Smith goes No. 1

The question was this: If someone had told you a year or two ago that the No. 1 picks in both the 2005 NFL and NBA drafts would come from Utah, what would you have said?

"I would have said, 'Where is Utah, again?' " responded Sam Smith, national NBA writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Said Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum, "I would say, first of all, that the idea would not even have entered my radar screen."

University of Utah quarterback Alex Smith was selected No. 1 Saturday in the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers — setting up the history-making possibility that the Utes may provide the top picks in two major sports: Ute center Andrew Bogut is expected to be No. 1 in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Chosen No. 2 Saturday in New York by the Miami Dolphins was Auburn running back Ronnie Brown, followed by Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards, by the Cleveland Browns. Promising USC receiver Mike Williams went No. 10 (to the Detroit Lions), while in the strangest event of the draft, California quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Alex Smith's perceived rival for the 49er's No. 1 pick, fell all the way to No. 24 (to the Green Bay Packers).

Still, although Smith received a great deal of attention, the Utah athlete most often mentioned recently as a No. 1 pick has always been Bogut, who will be in New York for the June 28 NBA Draft.

Said McCallum, "If you had told me Utah would have the first picks in both drafts, I would have thought you were talking about the state of Utah — and that some 7-foot-2 Serbian was at BYU for basketball, then somehow it got another Jim McMahon-type quarterback."

Good guess, but it's the Utes we're talking about here (That's a fact, Jack!). The first hurdle was Saturday, when Smith was picked. Earlier this year, forecasters had Smith going as low as No. 10. But by draft day, he had more momentum than "Desperate Housewives."

"Utah has always had a solid reputation as a basketball school, not so much in football. That would be like saying Oregon State would do something like this," said Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune.

Which makes a person wonder: What are the odds of Utah becoming a place where top draft picks incubate?

"I would have given similar odds on Dennis Rodman being elected governor," added Smith — the Chicago Tribune writer, not the quarterback.

Speaking of the Chicago Tribune, isn't that the same paper that ran the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman"?