Good morning, and hope you are reedy for the looming cold snap.
In an effort to give you warmer thoughts, how about the most amazing birdie you will see this year.
Yep, that's Aaron Baddeley hitting a tee shot to an unplayable lie, electing to re-tee on the 336-yard, par-4 and hitting his third shot/second drive in the cup for a birdie 3.
It's in the hole.
From the "Talks too much" studios, did someone mention Madness?
(Late addition)
From a slew of you on a variety of social media (paraphrased)
Did UT really fire Donnie Tyndall? Can you believe?
Tennessee head coach Donnie Tyndall calls a play against Arkansas during their game in the quarterfinal round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday, March 13, 2015, in Nashville.Gang -
That's what Downtown Patrick Brown is reporting this morning. That said, we do know that Jon Gruden was in Knoxville yesterday no word whether he has interest in the UT hoops job, but we do know that his wife was a cheerleader there back in the day. So there's that.
It's a surprise to us. We thought the school - and especially UT AD Dave Hart - supported Tyndall.
If the report is true, there's likely something seedy under the surface that we do not know yet.
Here's Gary Parrish's report (at about 8:30 this morning).
Here's doubting that a petition will be circulated to bring Cuonzo Martin back, though.
Wow. More to come on this for sure.
---
From Shane
Man, Press Row keeps getting better and better. Thanks for making the drive home more fun.
Can I suggest a Rushmore for you guys? Sitting here watching Kentucky KILL WV, I started thinking about that Daxter kid and his "They don't play hard" rant about Kentucky.
What's the Rushmore of the worst trash talk of all-time?
Shane -
Thanks for the kind words and for a great Rushmore suggestion.
West Virginia's Tarik Phillip, Daxter Miles Jr. (4) and Jevon Carter (2) celebrate after a 69-59 win over Maryland in an NCAA tournament college basketball game in the Round of 32 in Columbus, Ohio, Sunday, March 22, 2015. West Virginia advanced to the Sweet 16 and play top seed Kentucky Thursday in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) Daxter Miles Jr.'s rant about how UK was going to be 36-1 and didn't play hard certainly qualifies. To put it plainly, Miles tugged on Superman's cap and Superman got ticked off about. UK smothered West Virginia - and Miles was held scoreless.
If we had to go Rushmore on worst trash talk, we'd go
Miles poking at UK a day before UK blanks Miles and beats his team 78-39;
Stephen Ames saying Tiger Woods was beatable before playing him in a match-play event and Woods thrashed him 9 & 8. When asked about if he had heard Ames' comments, Woods said plainly "9 & 8."
Mike Tyson saying he wants to eat Lennox Lewis' children. Man, we miss Tyson.
Matt Hasselbeck saying "We want the ball and we're going to score," after winning the overtime toss at Lambeau Field at a playoff game. He of course threw a pick six on the drive to allow the Packers to win the game.
Honorable mention form movie categories:
Then a two-way tie between Shooter McGavin telling Happy Gilmore that he eats pieces of **** like him for breakfast, which then of course means Shooter eats **** for breakfast and when Jimmy tells Dalton that he "(had sex) with tougher dudes in prison" during their fight in "Roadhouse."
Thoughts?
---
From Turk
This is my first email question but I figured why not right?
There's a really hot chick in another department at work and I think she likes me. What do you think about office dating and should I go after her?
Thanks man -- I know this is not your usual type of question but thought you may have some wisdom.
Turk -
Of course she digs you Turk - you're the Turk for crying out loud.
We'd say give it a shot because a) she works in another department, and b) she's attractive.
You have to weigh the risk/hotness factor, in which the hotter the other person is, the more risk/tolerance you have in dating situations. That said, if she was in your department at work, you have to weigh the risk/hotness factor to the point of would you be willing to leave your job. Because if this happens and things are going great and things turn sour, well, more times than not, the guy comes out looking like the jackwagon.
And as a matter of clarity, if this person works for you or you work for that person, stay away. If the attraction is too strong, well, find a new gig. And this comes from someone who met their lovely wife of 10-plus years in the work place, mind you.
First piece of advise: Don't call her a chick. Be better than that.
Second piece of advise: Keep your yapper shut. About everything involving this person and your relationship outside of work.
Third piece of advise: No work-place mingling beyond the normal interaction that would come in a normal workday. If you're the dude from shipping hanging out in accounting and making baby talk during breaks, well, this has little to no chance.
Fourth piece of advise: Don't eat yellow snow. This is applicable in all situations.
Fifth piece of advise: Re-read Advise No. 2.
Thanks and good luck Turk.
---
From Big Blue Backer
I enjoyed the interview with Reese on Press Row. Thanks for that.
Where would you rank this Kentucky team all-time? I love watching them play.
BBB -
We think they would be an underdog to UK teams from 2012 and 1996.
We think UNC 2009 likely would be a slight favorite over them, too.
We believe UNLV's powerhouse from 1991 would be even against them, as would the Duke team that went back-to-back in 1991 and 1992.
They are a special bunch, but against a lot of the great teams of the last 25 years, you have to wonder if UK's current depth would be enough to overcome the lack of a true offensive force. When UK needs a bucket, who is its No. 1 option?
That's the only question that gives us pause when gauging historical competitiveness.
Their run is awesome and will put them among the most accomplished ever.
But we don't believe they were better than some of those teams we just listed.
---
From Brad
Hey man, been reading for a while and wondered why you have kind of ignored the Braves this spring?
FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2014, file photo, Atlanta Braves' Justin Upton hits a two-run home run off Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Manny Parra in the 12th inning of a baseball game in Cincinnati. A person with knowledge of the deal says the San Diego Padres have agreed to acquire slugger Justin Upton from the Atlanta Braves. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity Friday, Dec. 19, 2014, because the teams had not announced the deal, said the Braves will receive a group of prospects. (AP Photo/Al Behrman, File) What gives?
Brad -
Nothing other than being covered up, to tell you the truth.
That, and a less than optimistic view of the Braves.
That said, looking at the spring stats - and spring stats are right there with PSAT scores and practice lap times in NASCAR in value - the offense could be highly more fun to follow this year.
There is infinitely more contact. They run, and they will move runs - be it hitting and runnings or sacrifices - rather than relying on crooked numbers and big innings.
That's more fun to watch, regardless how much chicks dig the long ball.
Look at the stats, almost every meaningful Braves contributor is hitting better than .270 this spring, and there are two notable lines worth discussing.
Andrelton Simmons is killing it - .424 with two homers and 12 RBIs in 11 games.
Eric Young Jr. is making a hard push for everyday status. in 17 games, he has 18 hits (.321) and scored 12 runs with five stolen bases.
Good times.
---
From Jomo
Tennessee head coach Donnie Tyndall reacts against Mississippi during an NCAA college basketball game in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015.Serious question for the mailbag, Jay, what do you think about UTK Vol fans and athletic department that they all seem to back and support Donnie Tyndall who cheated once before at Moorehead and now more than likely cheated at Southern Miss. However if his penalty is less than Show Cause they want to keep him, even though he went 16-16. And on the flip side The Vol fans and admin wanted to, and were successful running off a Coach, Counzo Martin, who ran a CLEAN program AND went to the sweet 16 ? Is there a racial undertone from a Tennessee fan base that is 95% Caucasian?
Jomo -
Despite your obvious hatred of the Big Orange, this is a fair question that deserves a fair response.
That fair response is maybe among the fan base. But remember the petition was more about bring Bruce Pearl back than running The Conz, although the former meant having to do the latter.
Tennessee basketball fans were treated with the rarest of gist - they were given a shiny new toy of basketball revelancy and they loved it. And Bruce bought it for them and polished it and made it real, and he did it in a fun and fast and enjoyable way.
And when it was gone, it was painful and joyless.
Martin's attributes - he is a honorable leader and runs a clean program, plus he overachieved in year one at UT and had two magical weeks in the NCAA tournament before heading to California - did not make up for the fact that he was not Pearl. In that regard, it would not have mattered if he was blue, polka-dotted or plaid.
He was not Pearl, and his style on the floor was the anti-Pearl's, and UT fans wanted their shiny toy back.
Now that reports have Donnie Tyndall being shown the door - and feel free to comment with the other question you sent me (just thought this one was more pertinent) - here's believe that if he were a lesser man, Cuonzo Martin would have a full-blown belly laugh at the entire episode.
As for the administration's support for Tyndall, that was more about self-preservation more than anything else in our view.
But as with all things on the 5-at-10, that's open for discussion.
Whatcha' got.