Morning gang.
We are on the panhandle trying to find the ultimate sand castle and a few Co-Colas and avoid sun burns. Good times.
So that means we'll have a 5-at-10 everyday this week - hey, it's what we do - but they will be top-five lists with the occasional Rushmore mixed in. Deal? Deal.
From the satellite condo of the "Talks too much" studios, pass the sunscreen.
The United States team celebrates a goal against Colombia during second half FIFA Women's World Cup round of 16 soccer action in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Monday, June 22, 2015. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Chattanooga's big moment
Major props to those involved at securing the U.S. Women's National team coming to Finley Stadium in August.
We normally turn a blah-tastic view toward soccer, but even for a kickball cynic like the 5-at-10, this is cool.
And this should sell-out Finley.
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Top 5 - NBA draft edition
FILE - In this June 3, 1993, file photo, Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan, right, and New York Knicks' Patrick Ewing chase a loose ball during the second half of game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals in New York. Ewing sees the parallels between then and now. Ewing says when he played, it was mostly one superstar per team. He believes the league is heading back that way now and many say a more-balanced playing field across the NBA could be better for the league. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File) - We love the draft - you know this. Today is the 30th anniversary of the Knicks taking Patrick Ewing.
- OK, we know hands size is an arbitrary number that signifies little more than said person certainly needs very big gloves. That said, check out the size of Jahil Okafor's mitts.
- Here's a guess at the top five picks in tonight's NBA Draft:
- Minnesota - Karl Anthony-Towns, Kentucky
- L.A. Lakers - Jahil Okafor, Duke
- Phily - D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State
- New York - Myles Turner, Texas
- Orlando - Justise Winslow, Duke
- We are intrigued to see which teams move up tonight, what the Hawks do, and the scuttlebutt about potential big men on the move such as DeMarcus Cousins, LeMarcus Aldridge and even Kevin Love.
- Here's an interesting list of potential second-round sleepers from CBSsports.com.
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Speaking of second-rounders
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) answer a question during a press conference following Game 4 of basketball's NBA Finals in Cleveland, early Friday, June 12, 2015. The Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-82 to tie the best-of-seven game series at 2-2. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) OK, Draymond Green was a second-round pick and was a key cog in the Golden State Warriors' title run.
With that in mind, here is our starting five of the non-first-round stars in the modern NBA era (post-1980):
PG - Mark Price, Cleveland
SG - Monta Eliis, Golden State
SF - Manu Ginobili, San Antonio
PF - Dennis Rodman, Detroit
C - Marc Gasol, Memphis
Although if you wanted to put a Rashard Lewis or Gilbert Arenas in for Ginobili and allow him to come off the bench, that's cool too.
Side note: The 1986 second round was the most fruitful, considering Price and Rodman were second-round steals, as was former Utah sharpshooter Jeff Hornacek
Who else you got?
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This and that
- UTC communications ace Jay Blackman wants to remind us all to vote for Scrappy in the MascotInsider.com contest. Here's the link.
- Congrats to UVa for winning the college baseball title. Did anyone else notice when Vandy ditched those Gotti-esque mobster duds, they also ditched its winning ways? Just saying' gang, and as Crash told us, "A player on a streak doesn't mess with the
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 file photo, Kentucky's Tyler Ulis (3) looks for an open teammate between Alabama defenders, from left, Justin Coleman, Riley Norris and Retin Obasohan, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky. Being Kentucky’s smallest player on the floor hasn't prevented 5-foot-9 point guard Tyler Ulis from repeatedly coming up big for the Wildcats. He’ll likely need to do it again this weekend, Wednesday, April 1, 2015. (AP Photo/James Crisp, File) - The big winner of this NBA draft day maybe Kentucky. In addition to having as many as seven players picked in round one tonight, the Wildcats added another five-star piece to next year's recruiting class. And yes, UK will be right there with UNC and Maryland and the rest as a potential preseason No. 1.
- Josh Donaldson made one of the greatest catches you will ever see. Side note about that: How crazy is it for this generation and all future generations to be able to pass highlights around like we can? If this happened in Toronto in 1983, you either get lucky on SportsCenter or we maybe could have caught a glimpse of it on George Michael's Sports Machine sometime in August.
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Today's question
Willis Reed is 73 today.
Of course Reed will forever remembered for his limping into the Garden for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. It was the Knicks' last title, and Reed was the emotional hero even if he scored one basket.
As a tangent, Reed also was a second-round pick.
In honor of Reed, what's the Rushmore of all-time memorable sports moments for an athlete that were not related to actual performance. Reed for example. Namath's guarantee is another one.
Whatcha' got?