Well, a new pope has been elected and the NFL draft is complete, and I could not be happier. The confluence of the two events — along with all the forecasts, analysis, and horse trading — left me a bit dizzy, I’m afraid.

I’d read a few articles on the conclave in Rome, mixed in a few on the draft in New York, and before long I wasn’t sure where my Catholics left off and my cornerbacks began.

You can hardly blame me. The media saturation left both events soggy indeed. You couldn’t open a paper or browse the Web without landing on a historian’s perspective or insider’s view: who were the early favorites, who were the dark horses, whose stock was rising, whose was falling, who ran the best times at the NFL Scouting Combine. (I think it was Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan, with a 4.4 40-yard-dash, but I could be mistaken.) It got so I couldn’t keep any of it straight.

To wit: I knew that Cardinal Cristoph Schoenborn was an early favorite, known for reaching out to Islamic leaders and a strong stand on poverty, but I couldn’t remember if he went to Nebraska or Florida State, much less how many tackles-for-loss he tallied in 2004.

Similarly, I could have told you that Michigan’s Braylon Edwards was considered the top prospect at receiver, but I knew next to nothing about his stance on abortion and birth control. USC’s Mike Williams also had me confused: great hands, but how is he on homilies?

Francis Arinze: Nigerian conservative or fleet-footed Big 12 halfback? Antrel Rolle: lightning-quick Miami cornerback or durable Brazilian prophet?

You can see my difficulty.

I knew that traditionalists were rooting for Joseph Ratzinger (QB, Utah) and Alex Smith (Archbishop, Munich), but others wanted to shake things up a bit, take a chance. That’s why you kept hearing the names of Oscar Maradiaga (an under-the-radar Defensive End out of tiny Troy University) and DeMarcus Ware (a Honduran bishop who has lashed out at economic inequalities in his region).

In other places, I wasn’t so sure. Is it Auburn’s Carnell Williams or Italy’s Angelo Scola who is nicknamed “Cadillac”?

Me? I’m just glad it’s all over. In the end, I think the 49ers made a good choice. Ratzinger has always shown good pocket presence and gets a quick read on stunt defenses. Alex Smith on the other hand, has a conservative theological bent that may not play well among the growing Catholic base in Latin America.

Only time will tell.

(Jay Hardwig is a writer and teacher. He can be reached at smardwig@charter.net)