Tebow
Well, who was expecting this on Aug. 9?
Adam Schefter announced on Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio that Tim Tebow is making a comeback. To baseball.
Take a minute if you need it. We'll wait.
Tebow, like any number of professional athletes, was good at several sports in high school. An All-America as a quarterback. All-state in baseball.
He picked football and excelled at Florida. He had a short-lived NFL career, derailed by inaccuracy mostly and nonsensical controversy at times. So, after some time in the broadcast booth, Tebow wants to give it another swing. Literally.
And amazingly, Schefter reports that Tebow is looking to make a comeback as an outfielder not as a left-handed pitcher. And you know what? Good for him. If he makes it great. If he doesn't how does that affect any one but him.
There seems to be a ton of anti-Tebow sentiment out there - and with a litany of truly shady dudes and borderline villains in our sporting realm, that has always seemed simply silly. The odds are long, for sure. Hitting a baseball at the professional level is arguably one of the three hardest specific skills in all of sports. Doing it after taking roughly a decade off, well, that makes it even more difficult.
But here's one dude rooting for him. And know this: Every minor league team in the country would love to have Tebow in its lineup right now to help fill the stands.
Strikeouts be danged.
Atlanta Braves' Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates with teammates after hitting a three-run home run as home plate umpire Jerry Layne (24) and St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina look on in the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, in St. Louis.Streaking
The Atlanta Braves are streaking at the wrong time. In fact, with the Braves and their goal of rebuilding, any winning streak is a cause for concern. Seriously.
OK, the Braves have won nine of their last 13. Yes, they still have the worst record in baseball, but they are closing the gap.
And like in most of the professional, there are circle of really good teams and a growing circle of really bad teams. It's the caste system of money spent and teams looking to rebuild - jettisoning contracts and talent, playing young players, etc. - that has expanded the bottom rung of bad ball clubs.
In fact, every division has a team in contention for the top overall draft spot. (Yes, the draft in baseball is a much more inexact science compared to the other sports - Ken Griffey Jr. was the first No. 1 overall choice to get to the Hall of Fame.)
And this is not as easy as pick one or two. Here's the reverse standings that actually matter for the Braves:
Braves - 42-70
Reds, Rays, D-Backs - 45-66 (3.5 ahead/behind however you want to take it)
Twins - 46-66 (4 ahead/behind)
A's - 49-63 (7 ahead/behind)
Angels - 49-62 (7.5 ahead/behind)
Now factor in a hot-steak and look at the difference between getting your top overall choice of every player available to picking sixth or seventh. That's a big difference. And if you think that doesn't open up the scratch-off-lottery-type of luck needed let's look at the Atlanta first-round picks taken in the top seven of the last 40 years:
2016 Ian Anderson, P (3rd overall) - too soon to tell
2009 Mike Minor, P (7th overall) - Good start to his career, but injuries have really derailed him
1991 Mike Kelly, OF (2nd overall) - Limited MLB contributions
1990 Chipper Jones, SS (1st overall) - Hall of Famer
1989 Tyler Houston, C (2nd overall) - Nothing
1988 Steve Avery, P (3rd overall) - Very good big-leaguer
1987 Derek Lilliquist, P (6th overall) - MLB journey man (and that's probably kind)
1986 Kent Mercker, P (5th overall) - MLB journey man to a solid career
1980 Ken Dayley, P (3rd overall) - Ahhh, buckle up
1979 Brad Komminsk, OF (4th overall) - Oy.
1978 Bob Horner, 3B (1st overall) - A very good Braves player for a lot of years
1977 Tim Cole, P (4th overall) - No not that Tim Cole, the other Tim Cole
1976 Ken Smith, 3B (3rd overall) - Egad
So there's that.
C'mon Braves, lose one for the Chipper, will ya?
United States' Michael Phelps kisses his gold medal after the men's 4x100-meter freestyle final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) Olympics
More Olympics, more pool smack talk.
Michael Phelps sitting stone-faced as one of his rivals danced and shadow-boxed. Phelps beat him.
Of course there's Katie Ledecky, the powerhouse who has grabbed the torch of the early days of these Games, winning again.
Then there's Lilly King, who has become the surprise voice of these games, won gold after calling out her Russian rival, who finished second, for doping. King's stance is a noble one, and kudos for her for standing up for her opinion and by them as they have become a storyline all their own.
In truth, King's fight is not with the Russian swimmer - although these Olympics have taken on a old-school Ivan Drago vs. Rocky Balboa feel to the point that the Russian was booed before the swimming final - as much as it's the overall indifference among the organizers to the actual problems of doping.
King even said U.S. athletes - like sprinter Justin Gatlin - should not be allowed to compete.
And you know what? Good for her. Someone within the sports taking a universal stand that should be universally supported.
U-S-A! U-S-A!.
This and that
- Speaking of the Olympics, here's what to watch for tonight, which includes the highlight of the women's gymnastics events.
- Your UTC football team is ranked sixth and seventh in the two major FCS preseason polls. Here's UTC TFP beat ace Mean Gene Henley's report.
- This screams volumes - maybe more than anything ever said about Tiger Woods' eight-year downward spiral. PXG, a relatively new golf club company is wooing Rory McIlroy after Nike's announcement that it's leaving the club-and-ball side of the business. The country has no interest in Woods. Wow.
Today's question
Lots to cover, so feel free.
As for a Rushmore, today is Sam Elliott's 72nd birthday. Sam Elliott, of course, played the role of Dalton's mentor in "Road House" and he really looks the part. He also is the voice over guy for the "Beef, it's what's for dinner."
So Rushmore of the best voices, because the Arby's voice guy is pretty doggone good too.