From the "Talks too much" studios, hey, remember the mailbag, huh?
College hoops deep 3
We have slipped away from our Wednesday College Hoops 3 lately.
That changes today.
Tenenssee's Josh Richardson (1) drives into Arkansas' Jabril Durham (4).* UT lands big win. Man, cheering for this bunch has to be emotionally tiring for Johnny Vols Fans everywhere. They looked like an Upward basketball squad on Saturday. They played like a tournament team in Tuesday's 74-69 win over No. 18 Arkansas. We believe Donnie Tyndall can really coach. Great angle here from TFP ace columnist Mark Wiedmer and a really interesting quote from Josh Richardson about Tyndall refusing to let the Vols "dwell" on Saturday's 38-point stinker against Alabama.
* Kentucky's A-game has no match in today's college basketball and it may be among one of those "best ever" type of discussions. When UK is hitting shots with mild regularity, they simply are too good. Period. The Wildcats may be the one of the three best defensive teams ever and are without peer in terms of defending shots. After allowing Missouri to shoot 27 percent overall and 5.6 percent (yes, 5.6) from 3, UK held the Tigers to 37 points while a) forcing only 11 Tigers turnovers and b) only fouling 10 times. That's amazing defense that contests every shot.
* More on UK: First, how any writer in the AP poll voted for Virginia No. 1 over UK is laughable. Second, a very interesting piece from ESPN's Dan Dakich here that makes a very interesting comparison and reveals the similarities between UK coach John Calipari and Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer.
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NFL playoffs
There are four great teams and four unique quarterback questions facing each leader of the final franchises chasing the Super Bowl.
Let's review:
1) Tom Brady. If he leads the Patriots back to the pinnacle, he officially becomes the GOAT. Period and good night. That said, it's now been almost a decade since New England has won it all, and a loss Sunday would be the Pats' third-consecutive stumble at the Super Bowl doorstep. This feels like the best Pats team since Brady and Co. went 18-0 before falling to the Giants in the Super Bowl.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady smiles during a news conference after an NFL football practice in Foxborough, Mass. , Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. The Patriots face the Baltimore Ravens in a divisional playoff on Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) 2) Andrew Luck. Brady's foe Sunday, the bearded youngster appears to be ready to join the Rushmore of current NFL quarterbacks. A win Sunday - and Luck's first Super Bowl trip - would cement that assumption. We can all agree that Luck will raise a Lombardi trophy at some point, it's just tough to see it happening this weekend in Foxboro.
3) Aaron Rodgers. He could have the most to gain and the least to lose this weekend. Much has been made about Rodgers' calf injury, and it obviously slowed him in the Packers' rallying win over Dallas last week. That said, the injury provides a nice narrative and the chance to forge a lore about limping into the toughest place to play in the league against the toughest defense in the league and strolling through to the Super Bowl. Plus, a second Super Bowl for Rodgers - along with the assumed MVP award he's pegged for - would put him in some rarified air. Want to know the guys with multiple MVPs and multiple Super Bowl wins as a starter? Try Joe Montana and Tom Brady, and we may not know much, but if you are the third name on a football list with Tom Brady and Joe Montana, well, you got that going for you which is nice.
4) Russell Wilson. The Seattle youngster has the chance to repeat, and while he is extremely fortunate to be the trigger man on the best roster in the league, he's still the quarterback. And that means greatness and legacy and all the things that come with postseason success. Plus, Wilson is about to get that monster second contract, and while guys his age with a far leaner resume have cashed in on nine-figure deals, if Wilson brings two Super Bowl appearances in his three years as the starter to the negotiation table, well Cashing checks.
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Cavs scuffling
OK, raise your hand if you had Atlanta, Golden State and Portland as the best three teams in the NBA approaching the halfway mark.
OK, raise your hand if you had the Cleveland Cavaliers fighting to make it work and apparently working to make a fight.
Congratulations - and hopefully you went to Vegas and parlayed that clairvoyance into a nice payday.
Cleveland Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving, center, drives past Dallas Mavericks’ Monta Ellis, left, and Al-Farouq Aminu during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) The overachievements of the Hawks (30-8), the Warriors (30-5) and Blazers (30-8) are as eye-popping as the thought of the four worst teams including once-proud franchises such as the Lakers, the Knicks and the 76ers. Those discussions can wait.
The Cavs, however, are always a hot point. The much ballyhooed return of LeBron James during the offseason shot the expectations somewhere North of Santa's house. Those expectations have proven to be completely hollow.
James returned from a two-week sabbatical to rest his knee and back Tuesday night, and the Cavs still flopped at Phoenix. Cleveland is 19-20 and toiling in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
There are whispers that rookie NBA coach David Blatt has lost the locker room. Blatt called out Kevin Love, the Cavs other big offseason addition, recently. The franchise has pulled the trigger on a couple of knee-jerk trades in the last few weeks, dealing the future and cap flexibility for bench help and the artist formerly known as J.R. Smith.
In short, the hand-ringing quotient in Cleveland is approaching ludicrous speed.
Certainly the season is still salvageable - there are 43 regular-season games left - and the biggest goal for these Cavs was gelling before the tournament starts.
That takes time. And patience.
But when the expectations of excellence are met with the meaning of mediocrity, patience can be strained.
James, for his part, seems to be taking the Aaron Rodgers' "R-E-L-A-X" approach, and that seems plausible.
Still, the talk of possibly trading Love or firing Blatt on the heels of quick-whip deals, and it seems those that are signing LeBron's check should follow his slowdown mantra.
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This and that
- We thought this was interesting. Since Oregon started class last week, the Ducks only got 20 hours of practice time in preparation of the title game. Ohio State starts class this week, so the Buckeyes got unlimited practice time.
- Wow, there are a few things that are guaranteed to generate web clicks. NASCAR driver and "trained assassin" in the headline is a good place to start. In his defense of an alleged domestic abuse charge, Kurt Busch claims then-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll is a hired killer who has done missions all over the world. Here's a recap. Take that Brian France.
- Here is US News and World Report's list of top 10 jobs for the upcoming year. Interesting list and know these factors: Dentist is No. 1 and every job in the top 10 is either in health care or in computer technology. Somehow 5-at-10-ing did not make the cut.
- In our early-morning research we learned that the fan blog dedicated to Oregon athletics is call "Addicted to Quack." We enjoyed that.
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Today's question
We tip our visor to Mark Goodson today. He would have been 100 (he died in 1992) and dude created the "Family Feud" and the "Price is Right" and any time you can create two of the all-time greats in any genre, well, that's doing work.
As for the question, if you are Cardale Jones, do you turn pro after three games?
Discuss.