

Everybody has played 82 games this year, that is how many you are supposed to play; but at the same time, it does wear on you, you do get tired. But it’s a mental thing, that is not an excuse for me.

Running back Saquon Barkley’s Roc Nation representatives reportedly don’t want him to be selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL draft.  

According to Ben Baskin of Sports Illustrated, the former Penn State star’s reps implored him to publicly say that he won’t play for the Browns.

Kyle Soppe on Patrick Corbin (No. 15): Anyone can make the #Humidor claim to explain Corbin’s two standout home performances this season against strong competition (in 13 innings against the Dodgers/Rockies, he allowed just two earned runs while striking out 20 and walking just two), but he pitched well at home last season (9-4 with a 3.15 ERA), and I think you’re doing him a disservice if you simply attribute his strong start in 2018 to the environment.

In this launch angle era that we are in, Corbin has found a way to keep the ball on the ground, and that is why I believe we are looking at much more than a flash in the pan.

Consider this: His swing-and-miss rate is flirting with 18 percent and his ground ball percentage is up over 62 percent. Now, do I think those rates are sustainable? No, but they don’t need to be. In 2017, only one pitcher had a swing-and-miss rate over 12 percent and coaxed ground balls over 50 percent of the time. Care to guess who that was? Luis Severino … the breakout pitcher of 2017 and potentially the comparison we could be making for Corbin when all is said and done.

The schedule toughens at the end of this month and into May, but I’m buying what Corbin is selling, so I’m excited to see what he can do against the game’s best.

Nearly three years removed from his last quality season, Marshall figures to face a cold market for his services. Considering his past work with Showtime’s Inside the NFL, it’s natural to wonder if the 34-year-old will leave the gridiron for the bright lights of the television studio.

Now that Marshall has been jettisoned, the Giants have an opening behind Odell Beckham and Sterling Shepard at wide receiver. Gettleman isn’t ruling out the idea of signing Bryant, who recently cited Big Blue as his preferred landing spot in free agency.

Doomed by insufficient support in 2017, Manning can’t be blamed for imagining a dream scenario in which he’s surrounded by Beckham, Bryant, new blindside protector Nate Solder and potential No. 2 draft pick Saquon Barkley for the upcoming season.

Chinander, on the recommendation of two of the existing coaches on the Central Florida staff whom Frost retained when he was hired (Sean Beckton and Travis Fisher), moved Griffin from safety, where he played his first two years, to linebacker, where he projects as an NFL draft pick possibly as high as the third or fourth round.

Everybody asks me, ‘What can’t he do?’  Chinander said. I’m still trying to figure that out.

One lesson Chinander learned quickly about Griffin is this: Never doubt him.