Quarterback carousel
Yes, we spend a fair amount of time discussing the movement and needs of quarterbacks and teams that need them.
(Side note: Could Tom Brady be more clear without saying it that he was "not sad" that the Patriots traded Brandin Cooks. We discussed this a bit Wednesday, but gang, if the Patriots turn pick 23 into either Christian Kirk or Calvin Ridley, ladies and gentlemen, there's your 2018 NFL offensive rookie of the year.)
Well, two prominent, Heisman-toting names were in the news Wednesday.
First, there's Robert Griffin III signing a one-year deal with Baltimore.
Yes, the Baltimore franchise that flirted with Colin Kaepernick this time a year ago. Yes that Colin Kaepernick, who had way more success in the NFL than RGIII. (Hey we understand why Kaepernick does not have a job, I just wish the NFL powers that be would be honest about it.)
Wonder what the Redskins think considering that they made the bold move to take two quarterbacks in the 2012 draft and now that the one they took No. 2 overall is across the river with the Ravens on a one-year deal and the other - Kirk Cousins, who was a third-round pick - is the highest paid player in the NFL.
The other Heisman winning quarterback - one Mister Johnny Football, Esq. - made news on the Dan Patrick Show earlier this week by saying, among other things, that the Browns should have known he was lazy.
Wow. Is that not unlike the no-good boyfriend blaming his ex-girlfriend for his cheating because, hey, she should have known he was going to cheat?
So there's that. And there you go.
Students, athletes
Two items that also crossed our radio in the last 24 hours that need to be placed in the NCAA hypocrisy files.
No this has nothing to do with the fact that a story has emerged that the FBI's case may be in hot water because some of the money provided in the sting operation to connect the agents to the basketball recruits never changed hands at Louisville and Miami, meaning that those schools may have lied down with dogs and got away scott-flea. (Yes, we meant to do that.)
No the two hypocritical moments of the last 24 or so hours involve a new college football coach and a long-standing college basketball award.
First the coach. Hi Herm Edwards, the Arizona State football coach who had this to say about his meeting with his players after spring practice: "There was a message sent, and the message was very clear, that we're in the process of evaluating the players. Between now and next week you're going to find out the situation here whether you're going to continue to be a part of it or not. I told them that when I first took the job and that's the way to be honest with them. It's always evaluation. It's always participation."
And that's completely fair and his right as long as scholarships are one-year deals.
It also points directly to the unfairness of the system in place that so stringently limits the transfer options of players. He shared that with the whole team. All of them. And what can the players do?
Absolutely nothing, because if they ask to transfer, Herm can say no. If they sit and wait and find out they are cut after everyone else finishes spring practice, what's left then.
Yes, the coaches - and a lot of the fans - hate the thought of players having more power and more options, but there has to be more fairness to the system, and this has nothing to do with payment.
The other one is the wording of the Wooden Award presented by Wendy's, which will be presented tomorrow night. The promos on ESPN for the awards presentation has said that it is given to the most outstanding college basketball player who is, among other things, "making progress toward graduation."
Three of the five finalists - DeAndre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III and Trae Young - are one-and-doners who have made just a smidge more progress toward a college degree as my fourth-grader.
Masters
We will post all the contest entries in Friday's mailbag. There were quite a few. Thanks gang for always playing along.
There are quite a few Tiger entries, but he's far from universal.
There are quite a few mixes and matches, including the always colorful and internationally spiced entry from Billy in Brainerd, who picked Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Shubhankar Sharma, Jhonattan Vegas, Francesco Molinari and Jason Dufner. #Merica (at least one that is).
The deadline has come and gone and the golfers are on the course. Good times.
With that, after Wednesday's rant, as the rest of the world watches Tiger and the rest of the crew chase the green jacket, we want to continue the discussion a bit about the "Dilly! Dilly!" stuff.
According to these Yahoo!Sports aces - and know this, everything that Dan Wolken is not is everything in this business that Dan Wetzel is - there is no list about banned phrases.
OK.
But the absence of the list is not the permission to turn the Augusta fairways into, say, the 16th at the Waste Management Open in Arizona.
Here's betting that if someone bellowed a robust "Dilly! Dilly!" they would be escorted to the principal's office.
Here's also betting that no one will risk losing their ticket and/or their badges - or worse yet, the badges of someone they know - to give it a swing.
Thoughts?
This and that
- Andrelton Simmons bunted for a hit to start a two-run rally off Corey Kluber in the fifth inning Wednesday. It was the first hit Kluber allowed - he allowed a long two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani two batters later - and for some reason the unwritten rules police are mad about it. Somewhere Brian McCann is really upset.
- While we are here, Ohtani's numbers through seven games with the Angels: 14 at-bats, six hits (.429 average), two homers, five RBIs. Also, six innings, three runs allowed (4.50 ERA), six Ks, one walk and one win. That's pretty good if you are a senior at Soddy-Daisy. To do it in the big leagues is amazing, right?
- If there are two dudes who have lost the most money in the sports world over the last 12-or-so months, it would have to be Isaiah Thomas and Arden Key. Thomas was a top-three MVP candidate this time last year before he injured his hip and valiantly played through it last year. He was headed to a max contract. Then he had surgery, was traded and struggled in Cleveland, was traded to L.A. and needed more surgery. Now, rather being one of the top free agents on the market, Thomas is recovering and dealing with the questions about what kind of role will he fill. That's going from a max deal to a one-year deal. Key, the former LSU defensive end, was a preseason All-American after a great sophomore year in which he had 11 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. If he could have entered the 2017 draft, he would have been a top-15 pick. After missing a big piece of the 2017 season and running a 4.85 40 Wednesday at LSU's pro day, Key will be lucky to be drafted before the third day later this month.
- There may not be a more important sports story for a quite a while than this one. Julian Edelman acted on a social media tip about a kid in his Twitter timeline who posted a message that stated: "I'm going to shoot my school up watch the news." Edelman alerted the authorities and a 14-year-old in Michigan was found with two rifles and detained. Wow.
- In the worst kept secret in uniforms, here is what the new Titans jerseys look like. Yes, the images were leaked before Wednesday's unveiling.
- We have a question about this topic in Friday's mailbag already, but this must be posted. According to all-around sports media ace Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, the early returns on Mike Greenberg's new vehicle are dismal. Here's Deitsch' Twitter post from this morning: "From a TV source: Overnight ratings for Get Up! on Wednesday were a 0.20, down from Tuesday (0.24). Debut on Monday drew a drew a 0.28 overnight." Oh my.
Today's questions
Hey, today's national burrito day.
Burrito, friend or foe, as in is that your go-to order at your go-to Mexican restaurante of choice?
Today is April 5.
It was 25 years ago that Chris Webber called a timeout he nor the Wolverines had.
Today's Rushmore, has to be about Augusta, however.
Rushmore of the best things about the Masters other than the golf. (To be clear, this can be anything - holes, tradition, snacks, you name it - but it can not be Jack, Tiger or Mize's chip or 1986. Deal? Deal.)