Football recruiting tidbits
We have three items of interest in the often-icky world of college football recruiting.
First, though, we are going to start a new game that was a topic on true-or-false Tuesday on yesterday's Press Row: Welcome to 'Which is Worse Wednesday' and no that does not mean 'One-Word Wednesday' has been retired. Nope, it's just an extra tool in the box.
Which is worse, over-the-top recruiting guy or over-the-top fantasy football guy?
Which is worse, losing on a last-second basket or losing by 40?
Which is worse, overly pessimistic fan or overly optimistic fan?
Where were we? Oh, yes, recruiting news.
First, former Baylor School start and Mississippi State quarterback Nick Tiano has announced he's transferring to UTC. He is scheduled to be on Press Row today at 4:10 to discuss that decision and more.
Also, the University of Tennessee football program got a verbal pledge from Trey Smith, the nation's top prospect by several services, Tuesday afternoon. He's a five-star left tackle, and considering the Vols' spotty offensive line play of the last few seasons, Smith likely could see the field much sooner rather than later.
Also of note, is that considering the disappointment and malaise of the fan base right now, this was a MON-ster recruiting brick for Coach Butch Jones and Co. Simply put, if Smith, who is from Jackson, Tenn., had picked Bama or THE Ohio State or DeVry for that matter, it would have been another tsunami of angst for Johnny Vols Fans everywhere.
Finally, we thought this was a cool bit of information, as Max Preps went back and looked at the high school numbers of the five Heisman finalists. Here's the story and two things jump off the page.
First, Deshaun Watson was unreal at Gainesville High School in Georgia. Dude set Georgia marks in career total yards (17,134), career passing yards (13,077) and passing TDs with 155. He also had more than 4,000 rushing yards and 63 TDs on the ground, meaning he accounted for 218 TDs in four years. Wow. The second thing was that Oklahoma All-American wide out Dede Westbrook weighed in at the grand total of 150 pounds as a high school senior before filling out and showing out for the Sooners.
FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2014, file photo, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig speaks before a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs in Milwaukee. Former commissioner Selig and longtime general manager John Schuerholz have been elected to the baseball Hall of Fame. Schuerholz was picked by all 16 voters Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, on a veterans committee at the winter meetings. Selig was listed 15 times. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File) Noteworthy, and discussion-worthy
Bud Selig's election into the baseball Hall of Fame, means the University of Wisconsin now has alums in the MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL halls.
That seems quite rare, right? The overlap of the MLB requirement and the NHL requirement make that list rather small. We thought about Minnesota, which has alums Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield in the MLB Hall but does not have an inductee into the NHL Hall. (Herb Brooks is in the international hockey hall of fame for obvious reasons.)
So there's that.
And beyond that side stat, though, and maybe we should have mentioned this earlier in the week, Selig's election into the Hall of Fame is an interesting crossroad. The biggest part of Selig's candidacy is how much he grew the game and how the game was able to overcome canceling the 1994 World Series.
A large part of that growth and rejuvenation was generated by the home run chases of 1998 between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire and then the record-setting offensive numbers of Barry Bonds in the early 2000s.
All three of those guys accomplished eye-popping stats with bicep-bulging power that was allegedly fueled by PEDs. So the horsepower behind the greatest feather in Selig's camp was the black-mark on the game that is keeping several of the game's greatest players - Bonds, Sosa, Clemens, A-Rod all have amazing, all-time-comparable numbers - out of the same Hall of Fame.
And we can all agree that a big reason the PED scandal grew to the point where Brady Anderson hit 50 flippin' homers and we really didn't care all that much was because Selig and his cronies turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the issue, right?
So if Selig deserves inclusion for allowing the PED scandal to help and grow the game, do the guys who did the heavy-lifting - and the heavy-using, which also comes with heavy health risks - deserve consideration?
FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2016, file photo, Navy players celebrate after defeating Notre Dame 28-27 in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Jacksonville, Fla. If Navy is in position to earn a spot in a major bowl game when the rankings and semifinal pairings are set Sunday, the 12-person committee will wait a week for Navy to play Army to make a final call on where the Midshipmen should be ranked. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File) Bowl game contest
We need a show of hands on who is up for the Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler optional) contest.
This is the oldest contest we have here at the 5-at-10 - been doing this one since December 2010 - and wanted to make sure we're all still in. Thoughts and suggested rule changes if you have any.
In years past we have included all the bowl games and used the point spreads and divided the games into tiers. Some years we have deducted points for missing games, some years we have not. We also could juggle it to a 'confidence' play in which every player has to rank the point value risked for each game.
What we know for sure is a) this and the Masterfully Mastering the Masters contests are our two bigges and b) it's free and you could win stuff.
So what say you?
This and that
- Nice win for the basketball Mocs last night, topping Marshall with a big second half and 35 points from Tre McLean. And as TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer pointed out here the action on the floor was better than the lack of it in the stands.
- Here's your latest John Daly clip, because, well, he's John Daly. Yep, this is at a pro-am and someone broke out a guitar on the tee box and Daly breaks into song, because, well, he's John Daly. Then he puts the lit smoke back in his mouth stands of the ball and smokes one (sorry) about 320 down the middle, because, well, he's John Daly. Which is worse Wednesday: Which is worse, the weekend hacker who acts like John Daly or the weekend hacker who gets offended at the guy who acts like John Daly?
- Former Heisman Trophy winning running back and Colorado star Rashaan Salaam was found dead earlier this week. Suicide is expected. Here's a crazy stat we saw on Twitter: Salaam, who won college football's most-prized award in 1994, is the first Heisman winner since 1961-winner Ernie Davis. Every other winner of the last 55 years is still alive.
- The Boston Red Sox became the AL favorite by dealing for Chris Sale on Tuesday, acquiring the White Sox ace for a bevy of prospects. The Braves were among the teams who were in the discussions for Sale, a bona fide No. 1 starter with a very club-friendly contract. This deal makes sense for all three clubs above, considering the Red Sox have one of the game's best offenses and are in position to contend with Sale, the White Sox need to rebuild and got a heavy price for Sale, and the Braves are not in a position to contend yet, so unloading a ton of picks to go from a possible .500 team to a wildcard team seems like rushing the process while draining the rebuilt farm system.
- Oregon picked Willie Taggart as its guy to replace Mark Helfrich. OK, and that means another high-profile job is off the market. So that leaves Houston right now as the biggest opening with spots there at Temple, where Matt Rhule left for Baylor, and USF, which will have to replace Taggart. It also makes the future mailing address for Lane Kiffin, more and more interesting, especially with reports that Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley crushed his interview with Houston.
- I'm trying to recall a 'controversy' that is less of a deal than this Phil Jackson-LeBron James thing. Wow, here's the latest with Phil talking to CBSsports.com. This is all about the word 'posse' mind you. Who knew that was the 'P' word you were not supposed to use? (And yes, this comes from an unabashed LeBron James fan.)
Today's question
We all now the most impact and meaningful distinction on Dec. 7, the day that will live in infamy.
It's Pearl Harbor Day, and today is the 75th anniversary of the bombing. It, like so many days, makes me pause and pray and offer much praise and pride for the men and women who risk their lives for our freedom and safety. God bless you all. It also is the birthday for an eclectic group of folks, including Larry Joe Bird (turns 60 today), Terrell Owens (43), Yaisel Puig (26) and Johnny Bench (69). Also, the amazingly underrated Ted Knight was born on this day in 1923. How 'bout a Fresca?
We'll offer two Rushmores today:
In honor of T.O., best players not in the Hall of Fame in the three major pro sports here. Also, in honor of the genius that is Knight, Rushmore of Judge Elihu Smails quotes from Caddyshack. (And we'll start with "Gambling's illegal at Bushwood and I never slice," which is one we have used countless times when playing golf. And who can forget, "It's easy to grin, when your ship comes in and you've got the stock market beat. But the man worthwhile is the man who can smile when his shorts are too tight in the seat. Hahahahahaha, OK, Pookie, do the honors.)