From Chas
One pundit says the SEC Rushmore of coaches is Rupp, Bryant, Spurrier and Summit. Agree? How many faces would you have to chisel out of the mountainside till you got to an Auburn great?
Reportedly, Kentucky tried to lure Pat away from Tennessee early on with a tantalizing $9,000, $100 more than her UT salary. I suspect the Commonwealth wishes they'd tried harder.
If Geno passes Pat in win totals, he'll have a higher win percentage, too. Any chance he'll be as loved?
Chas -
Great tidbit about the UK note. Wow, that would have been amazing right?
It also screams how much those coaches made compared to now. In fact, we asked Andy Landers and Jim Foster what they made when they started as head coaches and Landers said he made $9,000 at Roane State and Foster said he made $3,000 at St. Joe's. (Side note: Geno Auriemma was on Foster's staff that first year at St. Joe's and he made $1,000 a year.) Coaches everywhere in the women's game today should donate 10 percent of next year's check to fight Alzhiemer's in Pat's name considering the levels she lifted the sport.)
As for Geno, he'll never be as beloved, but that's as much about the timing as it is the person or even the performance. It's that way with every college coaching icon.
Granted no coach will ever have the avalanche of success in the men's game as Wooden did, but look at some of the names you mentioned.
If Calipari wins three more national titles in the next 12 years at UK, his accomplishments still would fall way short of Rupp's.
Saban is doing things in a more balanced and tougher time than Bryant ever did, but he'll never surpass the Bear for a big chunk of Alabama nation.
As for your Rushmore, we don't think Spurrier makes it. History will be kinder to him than current perspective in a lot of ways since he, like Bear, is the greatest coach at two SEC schools. We'll go Summitt, Bryant, Rupp and LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman over a couple of Georgia legends in Suzanne Yoculan and Dan Magill. (The Arkansas track and field program has won something like a billion national titles, but well, if you can't name the coach right away, they likely do not belong on the Rushmore.)
To that point, and to answer your question about Auburn and coaches on the Rushmore. The AU swimming coach David Marsh built a powerhouse and former national champ and U.S. Olympian Brett Hawke has built on that.
And yes, we had to look up their names, so that means they would be way down the Rushmore, but the program's resume is staggering. Eight men's national titles since 1997; five women's national titles since 2002. Hawke started coaching in 2006, and he has never not won the SEC title in men's swimming.
Maybe Shug Jordan is more famous - and let's not forget that some dude named John Heisman, who had some sort of medal or trophy named after him, coached at Auburn too - but the AU swimming program is pretty stout.
Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant (35) dunks past Golden State Warriors' Andre Iguodala (9) during the second half in Game 5 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Thursday, May 26, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. Golden State won 120-111. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) From Rick -
Man, all these great NBA free agent stories and all you write about is Durant? That's weak. I thought you liked the NBA.
Rick -
First, it's hard to remember a time when we watched as much NBA basketball as we did this spring. We watched way more NBA than college this year and that's not a common occurrence. But it is one that likely will repeat next year too.
The reason we only focused on Kevin Durant is because he's the only free agent in play who makes a difference in the big picture of championships.
Would Al Horford make a team go from pretty good to great or good to really good? Sure.
But whether Hassan Whiteside picks Miami or Dallas does not concern me in the least.
In fact, the explosion of money and the expansion of the cap means guys like Harrison Barnes - who shot 35 percent in the Finals and in a lot of ways was the exploited weak link on the best regular-season team ever - is going to get $15-million-plus per year.
Durant's storyline is the only that will matter come next May, beyond one of the fringe guys potentially becoming a role player for a contender like San Antonio or the Clippers.
And Stewwie made some good points this week about the possible destinations of KD - and yes, Golden State would have to rework a lot of stuff, and this is the final year of Steph Curry's affordability, but the cap will grow again next year, and it's almost certain that Durant is only signing a one-year deal in theory - but we think the Clippers are quite intriguing, too.
Jordan Spieth hits on the 12th hole during the practice round of the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club, Wednesday, June 29, 2016, in Akron, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) From Stacey
If you were Jordan Spieth would you play in the Olympics?
Stacey -
Such a great question and thanks for playing along.
No. And no. And then if they called back, we'd say heck no.
Now if we were say a swimmer or a track athlete, and the Olympics were the pinnacle of your athletic dreams and your sport, then we'd almost assuredly go. But for Spieth, who already has a net worth of nine figures, and the other golfers and even hoops stars and tennis players, and Olympic gold medal is more novelty than lifetime achievement.
Michael Phelps grew up dreaming of standing on the podium with the Anthem playing and a medal around his neck; Spieth grew up dreaming of hanging with Jim Nantz in Butler Cabin with a green jacket on his shoulders.
Plus, Spieth is young and would assuredly want to have kids down the road, so the Zika is a big concern. But in truth, the violence in the city and the potential terrorist activity is every bit as alarming as the viruses and the nasty water conditions.
Forbes ran a story in January that Brazil is the murder capital of the world. Read that sentence again. According to this site, Rio had 4,500 intentional homicides. In 2014. That's more than 12 a day.
No thanks.
From Pat -
How bad is the Ghostbuster reboot going to be? We're talking toilet bomb of epic proportions, right?
Pat -
It almost assuredly will be.
And it's not alone. The reboots and sequels that no one really wanted - we're looking at you Independence Day and you The Huntsman - have bombed on an epic scale. So too did Adam Samberg's farce about pop music which has yet to make $10 million.
In truth, the lessons from Hollywood this summer are if its not comic book characters or animation, well, good luck with that.
As for the Ghostbusters remake with the all female cast - many of whom we like by the way - it really has very little chance of being good.
For those of us who love the original movie, we're not going in with an open mind. For those young enough to be unfamiliar with the movie, the premise seems quite antiquated. And it's coming at a time when the blockbusters are the thing.
Captain America or a Disney movie that we parents can take the tots too. That's filling theaters.
Thirty-year-old remakes. Not so much.
FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2015, file photo, Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck (12) looks to throw during the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, in Indianapolis. ?Luck has signed a new contract with the Indianapolis Colts that covers the next six seasons through 2021. The $140 million deal was completed Wednesday, June 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) From Steve
What do you think of Andrew Luck's contract?
Steve -
We're OK with it. Not sure why so many folks are bagging on the "Guess he wants money rather than rings" angle.
Did Russell Wilson - who is nowhere nearly as good as Luck - or Cam Newton take bargain rates? No, and nor should they, especially with this first, post-draft contract that delivers life-changing money for generations of your family.
So why should Luck?
In truth, why should that burden be put back on the player to take less money so the team can be better? Is the owner willing to accept less money, too? We doubt it. That said, this discussion does allow us to bring up our favorite contract story of all-time, especially since today is Bobby Bonilla Pay Day.
Bonilla was released by the Mets in 2000, and rather than having to pay him the nearly $6 million he was owed, the cash-strapped Mets rolled in to annual payments of $1.12 million every July first.
For giving the Mets that grace period, Bonilla will get that check today and every July 1 until 2035.
That's doing BID-ness right there. (Somewhere Alan Jones smiles because that's pretty much the business model of the Payday Lending world.)
Coastal Carolina's G.K. Young (37) is hugged by Anthony Marks after hitting a two-run home run against Arizona in the sixth inning in Game 3 of the NCAA College World Series baseball finals in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, June 30, 2016. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) From Scott
How would you compare Coastal Carolina winning the College World Series to football or basketball?
Thanks and keep up the great work on A2 -- I love reading your stuff.
Scott -
Thanks.
The best we could come up with on Press Row on 105.1 FM was if Butler had topped Duke a few years ago in the NCAA tournament.
In a lot of ways though, the upset is bigger in name than practicality. Coastal Carolina has been ranked for most of the season.
A football comparison would most likely be if Boise State won the football playoff.
Yes, it would be an eye-opening storyline to the casual sports fan, but Boise State has become a very solid program that could wiggle into the playoff and then would need some postseaon magic. Just like Coastal Carolina got.
Thanks gang.
Enjoy the 4th and be safe. Don't want any Jason Pierre Paul stories.