Can we please get the NFL Draft over with?!

The NFL will (finally!) hold the annual amateur player draft this weekend, putting to rest (literally) months of pre-draft speculation and analysis.

I'm a huge fan of football. While I prefer the college game, I also love watching the pros on Sundays. In fact, after the phenomenal Super Bowl finish between the Giants and Patriots, I gobbled up all the football I could handle in the weeks that followed. Most of that coverage already focused on the draft.

See, the NFL is the hottest sports property around these days. That's why ESPN still runs "NFL Primetime" during the offseason, eight months before the next game will kick off. The NFL is so huge right now that fans will watch anything to do with the league, year-round.

That said, I think we're officially overboard on the coverage of the NFL Draft.

Example: Last week, the Miami Dolphins had a little slip-up. They've got the first pick, so obviously everybody else's strategy depends on what they do. And, they're holding their cards closer to their chest than a gambler who's $5,000 in the red. But, rumors are swirling that they may take offensive tackle Jake Long with the top pick. But, wait!

In a press conference last week, Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland said, "This is the first pick in the draft. This guy is going to be -- you hope that he's a pillar of your defense for a long time."

Ooops!! You just told us that you want to take a defender, not an offensive player!!The room erupted in laughter, and Ireland sheepishly asked what he'd said. Reporters pointed out that he said "defense", and then he corrected himself by saying that he meant "team". Then, he poked a little fun at himself and said that it was a "Freudian slip." Minor thing, right?

Wrong.

The clip has been played and re-played ad nauseum both on TV and radio. People are studying it like the Zapruder film.

BUT IS HE CROSSING HIS FINGERS? PLAY IT AGAIN!!! YouTube

There's even speculation spilling into THIS week that the whole thing wasn't a slip-up at all!! Maybe the Dolphins put that out there ON PURPOSE, to throw the rest of the league off their scent!! Perhaps they really DO want Jake Long and they're just hinting they want to go defense to get him to take a cheaper contract. MAYBE they want other teams to offer them a sweet trade deal to move up and make the first pick themselves.

Maybe we should pay a little attention to baseball, or the other two major pro sports leagues that are actually in the playoffs right now.

I guess it's appropriate to focus on the draft now that it's less than a week away. But, this has been going on since the clock hit triple zeroes at the Super Bowl. The thing about the NFL Draft is that usually, nothing you hear is accurate. Teams put out misinformation in the press all the time, just to throw off the other teams. Would we really tune into the 6:00 news if Brian Williams led off every newscast saying "now, none of what I'm about to tell you is probably actually happening"? That would be pretty rich, right?

So, while I'm looking forward to catching the draft's first round on Saturday, I'm also looking forward to it being OVER with on Sunday night. After all, I'm ready for some endless speculation about ankle injuries heading into summer training camps.

ESPN.com: Ireland's slip may indicate Dolphins are looking to draft defense
YouTube: Miami GM hints Defense with the #1 pick