From Dave
Heard you and [David] Paschall talking about Florida putting Spurrier's name on the stadium. What other active coaches do you think will have the stadium or arena named for them?
Dave -
Great question. Spurrier could get some sort of similar recognition from South Carolina, too.
OK, first and foremost is Geno Auriemma. UConn currently plays at the Gampel Pavillion. That assuredly will have to be the Auriemma-Gampel Pavillion at some point. Saban's run at Alabama seems destined to be added to the hyphenated designation at Bryant-Denny-Saban Stadium at some point, too.
Along those lines, Mark Dantonio is well on his way to an all-time spot at Michigan State, and if he stays long-term Dabo Swinney has laid the groundwork at Clemson, especially if he lands a national title in the next few years. (Of course if Swinney is the pick to replace Saban at some point, you have to wonder how the Clemson folks would view that.)
There has been a ton of turnover at recent spots, and guys like Harbaugh and Meyer are facing storied traditions to work their way into all-time honors like having a stadium named for you.
A sneaky one could be Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State, considering he played there and has stayed their
Coach K already has the court at Cameron named for him, and Bill Snyder has the stadium named for him at Kansas State, too.
We'll also bet Tom Corbin, the Vandy baseball coach, gets honored at some point. Dude has turned Vandy into a national power.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) shoots against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the first half of Game 2 of basketball's NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, June 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) From a bunch of you
Can Cleveland win the series and what do you expect tonight?
Gang -
Hard to see Cleveland winning the series because it's hard to see them winning at Golden State, regardless of how great the Cavs looked in Game 3.
That said, making shots is the great equalizer for each team. And sometimes it's simply that simple.
Making shots, especially in the new math that is today's NBA.
The value of the 3 has changed the game, for better and for worse.
Better - the spacing is much better and the flow of the game has a nice pace. Worse - too many teams now try to use the 3 despite the fact those teams do not shoot well from distance. It makes for really ugly basketball at times. And those times are when shots are falling.
That new math also has changed the game, at least from an aesthetic perspective.
These playoffs have been filled with blowouts because when one team is making 3s and the other isn't it germs out of control in a hurry. That also plays into the new math of the league. If you are down 15 or more in the fourth, a lot of teams pull the plug now, saving energy and resting players for the next game. It used to be that every team had a run in them and you didn't need to watch an NBA game until the fourth quarter.
Now those runs happen much earlier and when the dye is cast, more times than not, you don't need to watch the fourth quarter now.
As for tonight, well, here's guessing that LeBron has a very similar approach and result. Not sure if Kyrie can match his precision from Game 3, and feel pretty certain all this backtalk on Steph Curry will motivate the two-time MVP.
That will be interesting to watch. After getting a lot of blowback in the last 36 or so hours - and really for the first time in his career - it will be fun to see how Curry responds.
Here's betting this will be the first close game of the series, with LeBron doing just enough - and playing great defense on Draymond Green - to even the series.
In this image released by ABC, Kaitlyn Bristowe, left, and Shawn Booth appear on the season finale of "The Bachelorette." The bachelorette and her chosen fiancé are finally able to live their love away from TV cameras after Monday night’s finale where Bristowe chose the 29-year-old personal trainer as her one true love. (Rick Rowell/ABC via AP) From JH
I kind of hate to admit it, but do you watch the Bachelorette? This season has been amazing. What's your guilty TV pleasure?
Thanks -- enjoy your writing and Press Row.
JH -
No, on the Bachelorette, but we have heard a lot of folks - even dudes - who speak highly of it, especially this season. So no worries.
As for guilty TV pleasures, well, we did watch the last handful of seasons of American Idol, but at the end it felt more like homework than pleasure. Also, we were happy to heart CMT picked up the fifth season of Nashville, which could be described as a guilty pleasure.
Our TV rotation is pretty limited. Starts with Game of Thrones, and we enjoy The Blacklist on NBC. Beyond that, and Nashville, there's not much else on the ol' DVR. So it goes, but enjoy the Bachelorette.
FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2009, file photo, Philadelphia 76ers' Allen Iverson calls out a play to teammates in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Philadelphia. Nike is pulling back on plans for a shoe that sneakily honors Allen Iverson after the former NBA superstar demanded answers. Iverson says Nike used his identity, likeness and persona without permission for a sneaker out of the company's Zoom Flight ’96 collection. The ambiguously titled sneaker has the No. 3 _ Iverson’ number _ on each back heel and the red, white and blue colors of the Philadelphia 76ers. Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins said in a statement Thursday that the version of the shoe Iverson protested won’t hit stores. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) From Stewwie
For the bag, I briefly heard you and Pasquali the other day mention a hypothetical 1-on-1 tourney with NBA players. Sounds fun...let's make it happen (on paper anyway). Play 2s and 3s to 15, free throws for shooting fouls, option of 1-and-1 or retain possession for non-shooting fouls. 6 fouls and you're out and this is all reffed by Joey Crawford who will graciously come out of retirement to officiate this. Below are the brackets and seeds. The guard pod winners play each other in the semis and the forward pod winners play each other. Who wins this tourney?
Little guys: (1) Curry, (2) Westbrook, (3) Iverson, (4) Irving
Bigger guards: (1) MJ, (2) Kobe, (3) K. Thompson, (4) Reggie
Small Forwards: (1) LeBron, (2) Durant, (3) K. Leonard, (4) Melo
Versatile Bigs: (1) Dirk, (2) Bosh, (3) Unibrow, (4) Love
Stewwie -
What a great question, and such detail. (Side note; Joey Crawford looks like the living version of former SNL character Tippy the Turtle, without his shell. And since Joey's got the whistle, we know that Timmy Duncan would quickly be eliminated.)
We assume that each player is in the prime of his career.
Since you added MJ, I want to add two more. Replace Kyrie with Isiah Thomas and Kevin Love with Larry Bird in their respective brackets. Deal? Deal.
The difference-maker in your set-up is the extra value of the 3. With that in mind, Curry is going to be an extremely tough out, even for Westbrook who will get to the rim on everyone in his bracket - and maybe beyond - but we're back to the new math of the NBA.
So we'll go, Curry of Thomas/Kyrie, Westbrook stifles Iverson with physicality, with Curry topping Westrbook with five 3s in six possessions.
In MJ's bracket, Jordan blocks a Miller 3 and scores on his next possession for a 16-12 win. Kobe cruises by Klay, who almost fouls out and struggles to create his own shot against the Mamba. Jordan gets into Kobe's head early with a little trash talk and edges Bryant to advance.
LeBron crushes Melo, and Durant's length and ability to shoot from range moves him past Leonard, which is a good thing for LeBron, because Leonard is a bad matchup. LeBron and Durant is interesting because of the added value of the 3, but six years ago, LeBron physically was the most versatile defender, maybe of all time, but certainly since Rodman was in Detroit. And his ability to get to the basket could potentially foul the slender Durant out, so we'll give this to James by an edge.
Yes, that's three No. 1 seeds.
As for the Versatile Bigs category, Dirk would hammer Love, but not Bird. Either way, the Unibrow, who is far better off the dribble than any of the others in this bracket, advances.
That leaves us with Jordan-Curry and James-Anthony Davis.
In the land of 3, and with his ability to stretch the floor, we are willing to say the unthinkable and say Curry beats Jordan. (Dude shoots comfortably from 35 feet; it's crazy to try to think about chasing him - and his handle - all over the floor.)
That said, not unlike the debate between Curry's Warriors and Jordan's Bulls for the bets team ever, a lot of this would depend on which rules - the hand-checking physical rules of the 1980s and 90s, or the hands-off defense of today - Crawford used.
LeBron eases by Davis.
LeBron's length would make this interesting. Curry would have to hit five 3s in his seven or eight possessions, because he simply would not be able to stop LeBron from getting to the him.
Which takes us to the biggest thing in basketball - making shots.
We'll say he'd hit four of seven and lose 16-12.
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2015, file photo, Ohio State defensive lineman Joey Bosa plays plays against Northern Illinois during an NCAA college football game in Columbus, Ohio. Bosa is one of the top defensive players available in the NFL Draft, which starts April 28 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File) From Jomo Jomo
For the mailbag- JG, a lot of people are trashing the NBA saying its not as good as the past, i.e. the Jordan, Magic and Bird years. The same is being said about college basketball. That these sports are not in the "golden Years". On the flip side, Do you think that we are now witnessing for College Football "The Golden Years" ? The money that has been poured into the sport, The interest level, The quality of depth ( NFL rosters and draft even have a lot of FCS players, etc. ) a true playoff. And when Mississippi State can pay a coach $4.5mm a year and be a "destination" job. Do you think this is the best and "Golden Years" we are witnessing for college football ?
Jomo -
Great point, and yes, this feels like the golden days of college football.
One thing that has been discussed this week that certainly could change that is the fact that the NFL is looking hard at a developmental league. (Insert SEC joke here.)
The Forbes writer believes the NFL developmental league would not hurt college football, but a developmental league would certainly take players - and pay them - before the three-year stay that guys have to commit to colleges.
Take Leonard Fournette, for example. A developmental draft - and who wouldn't love an extra draft for Pete's sake - would have been the No. 1 overall pick in that process.
How much it would affect the die-hard college football fans is uncertain since so many enjoy the event and cheer for logo on the jersey more than the player in the jersey. But that was believed about college hoops too.
And, when - notice we said when, not if - the powers that be expand the college football playoff, the watering down of the regular season will also hurt the product and the excitement.
So yes, these are the salad days for college football. (Thanks for ruining our day.)
From Mary
My husband and I want your opinion on something.
This weekend is the 30th anniversary of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Of the major characters, what would each of them be doing in life?
Thanks and keep up the good work on A2 and the radio.
Mary -
Awesome question. Simply fantastic.
OK, we'll start with Jeanie Bueller (Jennifer Gray). She worked her way through college as a fitness instructor and eventually became a psychologist specializing in hypochondriacs. (The man she meets at the police station moves to Hollywood loses it several times in his career, catches a deadly disease from too much 'experimenting' and lives on the fringe of sanity.)
Sloane Peterson goes to college and eventually marries Cameron Frye.
Cameron graduates from the University of Illinois and uses family money to open a vintage car dealership. He suffers from high blood pressure and eats Tums like they are M&Ms.
As for Grace, the secretary, she falls madly in love with a pencil salesman and leaves before the start of the next school year. Her whereabouts are unknown.
Ferris dabbles in college but becomes that 'guy' in his fraternity. He takes some time off one summer and goes West looking for something to do. He catches on with some smart kids early on in the music movement online - "Never had one lesson" - and charms his way into the ground floor and currently is retired after being the first chairman of iTunes.
Finally, Principal Edward Rooney moved his way through the system and became the head of the Hamilton County Department of Education.
Thanks Mary, awesome question.
FILE - In this July 19, 1996, file photo, American swimmer Janet Evans looks on as Muhammad Ali lights the Olympic flame during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony in Atlanta. Ali, the magnificent heavyweight champion whose fast fists and irrepressible personality transcended sports and captivated the world, has died according to a statement released by his family Friday, June 3, 2016. He was 74. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)From Jeremy
Ali's death has received such overwhelming coverage. It's been all over the place. What's your Rushmore of sports stars or celebrities who would get this type of coverage when they die?
Jeremy -
Wow, not sure if anyone would get this type of treatment, considering we are a week from Ali's death and ESPN was wall-to-wall coverage this morning live from Louisville.
If we had to come up with four, we'll start with Pat Summitt, who had such an amazing impact on female sports. (And that - like Ali's impact on civil rights - carries so much more weight than their brilliance in their sporting fields.)
We'll add Pele, who is 75 and probably now ranks as the most famous global athlete on the planet. (He or MJ). Then maybe MJ and possibly Billie Jean King, maybe.
(Edited at 10 a.m. I almost had Gordie Howe on this list, and news this morning that Howe has died at 88 is truly sad. Also of note here, Cameron Frye was wearing a No. 9 Gordie Howe jersey if memory serves. Man, that's two of the greatest in their sports ever passing in less than a week.)
As for celebrities, we'll go with Bill Gates, Oprah, Paul McCartney and maybe Madonna.
Thoughts, and great mailbag this week gang.