Sunday, May. 04, 2008

Run DMC churning this way

McFadden got big taste of the Big Apple before making way to Oakland

NEW YORK -- At 6:15 p.m. on Day 1 of the NFL Draft, the new prince of Raider Nation -- born to run but completely exhausted -- collapsed into a black Hummer alongside his marketing agent, Mike Conley, and MMG Sports Management's director of business development, J.R. Hensley.

His contract agent, Ian Greengross, accompanied several of the player's family members in a black Escalade. Away they went from their Times Square hotel.

Waiting for Team McFadden at JFK airport was silver-and-black icon Willie Brown.

Waiting for 20-year-old Arkansas running back Darren McFadden to come rescue them was every Oakland Raiders fan who has yet to lose hope.

McFadden watched "Juno" on the six-hour JetBlue flight to Oakland, but mostly he sat and fidgeted while those around him slept. He was still wired from one of the best, and certainly most intense, weeks of his life.

What was it like to be a millionaire-in-waiting on the streets of Manhattan leading up to the NFL draft? Let's back up the plane, and the truck, to the middle of last week. Now come on and hop in with us.

Looking the part

In an eighth-floor suite on Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, the president and a top designer for Elevee, a Los Angeles company that clothes many of the top-name NFL and NBA prospects for the draft, are bearing gifts for McFadden. They are hoping McFadden will say yes to shaking Commissioner Roger Goodell's hand in this custom-made charcoal gray suit with three-button coat and vest, white shirt with silver pinstripes, natty tie, pocket square and black Italian leather shoes.

Price tag for the outfit: about $3,000. Of course, McFadden won't have to pay a dime. And what's a measly $3,000 get-up without a limited-edition $3,200 Curtis & Co. watch? He also will receive a $1,000 shopping spree from Elevee. As if you can get anything for a grand nowadays.

"I'm not used to getting things for free, but I could get to like this," McFadden says.

The soft-spoken McFadden -- who is accompanied in New York by agents, a marketing exec and even by actor and professional image builder Steve Shenbaum -- shows up 15 minutes early for a scheduled 3 p.m. taping at the CBS College Sports Network studio at Pier 60. It's McFadden's third TV spot since arriving in New York earlier in the week.

Host Adam Zucker presses McFadden about playing for the Jets, who hold the sixth pick in the draft. "I had a meeting with them, and it went pretty good," McFadden says, trying to remember to smile. (It's not hard to remember: Shenbaum is standing behind the main camera pointing at his own enormous grin.) The day is pretty much wall-to-wall craziness. Still to come are an appearance at the Steve & Barry's store in Manhattan Mall; the official welcome dinner for soon-to-be draftees at the Westin Times Square; autograph signings for at least an hour; and, finally, a nice, long dinner.

"I didn't really eat," McFadden says after the welcome dinner lets out at 6 p.m. "I want to go out to eat." Dinner at the STK Steakhouse in West Village goes well. McFadden emerges with a four-year endorsement deal with Nike.

Rumsey Field in Central Park is popping with excitement. One hundred New York City grade-school students are on hand, as part of the NFL's Play 60 youth health and fitness campaign, for a little flag football. No. 1 overall pick Jake Long, the Michigan offensive tackle signed two days earlier by the Dolphins, is here. LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and Virginia defensive end Chris Long, too.