Ah, Rickie
Wow, you think so, Doctor?
Rick Pitino is telling any media member with a pen that he thinks he likely will not get another coaching job.
We'll ask again. Wow, you think so, Doctor?
Piton has never been a bastion of ethics and integrity. Truth be told, no college basketball coach is.
Believe what you want about any one you want to trot out there, but for the power players in that sport, their bag men have bag men and the most important pieces in every elite college basketball program whether they wear the Swoosh, the Stripes or the interlocking UA comes in the following order:
a) Superstar coach;
b) as many 5-stars and one-and-doners as financially and humanly possible;
c) AAU/shoe company "rep" if you will;
d) Program's Winston Wolf who makes issues go away.
And that order may be a touch optional. And the amazing part of it is the current system in many ways of over recruiting super teams was developed by none other than Richard Andrew Pitino, who had more NBA players in the mid-1990s at Kentucky than the Atlanta Hawks have had in the last three seasons.
So now - when Tricky Rick got caught mired in a slew of controversy - is time for change. Whatever.
"AAU teams ... have become a plague for college recruiters," Pitino wrote in his book. "They are all funded with an unspoken, unofficial goal in mind: Funnel the players to the right college and get rewarded. ... I believe we are overdue when it comes to figuring out a way to remove sneaker companies' undue influence at the grassroots level."
So cry me a river Slick Rick. You made this hornet's nest. Now dip yourself in honey, and lay down in it for 15 seconds.
Couple of did you know on Wednesday: Did you know Piton's net worth is $45 million. Thought it would be a little higher than that. Did you know that Pitino is only 65 but looks closer to 85? Seriously, Pitino will be 66 two weeks from yesterday. Nick Saban is older than Pitino and looks 15 years younger.
Boston Red Sox's Mookie Betts slides home to score on a sacrifice fly by Steve Pearce during the third inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, July 8, 2018, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)Braves and the best in the baseball
OK, the Boston Red Sox leave town later today.
That's great news for the Atlanta Braves and everyone who follows them. Heck, here's betting the Braves brash will help them load their luggage.
Boston toppled Atlanta for the second consecutive day, using five strong innings from Rick Porcello and four tidy innings from a strong bullpen for a 5-1 win.
Boston has won four of five games against Atlanta this season, and if the teams play again, it will make Spy and MocTastic each very happy because it will be in late October in a little thing called the Fall Classic.
While we frequently mention the surprising run by the Braves, who still have a three-game lead in the NL East despite five losses in their last seven games, it's a fine time to look at the amazing run the Boston Red Sox have enjoyed from the very beginning.
Start with easily the best free agent signing off the offseason, which was in some ways the proverbial blind squirrel-nut-film at 11.
J.D. Martinez was added to the Boston roster in mid-February and in truth was a reactionary move to the New York Yankees adding Giancarlo Stanton.
Well, Martinez has been awesome and with less than a month left in the season, is very much in contention for the MLB triple crown. Martinez is one point behind the MLB league lead in hitting (behind teammate Mookie Betts), one homer behind the MLB lead in fingers (behind Khris Davis) and nine RBIs ahead of the rest of baseball.
He's been a bona fide superstar. And he may not be the most valuable Red Sox considering what Mookie Betts has done. The Mookie Monster leads baseball in hitting (.336), second in on-base (.426) and OPS (1.053) and top 10 in a slew of other categories.
Those two have paced a Boston offense that, after being among the worst in baseball in 2017, is the best on the planet this year. Boston leads baseball in average (.268, which as a team), on-base percentage (.338), slugging (.455) and runs scored (757).
Not surprisingly, Boston is running away with the best record in baseball. It's 96-44. Yes, Boston is 52 games above .500 with 22 games left.
Atlanta, which has almost a 70 percent chance to make the playoffs, is 76-62. So if Atlanta was in the AL East rather than the NL East, the Braves would be a tidy 19 games back of Boston.
So let me be the first to say, so long Boston. Maybe Atlanta will see you later. (And that maybe looks way more 'may' on the Braves side than the Boston side of things.)
FILE - In this Dec. 24, 2016, file photo, Oakland Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack (52) rushes against the Indianapolis Colts during an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif. The Raiders exercised the fifth year option of Mack, the team announced Thursday, APril 20, 2017. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has compiled double-digit sacks each of the past two seasons. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) NFL individual picks
Buckle up the NFL is 36 or so hours away.
(Side note: Anyone else kind of disappointed with the end of this year's Hard Knocks? We were in - and so were several other folks apparently, considering the preseason TV numbers showed declines across the board except for games involving the Cleveland Browns - from the start. The finale last night however was quite emotionless considering it was final roster day and all. Maybe it was just me. Where were we?)
Anyhoo, NFL predictions. Let's role.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay. We're riding this hoss just like we ride LeBron. Because each is the best in his game.
Offensive player of the year: Julio Jones, Atlanta. We expect a record-setting season for Jones, who is finally healthy and desperate for a new contract. Now add the extra pressure removed from adding another piece on the perimeter and look out.
Defensive player of the year: Khalil Mack, Chicago. Here's a hunch that Mr. Mack, if you're nasty will get close to 20 sacks.
Offensive rookie of the year: Royce Freeman, Denver. Meet this year's Kareem Hunt. We think Freeman will outrush Saquon Barkley this year, adding even more fuel to the Mel Kiper Jr. adage of "Why draft a RB early" in the draft.
Defensive rookie of the year: Roquan Smith, Chicago. Mack pressuring and Smith roaming gives the best defensive tandem since Marshall and Singletary.
Comeback player of the year: Andrew Luck, Indianapolis. This one - with the possible exception of Rodgers as the MVP - is the biggest slam dunk of them all.
Coach of the year: Matt Nagy, Chicago. Yes, we're bullish on the Bears. But the fourth Chicago coach of this decade has the best collection of talent in the Windy City in a long time. Yes, the division is tough - Minnesota is loaded, Green Bay has that dude, the Lions are..., well, did we mention Minnesota and Rodgers yet? - but no team improved more and that will show.
First coach fired: Adam Gase, Miami. Quick, name one thing that makes you smile about those Dolphins. Exactly.
Storyline we are going to sick of quickly: Penalties and refs deciding games because of the new lowering the head rule.
Storyline that we should be excited about: Believing in the next generation of young quarterbacks. We think DeShaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes are going to have monster seasons. We have Mitchell Trubisky in the playoffs. Sam Darnold is on the field day 1 for the Jets. Baker Mayfield and Josh Rosen are not far behind. Carson Wentz, when he returns, is only in year three. Same with Jarod Goff. When the best four or five quarterbacks in the league are guys in their mid-30s and older (Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Big Ben, Rivers) a turn over at the position is much needed.
This and that
- As expected, Tiger Woods was one of the three captain's picks announced Tuesday for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. It's an exclamation point on arguably the best comeback in all of sports this year, considering that he was ranked 656th in the world in January when he was tabbed as a vice-captain.
- Wonder what fantasy football players who drafted Le'Veon Bell with either the first or second pick are thinking about now?
- From the often-quoted Darren Rovell Twitter: "Report by Nielsen, commissioned by the American Gaming Association, projects that a fully regulated mature American gambling business would be worth $2.3 BILLION to the NFL annually."
- Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams advanced at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. For Williams, it is her 36th trip to a semifinal of a major, which ranks as the fourth-most among women in the Open Era. Williams is 30-5 in major semifinals.
- Gang, we discussed the Kaepernick-Nike ad Tuesday. Feel free to weigh in if you'd like. Both sides are overreacting because, well, that's what both sides do. Anyhoo, if you are so outraged by the add that you are burning your Nike gear from days gone by, that's certainly your prerogative. May we offer this suggestion though: Donate all your Nike stuff rather than cut up the socks or burn the sneakers. There are a lot of folks in need. Hey feel however you want about Nike and its decision. But destroying it out of spite when it could actually help those less fortunate seems needless. Just a thought.
Today's questions
On a which way Wednesday, let's pick a side.
Is 'vice-captain' the dumbest title in sports?
Will Le'Veon Bell be in uniform for Game 1 and make an impact?
Will Boston make the World Series?
Will Pitino ever coach in college again?
As for September 5, well it's National Cheese Pizza Day. We're sure our soon-to-be-11-year-old will be thrilled.
It's also national be late for something day. We have no problems there. See what most people call being late, parents call having kids. Trust me.
This may be the anniversary of the most horrifying day in sports. In 1972, 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage and later killed at the Munich Games.
On this day in 1698, Russian Tsar Peter the Great put a tax on beards.
Nice run of birthdays: Bob Newhart, Raquel Welch, Freddie Mercury and Michael Keaton.
Crazy Horse died on this day in 1877.
Let's go there. Rushmore of the coolest old-school Indian names.
Discuss, and remember the mailbag and the 5-at-10 Suicide Pool.