Listening to Bon Iver, OT is slow... so I thought I would post my last NFL Mock for the season...

1. Carolina Panthers- QB Cam Newton, Auburn

2. Denver Broncos- DT Marcell Dareus, Alabama

3 Buffalo Bills- QB Blaine Gabbert, Missouri

4. Cincinnati Bengals- CB Patrick Peterson, LSU

5. Arizona Cardinals- OLB Von Miller, Texas A&M

6. Cleveland Browns- WR AJ Green, Georgia

7. San Francisco 49'ers- OLB Robert Quinn, North Carolina

8. Tennessee Titans- CB Prince Amukamara, Nebraska

9. Dallas Cowboys- OT Tyron Smith, USC

10. Washington Redskins- WR Julio Jones, Alabama

11. Houston Texans- OLB Aldon Smith, Missouri

12. Minnesota Vikings- DT Nick Fairley, Auburn

13. Detriot Lions- DE Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue

14. St. Louis Rams- DE Da'Quan Bowers, Clemson

15. Miami Dolphins- QB Ryan Mallett, Arkansas

16. Jacksonville Jaguars- DE Adrian Clayborn, Iowa

17. New England Patriots- DE Cameron Jordan, California

18. San Diego Chargers- DE JJ Watt, Wisconsin

19. New York Giants- OT Anthony Castonzo, Boston College

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- OLB Akeem Ayers, UCLA

21. Kansas City Chiefs- NT Phil Taylor, Baylor

22. Indianapolis Colts- OT Nate Solder, Colorado

23. Philadelphia Eagles- OT Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin

24. New Orleans Saints- RB Mark Ingram, Alabama

25. Seattle Seahawks- QB Jake Locker, Washington

26. Baltimore Raves- OT Derek Sherrod, Southern Mississippi

27. Atlanta Falcons- DE Justin Houston, Georgia

28. New England Patriots- OLB Brooks Reed, Arizona

29. Chicago Bears- DT Corey Luiget, Illinois

30. New York Jets- DE Muhommed Wilkerson, Temple

31. Pittsburgh Steelers- CB Aaron Williams, Texas

32. Green Bay Packers- CB Jimmy Smith, Colorado

Music can be a lot like food: one actively seeks out the music they already enjoy just like they only prepare or buy the food they already enjoy. Its easy, its fun, its fast, and the pay-off is always positve, since you know exactly what you are getting into before you even dig in/put on the headphones.

But I was never like that. In fact, I have always prided myself in being the guy who discovers the next amazing band. My friends would always ask me "Whats the skinny this week?" when I had my headphones on, hoping I would turn them on to a new band they had never heard. I was a hunter of music: following the trail of MP3's and local concerts and pouncing on my prey with a furious vigor. I have no problem bragging about the various times I saw bands live before they got big(or at least big within the circles of music they played), because it was all done with purpose. I wanted to be that guy, and I didn't care if people found me arrogant or pretentious: I was a music aficionado, and damn proud of it.

But a few years ago, something happened. Something that for fan of the artform of music is bound to happen: I grew annoyed and a bit bored with the whole process. No longer did I find joy in scouring message boards, local record stores, or internet radio for a new and exciting artist. Instead of going through all the effort, I merely went back to the albums I knew I already loved. Bjork's Vespertine, Decrepit Birth's ...And Time Begins, Cannibal Corpse's Vile, Iron and Wine's Our Endless Numbered Days and The Dillinger Escape Plan's Miss Machine went through my ears again and again and again. I felt safe and warm in the embrace of these records, like nothing outside of them was worth my time or energy. Why bother? I have all that I need right here. I grew fat, complacent and happy.

And why not? I worked hard to discover so many bands, and from time to time, it became more of a problem then a positive. This is one of the major difficulties of discovering new music all the time: are you really taking the time to apreciate the music you just discovered, or are you already onto the next thing, leaving the bands and genres you loved just a few days ago behind in the dust. I will openly admit to being gulity of this offfense: the hunt was more important to me then the prey on more than one occasion. Its not something I am proud of, but it happened. I considered my sudden lack of interest in musical discovery my mind telling me to slow down and enjoy the music you love now. And thats exactly what I did. For several years.

Fast forward to 2010, and music, which at one point had been the biggest thing in my life, had gone on the back burner. My band had just broken up, football(American) was my current obsession and video games were taking up my entire entertainment budget(no, I do not steal music). I quit listening to even the records and artists I had loved so much only years before. I had come to the second difficulty of discovering new music: extreme bordem. Even with things very important to ones self, bordem is a very real possibility. Things you loved no longer hold the same power over you, and they become more like dissapointing reminders of the person you used to be as opposed to the entertainment one expects. For a short time, I gave up on music completely: I truly believed that the part of myself that craved music was gone, and that trying to bring it back was pointless.

Then I read an article in a local rag(newspaper, for the slang defeciant), in which the writer claimed to be suffering from the same distinct symptoms on musical boredem that I felt. He too had grown too comfotable with the music he alread loved, quit activley looking for new music, and eventually became bored with the albums he loved. So this writer challenged himself to a test, one which I found very inspiring.

This writer challenged himself to the "Nothing Not New" test: for the rest of the year, he would only listen to bands and artisits that he had never heard of/never listended to before. He even went so far as to only listen to albums that had been released in 2010. Upon reading this article, I found myself inspired to follow a similar path. I decided I would still listen to the music I already loved and would force myself to sit and reaccuaint myself with it. I also decided that I would listen to albums made before 2010. The most important part of the challenge however was the concept that I would activily seek out new music. That is exactly what I did, and the results are nothing more than amazing.

I did run into the third major difficulty of discovering new music: dissapointment. This can be the most difficult to overcome, and with good reason. You hear all these positive things about a band or artists, only to discover upon buying a record that the music is not for you. It can be a crushing experience, and one that may turn a listener off to musical discovery. Listening to a record one owns does not got money, time or energy.

However, nothing can compare to the joy that one feels when they discover new music. Its a feeling of not only victory but of anticipation: victory in the knowledge your hunt has paid off and anticipation of a new, bright future with the band or artisit you have discovered. Its a special moment for any music fan.

So listed below are a few tips that will make musical discovery both easier and cheaper. I follow this statement with a disclaimer: no where in this blog have I endorsed or condoned illegally downloading music. Remember: the vast majority of musicians do not make much money, and just because a few do does not mean stealing copy-writed music is right.

1. Listen To Your Friends/Interent Friends: Just because you are not the first person to discover a band does not mean the act of discovery is cheapended in anyway. Just hours before I wrote this blog, a memeber of the OT board on this very website turned me on to Midori, a Japansese Jazzcore band. I have no problem not being the very first guy to hear about a band, and yet I still get to enjoy the process of discovery.

2. Purposley Go Outside Your Favorite Genre: My favorite genres of all time are Death Metal and Grindcore. Yet in my pursuit of new music, I grew slightly bored with these genres. What did I do? I picked a genre of music I didn't like, in this case rap and hip hop, and listended to as many artists as I could. I fell in love with artists like Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest and Black Star. From there, I went to folk music to pop music to ****cal music to jazz music. Most recently, I have developed a great love for country music. And when I went back to Death Metal and Grindcore, I had a new apreciation for the music, mainly becasue I took a break from it.

3. The Interent Can Be A Powerful Tool Without Stealing: Notice something about the links I posted? They are all YouTube. YouTube is a great tool for listening to new artists without stealing the music: you get to try out a band or artist without buying the music first. If you really enjoy the music, you can buy the record later without the dissapointment of buying a record from an artist you don't like. Last.fm is also a powerful tool, one that will also provide a list of similar artists to ones you already like to check out.

I would pray that every music fan out there change their complacent ways and actively seek out new music. It is not only good for the seeker, but it is good for music as an artform.

With the Senior Bowl wrapping up, its time for my first mock draft. The draft order is set up until picks 31 and 32. Those picks will be ordered by record. Here we go.

1. Carolina Panthers- DT Nick Fairley, Auburn, 6'4 300

2. Denver Broncos- DE Da'Quan Bowers, Clemson, 6'4 275

3. Buffalo Bills- WR AJ Green, Georgia, 6'4 215

4. Cincinnati Bengals- QB Blaine Gabbert, Missouri, 6'5 235

5. Arizona Cardinals- CB Patrick Peterson, LSU, 6'1 220

6. Cleveland Browns- DE/DT Marcell Dareus, Alabama, 6'3 310

7. San Francisco 49'ers- OLB Von Miller, Texas A&M, 6'4 240

8. Tennessee Titans- CB Prince Amukamara, Nebraska, 6'2 210

9. Dallas Cowboys- OT Nate Solder, Colorado, 6'8 315

10. Washington Redskins- QB Cam Newton, Auburn, 6'6 250

11. Houston Texans- DE/OLB Robert Quinn, North Carolina, 6'5 270

12, Minnesota Vikings- QB Ryan Mallet, Arkansas, 6'7 240

13. Detriot Lions- OLB Akeem Ayers, UCLA, 6'4 255

14. St. Louis Rams- WR Julio Jones, Alabama, 6'4 220

15. Miami Dolphins- RB Mark Ingram, Alabama, 5'9 210

16. Jacksonville Jaguars- DE Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue, 6'4 265

17. New England Patriots- OLB Aldon Smith, Missouri, 6'5 250

18. San Diego Chargers- OLB Justin Houston, Georgia, 6'4 260

19. New York Giants- RB Mikel LeShoure, Illinois, 6'0 230

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- DE Adrian Clayborn, Iowa, 6'3 280

21. Kansas City Chiefs- WR Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh, 6'5 235

22. Indianapolis Colts- OT Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State, 6'5 305

23. Philadelphia Eagles- OT Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin, 6'7 330

24. New Orleans Saints- DE JJ Watt, Wisconsin, 6'6 290

25. Seattle Seahawks- QB Jake Locker, Washington, 6'3 230

26. Baltimore Ravens- DE Cameron Heyward, Ohio State, 6'3 295

27. Atlanta Falcons- DE Cameron Jordon, California, 6'4 280

28. New England Patriots- OT Anthony Castonzo, Boston College, 6'7 320

29. Chicago Bears- DT Corey Luiget, Illinois, 6'3 295

30. New York Jets- WR Titus Young, Boise State, 5'11 195

31. Green Bay Packers- CB Brandon Harris, Miami(FLA), 5'11 190

32. Pittsburgh Steelers- DE/DT Allen Bailey, Maimi(FLA), 6'4 285

Its not secret that the Saints are the dogs in this one. Indy has Peyton Manning, a better defense on paper, a plethora of offensive weapons and plenty of experience. However, the Saints have more going for them than many realize. Some key match-ups to watch.

Saints DE Will Smith vs. ColtsLT Charlies Johnson: Smith has bounced back nicely from a nightmarish 2008 season, in which he was suspended for 4 games for being caugt taking steroids and when he finally got on the field played poorly, so have one of his best pro seasons. Johnson is a converted OG who has done a below-par job protecting Manning's blindside. Johnson is athletic, but has the short, stubby arms of a guard and lacks the bulk to consistently handle the bull rush, which is Smith's specality. This is a mismatch, and the Colts don't have a great blocking TE or a chipping back to deal with a player of Smiths talent.

Saints OG's Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks vs. Colts DT's Daniel Muir and Antonio Johnson: Muir and Johnson have been nice surprises for the Colts, but its common knowledge that they struggle against top tier OG's. Muir and Johnson are quick and can penetrate against slower, less atheltic guards. The problem is, Evans and Nicks are former OT's who possess the quick feet and hands to frustrate interior speed rushers. And both are massive as well, so not only do they have the athleticism to keep Muir and Johnson out of the backfield, but they have a clear size and strength advantage as well.

OLB Scott Shanle vs. TE Dallas Clark: After having a very non-descript NFL career, Shanle finally put it all together this season and had an excellent year. Shanle is a gifted athlete with great size, but he is also strong and physical. He has done a good job this season in pass coverage, and his skills will be needed against Clark. Clark is one of the most dangerous pass catching tight ends in the NFL, but he is not big, and he can be knocked out of a game with a big hit. Shanle loves to deliver big hits.

Saints 35, Colts 14

For the 3 of you out there who have not heard, here is the link.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6232117.html

It what is a nearly unprecedented move, Bioware have decided to release 3 different DLC packs the very first day of the games release for the 360 and PC, as well as the PS3's later release date. The Gold Plated Hammer Burst released with the pre-order of Gears of War 2 is the only other day 1 DLC I can think of, and that was a minor addition. The Dragon Age DLC is massive, consisting of a new dungeon, new quests, a new part member, new armor and weapons and 6 new skills. It is massive, and unless you get the game brand new through pre-order or midnight release, it will cost over 20 dollars for the additional content.

In essence, the player is being charged 80+ dollars for what amounts to the entire game. That sounds like a scam to me. When you throw down 60+ dollars of your hard earned money for a game, you expect to receive a finished product. I am not against DLC: it can greatly improve games(Fallout 3 comes to mind). But this is a day 1 release. This is not some extra ideas that the team was fiddling around with and decided to cut for now until they could release it as a DLC sometime in the future. The Dragon Age DLC feels like a huge chunk of the game that will be missing unless you pay extra for it.

I know its cliche, but these are tough times. Games are expensive, and it can be difficult to justify buying games right now. What Bioware is doing almost amounts to fraud. I also know I will sound like a hypocrite: I have the game on pre-order, for months now, and will be getting all this content for free. I do not plan on boycotting this title or Bioware. They are, in my opinion, the best RPG developers in the world, and this title has been on the top of my list since it was first announced.

I will merely hope that someone from Bioware is reading this(fat chance): What you are doing is wrong. We as gamers expect a finished product, and don't want to have to pay the gatekeeper to get everything we expected. Gamers around the world may let this go for now, but if Mass Effect 2 suddenly has Day 1 DLC costing over 20 dollars, the response may be much louder.