Let's handle our business
Rushmore of Jonah Hill movies — "Moneyball," "Wolf of Wall Street," "Superbad" and "21 Jumpstreet," which is excellent friends.
Rushmore of Samuel L. Jackson characters — (yes a small pivot), but Nick Fury deserves mention here because a) Jackson's character is integral to the MCU, b) he's excellent as him and c) I read somewhere that Fury combined with Jackson's Jedi role in several Star Wars vehicles have made Jackson the top actor in a career catalog of movies in terms of what said movies made at the theater box office. Jules, Carl Lee Haley in "Time to Kill" and his turn as Lazarus in "Black Snake Moan." And he may have favorite mixture of small roles cameos of all time since he a) said I love that doo-doo line in the intro to Eddie Murphy's stand-up class "Raw," b) was the criminal trying to rob McDowell's in "Coming to America," c) was Stacks in "Goodfellas" and d) was the house help in "Django Unchained." He simply never disappoints.
Rushmore of the most famous Chrstmas movie characters of all time — In terms of frequency Scrooge and Santa have to make it right? So that leaves two, and I think George Bailey deserves a spot, which means the final one likely belongs to Kevin McAllister.
What's Steven Spielberg's Rushmore of best films? "Jurassic Park," "Saving Private Ryan," "Schnidler's List" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Was he the one we discussing doing a Rushleast on because he has some stinkers too, like "A.I." and "Ready Player One" and several of the sequels to Raiders and "Jurassic Park" and of course "Hook."
First, there are the rules.
Second, is there a more eye-popping story that next to no one is discussing like the Detroit Pistons, who have now lost 25 consecutive games?
Finally, because the Dodgers are in a different tax bracket than everyone else, they of course landed Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the coveted Japanese League pitcher who signed a 12-year, $325-million deal. Yikes.
If the Dodgers are wise — and that could be a pick if since they have now ponied up more than $1 billion on two all-time Japanese legendary players over the last month or so — they will prepare for the influx of Asian fans with some well-planned menu items beyond the famed Dodger Dog.
And this kind of leads us to our first mailbag question.
From A regular
Good night on the picks; 3-0 on the pick's works anytime.
Not really a bag question but just wondering, are some of the current stars going to accept their induction in the hall of fame with interpreters? I realize they don't have to learn English but you would think they would pick up enough to talk some. It is mostly baseball. I think one NBA player may use one but several MLB players do. As you know I am a NASCAR fan and Daniel Surarez did not know a lot of English when he first started but does real well now in his interviews. What do you think?
A regular,
Thanks, been a solid week, but every time we get a few clicks about the plus-90 units mark, we lay an egg, so let's try to adhere to Rule 1 of Fight Club.
Such a great question and no I can never recall a player using an interpreter for an induction speech, but considering the 2023 MVPs of Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. -- and both dudes are well on Cooperstown paths -- use them, it's a fair question.
I still think the answer will be very unlikely considering the time spent in the big leagues to get a Hall pass means said player has spent at least a decade in America.
But I also have wondered how many star athletes use an interpreter as much as a quote filter/fixer as for a language conduit.
Back when I was covering the Masters annually, our seats were next to a writer who did work for papers all over the world, and spent several years writing for the Buenos Aires fishwrapper.
His primary beat especially in those days at Augusta was Angel Cabrera, the controversial golfer who just got out of the pokey.
Cabrera always had an interpreter with him and he was playing in a warm-up event before the Masters and this guy from Buenos Aires was there. And the writer spoke both languages and said in one post-round news conference, someone asked a golf question and Cabrera rambled on in his native tongue about how dumb the question was and how the reporters are fools and how frustrated he was, and my friend understood every word.
The interpreter however leaned into the mic and said something along the lines of, "I played OK today. My driver was a little off but was able to make some big putts. It's such an honor to play at such great tournament in front of so many great fans."
From Steeler Fan
Here's a question you might enjoy. Could you assemble an enjoyable final meal for yourself using only present or past college bowl game names/sponsors. I'll even throw in the restaurants (choose any menu item) to make it easier. (Idaho Potatoes, Mayo, Pop-Tarts, Gator meat, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Peaches, Oranges or anything Citrus, Sugar, Crickets, Avocados, Cheese-its, Chick-Fil-A, Outback, Famous Toastery.)
Steeler Fan,
What a tremendous question, and we should like start with some of the no-longer-branded bowls.
Remember the Cheez-It Bowl, and yes, I woke up feeling the cheesiest today Coach. I also think Kraft Mac-n-Cheese had a bowl in the mix too. That would be daughter's top choice, no questions asked.
There was the Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl and a Beef O'Brady's Bowl. Papa John's, Little Caesar's and Domino's had bowl games at one point, too.
Popeye's funded the Bahamas Bowl for a short period, and while this may not be exceedingly popular, Popeye's chicken sandwich > Chick-Fil-A's.
There I said it.
As for the menu of our current offerings, we could put together a nice fruit tray with Peach and Orange and some extra Citrus options as an appetizer.
I feel we have to lean into the Chick-Fil-A since Outback has now been faded out.
I love the idea of a couple of Famous Idaho Potato dishes, and even could use some Duke's Mayo if folks wanted some homemade potato salad.
And yes, we can serve some Gator for those interested, and if you have a few extra cocktails and need to stay the night our breakfast pastries and cereal options assuredly will not disappoint.
And while the beverage options see somewhat limited -- how has Coke never had a bowl deal -- we feel obligated to tip the visor to the millions upon millions Dr Pepper has dropped on college football, right?
From JoeDon
It seems like 2023 has seen historically bad NFL teams, evidenced by some putrid game scores. What is it about the make-up of some NFL franchises that keep them in the upper echelon while others seem mired in mediocrity? Is it purely coaching (good vs. bad)? Poor draft evaluations? Bad football ownership from some of the smartest business-minded folks in the world? Player/coach stability (especially QB1 and head coach)?
Looking at 10-year and 20-year win totals, there are 9 NFL teams among both Top 10's – Chiefs, Patriots, Steelers, Packers, Seahawks, Cowboys, Ravens, Eagles and Saints.
And then numerous teams seem destined to always end up near the top of the draft board because they're annually bad-to-mediocre – Jets, Browns, Lions, Jaguars, Raiders, Commanders, Giants, Cardinals. Outside of the one-hit wonders, even the Falcons and Titans could be lumped into that category.
Joe Don.
Such a great question, and it's even more important today as more and more folks lament the spending structure among the haves in MLB and the attempts at universal equity (also known as competitive socialism) of the NFL.
That stat of the most successful teams over the last 10- and 20-year stretches is staggering but not all that surprising if you consider the QB runs most of those teams have enjoyed over that stretch.
But coaching, and moreover coaching continuity, is a big part of that too.
As for the bottom tier, sadly the Titans and the Falcons have been, for the most part (and especially the Titans) mired in depths of the NFL's stated goal. A team that finishes anywhere from 7-10 to 10-7 in any given year, picks in the middle of the rounds and has a chance to be in the playoff picture come Christmas.
The contenders though, in most cases above and especially this year, have not patented any special formula or secret sauce.
Look at those teams and how their current status or past is/was shaped by fortunate QB1 happenings.
Chiefs got Patty Mahomes outside of the top 10;
Pats go some dude named Brady late in the draft if memory serves;
Big Ben was the 11th pick in 2004 and how much different is the path for any of the teams like the Raiders (picked 2), Washington (5), Cleveland (6), Detroit, Atlanta, Jacksonville or Houston (7 thru 10 respectively);
Aaron Rodgers' plummet delivered a decade of dominance to Green Bay;
Russell Wilson and Geno Smith were also-rans who found the right setting in Seattle;
Dak was a third-rounder;
Lamar Jackson was a late, late first-rounder, but to be fair, the Ravens draft year-in, year-out better than anyone;
Philly's QB situation is settled with a non-first-rounder;
And the Saints are on that list because Nick Saban did not sign Drew Brees to go to Miami.
I know the product currently is far from the best NFL I would pick.
The game's rules are softer than ever but the game still has more critical injuries than ever because of players' speed-size corollary. And in the case of the recent avalanche of injuries to the most important position in sports, QB1s are asked to run more than ever.
I think success in the NFL is doing everything in your power to win when the window presents itself and that's the job of the GM on down.
The job of well integrated organizations is for the folks above the GM level to make sure that window is open as long as possible.
Great question.
From a bunch of you
Jay, what did you think of Coach Saban's comments this week?
Gang,
As to be expected, Nick Saban was spot on in his interview on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday.
(Side note: The Pat McAfee Show is the best radio show out there, especially since Dan Le Batard and his crew are no longer on, you know, the radio.)
Anywell, here's the hammer quote Lord Saban levied when asked about the state of affairs in college football:
"I think it's going to continue in the same direction that it's going until something happens. I call it a thunderbolt, where maybe people start dropping sports because the finance part of it can't make sense in terms of what you can reinvest in non-revenue sports. Or, some players out there don't get what they were promised and there's lots of lawsuits and stuff, you know. There is going to be some kind of a thunderbolt because this is not a system that we have right now that has any guardrails, and in most competitive venues there are some that control what you can and can't do...Right now, it's a game of whoever is willing to invest the most has the best chance of having the best team."
Anyone want to disagree with anything above from the GOAT's diatribe?
And this is not about his motives. His motives are fair game because he was far and away the best talent evaluator/recruiter/closer/make a 5-star wait on special teams until his turn to ever coach on any Saturday.
The current systems of portalling and NIL deals takes away from his all-time strengths.
But he's still 100% right, and that team picture of who is willing and who is unwilling to spend what it takes to be in the fight for college football excellence is not as big as everyone seems to think in my mind.
I don't believe this is a 64-ish-sized crew. Maybe 50, but potentially even fewer than that.
How many of the SEC schools — looking at you Miss State or others when it comes to what you want to spend — are close to that level.
The power football programs are now spending around nine figures annually on college football; that's roughly the entire athletic budget in Starkville or a slew of other power-five departments.
And it's not about the conferences shunning those teams as much as it will be about the TV networks not wanting Miss State-Iowa State on a Saturday window.
I don't know what the future holds, but I know the NCAA has some real, monster-sized headaches and issues, and they don't have anything to do with whether Jim Harbaugh bought a recruit a cheeseburger and whether he lied about it after the fact.
Have a great weekend friends and Merry Christmas.