From Josh P.
Wow, thanks for the gift card for lunch. I used it (Wednesday) when it was so nice outside.
Your props contest made there Super Bowl more fun. How did you think of that?
I will be playing all of your contests from now on. Thanks again.
Josh P -
You are welcome, and not sure how we thought of it, but the Super Bowl is the best way to mix and mingle all of those little gambling tidbits because so much focus is on the game.
As we said during the pre-Super Bowl week, the first prop bet was whether William 'Refrigerator' Perry would score a TD in 1986 against the Pats. (He did.) And the prop market has exploded since then.
The contest made sense because at the Super Bowl event we host, we offer a slew of prop scenarios.
Here are some ideas if you are interested in copying for next year.
Find some of the props with a wide number of possibilities, offer all of those for a quarter or a dollar or how much you want/feel the gathering will pay. (If you do quarters, make sure folks are aware of the need of quarters or make sure you have plenty of change.)
If you have a huge crowd, limit the number of props people can enter so everyone has a chance to participate. Also, if you have a big gathering, do the Super Bowl board/grid. That's easy and universally fun.
As for the party-wide prop bets, here's what we did this year: We had 13 people at the shindig so we had names for MVP, 13 names for who scores the first TD, 13 names for Maroon 5's first song and 13 varying lengths for the National Anthem. That way everyone got a slip and everyone got to participate.
But you can add in various facts or options too.
By the way, congrats on the entry - 9 out of 10 and hitting the distance on the number is going to be tough to beat sir.
We'll see you in March for our March Madness and in April for the Masters Contest and the NFL draft swing-ding.
From Mike P.
You mentioned Hank Aaron (Tuesday) and said he's under-rated. I never really thought about it before but do you really think that and who are some other baseball hall of famers you would call under-rated?
Thanks I really enjoy your writing and your radio show.
Mike P.
Yes, I think The Hammer is underrated and very much under-appreciated. He's still the all-time record-holder in RBIs (2,297), total bases (6,856) and extra base hits (1,477).
His value in today's homer-or-walk game would be staggering: Heck, in 1969, he hit 44 homers, walked 87 times and only 47 Ks.
As for others, well, that's tough because there are a lot.
Ted Williams is underrated by the general folks because a) he never played in the postseason and b) most folks do not realize that despite his amazing career totals, he missed all or parts of five seasons while flying fighters in WWII and the Korean War. Also, the over-arching cloud of romanticism over the Joltin' Joe and The Mick and the rest of the Yankees juggernaut hurt Williams' shine. Some of that has changed in the modern era, but Williams is right there with Ruth as the greatest hitter who ever lived.
Koufax is underrated, and I can make a case that in his prime he was the best to ever do it. Somehow Koufax was only on 86.9 percent of the ballots to get him in the Hall. Some folks have some 'splainin' to do about that. (The next most under-appreciated pitcher in my view may be Pedro Martinez. Or Greg Maddux, but I feel Maddux gets a lot more props than Pedro.)
And the last one likely would be Mel Ott, the New York Giants slugger who topped 500 homers despite playing in the spacious Polo Grounds and did it in the NL, which was still using the deadball into the 30s and 40s as the AL and the Babe Ruth explosion were averaging roughly 20 percent more homers a game.
That brings us to this week's Rushmores.
Rushmore of movies that could not be made today: Blazing Saddles is so far left that according to the interweb, it almost did not get released because of its racial jokes in 19-(bleepin')-74. Song of the South - the Disney hit from the 1940s - has been locked away forever, and that's not an accident. The Toy with Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleason. There are a lot of options here - Soul Man, Ace Ventura, Airplane, Heathers (for a ton of reasons, including school violence), Tropic Thunder, Bad News Bears, The Jerk and so many others - the last spot has to be The Jazz Singer, right? With all the hubbub of blackface in the country today, well, yeah that's not happening.
Rushmore of sports images that are not actual games: Alan Shepard hitting a golf ball on the moon, which according to astrophysics likely travelled at least a mile with the moon's light gravity - take that Bubba - also, we'll go with the great photo of Babe Ruth leaving the Yankees dugout, Namath by the pool before Super Bowl III and Wilt how;ding up the '100' after his impossible performance in Hershey, Pa. Thoughts?
Rushmore of former champions as broadcasters: John Madden, Nick Faldo (great call Alejandro, and it's especially true now that Johnny Miller has stepped down), A-Rod, who has become the guy in baseball, and John Smoltz. This one was a little more difficult than you might have expected, because a lot of the former champs from the team sports take studio gigs. Guys like Shaq or the better than expected Big Papi or the Bradshaws and Howie Longs and Strahans, for example.
Rushmore of American professional sports coaches: Belichick, Bill Walsh, LaRussa, Phil Jackson.
From Fat Vader
I'm all in for the AAF and even though I have an event and won't be home on Saturday evening, I plan on leaving the TV on CBS to do my part to help the numbers. I know we haven't even started yet, but is it wrong of me to already wonder if an AAF/XFL merger is going to be required for the leagues to survive? Each league is starting with 8 teams and is largely regional. Unless there is overnight success and clamoring support (both doubtful) both leagues will have to scrape by forever with minimal player salaries, lower tier players, and a largely uninterested fan base. If both leagues are able to survive 5 years, I expect merger talks sooner rather than later.
FV -
Combining leagues, huh? Interesting.
I think it will be a fight to find a direct tie-in to the NFL, and if they need both collection of franchises then so be it.
It looks like the AAF has a jumpstart on the NFL connection, considering one AAF game a week will be on the NFL Network, the AAF is willing to be a rule guinea pig in a lot of areas (have to believe Goodell's goons are watching the fall-out from the SkyCam official very closely) and the AAF offers players immediate release from their contract if the NFL calls.
In fact, if I am the AAF, until a direct 'farm system' develops, I try to figure out a way to have an 'AAF round' to start the third day of the NFL draft.
Call it whatever you like - heck, sell the naming rights if you can - and before the fourth round starts let each NFL team pick one player from the AAF and that team retains the rights.
It also would bridge a very clear and early hurdle for the AAF - the lack of ESPN connection.
And if you think that's not an issue, well, ask NASCAR about not having a direct connection with ESPN and how that hurts your publicity numbers. In fact, the main question on Golic or Wingo this morning was centered on "What are you going to do this weekend without football?" Ouch-standing.
If ESPN had a hand in the AAF, that's a completely different story.
Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins (20) goes up to shoot against Toronto Raptors center Serge Ibaka (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)From Tyler C.
I have been reading your blog for a while now and have a question: Why are you ignoring the NBA this year even as the numbers continue to show the league is growing faster than any other major professional sport?
You used to write a bunch about the NBA. Now, in the last couple of weeks, other than a small thing about the trade deadline and one thing on James Harden, there's been nothing.
I expected more from you honestly.
Tyler C. -
Well, I can understand those lofty expectations. I was a varsity letterman.
This question made me think a little bit, and you know what, I have done less on the NBA.
Let's try to see if we can figure out why.
First, I am watching less NBA, so my direct connections and feelings on it have not been as frequent. Several reasons for this: One, I am coaching three youth basketball teams, and between games and practices, the only night I do not have youth hoops responsibilities is Thursday. (Ironically, I watched a lot of the very entertaining Lakers-Celtics game last night.)
Point two about watching less, it's no secret that I am LeBron James fan. And with James in the West now, a majority of his games tip at 10ish, which is entirely too late for me to fire up an NBA game. Also, with the intrigue of Duke, UT and UK as well as the Tournament potential of Auburn, I am watching a lot more college basketball this season than in the last five years combined.
That said, here are five quick NBA thoughts to help bridge the gap for those hungry for more NBA chatter:
Uno - LeBron and the Lakers not adding AD makes this summer must-watch drama. If LeBron can not get a bona fide superstar to finish out his time in LA-LA land, then the questions about folks not wanting to play with James will echo everywhere. (And the questions about Magic's inability to build around the greatest NBA player since Jordan will be very loud and valid.)
Dos - Russell Westbrook is on track to average a triple double for the third consecutive year. Read that sentence again. Wow.
Tres - After the trading deadline, Philly, Boston, Toronto and Milwaukee each have 9-to-4 odds to win the Eastern Conference. That's crazy balance in the LeBron-less East.
Cuatro - Who will the Warriors beat in the Western Conference Finals is also an interesting playoff question.
Cinco - The tanking madness (Zuck for Zion, maybe?) will be every bit as interesting as any playoff machination friends.
Enjoy the weekend friends, and I ran out of time, so I'll need to post the hate mail in the comments. (We will also add our weekend college hoops picks later today too.)
Check back, and go Legends.