The diagnosis of an irregular heartbeat resulted in a draft-day(s) plunge for former Michigan defensive tackle Maurice Hurst [url=http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/dorance-armstrong-jr.-jersey]Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey[/url] , dropping him all the way to round five, where the recently-risk-taking Raiders took a chance on him with the 140th overall pick. Hurst is miffed than no one called him sooner.

鈥淭hirty-one teams didn鈥檛 want me and just take that and let it motivate me every game that I play,” Hurst recently told SiriusXM NFL Radio, via RaidersBeat.com. “Just work and make teams regret that.鈥?/p>

No matter how good Hurst becomes, teams likely won’t regret making the safe choice medically. Hurst has an irregular heartbeat. Hurst will predictably try to downplay it [url=http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/montravius-adams-jersey]http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/montravius-adams-jersey[/url] , but he has a health condition that gives teams legitimate concerns about his ability to have an extended and meaningful NFL career.

鈥淛ust an irregular heartbeat,” Hurst said. “I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 anything of concern for myself or any other team. So, the Raiders, it鈥檚 something we have to get checked up every year and just make sure everything鈥檚 good.”

So what happens if next year’s checkup is the one that results in a finding that he can’t continue? Or the next? What if a real problem is detected and Hurst decides he wants to keep playing, and he finds a doctor to clear him? Can the Raiders or any team afford to risk a Reggie Lewis-type situation?

For now [url=http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/josh-jackson-jersey]http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/josh-jackson-jersey[/url] , the risk seems to be that Hurst at some point won’t be cleared to keep playing, and nothing worse. Still, that was a risk that plenty of other teams didn’t want to take.

The Friday afternoon news dump is one of the oldest pages in the politics and public relations playbook: There’s a long-held belief that on weekends, people don’t consume much news, so if you want to put bad news out [url=http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/sherrick-mcmanis-jersey]Sherrick McManis Jersey[/url] , you put it out on Friday afternoon, when few people are paying attention.

But even better than the Friday afternoon news dump is the pre-holiday news dump: Holidays are the days when Americans really don’t feel like checking the news. And the NFL took advantage of that on the third of July.

As Americans started leaving their offices for an Independence Day off, the NFL dumped plenty of news about player suspensions. Reuben Foster‘s suspension for gun and marijuana offenses was announced around 3 p.m. Jamon Brown‘s two-game suspension was announced half an hour later. And Aaron Jones‘ suspension was announced half an hour after that. That evening, word leaked that Julian Edelman had lost the appeal of his four-game suspension.

The NFL has a long history of employing the Friday afternoon news dump, or the pre-holiday news dump. But it’s worth wondering whether that tactic still works: The news dump dates back to the days when people got their news from the morning paper [url=http://www.indianapoliscoltsteamonline.com/matt-slauson-jersey]Matt Slauson Jersey[/url] , and Saturday was the day when newspaper circulation was the lowest. In today’s media environment, there’s just no way to bury any kind of news. The NFL can try, but it can’t bury news anymore.

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