5-at-10: As Alabama turns, Will Wade in play again?, Rushmore of sports moments last 20 years


              Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma speaks during a news conference after his team's 91-70 win over Dayton in a regional final game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament on Monday, March 30, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma speaks during a news conference after his team's 91-70 win over Dayton in a regional final game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament on Monday, March 30, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Morning folks, hope all is well in your corner of the world and you have hidden your Easter goodies.

From the "Talks too much" studios, there is space in this week's mailbag if you'd like to come in for a swim

Taylor accuser recants

As TFP SEC ace David Paschall tells us here the woman who filed charges against Jonathan Taylor for domestic assault has recanted her story.

This tangled mess just took on another layer of string and three quarts of motor oil.

It's sordid and sticky and confusing. And that's without the passion and pressure of being in the middle of the crosshairs of the SEC football microscope.

We wrote earlier this week about how we believe the SEC should take a stand against violent felons. The woman recanting her story against Taylor does not change that view or our position.

It in some ways only strengthens it. Whether Nick Saban welcomes Taylor back to a spot across his defensive line and to a position in the spotlight as the poster boy as the king of second (and possibly even fourth) chances is still unknown.

photo Jonathan Taylor

Saban would be foolish not to wait for Taylor's arraignment in Georgia on a prior domestic assault charge to be concluded in the coming days. And you can say Nick Saban is a lot of things, but foolish is not among them.

So Taylor must wait as Saban waits on the legalese on the horizon.

And we will wait for the verdict, but that does not change or slow the issue before us.

In fact, we owe a potential expansive view as offered up by one of our regulars earlier this week. Why just the SEC, MocTastic asked, about out thoughts that college football's most powerful league should start the stand against extending second chances to those who have committed violent felonies?

His point is an interesting one, and one that was well-stated. It was one we also agree with, but knowing the process of negotiations in major college athletics, it's not unlike trying to navigate an aircraft carrier through a slalom course.

In fact, the power leagues can not agree on a suitable early signing day for football, so expecting them as a whole to work through something as meaningful and nuanced as getting to a place where violent felons are not scholarship athletes would be like finding a specific needle in a haystack of needles.

We suggested the SEC do this so that the pressure would mount for the other conferences to follow along. Imagine the hand-wringing from the Big Ten or the Pac-12 if the SEC jumped to the forefront on this issue?

This could lead a complete and total overhaul in college sports in this regard, and sadly it would have to come through the forced machination of competitive balance rather than the collaborative efforts of reform.

This issue with Taylor, though, also brings up the elephant in the room about the he-said, she-said nature of such cases and the potential of emotional accusations standing for actual criminal charges.

It's a difficult issue to navigate for sure, but we also believe this: If Taylor, or any SEC football player for that matter, can find serious legal trouble in the structured and protected environment of a major college scholarship athlete, well, trouble will find him anywhere.

Thoughts?

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Geno Auriemma speaks

When we first heard that UConn women's basketball coach said that men's college basketball was a "joke" Wednesday, we were a little offended.

Yes, the product may be down and yes the offensive skills of most of the teams and players have regressed in the last decade, but a "joke" seems harsh.

More importantly, how can Geno throw stones at the brand of basketball the men play when the women's game is so one-sided. If the men can't shoot, then Geno and UConn are simply shooting fish in a barrel. UConn, by the way is a 23-point favorite over Maryland this weekend. Yes, top-five Maryland, which was a No. 1 seed in its bracket. A 23-point favorite in the Final Four mind you.

Well, Wednesday afternoon, Geno clarified his point and took some shots at his own sport too.

Then, when you read beyond the "joke" reference that made the headlines, he makes a slew of valid points. Like Geno or loathe him, there are two things you can't deny: Dude is a genius and he will say what he thinks.

And we respect both of those things.

Here are some of his comments about the state of college hoops (credit: The Hartford Courant):

"College men's basketball is so far behind the times, it's unbelievable," he said. "I mean, women's basketball is behind the times. Men's basketball is even further behind the times. Every other major sport in the world has taken steps to help people be better on the offensive end of the floor.

"They've moved in the fences in baseball, they lowered the mound, they made the strike zone so that you need a straw to put through it. In the NFL, you touch a guy and it's a penalty. You hit the quarterback, you're out.

"This is entertainment, we're talking about. People have to decide: 'Do I want to pay 25 bucks, 30 bucks to go see a college scrum where everybody misses six out of every 10 shots they take, or do I want to go to a movie?'

"We're fighting for the entertainment dollar here and I've got to tell you, it's not entertaining from a fan's standpoint. That's not Geno Auriemma, the basketball coach, talking. I'm just talking as a fan."

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Coaching searches

photo Rick Barnes

TFP ace columnist Mark Wiedmer lays out some nice points about the good parts of the Rick Barnes hire.

We believe a handful of things, and one of those beliefs centers on the simple point that the greater-Chattanooga area is blessed to have a college basketball expert like Mark Wiedmer share his opinion on the game. Dude is aces on college hoops.

OK, where were we?

Ah yes, but the Barnes move is old news by now.

The man thought to be Barnes' replacement at Texas is Shaka Smart, the 37-year-old hotshot VCU coach.

That of course leads us to the very real possibility that WIll Wade's name will be linked to the VCU job if/when Smart heads to Austin.

Hmmmmmm, pretty sneaky sis.

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This and that

photo Brian Lee, left, and Ethan Peplow, with Mid-America Sports Construction, remove the infill from the turf at Finley Stadium on March 9, 2015. The infill, which is made from tires, will be recycled.

- Man, those folks at Finley are moving quickly with the new turf. Here's Gene Henley's update.

- Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson joined us on Press Row on Wednesday. Here's a recap.

- We have frequently wondered why the Richard Jewel story had not become a movie. Well, it appears that Clint Eastwood is interested in tackling the project. Count us in.

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Today's question

ESPN.com has redesigned its home page and, in honor of its 20th anniversary, trotting out some talk-generating top 20 lists.

They list the top 20 teams, athletes and moments of the last 20 years, and the last category is especially egregious in its listings, especially at the top.

photo In this June 25, 2004, file photo, Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Pedro Martinez delivers during the first inning of a Major League baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway Park in Boston.

ESPN put the Boston Red Sox coming back from a 3-0 hole in the ALCS in 2004 on the way to winning the World Series as the best sports 'moment' of the last 20 years. No. 2 was Cal Ripken breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak, and while that seems high, at least that was a moment.

The Red Sox's rally and eventual title was more like a week than a moment.

Also, no where on that list was the Kick Six play when Auburn beat Alabama, and while we all know where we went to college, that was arguably the most exciting sports play/moment of our lifetime and to omit it entirely is nuts.

So we're game. If we're going to criticize we're at least on the hook to come up with a better top five of sports moments of the last 20 years. Any suggestions?

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