5-at-10: Friday mailbag on Donut Day with Rushmores, Cam vs. Steph comparison and NASCAR woes

Happy Donut Day everyone. You can get a free donut at the Krispy Kreme and the Dunkin' Donuts (with purchase of a beverage). That's good times.

Here's a couple of options: Rushmore of dough of all varieties; Rushmore of nuts, and we definitely are not asking Matt Dellavedova to lend a hand on this one.

To the mailbag.

From David

Jay, on Saturday 5/28 you wrote: "We are depending on and trusting in our elected officials to conduct their business with a certain level of honesty. And if they can't be honest or loyal to their significant others, then that's an important detail of their character."

And "As for truth from our public officials, well, we should all demand that."

Given his much publicized affairs, womanizing, and penchant for bending the truth, will you really be able to endorse Trump?

David -

I have not endorsed Trump - in my writing or with my primary vote. Will I vote for him in the general election? Most likely.

But that is a testament first and foremost that our presidential options are bad and worse.

And while it is important - as with what I wrote last week in regard to the mayor's current controversy - to know that our elected leaders are honest and trustworthy (never mind loyal to their spouse), there certainly is a hierarchy of misdeeds.

Does Trump's personal life misgivings raise eyebrows? Yes.

Is it worse than Clinton's email fiasco (and that's putting it kindly) or the her role in the absolute disaster that was the Benghazi debacle? Not even close.

Thanks for reading and the feedback.

photo Martin Truex Jr poses with the trophy after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Matthew Bishop)

From Bicycle Bob

Hi, Jay. My wife and I are long time auto racing fans. I can summarize yesterday (for us and for many others, Memorial day is the biggest day in racing): The glamour of Monaco; the drama of Indy, the boredom of Charlotte.

I have what I call the three generation rule of business. Perhaps it applies here: The first generation creates the business and makes it a success ('Big Bill' France). The second generation shepherds the business and may take it to even greater heights (Bill France, Jr.). The third generation, spoiled grandchildren of the founder, run the business into the ground, or in this case, the wall (Brian France???).

Would be interested in your take on what the issues (if any) are.

Best regards.

Bicycle Bob -

Great theory, and we can completely see where you are coming from.

Sadly though, like with most tried-and-true examples of things getting worse and watered down by time, we may be approaching a current model where the second generation rather than the third wrecks the ship.

Consider some of these other examples:
Stienbrenner, Dr. Jerry Buss' son, and W. (Nevermind Jeb).

In fact, maybe NASCAR's top family should be thankful that at leas Bill Jr. was not as clumsy as some of the sons of legendary drivers in that sport. From Kyle Petty across the last 20 years, the sons of driving stars were pedestrian at best.

(Yes Dale Jr. is a bona fide star, but if you had to describe his career, wouldn't "underachiever" be one of the first five words along with charismatic and popular? The other two are up to you.)

Your theory still holds up, and it crosses over into the business world too.

NASCAR's biggest problem, though, is not from the leadership perspective as much as it is in the fundamental set-up of its sport. NASCAR does not have a commissioner. It has an owner.

Think about that. There is not a person in charge of protecting the brand in the name of sport; there is only a boss in charge of protecting the brand to protect the revenue stream. And truth be told, NASCAR is probably closer to professional wrestling than most realize.

Great question.

photo FILe - In this jan. 24, 2016, file photo, Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton celebrates his touchdown run during the first half the NFL football NFC Championship game against the Arizona Cardinals, n Charlotte, N.C. The Super Bowl bound Carolina Panthers have outscored their two playoff opponents 55-7 in the first half of games. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

From Stewwie

C'mon Jay, you know that's not true. Steph Curry gets excited after a big play (sparingly) and after a big win as opposed to maybe having a dance-off after each 3 and taking random laps around the arena and screaming before and after the game like Cam might do. And if you still disagree, I'd like to know why you think the perception of those two guys is so different?

Stewwie -

Does Cam go over the top? Sure, at times. But Steph was cheating pounding and finger-pointing after his first 3 Thursday night.

As for the perception difference between Cam Newton and Steph Curry, I think there are several reasons for it.

First, their college careers were at complete opposite ends of what sports fans like and dislike. Steph was an undersized underdog who pretty much made himself into an All-American and lifted a small school into the national spotlight. Cam was a superstar who almost wasted his chance before becoming the All-American everyone expected and lifting a polarizing school to a national title.

Each got a ton of national exposure before going to the pro level. Steph was a more charismatic Jimmy Chitwood, slaying Goliath one 3-pointer at a time. Cam was the smiling face of what a lot people hate about college sports.

But those are simply appearances from 10,000 feet. Yes, that's often the perch we have to make judgements on athletes or movie stars or whomever else we choose to like or dislike. That I know that Cam spent every Friday during his time at Auburn mentoring troubled youth is one of the things I like most about him. That he started it in August 2010, long before he was anything more than the Tigers new starting quarterback, and continued it throughout that crazy fall in which he became the biggest star in college sports, is even cooler.

(Check out Cam's list of charitable works and off-the-field deeds).

And you can't help but be impressed. In fact, he's about to debut a Nickelodeon special tonight.

That and his tricked out Cutlass, too.

Another part of perception misconception is the physical appearance of each.

Curry looks like he could be sitting three cubicles down at your workplace; Cam is LeBron-light and is physically something we've never seen before at his position. So, in some ways Curry is one of us doing amazing things among the best athletes in the world, so it's really easy to believe he's an overachiever. Cam is an alien just capitalizing on winning the genetic PowerBall, so it's really easy to believe he's just lucky. (Truth be told, one was raised by a loving father who made tens of millions of dollars being one of the best shooters of his generation and was afforded luxury and advantage imaginable. The other was raised by a shady street preacher who almost negotiated away his son's future for a rumored six-figure letter-of-intent signing bonus.)

Finally, maybe we expect far more stoicism from our quarterbacks, who we want to be stone-faced leaders who never show emotion - good or bad - under the weight of the moment. Whereas gunning shooters splashing 3s are more like wide outs making spectacular plays and sharing that moment with us. Who knows?

But in terms of celebration, Steph and Cam are not that much different.

Watch Curry's antics. Steph thumps his chest and points to the sky after almost every 3; Cam dabs after a first down. Bigger plays get bigger reactions of course, and maybe there are bigger and more emotional moments in the heat and violence of football, but that's debatable.

And I'm all for both - I like players playing with emotion and showing their feelings. It's sports and it's supposed to be entertaining. I'm not personally entertained by robots doing robotic things with no joy or emotion or celebration.

Does Cam go over the top? Again, at times yes, and that may add to it because the case file becomes bigger and bigger.

Still - and we had no intention to ramble this much on this topic today - the perception of the dancer carries more weight than feeling toward the dance itself.

Great conversation this week, Stewwie. Thanks for that.

photo In this photo provided by Courtesy Castle Rock Entertainment via the Library of Congress, a scene from the movie Shawshank Redemption, featuring inmates Red (Morgan Freeman), left, and Andy (Tim Robbins) share a quiet moment in the prison yard at Shawshank. It's a bro-centric year for movies added to the prestigious National Film Registry. Two of the most popular male-bonding movies of all time, "Ghostbusters" and "The Shawshank Redemption," are being added to the collection of films preserved by the Library of Congress, the library announced Wednesday. (Courtesy Castle Rock Entertainment/Library of Congress via AP)

From Ted

Have you stopped updating your weekly Rushmores? C'mon dude, I need closure.

Ted -

Point well made.

Rushmore of child stars forever identified with one role: Beaver (Jerry Mathers), Arnold Jackson (Gary Coleman - and here's betting he wanted to punch everyone person who said, "What you talking 'bout Gary?"), the kid from Jerry McGuire and it will be tough for the Harry Potter kid to be anything other than Harry Potter.

Rushmore of Morgan Freeman roles: Driving Miss Daisy; Glory; Shawshank; Unforgiven. (And think of all the ones that didn't make - Million Dollar Baby, the current Batmans; his voice in Lego Movie; Seven; Lean on Me. Dude has had a career.)

Rushmore of athletes who were worshipped in their generation who's legacy does not translate as well: Namath, Mantle, Phil Rizzuto and Lynn Swann.

Rushmore of SEC quarterbacks who had the best NFL careers: Manning, Starr, Stabler, and probably Eli Manning

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