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As expected
Brock Bowers declared for the draft.
As it should be. Dude is a bona fide DUDE.
An all-timer that even Mike Bobo could not misuse.
(Side note: That's right, Bearddawg, I'm still a Bobo hater. Sue me. Although I will be forever sad that someone whispered "Bowers" in Bobo's ear heading into that final drive in Auburn a few months ago.)
His departure was completely expected, and whether he sat out the bowl game for injury or for safety does not matter.
In truth, it does not matter in my mind for any of the players of this day and age.
But Bowers' exit allows us the chance to pose the questions of, "Who's the best ... ?"
Is Bowers the best SEC player since Tebow?
Is Bowers a better Bulldog historically than Herschel Walker?
Is Bowers the best tight end in the history of college football?
Is Bowers ... ?
You get the idea.
Boob tube
So a lady on the streets of New Orleans exposed her right breast.
Shocking, I know.
But this became a deal because the ESPN cutaway from Monday night's Sugar Bowl broadcast aired NippleGate 2.0.
In a day and age when "Law & Order" is hardly safe for teenagers to watch, are we really that bent out of shape for a random nipple to pop out?
Sure, the fact that some video editor likely will be fired since the tape was assuredly not live makes this a sad turn of events.
It also makes me think back to one of the first stories I ever wrote in the late fall of 1997 when the Newnan Tigers basketball team was scrimmaging and I wanted to let my readers, "get the picture" as Munson used to say.
"The athletic starters faced an eager group of youngsters," I may have overwritten back then before assuredly writing, "there were not jerseys, only shirts vs. skins."
But I left out the most important "r" in the above paragraph and it made it to print.
The morale of this story, I suppose, is we all are boobs at some point. May it never define us.
A 141-point loss = win
As many of you know I write a weekday gambling newsletter. I was unaware of the spread of last night's critical women's basketball match-up, but if you could have found the Grambling State women minus-140 against the College of Biblical Studies, you would have cashed a nice check.
Final score: GSU 159, CBS 18.
If you are among the leadership at the College of Biblical Studies, you likely are asking why do we have a basketball team? Did Abraham shoot 3s? Did Christ and John the Baptist invent the pick and roll? (Actually it may have been the first "dunk" in modern times, but I digress.)
This is not to downplay the exposure that athletics can generate for institutions of higher learning, but unless the Gospel of Naismith or Summitt's Psalms are part of the curriculum, why are they dabbling in hoops?
Sure, if you want to invest in athletics, the reward is clear. More socially than spiritually, of course, but the return on investments through the years for BYU, Notre Dame, SMU, Liberty and even Life University are clear.
(Side note: Yes, I said Life University, and the following of their founder back in the days when I was in Marietta was very cult-like. Chiropractors are modern-day witch doctors. That's my view, and if you disagree, then that's your prerogative. Now go get your spine cracked.)
Anyhoo, where were we?
Oh yes, the GSU 141-point win.
Those questions are fair.
The answers however are greater than the belief that college football is a religion in the South.
Sports can be a pathway to a better life — learned or unlearned.
Sports can (and should) make those involved better. Not only at the games and skills of the sport, but in the skills needed in life.
How to win, and maybe even more importantly how to lose. Even by 141 points.
You know what, good for CBS. Not not the Network. Heck Jim Nantz likely wants to give the Ambassadors' 2 guard his necktie for Saint Peter's sake.
Being the victim in a train wreck can be, at least in the short term, as noteworthy as being Nick Saban.
To that end, have you ever heard of the College of Biblical Studies before this very morning?
Did you know that the average tuition is $14K and the grad rate is 17%, according to the interwebs?
Did you know they are the CBS Ambassadors? (Nantz' necktie notwithstanding.)
Did you know ... I need to stop, of course we did not know. No one did.
But here's what you need to know. In a time and place when we bemoan all the things wrong with major college sports, reading the mission statement on the school's main page of athletics site gave me hope for the future:
"No area of life is without trials and defeat, sports included. We at CBS-Houston believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is the solution to mending defeated souls. The College of Biblical Studies-Houston is seeking Godly men and women who are committed to transforming their lives not only through biblical education, but through a bond that only sports can create."
Dare I even say, Amen.
Sports being about sports is what sports should forever be. Whether you win or lose — and even if you lose by 141 points, which certainly feels egregious for both sides — the lessons and the learning is life-changing.
I make my living talking and writing about sports.
But before I started cashing checks, I readily admit that I am who I am because of the life-lessons I got from sports.
There has never been a bigger winner from a 141-point loss.
Pardon the over-indulgence, but God bless the College of Biblical Studies. And may your next game be under triple digits.
This and that
— We were remiss over the weekend to not include our RIP wishes to Cale Yarborough, one of the all-time NASCAR greats beach when, you know NASCAR was great. He was 84.
— Speaking of gambling, as 5-at-10 regular J-Mac rightly noted in an email last night, if I stayed away from picks on or against Auburn — my alma mater — I would be way north of 100 units. Last night Auburn won by 20 but did not cover the 21-point spread.
— Standings from the Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler Optional) for the contenders was posted in the comments Tuesday. You can find them here. If you see the scores and have a beef, do not let it marinate. Email me at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. (See what I did there, Spy?)
— So Jimmy Kimmel and Aaron Rodgers have a feud. When you see two self-important gasbags fighting, who do you pull for?
— You know the rules. Here's Paschall with a Vols bowl follow-up and some roster details.
— Wowser, the CFP committee will take another victory lap after the TV numbers from Alabama-Michigan hit the streets. The Michigan win over the Tide averaged more than 27 million viewers — and if you were like me, you watched all the way through and did not click off the 8 million commercials — and peaked north of 32 million in the fourth quarter. That is obscenely huge.
Today's questions
Which Way Wednesday can go a slew of ways today, but we will start here:
Which SEC player is the best — Bowers, Tebow or Cam Newton?
Which SEC player is your all-time fav?
Which word would you use in your speech to the Lady Ambassadors of CBS, who are on their first season and are still winless, after the 141-point loss?
Ask some WWWs, answer some WWWs. No big whoop.
As for today, Jan. 3, let's review.
Pretty cool day in history.
Mel Gibson is 68. Michael Schumacher is 55.
Steve Jobs and Co. incorporate Apple on this day in 1977. We could do the Rushmore of "apple."
Also, Aretha Franklin was the first female inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on this day in 1987.
Let's do the Rushmore of female rock stars.
Go.