04/24 — Did somebody say draft buzz? How about a deafening roar?

And the Jets are in the middle of it all. Partly that's because of their sixth pick, partly due to the Green & White activity in the two months of free agency preceding Saturday's first round.

And partly it's the annual nature of the beast.

"It is really gameday for us and a year’s worth of preparation goes into two days and it is an opportunity to improve the team," general manager Mike Tannenbaum has said. "You get into this business because you are competitive and driven. We want to succeed for the entire organization and for Mr. Johnson and our fans and I think you feel that pressure every day just driving to the office."

There is much revving of engines surrounding the Jets heading into this draft, and there are a number of different ways to keep up with what the club is doing this weekend.

First and foremost, there is newyorkjets.com. We're covering the draft with a blanket and you should make us one of your stops as you surf the days away.

We'll be monitoring the activity at two venues. I'll be at NFL Draft Headquarters in Radio City Music Hall in the middle of midtown Manhattan, filing Radar reports in the hours leading up to the draft's new starting time of 3 p.m. Saturday and then in the hour or so of 10-minute first-round selections leading up to No. 6.

And if the Jets select at six and that player is on site, I'll provide news and a behind-the-scenes view of the Green & White's 2008 first-round pick as he makes the media rounds and even check in with Numero Uno, perhaps as he and his entourage wend their way to the SportsNet New York studios just around the corner from Radio City.

While all this is going on, Eric Allen, my Internet colleague, will be monitoring the goings-on at the Jets' Hofstra University-based training complex. That will include blogs on preparations for the draft's first two rounds plus reporting on the news conferences when Tannenbaum and head coach Eric Mangini come down from their second-floor inner sanctum to discuss the Jets' picks with the beat reporters assembled in "the Weeb" media room.

You could say the Radar celebrates its first birthday Friday and Saturday, because it went live on the eve of last year's draft. You've been sending your comments to us ever since and we thank you. For this draft, we want you to "talk live" with us and fellow Jets draftniks, so we'll have a special draft blog up and running on the site and we'll expedite the approval of your comments to that entry, as well as to the specific blog entries that Eric and I will be filing throughout the day.

SportsNet New York Coverage

Speaking of SNY, the Jets' broadcast partner will be ubiquitous in reporting on Green & White draft day news. Steve Overmyer and the cable network's cameras will be present at "the Weeb," giving a glimpse or two of the Jets' draft room and getting interviews with team officials.

SNY also will air an hour-long special, “Jets Nation: Draft Day 2008”, Saturday from 2-3 p.m. live on the plaza outside its studio. Host Brian Custer will be joined by Greg Buttle and Ray Lucas plus Adam Schein, SNY's NFL Insider, SI.com draft expert Tony Pauline. Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, last year's first-rounder, will also join the panel.

SNY will also produce a draft recap show that will air from 9:30-10 p.m. Saturday night and two Sunday shows that will air from 9-10 a.m. and 9:30-10 p.m.

ESPN will also have a remote camera working the Jets facility as the all-sports network has done for past drafts.

And the Par-tays

Another excellent way to get the news and excitement of the day is to drop in on one of the Jets' Draft Day Parties presented by Coors Light. There are again three Dave & Buster's locations for the popular gatherings, each with a full roster of current players and alumni — not to mention Flight Crew members — to meet and greet and chat up the fans beginning at 2 p.m. at each venue. Here's the rundown:

Times Square, New York (646-495-2015) — Bob Wischusen, the radio voice of the Jets, hosts. Celebrities include current Jets Kerry Rhodes, Leon Washington, Eric Barton, David Bowens, Justin Miller, new FB Tony Richardson and Revis, along with home run hitter emeritus Wesley Walker, just confirmed, and Super Bowl III RG Dave Herman.

Farmingdale, Long Island (631-249-0708) — Former Jets safety Kenny Schroy gets the hosting call out of the bullpen. "It's going to be kind of fun," Schroy told me today. "It's a Long Island tradition for me to attend the draft day party, and we're all curious to see what the Jets are going to do. It'll be totally interesting."

We'll have more from Kenny on some other topics on our site Friday and Monday.

With Kenny in Farmingdale will be current Jets Brandon Moore, Ben Graham, Eric Smith, James Dearth and Jacob Bender, plus CB alumnus Bobby "BoJack" Jackson.

West Nyack, N.Y. (845-353-1555) — This event, at The Palisades Mall, will be emceed by Joe Pardavila, a.k.a. Monkey Boy from the "Scott and Todd in the Morning" show on WPLJ 95.5-FM. Current players will include C.J. Mosley, Abram Elam, Drew Coleman, Chansi Stuckey and James Ihedigbo, and possibly Chris Davis. Ex-Jets are one of my favorite players from back in my Bergen County days, Bruce Harper, plus SB III double interceptor Randy Beverly.

It's a schedule very favorable for the home team. Whether it's on newyorkjets.com, SNY, ESPN, NFL Network, at one of our parties or in some other creative way, if you're a Jets fan, you've got a big weekend ahead.