USA Today’s Michael Heistand interviewed ESPN’s Chris Berman ahead of the NFL Draft. Here are a few gems.

Berman does not listen to criticism. Ted Williams was the first comparison to himself that popped into his head.

“I just talk to people every day walking down the street,” he says. “That’s what I care about. That’s good enough for me. They didn’t like Ted Williams either. Now, I’m not Ted Williams.”

He has been fighting the good fight against tipping draft picks for years and, despite working for decades in television, is not a fan of cameras.

“That’s long overdue,” Berman says. “I talked to producers for years about how they were ruining the draft. I’m not saying we should suppress the news. I don’t mean fake things, but there should be some suspense. I liked it better before there were cameras everywhere. But then, I liked life better before there were cameras everywhere.”

And rest assured, folks. ESPN just happened to guess which kid to focus on before draft picks were announced, and Chris Berman’s prophetic statements were pure intuition.

And, Berman says, “Contrary to what’s been written, the NFL doesn’t tell ESPN — and I don’t get it in my ear — about picks beforehand.”

Wingo in 2013.

Previously: Will the New NBC Sports Network Aggressively Pursue ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt?
Previously: Here’s a List of the Big* Names Who Have Left ESPN in the Last 21 Months

[Photo via Presswire]