From the "Talks too much" studios, enjoy the weekend and try to stay dry.
Boston Celtics' Isaiah Thomas (4) loses the ball after a foul by Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) in the second quarter of a first-round NBA playoff basketball game Sunday, April 19, 2015, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) NBA playoffs
OK, let's take a breath from the opening weekend - and as long as the first round rolls, we have time - and ponder the state of the game.
It's a tougher question than you may expect.
So on a true-or-false Tuesday, let's play a little NBA true or false:
True or False, this is the best age of point guards in the history of the NBA? We say false, but it's because of semantics. There are more very good point guards in the league today, but the late 1980s to the early 1990s - Magic, Stockton, Isiah, KJ, Tim Hardaway, Iverson, Gary Payton, et al. - was better at the top.
Today's crop of NBA point guards is excellent for sure, but it's a little like the modern-day NFL quarterbacks in that the rules have been changed to increase offense to the point that quick ball-handlers are very tough to defend.
Another thing that helps the view of today's point guard is we are starting to understand that position letters and numbers are designations for the casual fan more than a defined role. The days of the Stockton-and-Malone, point guard-generated pick-and-roll can still be found, but we contend the best passer in the league is likely Chris Paul and the second-best passer is LeBron James.
Roles have morphed and changed, and in a lot of cases - i.e. Houston, OKC and Golden State - the "point" in point guard signifies scoring first and foremost.
That said, almost every playoff team has a point guard you'd have to rate as at least pretty good. (Another way it's like the NFL.)
One more while we are here.
True or false, the culture change of the NBA makes the point guard/ball-handler/perimeter scorer more valuable? We say true, and it's played out by the fact that no player in the NBA listed at 7-feet or taller averaged more than 20 points per game.
Add in the fact that a lot of times the big players can be a liability late in games because of questionable free-throw-shooting acumen, well, there you go. (Chas, Anthony Davis is listed at 6-10.)
---
NFL schedule
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) moves into the end zone for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) Only the NFL would author an hour-long special to release an itinerary.
Yes, the NFL is hosting an hour-long show to release their schedules tonight. Nevermind that every team knows their opponents for next year and they even know the locations where they will play said opponents.
Nope, this made-for-TV dreck will be simply the order in which the games will occur. Yep, we need an hour for a dance card.
Egad.
For what it's worth - the Atlanta Falcons have the easiest schedule, and it's not even that close. They face three playoff teams - Dallas, Indy and Carolina - from last year.
It should be noted, too, that the team with the easiest schedule the last three years has advanced to at least the conference title game.
The toughest schedule belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. So there's that.
---
Ah, boxing
So Floyd Mayweather thinks he's better than Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson.
Hey champ, worry about the task ahead.
FILE - In this April 2010, file photo, Floyd Mayweather Jr. poses for a photo during a news conference in Las Vegas. Promoter Bob Arum said Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, that Manny Pacquiao has agreed to all terms for what would be boxing's richest fight ever, a bout with Mayweather Jr. that fans have been demanding for five years. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, File) It's such an interesting and timeless discussion, and it may be the single biggest thing we miss about boxing being cancelled for the last couple of decades. (What's that? They were still boxing? Who knew?)
Seriously, of all the great sports debates, the greatest fighter of all time may be the simplest and the most fun.
It's a combination of personal favorites and reasoning that can range from logical to delusional.
It also appeals to the simple core of the competitive appeal of sports. Follow along.
We contend there were three original sports back in the days of cavemen. There was who was the fastest (track), who threw the stone the most accurate/farthest (field events), and who was the baddest dude in the cave (wrestling/boxing).
Those were the start and in a lot of ways, those traits connect and tie a lot of sports and a ton of our competitive drive/love of sports.
So the age-old discussion of who's the best boxer is sadly just another casualty in boxing's demise.
Mayweather's resume is sterling, and may claim him to be the best pound-for-pound fighter ever. OK.
Ali was magical and great. We have forever said that no one wanted any part of Mike Tyson circa-1989.
See, remember how great those debates were. Maybe, with Pacquiao-Mayweather on the horizon, we can enjoy the jab-counterpunch debate greatness of those boxing discussions again.
---
This and that
Mississippi guard Marshall Henderson tends to fire up opponents with his behavior as well as his talent.- As Twitter World Turns, part 6,592: Then there's this story about Marshall Henderson, the former Ole Miss guard who was bashed on Twitter by Erin Andrews for failing a drug test. Henderson said then that he would wait and the worm would turn. When Andrews boyfriend was arrested on drug charges last week, Henderson rekindled their Twitter feud.
- As we all get ready for the draft - we love the draft, you know this - there are two actual NFL story lines beyond the itinerary release. First, there is a ton of trade smoke circulating and almost all of it involved the Titans and the No. 2 pick or Adrian Peterson. Second, look around the league and there are a lot of accomplished players missing voluntary workouts because they are unhappy with their current deals.
- Being rich would be cool. Here's a story about Dale Earnhardt Jr. building a treehouse that was arguably nicer than most of the places we lived before we turned 30.
- Interesting story here from TFP SEC ace David Paschall about how SEC coaches handle spring interviews and discussions.
- Dear Lord and pass the Pepto. Molly Schuyler, all 120 pounds of her, beat football players and wrestlers in a steak eating contest Sunday. Here's the story.
From the story: Molly Schuyler scarfed down three 72-ounce steaks, three baked potatoes, three side salads, three rolls and three shrimp cocktails -- far outpacing her heftier rivals. That's more than 13 pounds of steak, not counting the sides. And she did it all in 20 minutes, setting a record in the process.
"We've been doing this contest since 1960, and in all that time we've never had anybody come in to actually eat that many steaks at one time," Bobby Lee, who co-owns the Big Texan, told CNN affiliate KVII. "So this is a first for us, and after 55 years of it, it's a big deal."
- ---
Jordan Spieth tees off on the first hole during the first round of the RBC Heritage Classic, Thursday April 16, 2015 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. (Delayna Earley/The Island Packet via AP) Today's question
OK, we'll admit it. Jordan Spieth is living the dream. Dude's 21, and spinning around the country playing golf and showing up for TV appearances and award shows, all the while wearing his green jacket.
When you win the Masters the first time, you get to keep the jacket for a year, then you must return it to the club and can only wear it on the grounds, and every subsequent jacket from there also stays at Augusta National. So you get one year - and 21 would be a pretty good year to have it.
There are reports that during his year with a green jacket, Phil Mickelson would put his in his gulf bag and break it out during big moments of friendly rounds, and yes, those rounds generally had a few thousands dollars on the line (at least).
So here's our question, if we set the over/under on 320 days of the following year that you had a green jacket in which you wore the green jacket, would you go over or under?