Baseball
There's a lot of baseball storylines out there that are interesting.
There's the Braves' race to the basement, as TFP ace columnist Mark Wiedmer nails in his column today. There's the Cubs spring to the penthouse, which have them at 40-16, matching the pace the Mariners had at the same point when they set the wins record 15 years ago. There's also the Cubs dominating this CBS list of the top 100 players in baseball, with three players in the top 10. (Julio Teheran is the lone Brave on the list at No. 69.)
Side note on that list: We are a monster fan of Clayton Kershaw, who deservedly ranks 1 on the list. The blurb says it all about Kershaw's start to 2016: He has almost as many shutouts (3) as he has walks (5) this year.
The other story that caught our eye is the spiraling place in which Ryan Howard has landed and how he's been treated in Philadelphia.
Howard at one time was on the short list of the game's most feared sluggers. He has finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting five times in his career (winning it once) and has 162-game averages of 39 homers and 120 RBIs.
Now, in the last three years, Howard has been dreadful. It also magnifies the monster contract he signed with the Phillies - he inked a five-year, $125-million deal that runs through the 2016 season - that has been an anchor around the club's ability to contend.
That's part of baseball, the sport where contracts are guaranteed and more times than not players are paid for what they did rather than what they will do. But over the weekend, a Phillies fan threw a bottle at Howard as he was leaving the field.
Man, that's too bad. Yes, it's Philly where they booed Santa, but that's simply terrible.
Our actions as fans are far too often unbelievable, and not in a good way.
William McGirt reacts to his putt on the ninth hole during the final round of the Memorial golf tournament, Sunday, June 5, 2016, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) Golf question
More times than not, we don't try to insert a faux problem in today's society. There is far too much hand-wringing and pearl-clutching and the like for our tastiest as it is.
As Stewwie accurately nailed in the comments Monday with the "Helicopter parents" response. (Side note: Excellent back-and-forth yesterday. Well-played all around.)
So this is asked without the dramatic tones of the overly serious or the impassioned plea of "think of the children" but it's something that popped up in a discussion this week: Does golf have gambling problem?
There has been a lot of noise around Phil Mickelson, including the insider-trading incident that caused Phil to repay more than $1 million to the government after he got some tips from the nation's best gambler. (He reportedly used the original money he made to repay debts to said gambler.)
There also have been widely unreported huge money games on the Tuesdays before the bigger tournaments. Not-so-surprisingly, Mickelson is one of the ring leaders of that too. But he's far from alone, and it's fair to say a majority of the players participate.
Now comes this story that Bubba Watson bet Kevin Na $100 during the final round of the Memorial. Watson bet him he could drive the green on the 363-yard par-4 14th. The C-note went to some kid watching around the 14 tee box.
Certainly almost all of us who have dabbled in the game have had a few bucks on a round or a hole or even a swing. And the practice round stuff is really not all that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
But this is the first time we can remember players betting in a competitive round. Not sure if it's everywhere or just happenstance. Or even if it's a big deal.
But, I know this: If any sport has its credibility questioned about gambling, the sport has real issues.
FILE - In this June 15, 1995, file photo, murder defendant, O.J. Simpson grimaces as he tries on one of the leather gloves prosecutors say he wore the night his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered, during the Simpson double-murder trial in Los Angeles. A lawyer for O.J. Simpson in Las Vegas says the imprisoned former football star isn’t happy with portrayals he’s seen in ads and interviews about a cable TV series focusing on his 1995 murder acquittal in Los Angeles. Simpson won’t be able to see the show, "The People v. O.J. Simpson," as Nevada prisons don’t carry the FX network, which debuts the 10-part show on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. (Sam Mircovich via AP, Pool, File) O.J.
There is no way to cap the excitement we have about the upcoming 30-for-30 documentary on O.J. Simpson.
Simply no way.
All of the reviews are over-the-top positive, and that's amazing for a couple of reasons.
First, the best 30-for-30s add unknown details and context to stories. A lot of the best 30-for-30s are on topics that we are not as informed on, so adding new information is relatively easy. But everyone knows - and has an opinion on - O.J. Everyone.
Heck, for a lot of us in this generation - we're a man, we're 45 - the chase and the verdict in the O.J. Simpson case were two of the top 10 "Where were you" moments of our lives. And by all accounts, there are several new layers about this case in the upcoming film. That seems impossible.
Secondly, the details and snippets of the people close to O.J. - including this friend who wants Simpson to confess to the murders - are unbelievably real. And telling. It starts Saturday night on ABC and runs over five days.
Set the DVRs, and we feel certain this will be a talking point almost daily next week.
This and that
- Say what you want about President Barack Obama, but the guy knows how to host the sports champions. Whether its heckling Saban or Auriemma about their routine visits or like Monday when he playfully jabbed Peyton Manning. Well-played, POTUS.
- The College Softball World Series started Monday night as Oklahoma landed a 3-2 win over Auburn in Game 1. It was thrilling - and disappointing for some of us - with Game 2 tonight. Side point here: Oklahoma gymnastics is pretty outstanding, and add in a special basketball season, this softball run and a preseason top-five football ranking, and the Sooners are having a pretty good 2016.
- Amid the swirling rumors that the Oakland Raiders may move to Vegas comes this extra offering: Sapphire Strip Club has offered free limo service and lap dances to every Raiders player if the team moves to Vegas. Wowser. Here are some more details.
- Tripp McCarron is a kid starting out with a good gene pool. Dad is an NFL QB; mom is a former Miss Alabama. Here's some photos. Wonder if Brent Musberger thinks he's good looking, too.
- R.I.P Kimbo Slice. You were a scary dude.
Today's question
Let's try this: Who is on the Rushmore of sports stars with next to no success. Here's a couple of nominations: Anna Kournikova, who was a world famous model who occasionally carried around a tennis racket, turns 35 today; Also, the former Browns GM who drafted Johnny Football says it was the club's fault for not supporting Manziel enough. Egad.
Whatcha got? (And remember the mailbag.)