Where does Cam rank?
We inched toward this conversation on Monday.
Where in the pecking order of current NFL QBs does Cam Newton rank?
He almost assuredly will win the MVP, but that has as much to do with perception and team performance - two things that Newton and the Panthers have in spades.
We prefer in matters of rankings to either have a redraft or ask the question, "If Team A and Team B talked about swapping quarterbacks, which team says no first."
The trade-talks factor in contracts, which certainly matter in a hard salary-cap league like the NFL. The trade-talks factor does miss the point a little bit because certain guys are connected to their town beyond actual football value. (Cam may be the most connected, too. And the Patriots could never trade Tom Brady, no matter how great the deal.)
So, in the redraft angle, where does Cam fit? (And thanks to show regular and erstwhile commentator Stewwie for calling out for more on this topic.)
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, file photo, Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field during the second half an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings in Green Bay, Wis. Rodgers has struggled through a poor-by-his-standards season and his team has lost six of its past ten games heading into Sunday's wild-card playoff matchup against Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke, File) We think Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck are the clear top two. Talent, NFL skill set and age.
We think Cam is right there in the next circle. All the rest are guys that may fit a little more easily in to traditional NFL offenses, but considering what Cam did this year - Carolina is the highest scoring team in the league and who is his second-best offensive player, Greg Olsen? - he is his own offense.
Stewwie raised a fair point in the comments section yesterday about Cam's college (he played at Auburn, which if memory serves is someone else's alma mater around these parts), and that's worth noting. In fact, the reference was to the point about if Russell Wilson had gone to Auburn (which he almost did amazingly), he'd be higher on the rankings.
Russell WIlson's ceiling that of a house; Cam's ceiling is that of Trump Plaza.
When looking around the league, who did anywhere close to what Cam did - in year five, so he's really starting to enter his go-zone prime - and how many other short-list QB names have much more to work with?
So it goes, and yes we like Cam. Even if we didn't though, it's hard to be believe if the league redrafted he would not be a top-four or top-five pick.
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Cooler heads
Baseball's National League owners have spoken and the message has been received.
Less than two weeks after saying the move to using the DH across all of baseball, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday that the NL will be without the DH for the "foreseeable future."
Hooray.
Here's the story detailing the change of course.
This is huge because the current labor deal with the players association is up after the 2016 season, and a rule change like that would need to be collectively bargained since it would affect jobs in the workplace.
So, if the 'foreseeable future' means at least into the next CBA, then that means the DH issue will most likely be a decade away for all intents and purposes.
Say it again, hooray.
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Shots fired
On the court, the San Antonio Spurs went toe-to-toe without future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan in the middle.
It's doubtful his presence would have had altered the final outcome since the Warriors dropped a 120-90 rout on the Spurs. Not when Steph Curry scored 37 points in 28 minutes - almost 1.3 points per minute, which is staggering.
As bad as the final score was the judges in the verbal sparring between Gregg Popovich and the Cleveland Cavs would have stopped the exchange after Pop landed a knock-out blow moments after the game.
"We almost had them," the famously crusty Popovich said about the Warriors before reaching back and delivering, "I'm just glad my general manager wasn't here or I might have been fired."
Ouch-standing. Popovich of course was referring to the Cavs decision to fire head coach David Blatt despite leading the Eastern Conference with a 30-11 record. The firing happened in part because the Cavs were hammered by 34 by these Warriors, who look historically good on multiple levels.
Firing a successful head coach is an interesting proposition and it crosses all sports. Be it Blatt or Mark Richt or the Dodgers agreeing to part ways with Don Mattingly after four consecutive division titles, teams and ownership measure success in a variety of ways.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry cheers on his team from the bench in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Monday, Jan. 18, 2016, in Cleveland. The Warriors won 132-98. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) Mainly, though, the chase for titles and how the equation "success"/"expectations" x "talent" = security. And for the guys above - Blatt with the game's most impactful player and a loaded roster, or Richt with a history of falling short in the biggest moments despite lofty (and occasionally faulty) expectations, or Mattingly with baseball's biggest payroll - faltered in the face of that equation.
It's difficult for all of us to process because the thought of being very good at your job and still being fired scares all of us, especially in today's economy.
But sports are from fair and even farther from reality. (All of those guys got life-changing money NOT to finish the job they were hired to do. So it goes.)
We judge through a prism of perspective that distorts the simplest of facts like this: Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is one of the 25 best people on the planet at a job almost every boy in America would love to have, and we view him as a punchline. That's a tough learning curve.
So it goes and none of those folks expect or deserve pity. (Again the money makes all the pressure and pain very palatable.)
Maybe it's just Popovich being Popovich, which is fine and occasionally even funny. But we believe this, when the opposition is making jokes or offering up reasons for your team to keep its coach, that's a pretty good sign that they want that coach to stay because they are not threatened.
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This and that
- Here's the anti-argument video for the folks that demand you should foul up three on the final possession. Yes, that's Georgia Southern beating App State on a four-point play. Buckets.
- Coaches doing it right, part 1,302: Here's a strong column from TFP wrestling ace Ward Gossett on Soddy-Daisy wrestling coach Steve Henry. With all the horror at Ooltewah, it's more important than ever to highlight the efforts of the countless coaches who do so much for so many and do it with the right intentions. Well done Steve, and well-written Ward.
Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk throws to a receiver in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne) 
FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2015 file photo, Mark Wahlberg attends the premiere of "Daddy's Home" at AMC Loews Lincoln Square, in New York. Wahlberg and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker have met to discuss a film the actor is working on. An aide for the Republican governor says the two met briefly on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, to “have a friendly talk” about an upcoming movie. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File) - Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk has been suspended after a video emerged of a guy that is reportedly Mauk snorting white powder that most likely was not baking soda.
- Raise your hand if you are exhausted hearing about high-rolling celebrities bad mouth the country. Well of course your hand is raised. That said, here are celebrities actually putting their money where their yapper is. Yep, Mark Wahlberg and Diddy (aka Puff Daddy, aka P Diddy, aka Puffy, aka Sean, well you get the idea) donated 1 million bottles of water to the folks in Flint.
- So the teacher in the Missouri protests who was caught on camera calling for muscle was charged with misdemeanor assault. Hundreds, if not thousands of folks in the protests, and they charge the white lady? OK, nothing to see here. (Side note: Being white and getting caught on video in Missouri does not see like a real good idea. Show Me State has a brand new meaning, huh?)
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Today's question
How was your day at work yesterday? Better than line judge Tomas Berdych, who took a 121-mph serve to the jewels at the Aussie Open.
That's truly Ouch-standing.
OK, feel free to offer you view on Cam's rank or any of the above. Lots to discuss, because after all, we do talk a little.
As for the Rushmore, well, he's one of our favorites, and I don't think we've done this one before, so here goes. Paul Newman would have been 91 today. Rest in peace. Rushmore of Newman movies.
Go.