One of the best phrases of all-time, which holds true in nearly every walk of life: “You never want to be the guy to follow THE GUY.”

This phrase rings true in most family structures in addition to professional environments. As fun as being Billy Madison is, you really don’t want to be Billy Madison when all is written. You want to be Billy Madison’s dad. You want to be the creator, the innovator, the guy who gets the credit, the guy who gets the good lookin’ gal, the guy who built the dream.

That’s why, contrary to most reports, it sucks to be Nate Montana.

Nate is the son of legendary 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and, of course, he has big dreams of following in daddy’s footsteps. Save for members of the Manning family, this plan rarely works out.

Nate chucked the ball around Cowboys Stadium on Monday as part of the NFL Super Regional Combine, with NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks calling Jr. Cool (bad ass name he should already be using) a “long shot.”

While the sports geek in me wants to combat Mr. Brooks and say foolish things like, “Yeah, that’s what they said about Tom Brady, idiot,” and “I can’t recall the last time a Super Bowl quarterback won due to having the best ‘zip,’” Mr. Brooks is probably right. I’m guessing Nate will be waking up hungover as hell at the crack of noon at the Montana family pool come late April instead of spending countless hours learning an NFL playbook.

In fairness, Nate Montana did have a decent Division II college career. He led the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in passing last season with 2,480 yards and 19 touchdowns while the starter for West Virginia Wesleyan, a school that boasts just over 1,400 students (but the tailgate scene is amazing.)

The worst thing that could happen to Nate going forward is some NFL team inviting him to camp just because he’s Joe Montana’s son. If Nate actually earns a spot, well, then, great.

Maybe the motivation here is Nate Montana’s need for daddy’s approval (shocker). We know that Joe Cool can be a little ornery at times and we know that he doesn’t really appreciate underdog stories like that of former teammate Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger.

So maybe Nate just wants to stick it to No. 16? Good luck, Jr. Cool, we’ll be rootin’ for ya.

Follow Metro Boston sports editor and columnist Matt Burke on Twitter @BurkeMetroBOS

The post Playing the Field: Nate Montana, Joe Montana’s son, wants to play in the NFL appeared first on Metro.us.

As fantasy baseball drafts get into full swing, we can’t be afraid to splurge for the guys we want. Last year, Andrew McCutchen was a buzz guy who was thrown out by some as being “overdrafted.” Big mistake. This year, these are the guys worth circling with a green highlighter and reaching for.

The Natural
Bryce Harper was never a sleeper. He was the best 19-year-old in the history of baseball and will likely be the best 20-year-old ever as well. At this point, it’s just a contest to see how high we’re willing to take him. Considering Harper projects to see his homers and steals rise toward the 30/30 level as he matures, the end of the first round is not crazy. He’ll be batting third, between Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman.

Chapped up
When guys have dominant talent, we take them and let the chips fall where they may. Aroldis Chapman is a perfect example of this. He might start; he might close; he might be capped at 200 innings. But no matter what, we know he’s going to be an asset in fantasy.

Golden Boy
Paul Goldschmidt burst onto the scene last year with 20 homers in 136 starts. That’s child’s play. In 2011, Goldy smashed 30 jacks in just 457 plate appearances while playing in Double-A. Now settling into an everyday role, the power upside is huge.

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