From Slick T
What do you think is Kobe's place in history? Who is on your Rushmore of shooting guards?
Slick T -
We have written a couple of things this week on Kobe. How his legacy on and off the court are strikingly different in our view. And that dude was an undeniable crunch time killer.
Interesting question about shooting guards, though, and one that kind of warrants the exploration of the Rushmore of all positions.
Point guard: Magic, Stockton, Oscar, Kidd. (Side note: Because of the high assist quotient, we lean toward The Big O being a point guard more than a shooting guard. It's splitting hairs, but there you have it. Also of note, Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook have a chance to crack this list, too. Also, sorry Spy, but Kidd without a title was still better than Cousy and all those titles.)
Shooting guard: Jordan, Kobe, West, Reggie Miller. (We went Miller over Ray Allen, and that was a tough choice. Durant will make that discussion a moot point sooner rather than later as could Curry depending on his position classification.)
Small forward: LeBron, Bird, Elgin Baylor, John Havlicek.
Power forward: Duncan, Malone, Elvin Hayes, Dirk. (We thought about moving Moses Malone here because of a logjam at center, and it's tough leaving McHale off - and Garnett, too. In fact, you could make argument that the previous generation of players with long-in-the-tooth active players Duncan, Dirk and Garnett, that it was the high-water mark of the position.)
Center: Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Olajuwon. (Hard to keep Shaq off, yes, and Malone, too, but we're personally so fond of the Dream's skill set.)
FILE - In this March 4, 2016, file photo, Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher responds to a question during a NFL football news conference in Manhattan Beach, Calif. The Tennessee Titans have agreed to trade the top overall pick in this month's NFL draft to the Los Angeles Rams. The Titans announced the deal Thursday morning, April 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, Fiule) From a bunch of you
What did you think of the Titans trade?
Gang -
Loved the trade for the Titans.
Tennessee sent the No. 1 overall pick - and its fourth- (113 overall) and sixth-round picks (177 overall) - to the Rams for a slew of picks this year and next. The Titans got a first-rounder (No. 15), two seconds (Nos. 43 and 45) and a third (No. 76) this year and a first- and a third-rounder next year.
So Tennessee in essence dealt it's No. 1 for a very real thought of adding five starters/key contributors in the next two years. For a team with a roster as incomplete as the Titans, this is a glorious deal. The Titans have six of the top 76 picks in this draft, and if they draft well, that overhauls a roster very quickly. (And if they draft extraordinarily well, it's the type of chance to build a long-term - think four years - low-cost nucleus that could make the Titans a Super Bowl contender if Marcus Mariota continues to develop. And did you think there was any possible trade on the board that could make you believe the phrases "Titans" and "Super Bowl contender" could realistically be in the same sentence? That's how good this opportunity is.)
The key there is now on the draft process for the Titans. They have a golden chance, not unlike the one the Browns had a few years ago when they dealt the pick that became Julio Jones to Atlanta for a truckload of picks. Those picks were squandered - not a single player from that deal is still on Cleveland's roster - so the Falcons look like geniuses.
We also think the Rams had to make this move. Their roster is ready to win now so they are in a place to not need as many picks. (Think of it this way, if you only have five or so jobs open on your two deep, how many picks do you need?)
But the Rams have arguably the worst QB situation in the league (Case Keenum was QB1) and they are moving to L.A. They need a star. Is Jared Goff or Carson Wentz a star? Maybe, but there's no way they are getting either of those dudes at No. 15. So this has the real chance to be win-win for each side.
And we think, if the Titans believe there is a bona fide All-Pro atop this draft, they may not be done dealing. (We personally would love to see the Titans call San Diego and see if they could package No. 15 and a first-rounder next year to move up to 3 to take Jalen Ramsey, who we believe to be the best player in this draft.)
Good times.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, watches his shot from the 10th tee during the third round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament, Saturday, March 5, 2016, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) From Spy
My question to you 5 is what happens first - one of the top 3 in golf win a major this year or ... the Braves get mathematically eliminated?
Spy -
We'll definitely go with a big three winning a golf major. But since you got us thinking about it, that means we're betting on Jordan, Rory or Jason winning the U.S. Open in June or the British Open in July.
Because by the time the PGA Championship gets here in August, the Braves could be on the verge of elimination.
And we got a message from Positive Paul, who has not resorted to looking in the minors for positivity.
He forwarded this stat from Twitter (courtesy of Braves broadcaster Jim Powell - @Jim_Powell): "4 starters for #Braves farm teams tonight: (Blair-Newcomb-Withrow-Fried): 20IP, 11H, 1R, 20K. Today's news is bad, but not ALL bad."
This feels like a good place for our Rushmores of the week.
Monday's Rushmore of sports meltdowns: Jean van de Velde, who blew the 1999 Open Championship with a meltdown on the 72nd hole; 1969 Cubs who had a nine game lead over the Mets on Aug. 16 and ended up losing the division by eight games; Northern Iowa in the final 40-plus seconds of this year's NCAA tournament; Greg Norman, well you know.
Tuesday's Rushmore of dual TV comedy roles (actors who played different characters on great sitcoms, in honor of Ed O'Neill's 70th birthday): Ed O'Neill in Married with Children and Modern Family; Julia Louis-Dreyfuss in Seinfeld, New Adventures of Old Christine and VEEP (Throw in a forgettable turn on SNL and she may be the most accomplished sitcom star of all-time); Neil Patrick Harris in Doogie Howser and How I Met Your Mother; Be a Arthur in Maude and Golden Girls. Yes, it was hard to leave the tandem that split time on Spin City - Michael J. Fox and Charlie Sheen - off the list since each had other monster hits in Family Ties and Two and a Half Men.
Wednesday's Rushmore of best sports moments of the last 30 years (Clarification needed here in that it says moments, but its has to be the capping of a true event, you know. It's a combination of a single magnificent image blended with the stakes and the drama and the unforgettableness. It also can't be overly personal, so Wes Bryum's kick to give Auburn the natty does not qualify): Jack winning Augusta; Laettner's shot to beat Kentucky; Gibson's homer; the Kick Six. Thoughts?
Thursday's Rushmore of female country music singers: Loretta, Patsy, Dolly, Reba.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, left, is tied up by Denver Nuggets forward Joffrey Lauvergne, of France, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) From Chas
I endorse your kind words about K-A-T. His rookie stats are better than fellow UK alum, hot whiz kid Anthony Davis. Questions for Friday: Will Towns have a better NBA career than The Unibrow? And how many years until K-A-T and AD are the league's best two players?
Chas -
Karl-Anthony Towns is a special talent, and a decade or more ago, when the game was significantly more post-focused, he would be the better bet to be the league's best player.
Right now, we'd still take the career ceiling and arc of the Uniblocker, but it's a lot closer than we expected.
As for those two dudes being 1-2 in the league, not sure that will ever happen because of position.
It's so much more of a guard-oriented league now. And not just in rules, but in style too. Sports are a copycat enterprise, and there will be a flood of teams flocking to the Warriors-style (and the Rockets were actually first, for what it's worth, the Warriors just have more applicable pieces for it) of embracing the shooting efficiency of making more than 1/3 of 3s is better than making 1/2 of 2s.
Plus, look around the league, Steph is young. So are Westbrook and Durant.
The next wave coming with Ben Simmons (and if he can get back to being healthy, incoming Duke frosh Harry Giles) are more of the big man-perimeter hybrid.
K-A-T and A-D will be right there in the discussion, but even when you are the best player in the league, if you play a lot with your back to the basket, we try to find ways to find more flashy folks as the A-No. 1, you know?
Think back to the height of Duncan's powers and we were looking at other players.
A more fair comparison to the multitude of skills that K-A-T and A-D have may be Kevin Garnett, who also was isolated in Minnesota for the majority of his prime.
Could K-A-T and A-D get to the top of the NBA pinnacle? Yes, but like all things in sports, they are going to need to win so the mainstream folks can get their eyes on their talents.
Right now, K-A-T is a gloriously potential-filled snowball in Minnesota that is part of a core that NBA experts are drooling over.
For A-D, next year will be huge, coming off the injury and in a year when a lot of us - the 5-at-10 included- thought he was going to be the breakthrough star and MVP candidatet of the 2015-16 season.
From Johnny Vols Fan 7
You have done very little on spring football this year. Shame on you for that. Why the change and what do you expect from Saturday?
Johnny Vols Fan 7 -
We have downplayed spring practice. We did it for a few reasons.
First spring results are relatively meaningless unless they are related to injuries or supremely surprising improvements. We have not heard about a lot of those in a lot of places this spring, either.
Second, the access has been Sabanized to the point at most places all your are getting is the coach-speak analysis from the head coach or one of his hand-picked players and the messages are pretty much sanitized. Where's the interest or fun in that?
Butch Jones saying, "It's all part of being the best on each one play at each one position as we try to become Team 120."
Nick Saban saying, "It's about the process, and the process starts in the spring."
Kirby Smart saying, "It's about the process, and the process starts in the spring Did Nick saying anything else?"
Third, almost all of the drills are closed and the scrimmage stats are seldom shared (at least not before going through the CIA/SID departments of the big school and being decoded). Plus, the spring games are either some sort of scoring hybrid in which sacks count two points, three-and-outs count four points and turnovers are delicious, or the scrimmages include quarterbacks in non-contact jerseys.
We understand, but we simply are not all that interested. That said, since you asked JVF7, we certainly will ask TFP SEC guru David Paschall about players to watch in Saturday's SEC spring triple-header with UT, Bama and UGA going at it.
Here's our list of intriguing players in those three games (quarterbacks excluded, because watching the QBs throw considering that Alabama and Georgia are having quarterback battles for the starting job and Tennessee incumbent Josh Dobbs needs to improve his down-field accuracy, something that Jones and company have actually discussed from the start of spring drills):
Tennessee - wide receiver Preston Williams. TFP UT ace Downtown Patrick Brown has done an excellent job chronicling the strides made by the former five-star wide out. If Williams develops - a true go-to wide out would give Tennessee's offense an added dimension and make it borderline unstoppable - that would go to great lengths to help Dobbs' top goal.
Alabama - running back Bo Scarborough. The reports have been overwhelmingly glowing about the do-it-all runner tabbed to replace Heisman winner Derrick Henry. And let's be clear, if Scarborough can run against that Alabama defense he's going to have field day on Saturdays.
Georgia - There are multiple options here, from first-year coach Smart to rising freshman quarterback Jacob Eason (and yes, the phrase 'rising freshman' seems a little strange by nature) to the filling of multiple sots left by a depletion and graduation. Still, the most interesting non-quarterback stat of the day may be the attendance, since Smart has asked for a sell-out.
We'll see. (And yes, the Saban disciple knows that Saban has had spring game sell-outs before. It's about the process, and the process starts in the spring, after all.)
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the CNN Democratic Presidential Primary Debate with Hillary Clinton at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Thursday, April 14, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) From Brad T.
I've really enjoyed your A2 stuff. You have a way of writing what all of us are thinking. So my question for you is who would be the worst president of the major candidates?
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Brad T. -
Wow, that's over-the-top tough considering the choices.
When the front-runner on one party is running under the flag of destroying the establishment and the front-runner on the other side may or may not be under Federal indictment for destroying classified emails later this summer, well, there you go.
Welcome to the 2016 Presidential election, brought to by Chaos.com and Chico's Bail Bonds.
In truth, if their main platform is to be believed, here's saying socialist Bernie Sanders may be the scariest.
Yes, electing him would make SNL a treasure trove of Larry David impersonations, but his main promise has been a free college education to every student that qualifies, and frankly, there's simply no way to believe that won't bankrupt the current educational system as we know it. (And please save the "They are doing it in other countries" That argument it too simple and never works when comparing the challenges we face and those around the globe. Population, number of students, training and job-related learning opportunities are just a few of the variables at play there.)
And in broader strokes, it's simply another Federal handout that would serve the socialist agenda of Sanders.
We face a litany of problems in this country - some very real like a growing debt that is part nuclear bomb and part Loch Ness monster because it's unbelievable and some very not real like college safe spaces - that are scary.
Federally subsidizing college for everyone is more adding a problem rather finding solutions.
(Of course, in a matter of diplomacy, Trump could potentially tell Kim Jung WhoseHisPants to go fly a kite with a couple of choice cuss words mixed in and start a world war, so there's that too. Presidential Election Fever - catch it.)