Flawed Philly
OK, we all praised the process. (Side note: Calling "sucking so hard and so long that you consider it an overhaul because you got a fragile superstar and a mentally fragile athletic freak - as well as at least two busts and a complete unknown in Markelle Fultz" the process is the most leading euphemism this side of calling a root canal a procedure.)
Seriously, the NBA world was gonzo about the future of the Philadelphia 76ers. Ben Simmons was Magic Johnson 2.0. Joel Embiid was the face of the future of the league. Pieces and parts from all parts of the globe.
And then poof. Gone in five games in round two to a short-handed Boston bunch and the feeling goes from hopes to the future to wondering about which team is the hope for the future in the East.
Would you rather be Philly or Boston? Let's review:
The positives: Philly has Embiid and Simmons, and they appear to be franchise linchpins for the foreseeable future. And yes, the NBA adage of there never is true NBA playoff progress until their is real playoff pain.
The negatives: Embiid is the most injury-prone superstar in the league. J.J. Reddick is a free agent. Simmons was exposed by Brad Stephens and the Celtics and unless he develops a shot from outside of 6 feet he will be a crunch time offensive liability. And the curious case of Markelle Fultz - was it a shoulder, was it the yips - and his wasted rookie year are puzzling. (To make matters worse, trading up from 3 to 1 with those same Celtics to get Fultz while Boston took Jayson Tatum, who has been awesome in his awesomeness in these playoffs, will be a talking point for a decade.)
As for Boston, well, the positives are clear and even subtle.
Tatum is going to be a complete offensive player who really understands how to score. Jaylon Brown is amazingly athletic. Scary Terry Rozier has been a top-five point guard in these playoffs. (Seriously, watching these playoffs, if you take Curry, Harden, CP3 and Donovan Mitchell off the board, name any guard in these playoffs who has been clearly better than Rozier. We'll wait.)
Al Horford has been equal parts cagey vet and crunch-time scorer. Stephens looks like a young Popovich.
And that's before we even get to the fact that the hopes in Boston this year were pegged on Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, who have played the same number of playoff games as Stewwie this year.
Yeah, the process has turned north and now must go through Boston in the East for the foreseeable future.
New York Yankees' Didi Gregorius, second from left, celebrates his home run with teammates during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, April 27, 2018, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Yankees dealing
Is there a better pro sports rivalry than Red Sox-Yankees?
We don't think so.
And it's magnified when they both franchises are contending.
Boston's line-up is impressive, Mookie Betts is having as good a season as anyone in the bigs.
But what the Yankees are doing is crazy.
The Yankees have won 16 of 17 to take a one-game lead over the Boston Red Sox. And as impressive as that stat is, this one is better:
The Yankees have won eight straight games, and all eight have come against first-place clubs. That's amazing. (It will end tonight either way, since the Sox are now a game back, but still, plowing through the most difficult parts of your schedule with over-the-top results is the difference between front-runners and mere contenders.)
And the Yankees are doing it with an array of impressive pieces. They are first in baseball in runs (209), fourth in homers (51 - one back of three teams tied with 52), first in OBP (.337) despite being 11th in average at .252, and second in slugging at .451.
On the mound, the Yankees are with in ERA (3.46) and that's with Sonny Gray struggling.
Yes, it's May 10 and that's incredibly early.
But the Yankees are playing better than anyone with Gray (6.00 ERA in seven starts) and Masahiro Tanaka (4.66 ERA in eight stars) being erratic at best and Giancarlo Stanton (.237 with 54 Ks in 139 ABs), Brett Gardner (.214) and Gary Sanchez (.205) underperforming at the plate.
So which is scarier, knowing that the Yankees are playing like this or that they are playing like this with five legitimate standouts scuffling?
Couple of college items of interest
First, we're on board with Katie Burrows as Jim Foster's replacement as the coach of the UTC women's basketball program. Here's a good look at the topic from Mean Gene Henley, TFP UTC beat ace.
Those Mocs have excellent on an annual basis since I came to Chattanooga in 2002. From Wes Moore's building of it to Jim Foster's expansion and add-ons, UTC women's basketball is the crown palace of the SoCon across all sports for almost two decades.
Who better than Burrows, who has learned a great deal from Moore as a player (when she was known as Katie Galloway) and now as an assistant under the Hall of Famer Foster, to maintain and grow that excellence?
And, because we are in this place in college sports, here's the next story that makes you wonder how smart the people running the university system for smart people in this state truly are.
According to this story, Dr. Joe DiPietro met with the media to discuss Watne Davis, the interim chancellor at UT-Knoxville. (Davis, who was about to retire as the head of the Tickle College of Engineering, and yes, it is hard to imagine a sillier name than the Tickle College of Engineering, will make the tidy sum of $48,533 a month with $1,666 per month as a non-accountable expense allowance and an additional $1,666 in housing allowance for the next year. That's some tasty coin friends.)
DiPietro, who seems to be somewhere on the leadership ladder between Chuck Tanner and Chuck Wagon, has been the band leader in K-Town has the expensive game of musical chairs has spun out of control for far too long. Davis' qualifications stem mainly from his lengthy tenure - he's been at UT for 44 years - but then, according to DiPietro Davis also has the ability to "Every now and then he'll smile and tell you a good joke."
Anyone else feel like as long as Joe DiPietro is running the UT school system the joke's on us?
This and that
- Speaking of the 76ers, and yes, they were the NBA taking pioneers. But as good as a healthy Embiid and a more experienced, polished Simmons could be, Philly's draft results have been less than impressive over the last seven years. We discussed Fultz over Tatum (and Mitchell) last summer. But how about these misses: Kahlil Okafor one pick ahead of Kristaps Porzingis in 2015; Michael Carter Williams four picks ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2013; Maurice Harkless 20 picks ahead of Draymond Green in 2012; Nikola Vucevic 14 picks ahead of Jimmy Butler in 2011. Process, huh?
- On the heels of Nick Markakis' three-run homer and another strong start by Julio Teheran (six scoreless innings with four hits, no walks and seven Ks), the Braves thumped the Rays 5-2. Atlanta has won seven straight road games and leads the NL East at 21-14.
- Speaking of the Braves, as awful as the Dodgers have been, has anyone noticed that Braves' cast-off Matt Kemp has been the single bright spot for Los Angeles. He leads the NL in hitting at .343 and has five homers.
- According to this report, Peyton Manning be part of the group bidding on the Panthers. That makes sense.
- Yes, Chuck Barkley says some things that make you shake your head. But exchanges like this one between Chuck and Shaq O'Neal is why the NBA studio show on TNT is the MJ of the genre, across all sports. Good times.
Today's questions
Feel free to fire away with anything. We have an open plate.
Also, today is May 10 - 5/10 - so in some ways, in a perfect world, this should be the 5-at-10's birthday. (Alas, it is not. The first one was in late October 2010, believe it or not.)
Either way, Happy 5-at-10 Day.
As for today, well, Bono is 58 today. Did you know he's 5-foot-6?
On this day in 1775, the Second Continental Congress started issuing paper money.
In 1954, Bill Haley and the Comets released "Rock Around the Clock" which became the Happy Days theme song.
Rushmore of best TV show intro music. Whatcha' got?