Morning. We are back in the saddle, and hopefully some of the chatter will return now that we have a new and improved comment policy.
Either way, thanks for your patience and your continued playing along.
From the "Talks too much" studios, let me clear my throat.
Weekend (and then some) winners
Tony Romo. Dude looked the part of an elite quarterback on Sunday. In the game, especially in the second half. In the moment, especially on the game-winning drive. And in general, when answering all the questions and offering insight that was enlightening and clear that he understands the meaning and the magnitude of where he is and what he's charged to do. Yes, winning the press conference means little in the grand scheme of things, but dude sure looked the part of Elite QB late Sunday afternoon.
Urban Meyer. Dude had his bunch ready to play and let's not forget he rolled out a third-team QB against the vaunted Alabama-Saban defense and hung 42 on them. (Side question: This does beg the question that are Josh Dobbs and Cardale Jones the single worst practice players of all-time? Man, the fact that Jones was third-team in Columbus is staggering.)
TCU. Wow, that was a statement win for a team that will assuredly start the 2015 among the top 3.
SEC haters. Wow, they came from everywhere during the 48 SEC Waterloo that was the Dec. 30-Jan. 1 blitzing. And they had a lot to wave their arms about: The Mississippi schools got smacked. The Alabama schools lost to Big Ten teams. LSU lost a game despite having the three best players on the field. Enjoy the moment.
Lose-or-go home football. Yes, you run the likelihood of getting an instant classic or an absolute stinker, and we got an even split between the two college football semifinals and the four NFL wildcard games. But when the
Weekend (and then some) losers
NFL officials. This is unfair in some ways, but it's fact this morning. And it has less to do with the flag-then call-then overturned call on a crucial pass interference on Dallas in the Cowboys' 24-20 win over Detroit. The biggest beef on our end is that the referees have been forced all year to be much more aggressive policing pass interference, and in the biggest moment to date, they botched it. Period.
Johnny Football. Mainly because he is Johnny Football, but dude is caught on film throwing down on South Beach 48 hours after he made another mea culpa about needing to grow up and change his ways. Whatever. Here's saying there's a much better chance that we'll hear the phrase, "Welcome back to Celebrity Apprentice with former first-round pick Johnny Manziel" before we hear "Welcome to the Pro Bowl former first-round pick Johnny Manziel."
FILe - In this July 23, 2014 file photo, Donald Trump poses for photographs during a ground breaking ceremony for the Trump International Hotel on the site of the Old Post Office in Washington. The sale of the Buffalo Bills entered the next phase with prospective ownership groups, including Donald Trump, meeting with team officials to prepare formal bids. Two people familiar with the sale process confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, that the New York real estate mogul was the first to receive a presentation. (AP Photo/File) SEC haters. Amid all the consternation that the league is apparently doomed and will be fighting Conference USA for two-star prospects for the next decade, there needs to be some clarity. The best players are still picking SEC schools. The NFL will still be picking more SEC players. A bad 48 hours that included LSU getting Chavised, Auburn becoming allergic to tackling and handing an Outback gift card to Wisconsin, Alabama getting beat on two perfect plays. It is what it is, but sorry, we don't feel this major wave of power structure overhaul because of 48 hours of broken bowls.
Donald Trump. Speaking of "Celebrity Apprentice," and let's be clear that the next one we see will be the first, but we read this morning doing our research that Trump fired Rudy Huxtable on the season premiere because she did not reach out to Bill Cosby. Dude? Really? Quick question: Would you watch Celebrity Apprentice or an informercial?
Marvin Lewis. Yes, Andy Dalton was going to get a certain amount of angst after another winless playoff trip, but Dalton was without his two top targets. That carries some weight. It also should lighten the load on Lewis, but the fact remains he and Jim Mora are the only guys to ever post 0-6 career records in the playoffs. PLAYOFFS?!?
Vols T logoUT storms into 2015
We thought about putting this in the winner category, but we thought we could expand on it.
In the history books, Tennessee's impressive beatdown of Iowa in the (Insert corporate name here, this time it's the) Taxslayer Bowl will never crack the highwater marks. It was a bowl win over a blah-tastic Big Ten team that secured a 7-6 mark. Those are the numbers and the facts.
The ripples from those numbers and facts, however, can be viewed in a different scope.
It was a Tennessee team looking more like an old-school Tennessee team -- fast, aggressive, decisive, physical -- for the first time since Phillip Fulmer was prominently involved.
It was a Tennessee team filled with youth and energy, which speaks volumes considering the (Insert corporate name here, this time it's the) Taxslayer Bowl hardly seeps with tradition.
It was a Tennessee team that made plays that any of its recent predecessors simply could not make. Whether that's being in the right place or having the right people, it's a credit to Butch Jones and Co.
And yes, the cliches and catch phrases are easy targets and can become tedious, but whatever Jones is selling, his fan base is buying.
Want to know who else is standing in line to sign up for the bricklaying brigade? Big-time recruits, and some of these four- and five-star kids are at the biggest of positions.
UT got a pledge from Kyle Phillips, a fast-rising, highly regarded defensive lineman, over the weekend. There is talk Phillips, who starred in the Army All-Star game on Saturday, will be a five-star player before signing day in February.
If Phillips gets an extra star, that will be three five-star defensive linemen in this class. Yes, three, and Derek Barnett has at least two more years in Orange.
So tip of the visor, Butch. You rang in the New Year in a big way.
This and that
Programming note: After a week off Press Row returns today from 3-6 p.m. on ESPN 105.1 FM.
Major props to War Eagle Dave, who turned in an almost perfect sheet in the Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success in a Bowler (Hat optional). Dude missed two of 14. Two. Tom, we have a small gift package for you finishing second, so drop us an email at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. Thanks to everyone for playing along.
Monster game for the Mocs tonight as they welcome Wofford to the Roundhouse. This bunch has been good to very good at times and at the opposite end of the that description too. Tonight is a chance to make a statement: Arguably the two best teams in the SoCon, and you are at home. Whatcha' got? (Side note: For those of you who can't get there, you can follow updates from UTC hoops ace Mean Gene Henley at @genehenleytfp and at #tfputc.
FILE - In this march 2, 2014 file photo, Bradley Cooper arrives at the Oscars in Los Angeles. Cooper will star in the Broadway revival of "The Elephant Man," 14-week run opening on December 7 at the Booth Theater with previews starting on November 7. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) Bradley Cooper turns 40 today. Trying to remember a movie that we were more excited about seeing based solely on the previews than Cooper's "American Sniper." Dear Lord, that puppy looks powerful.
Speaking of that, what's your Rushmore of A-list Hollywood actors of the moment? We'll take Cooper, Clooney, Pitt and Damon, but there are several out there.
Today's question
We could let you know that Robert Duvall is 84 and ask for the Rushmore of best acting catalogs of all time.
Instead, we're going to get opinions on a discussion we had Sunday afternoon.
As we all have heard multiple times in the last 24 or so hours, ESPN personality Stuart Scott died Sunday morning. He was 49. TFP assistant sports editor Jim Tanner asked the blocked TFP sports editor about putting the story on the front of the sports page. We declined. We believe that putting obits on the front of the sports section should be viewed through the same lens as a Hall of Fame ballot: If there's more than a moment's pause then the answer is almost always no. So Scott, as popular as he was among his colleagues, was played on C3.
That also got us thinking, which is an admittedly a dangerous proposition.
Take tragic circumstances (car wreck, lightning strike, what have you) or active sports stars out of the equation, and who's on the Rushmore of no-brain sports obits that deserve page 1 treatment. We'd go Jordan, Nicklaus, Magic, Hank Aaron.
Thoughts? And welcome back and let us be the last to say, Happy New Year.