Jay GreesonWeekend winners
Kris Bryant. A monster weekend capped a monster seven-day stretch in which Bryant hit .483 (14-for-29) with three homers and 11 RBIs. Simply put Bryant is putting the strokes on an unbelievable ascension to the top of the sport and the top of the short list of NL MVP candidates. Bryant is hitting .300 with a league-leading 31 homers and 99 runs scored, while playing multiple positions. His wins above-replacement is an NL-best 6.1 for you saber-stat gurus. If he does get the MVP nod, it would be the exclamation point of a four-year run in which he was the college player of the year, the minor league player of the year, the NL rookie of the year and now the potential MVP.
This Arkansas high school. The Catholic High School for Boys in Little Rock posted this sign on its doors: "If you are dropping off your son's forgotten lunch, books, homework, equipment, etc., please TURN AROUND and exit the building," the sign reads. "Your son will learn to problem-solve in your absence." Well-played, gang. In this age of immediacy and wifi-access and helicopter parents and you name it, the lack of problem-solving is alarming.
MMA. No way the weekend could have gone better after Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz delivered a full five-round classic with McGregor winning the rematch by decision and setting the table for an epic third chapter in the not-too-distant future. (And there were more than a few folks on social media who believed the fix was in for McGregor, and it's impossible to deny that the outcome greatly benefited everyone involved, even Diaz, considering the dollars that will be generated in Part III.)
This Little Leaguer. JT Garcia is a player on the Iowa team that is making noise in Williamsport at the annual Little League World Series. His mom is battling pancreatic cancer and as the ESPN cameras were telling her story and interviewing her this weekend, JT went deep and caused an emotional scene that was truly moving. If you saw it live and it did not get a little dusty where you were, well, that's on you. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/little-leaguer-provides-memorable-moment-during-moms-cancer-battle-000214973.html
Football fans. High school started in earnest Friday night around these parts, and we are speeding toward the monstrous opening weekend of the college season. As Penny Lane told us in "Almost Famous" - It's here; it's all happening.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) walks on the floor during the second half of Game 5 of basketball's NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oakland, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Weekend losers
This dude who has more dollars than sense. Who pays $3,190 for Steph Curry's used mouthpiece? http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/someone-bought-a-used-stephen-curry-mouthguard-for-3190/ Maybe the only thing more strange than that question is the fact that the guy running the auction expected the odd piece of sports memorabilia to draw around $5,000.
Stacy Coley. Miami's best wide out is facing an uncertain future after taking a bunch of extra benefits from a South Florida car service joint. Coley is dynamic and - with an experienced future NFL quarterback pulling the strings - could have been in line for a very fast start to the year. Now, who knows when that start may be
Notre Dame. Six Irish players were arrested over the weekend in two separate incidents. Starting safety Max Redfield was dismissed from the team after his arrest and cornerback Devin Butler has been suspended indefinitely after scuffling with police to the point that the officers needed a stun gun to subdue him.
Fantasy football owners. In a rather unannounced move that seems rather minor, the NFL changed its injury report classifications this weekend and the aftermath could affect a lot of fantasy football players. Before, teams had to announce whether a player was probable (more than 75-percent likely to play), questionable (50-50) or doubtful (less than 25 percent likely to play), and it was a system we all kind of knew fairly well. (Well, other than the Patriots of course, since Belichick put everyone from Tom Brady to his Deflator on the list.) Now, there are only two classes: Questionable and doubtful, dividing the line at 50-50 for the two. And while this may seem small in nature, this change will effect more NFL followers than any rule change in a while since moving the PAT back, considering more people played fantasy football than a round of golf last year.
Ryan Lochte. Just because.
United States' Katie Ledecky shows off her gold medal in the women's 800-meter freestyle medals ceremony during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) Olympics done
Ryan Lochte has been the talking point of the final week of these Olympics.
It's so us, though.
All of the amazing and incredible things swirling around us and we are drawn like a society of moths to the Kardashian flicker of this Olympic flame.
These were the Games of the great unknown as we entered them two weeks ago. The facilities were not finished. The security was uncertain. The crime and the leadership were questioned. The water - oh the water, with body parts washing ashore near the beach volleyball venue and all-but-guaranteed viral illness awaiting the swimmers and boaters in the open water events - dominated the headlines.
And for the most part, other than the inexcusable water conditions, the Games were celebration not catastrophe. This was two weeks of greatness rather than weakness, especially from the achievements of the athletes.
We have enjoyed in the exchange of the greatest ever tags, whether you believe Michael Phelps' quantity is more impressive than Usain Bolt's quality or whether Simone Biles' daring moves were better than Katie Ledecky's monumental dominance. We worried about the US men's basketball team, forgetting that 10 of the 12 best players in the tournament were wearing red, white and blue.
Surely, these Games were not without controversy. Of course, there's Lochte and his incredulous decision to spin a yarn about four drunken dudes urinating at a gas station. But there was even the shady - the Irish Olympic committee is embroiled in a ticket scalping scandal - to the serious - there was a lot of crime in and around these Games, Lochte's tall tale notwithstanding - to the surreal.
The Games started with an ado storyline that sounded like the start of a bad joke you'd hear at your local watering hole. "So, four NBA players at the Olympics walk into a brothel with a beer in one hand and a." https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/olympics-2016-so-team-usa-walks-into-a-rio-brothel-and-040537797.html
Fittingly, maybe the final image from these games was the Mongolian coach so upset with the officiating in his wrestler's match, he protested the referee by stripping. Yes. Stripping. http://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/photos-wrestling-coach-protests-defeat-by-stripping-to-underwear/
It was a surprisingly image that was part of the conclusion of a surprisingly entertaining two weeks of greatness and grandeur. It was more excellence than excess, and we enjoyed it immensely, even if we as a country were not watching as much. (Overall TV numbers were down almost 20 percent from four years ago.)
Maybe we can blame that on Lochte too.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears as the Nintendo game character Super Mario during the closing ceremony at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016. Abe's brief but show-stopping appearance as Super Mario offered a tantalizing glimpse at Tokyo's plans for the 2020 games. (Yu Nakajima/Kyodo News via AP)This and that
- Speaking of the Olympics, the conclusion to the closing ceremonies with the prime minister of Japan tipping his cap to the Nintendo classic Mario Brothers was pretty cool.
- The Alabama Crimson Tide opened the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. Raise your hand if you're surprised. In other news, the Tennessee Vols start the season ranked No. 9. It's here; it's all happening.
- Did you know that at Presbyterian College you can take a class on the religion of SEC football? So there's that. http://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/you-can-now-take-a-religion-of-sec-football-class-and-earn-college-credit/
- Here's a very rare interview with Eddie Murphy, who for our money is the single greatest stand-up comedian of all time. Interesting stuff. http://www.eonline.com/news/789067/eddie-murphy-doesn-t-like-newspapers-e-mails-or-drugs-and-other-things-we-learned
In this Dec. 10, 2006 file photo, then Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, right, shakes hands with New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton after the Saints defeated the Cowboys 42-17 in an NFL football game in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, file)Today's question
Go ahead with who won the weekend and who lost it.
If you need a Rushmore, today is Bill Parcells' 75th birthday.
Who is on the Rushmore of NFL head coaches in the Super Bowl era?
Go.