Hope you had a great weekend.
Ours was strange, and different. We went to a wedding and there was a guy there in a hood. Seriously. So we of course walked by, hand raised for a high five, and said, "What's up Belichick?"
He did not respond. So it goes.
From the "Talks too much" let's get this thing going.
Weekend winners
Coach K. Major kudos, and as Weeds wrote today, the man conveniently and appropriately known as Coach K deserves the spotlight this morning. We can make a hard argument that, considering the different times and eras and challenges, Coach K's accomplishments are every bit as impressive as Coach Wooden's.
Cleveland Cavaliers. Winners of six straight and looking to be a team rounding into shape. Since returning from his sabbatical, LeBron James has been awesome, averaging 30.3 points and more than six assists and almost seven rebounds as the Cavs have gones 6-1. Also, if James' biggest individual rival is Kevin Durant, well, that's becoming very one-sided. James is 15-4 against Durant.
Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin runs drills during practice at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014.J.J. Watt. Man, he's fun to watch. That is all.
Alabama football. Lane Kiffin is returning, and that's great news, especially since an 11th-defection would have been a hit this close to signing day and would have been the third assistant to leave the staff in the last month. Plus, as he showed last year, Kiffin is a quarterback whisper and can flat call some ball plays. He may be the biggest commitment in the nation's best recruiting haul.
Bud Selig. Selig walks into the baseball sunset with a legacy far better than most would have expected for a guy that approved a tie ands the leader of the game during the PED debacle. All things considered, and knowing that he held the reins in arguably the most tumultuous time in baseball history since integration, Selig left the game better than he found it.
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Weekend losers
Josh Gordon. Dude failed another drug test. He'll likely miss the 2015 season. Man, what a knucklehead.
In this Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, photo, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant uses his left hand as he makes a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans. Bryant tore his right rotator cuff in the Lakers' latest defeat, the club announced Thursday. Bryant injured his right shoulder in the second half Wednesday night when he drove the baseline for a two-handed dunk. Bryant returned briefly to the game after the injury, and made this jumper. (AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman) Tennessee hoops. There have been high times. Saturday was not one of them, considering the Fightin' Tyndalls lost to Texas A&M. Side note: Take UK off the top and the SEC is a hodgepodge of mediocrity.
Kobe Bryant. Dude has always been a warrior on both ends of the floor. He's certainly in the team photo of the guys clamoring to be the second-best shooting guard in NBA history behind some cat named Jordan. Still, the latest injury, a torn rotator cuff, likely will cost him the rest of the season and maybe end his career.
NFL. This should be a high time, a fun time. Super Bowl week with the two best teams in the league playing for a title that could be historic for either. And what is the storyline everywhere you turn. Yep, the inflation or lack there of in the Patriots football. And now we get stories that the league still has not even talked to Tom Brady about the incident as other players on various teams say things like, "Oh it's the Patriots, nothing will happen." The NFL, where credibility matters until it doesn't. Oh, did you see that they used narrow goalposts in the Pro Bowl? Thank the sweet Lord that we're addressing the pressing issues like making the PAT meaningful.
Baseball fans everywhere. If you are wondering about the impact of Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, the Hall of Famer who died over the weekend, read this column by Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post. Let's play two indeed.
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New baseball commissioner
Baseball is in a good place. Not a great place, but a good one, as Rob Manfred takes the wheel as its commissioner.
FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2014, file phhoto, Major League Baseball Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred speaks to reporters after team owners elected him as the next commissioner of Major League Baseball in Baltimore. Baseball owners voted Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, to give him a five-year term as commissioner when he succeeds Bud Selig in two months. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark, File) That said, there are still major issues ahead.
Attendance and TV money are up in recent years, and there's at least a feel that baseball is entertaining again.
Baseball continues, however, to fall down the chart of sporting interest.
To that end, Manfred appears poised to attack some of the problems quickly.
On pace of play, Manfred, said "our society is a very fast-paced society," and he believes the game must address it now.
He said he wants to continue to modernize the game and that the sport's traditionalists can be convinced that change can be good with the right intentions and results. He cited the revelations and reaction form using the pitch clock in the Arizona Fall League last year.
He also told ESPN that injecting more offense into the game has to be a priority for baseball moving forward. He mentioned directly that eliminating shifts - the defensive positioning of players on the pull side depending on the hitter - could be a possibility.
It seems radical, but it's following in a proven and successful path laid by the NFL that changing rules to generate offense equals more popularity.
Interesting times ahead to be sure.
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This and that
- Nice doubleheader sweep for the Mocs on Saturday. Big game tonight for the women, and there's a chance they may crack the top 25 sooner rather than later.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against St. John's at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015.
- While Coach K earned the spotlight this weekend, the Kentucky Wildcats continued their march toward perfection with a win at South Carolina.
- World meet Klay Thompson. Klay, world. Get used to each other. Also, world, be willing to open your view to a potential Warriors-Hawks NBA Finals. Yes, it's 1978 all over again. (Thompson scored like a bajillion points over the weekend. OK, he had 52 Friday night, including 37 in the third quarter. Yes, 37. That's three a minute for crying out loud.)
- As for the Hawks, well, they have won 16 straight and at this pace will never lose again.
- Want to know how good Frank Caliendo is? He was on Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio this morning, and when he was speaking normally, we kept wondering, "Who is he impersonating now?" Dude's newest addition to the arsenal - Lou Holtz - is fantastic.
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Today's question
Who won the weekend? Who lost it?
Offer your options.
If you need another avenue, let's try this one: With a new commissioner taking over, who is on the Rushmore of all-time commissioners in professional sports?
Go.