This week's Sports Illustrated features a number of stories dedicated to power including an illustration of the power players in sports inspired by the powerobsessed HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin, the fantasy novelist behind Thrones, is a huge NFL fan, watching his beloved New York Giants weekly from his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Last week SI Video producer Nolan Thomas and I checked in with Martin for a podcast on a number of sportsrelated subjects, including the parallels he sees between Thrones and the sports world.The Cowboys send their video director Robert Blackwell to the NFL draft every April. He sits at the Cowboys table at Radio City Music Hall, connected to the Dallas war room by telephone. When the brain trust at Valley Ranch tells Blackwell the name of each Cowboys draft pick, he writes it on a card and hands it to an NFL official, then the pick is announced from the podium on stage at Radio City..

The players union also has been proactive, forming it