The Goat
We have bandied about from time-to-time who is the front-runner for the SI title of "Sportsman of the Year."
It's an honorary title of course and one that is completely subjective.
Through the first half of the year, LeBron James was the clear front-runner after leading the Cavs to the title. But the summer has offered a slew of new candidates, especially after the Olympics.
With apologies to the Chinese zodiac that calls this the year of the monkey, here's saying SI could put a certain farm animal on its year-end cover and call this The Year of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time).
James ended the Cleveland title drought and has spoken openly recently about trying to match Jordan, the NBA GOAT.
Michael Phelps is easily the GOAT swimmer, and the only way he's not the GOAT Olympian is if you give it to Usain Bolt, who is the GOAT sprinter.
Add in Simone Biles, the American gymnast, as well as the passing of legendary figures Muhammad Ali, Pat Summit and Gordie Howe and it makes sense.
Now, if the Cubs win the World Series and end the Curse of Billy Goat on the Southside of Chicago, well, all the better.
Thoughts?
Si Woo Kim acknowledges the gallery on the ninth hole during the second round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) On the Good List
The PGA Tour's final regular-season event on the 2015-16 schedule.
It was won by a 21-year-old rookie Si Woo Kim, who was amazingly impressive with a five-shot margin at the Wyndham for his first victory.
It also was an interesting final round of golf for a multitude of reasons.
The final tournament set the field for the season-ending Fed Ex Points playoff, in which the top 125 players based on points qualify for the Barclays event.
Those 125 players also get their PGA Tour card for the 2016-17 season, which is no big deal for guys named Spieth, Day or Stenson. But it's a huge deal for the guys trying to breakthrough. It's a pass into almost ever tournament on the schedule. (Majors are different, of course, and some of the most prestigious events like, say, The Players, that draw big-time international players also may need be open to every card-carrying PGA member.)
A player can lockdown his card by finishing in the top 125 on the money list. There are some big names outside the top 125, guys with major titles like Angel Cabrera and Geoff Ogilvy.
There also are some unheard of guys who have gut-wrenching stories. Guys like Matt Jones and Whee Kim who started inside the top 125 but missed the cut last weekend and fell out of the group. Jones' story is particularly tough, considering he finished No. 126 on the points list and the money list, some $5,168 out of a tour card.
There also are heart-warming stories, like Shawn Stefani, who made birdie on the final hole Sunday - yes a birdie on the final hole of the final day of the final tournament of the season - to sneak inside the top 125.
And while we're here, a big and hearty SAL-LOOT to former Baylor School star golfer and all-around good dude Luke List finished No. 120 on the points list and 121st on the one list with a dollar more than $751,000.
So Luke will be a full-fledged card-carrying PGA Tour player again next year.
FILE - In this Dec. 30, 2015, file photo, Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott (15) looks to pass against North Carolina State during the Belk Bowl NCAA college football game in Charlotte, N.C. Former Mississippi State quarterback and NFL draft prospect Prescott was arrested and charged with driving under the influence early Saturday morning, March 12, 2016. The Starkville Police Department confirmed Prescott’s arrest on Twitter late Saturday night. The post said he was arrested around 12:45 a.m. and that there is “no further information from SPD in this incident.” (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File) NFL mid-camp report
The NFL preseason is halfway over.
Yes, the NFL is still relatively meaningless, other than serious injuries. But it's still the NFL. That said, there have been some interesting storylines so far. Let's play a little Good, Bad and Ugly with rookies, quarterbacks and veterans.
Rookies - The good: Dak Prescott, Dallas. At the very baseline, Prescott has looked like the answer to the back-up quarterback question, and he could be much more down the road. The bad: Robert Aguayo, Tampa Bay. OK, drafting a kicker in round two was bad enough. But taking a kicker in round two who has now missed a PAT, two makable FGs from 32 and 49 yards and has received some mental coaching. Seriously, a head-case kicker with a four-year deal with guaranteed money. No see bueno. The Ugly: Hey Joey Bosa, what are you doing dude? Still holding out, Bosa's decision not to sign with the Chargers leaves both the team and the player in an awful spot, and this is with a slotted salary for each pick in round one.
Quarterbacks - The good: How about that Trevor Siemian, the former Northwestern standout who is still in the mix to be the starter for the Denver Broncos? The bad: Let's go with the back-up situation in New York, where the Giants have to pick between Ryan Nassib and Logan Thomas, who were 4-of-16 for 42 yards in week two. The ugly: Did you see Landry Jones' stat line from Thursday's loss to Philadelphia? Twenty attempts, 12 completions to Steelers teammates and four to Eagles defenders. That's not an acceptable ratio.
Veterans - The good: AJ McCarron, Cincinnati and Jimmy Garoppolo, New England. That's a couple of QBs who have made themselves a fair amount of coin and raised interest levels, especially when teams start looking around at the end of the season. The bad: Denver's line play. Yes, there are questions about the quarterback, but when some dude aptly named Marcus Rush gets three sacks and four QB pressures in 21 pass rushes, there are issues. The ugly: The entire Josh Brown mess with the New York Giants as the kicker has been involved in some nasty allegations of domestic violence.
Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley carries the ball during the NFL football team's training camp, Saturday, July 30, 2016, in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang) This and that
- For those watching "Hard Knocks" with the L.A. Rams, you are familiar with defensive lineman Will Hayes' fondness of mermaids. He got to meet one at practice Monday.
- Man, this is a nasty he said-she said. A woman is suing Edwin Encarnacion for more than $11 million because she claims he knowingly gave her an STD. Oy.
- Meet Evan McMullin, the independent candidate who is hoping to keep Hillary and The Donald from 270 electoral college votes so the House would elect our president. Seems far-fetched, but in this election year far-fetched is nowhere near the strangest thing imaginable. (Of course the last time this plan worked was 1824, when King Louis XVIII was ruling France and Stonewall Jackson was born.)
- There's a potential lawsuit brewing about the cancellation of the Hall of Fame Game. OK. This ambulance chaser says comments from a Colts announcer show there was a designed fraud from game organizers, who have already ponied up refunds for tickets, some travel and one-night hotel stay. And let's be honest, if traveled some extreme distance for a preseason game, well, that's a you problem don't you think?
- Michigan lost a commitment from a four-star defensive tackle from Georgia because, he tells the Detroit Free Press, Michigan sent him a thank-you card for attending a Bar-B-Que he didn't attend. Who knows what would have happened if they had put the salad fork in the wrong spot?
In this Monday, Aug. 22, 2016, photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, retired NBA star Kobe Bryant visits the exchange, in New York. Bryant has partnered with Jeff Stibel, an entrepreneur and investor, to form the $100 million venture-capital firm Bryant Stibel, based in Los Angeles. (New York Stock Exchange via AP) Today's question
Nice back and forth yesterday, and we really appreciated the Burns and Allen routine with Jomo and Stewwie. All it was missing was a conclusion. May we suggest the following.
Jomo: "Say good-night Stewwie."
Stewwie: "Good-night, Stewwie."
Let's go a little true or false on this Tuesday.
Today is Kobe Bryant's 38th birthday. (This is true.) True or false, Kobe is the second-string No. 2 guard on the all-time NBA team behind some guy named Mikey J.
On this day in 1987, the U.S. basketball team - led by Danny Manning, David Robinson and Rex Chapman on a roster that also included former UTC coach Jeff Lebo - lost to Brazil in the Pan Am Games. It was a loss that in a lot of ways jumpstarted the movement toward the Dream Team five years later. True or false, having the best NBA players in the Olympics is a good thing for the game.
True or false, we are way to quick with The Goat tag in sports these days.
Whatcha' got?