San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates scores past Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker K.J. Wright during the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Doping
OK, last week Antonio Gates - a future NFL Hall of Famer, mind you - was suspended four games for PED use. He denied it.
Tuesday, we learned that PGA golfer Scott Stalling has been suspended three months for doping.
While Stalling is not a household name by any means, he is the first acknowledged PGA player to get the full punishment for PEDs. (Not sure that Vijay Singh's flirtation with deer antler spray counts, but we'll mention it here too.)
But the collective shoulder shrug of Gates combined with Stallings' run-in with the PED police makes us wonder:
Are we more de-sensitized to PED use than before or do we hold baseball players to a higher standard in that regard?
Gates would be akin to someone the stature of say, a Chipper Jones, getting popped for steroids. And there's little reaction and if we had to guess, Gates will still get into the Hall of Fame.
Maybe it's a combination of time and baseball's historic connection, or maybe it's we simply expect the gladiators that play football to use painkillers and any other medical aid in their pursuit.
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Summer job
UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman's five-star summer continues.
Huesman, as TFP UTC beat ace Mean Gene Henley tells us here, will go to the Manning Passing Academy later this week to work as a counselor.
UTC quarterback Jacob Huesman passes the ball during the Mocs' first spring football scrimmage Saturday, March 28, 2015, at Scrappy Moore Field in Chattanooga, Tenn.That's pretty cool.
With all that is in front of him heading into a senior season with so much promise, it's a fair question to wonder whether Jacob will be the most accomplished UTC football of the modern era.
And to add that to the direct work he's received with Peyton Manning last week and with the Mannings and a slew of Power Five conference QBs next week, it's also fair to expect another monster season from Huesman this fall.
It's good to see good things happening for a really good kid.
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Divine Interception
We're comfortable with our relationship with the Lord. We're happy to discuss it with it anyone at just about any time.
That said, we've never prayed for victory or thought the Lord was with us in any extra special way during any athletic event.
New England Patriots football head coach Bill Belichick speaks during an NFL football news conference at Gillette Stadium, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015, in Foxborough, Mass., where he defended the way his team preps its game balls. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Maybe that's one of the reasons we never advanced past high school athletics. Or maybe it had more to do with the fact we're 6-foot-4 and relatively slow afoot.
Still, we've always been of the belief that the Man upstairs had bigger fish to fry that some sporting event. Plus, if God's helping one side does that mean He's against the other side? And if that's the case, how can we explain the Karmic imbalance of Bill Belichick having four Super Bowls and Peyton Manning only having one?
Plus, if God's taking sides in these things, isn't that a little like Spiritual point shaving? (And if that's the case, we're good with whatever because let's face it, He knows way more than the rest of us.)
So when Russell Wilson said God spoke to him after throwing an interception that sealed the Super Bowl for the New England, all we can do is shrug and say, "OK."
Maybe He came to Wilson in a vision; we're pretty sure there wasn't a burning (Reggie) Bush anywhere in sight.
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This and that
- Speaking of other worldly experiences involving Seahawks, apparently Marshawn Lynch made a movie, and it's so bad that one critic said it won't be released. That critic was Lynch's agent, by the way.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to a fundraising event at a golf course in the Bronx borough of New York, Monday, July 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) - The PGA is taking its tournament away from one of Donald Trump's courses because of his remarks the other day. Score another one for the internet morality mob. Is Trump a goof who makes Republicans look bad? Yes he is. He comes across as a caricature of everything the public claims about the GOP - old, white, wealthy, bigoted. But man, goodness forbid anyone have and voice an opinion that doesn't conform with everyone else's view lock, stock and barrel. Man, there was a time when we were focus on being America. Then there was a divisive time when we focused on being States. Now, we are overly focused on being United to the point that if we're not wrapping hugs around every single person in the country then by God we're evil. Sad really. (And no this is not defending Trump or what he said, but the overreaction knee-jerking to every jerky comment is staggering and sad. We have real problems in this country and none of the important ones can be solved by Facebook likes or in 140 characters.)
- Could this be the soccer version of the iconic Muhammad Ali boxing photo? Amazing work.
- As TFP UT ace Downtown Patrick Brown shares here, the Vols have five players on lists for potential awards. Yes, almost every returning college football player with at least three starts and a pulse gets consideration for these awards, but for a UT team that has been short on skill of late, this is a sign of progress.
- Tennessee quarterback Zach Mettenberger at the very least has a ton of spirit. Dude is still poking at J.J. Watt, the most dominating defensive player in the NFL and a Texans pass rusher who the Titans face twice a year. Here's the story. Hey, maybe Zach's embracing this back-up quarterback role more than we know.
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Today's question
We completely agreed with TFP ace columnist Mark Wiedmer's excellent take this morning on Serena Williams.
Serena Williams of the United States makes a return to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus during their singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Tuesday July 7, 2015.She is the best ever.
That got us thinking, which we admit is a dangerous thing.
What current athletes could stake a claim as the best ever? Serena for sure. Tiger can throw his wedge into the conversation, and he's no worse than second by any measure.
That caused us to think if we had a sports Rushmore of the 2000s to date, who makes it? It's tougher than you think.
Whatcha' got (and remember the mailbag)?