Draft dodgers
We posted a list of the teams that lost the most - and the best - at the deadline for third-year players to declare for the NFL draft.
Clemson, of course, lost a lot, especially with the leadership and play-making of Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams. Florida did, too, and the Gators lost four big-time stars - and two first-round corners - from a defense that carried it to another SEC East title. That is to be expected in most cases. Guys who can make a check playing football need to start making those checks as soon as possible in most cases. One injury could change everything in this game.
At the other end of the spectrum, quite possibly the most impactful recruiting that can be done for the fall happens in the first part of January.
Alabama had four very high draft picks eschew last year's draft and return to school. The result was a defense that was suffocating until it ran of gas in the final 15 minutes of the title game. (Side note: There will be a couple of interesting test cases from that group. Reuben Foster and Jonathan Allen greatly enhanced their value by coming back, and each could be top 10 picks - heck, the CBSsports.com mock draft has Allen No. 2 overall and Foster going fifth to Tennessee. On the flip side, how Eddie Jackson's knee injury affects his stock - he was going to be no worse than a mid-second-rounder last year - will be intriguing.)
With that knowledge, here are five teams poised to have the same kind of positive bounce with major decisions from stars who are coming back:
Oklahoma. Baker Mayfield may not have the highest NFL ceiling, but his decision to return to Norman makes the Sooners a national title contender even with the losses of leading receiver Dede Westbrook and running backs Joe Mixon and all-time leading-rusher Samaje Perine.
Georgia. Wow, in addition to the excellent haul of newcomers Kirby Smart is bringing to Athens in his first full recruiting class, the Bulldogs had an avalanche of folks returning, highlighted by running backs Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. Add in linebacker Lorenzo Carter and Georgia has to be the favorite in the East next year.
Ohio State. Yes, the Buckeyes lost five early entries, and that will be a constant problem for the Buckeyes as long as Urban Meyer is recruiting at this level. But J.T. Barrett's late-year slide almost assuredly made it clear he was not ready. Plus, defensive end Tyquan Lewis is coming back, and if Barrett returns to the guy who was a Heisman invite in 2015 and a frontrunner for the first half of last season, THE OSU will be in the mix. Again.
Alabama. The haul is not as great as the names Allen, Foster, Williams and Jackson who returned last year for a dynamic defense. Still, there are a couple of guys who will be key pieces who had the chance to leave that didn't. Yes, Shaun Dion Hamilton's knee injury hurt in the postseason, but it also means Hamilton will be back and anchoring the middle of that Tide defense. Add in Bo Scarborough and Da'Shawn Hand coming back and Alabama will be right there. Again.
Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen. It's crazy at the QB rankings heading into the draft. Mitch Tribusky over Deshaun Watson? OK, whatever. Well, Allen is the non-power five guy with all the measurable. Size (6-5, 222) with a strong arm and mobility. He would have been a fast-riser and this year's version of Carson Wentz. But he's returning to Wyoming and that gives the Cowboys a superstar in waiting.
Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
The story lines from tonight's announcement will be a) who gets in, and b) who continues to ascend toward the threshold of admittance.
This process is really becoming somewhat confusing.
Tim Raines, by all projections, is going to get in on his 10th and final year on the ballot. How is Raines a better player this cycle than any of the previous, considering he has not played a game in 14 years? Same in a lot of ways can be said about Jeff Bagwell and Trevor Hoffman, too. And we understand the thinking of a first-ballot inductee and everyone else. But the growing sentimentalism with guys hanging around and hanging around - coupled with the stubbornness of guys not voting for anyone on the first ballot - means we are in a real place that a guy's place in history is decided by who else is listed that year. And that's nauseating.
Now add in the obvious and admitted bitterness from some voters about guys such as Curt Schilling and the single best thing we can say about this Hall of Fame voting cycle is thank goodness this is the last round that will not be made available to the public. (Side note: We have long stated our belief that if you have to pause and think whether someone is a Hall of Famer, then answer is no. And really it's just that simple. This is the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of really good or even the Hall of Great. For that reason, we would not vote for Schilling or Mike Mussina, but those guys are not getting enough credit for doing what they did in an era in which offensive numbers were enhanced by outside agents that have penalized offensive stars.)
Let's look at who we would vote for in a year that has a lot of tough calls.
Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez. Simply put, he's one of the three best all-around catchers ever - right there with Bench and Berra - and the best defensive catcher ever. Easily clears the question of, "Is he a Hall of Famer?" with an immediate yes.
Manny Ramirez. A guy that clears the question fundamental question with an immediate yes with a bat in his hands. The most complete right-handed hitter of his generation - .312/.411/.585 with 555 homers and more than 1,800 RBIs - but here's where we draw the line on the PED era. If you admitted to it or failed a drug test, then you are out. Period. I would not vote for Manny.
Vlad Guerrero. This guy tests the unilateral nature of the question test in large part because he spent his career in baseball outposts of Montreal, Anaheim and Texas. But Vlad has an MVP, a career .318 average, one of the best outfield throwing arms we've ever seen and hit almost 450 homers. He's likely going to be a Hall of Famer, but who knows what will happen with a first-year guy like Guerrero; I mean last year three knuckleheads left Ken Griffey Jr. off their ballots for Pete Gammons' sake.
As for the trending players, we expect several of the PED users to continue to track in a positive direction.
Bonds, Clemens, et al., will not make it this year because of numbers. (There's a real chance that Pudge, Vlad, Raines, Bagel and Hoffman all make it and it would only be the second time five players were voted in in the same class by the writers. The last time that happened was in the first Hall of Fame class in 1936 when Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson were voted in. And no, Ruth was unanimous either. And yes, if there is a clear definition of our pivotal question when voting it is apparent in the class and achievement of the names in what could be the two largest Hall of Fame classes ever.)
But those guys are on track to get there. Eventually. And this time next year, we'll know who is and who is not voting for them. If we had a ballot, in case you're wondering, here's who would we vote for:
Bonds, Clemens, Pudge, Jeff Kent and Raines. Here's why, and yes, five would be a lofty number in our view to ever have on the same ballot for the baseball. (Football and basketball are different for a variety of reasons; more players; more to choose from; etc.)
We can disagree on whether you think Bonds and Clemens should be eligible, and that's fine. But they are on the ballot, they never failed a test and they never admitted PED use. We would have been voting for them for a while and would continue to do it.
Pudge is the only clear-cut first-ballot guy in this class, and we honor that notation. (We likely would vote for Vlad next year, but not this one.)
Kent teeters on the edge of the clear-cut question, but dude was the best offensive second baseman of his generation and his numbers are way better than most realize. He hit .290 with 377 homers and 1,500-plus RBIs; numbers that dwarf the production of listed Hall of Famers who played second base like Craig Biggio (.281, 291, 1,175), Ryne Sandberg (.285, 285, 1,061) and Joe Morgan (.271, 268, 1,133). Yes, Morgan and Biggio ran way more, but still. The only time the question doesn't work is when the standards and previous benchmarks have been set. Take for instance that it is generally considered that Joe Morgan was the best second baseman of the last half century, right? Kent's career was better (We'd take Robbie Alomar over any second baseman of our lifetime - dude was a magician with the glove and the bat - but that's another discussion for another day.)
Thoughts?
NBA halfway report
Here we are, at the turn. Almost all of the teams have played 41 games, and what do we know?
Let's explore:
MVP: We took this guy at the beginning of the season, and there's no reason to turn away now. Russell Westbrook is simply amazing. Yes, he's averaging a triple-double - and he will get another game against KD and the Warriors tonight, so that could be fun - but Westbrook is simply a force of nature right. And his brilliance in some ways shadows the brilliance of James Harden, who had another 40-point triple double last night.
Best team: It's the Warriors. Yes, the blown leads and the frustration about shots give pause, but let's remember the growing pains the Heatles had early in year one. The Warriors showed their A-game Monday night and no team in the league has an answer for it.
Best new star: It has to be the Greek Freak, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is a 7-foot point guard and who despite playing with the Bucks has almost as many all-star votes as LeBron.
Best rookie: Joel Embiid has been a treat. Yes, he's a rookie with Philly because he has missed so much time with injuries. Heading into this week, Embiid has averaged 19.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots while shooting 36.7 percent from three-point distance in limited time because of minute restrictions.
Biggest disappointment: What happened to Minnesota, the young team filled with future all-stars and a defensive-minded head coach? A team a lot of us expected to take the next step is 14-28 with the same winning percentage as the perennially tanking 76ers.
Best NBA storyline: Teams have stars, more so than any time since the heyday of the 1980s. More than half the league has a guy you could view in the star light and that's great for the league.
Worst NBA storyline: While each team has guys worth the price of admission and star power, there really are only four teams - maybe five - that can make the Finals, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who would take the field over Golden State and Cleveland to win the title. That's not good for the league.
Best behind the scenes storyline. Tops has to be the league avoiding a lockout by getting its collective bargaining deal done with the players.
Best traditional turn: The youthful Lakers are fun and the Celtics are pretty good. The NBA is always better when those two franchises are at least entertaining.
Worst traditional turn: Can someone explain to us why the NBA believes the Knicks are a traditional power? Other than a run with Ewing and Riley (when Jordan was 'playing baseball'), some fun times with Bernard King (a player we idolized as a kid) and the early 1970s title, this is a dumpster fire and everyone acts like they were the Yankees for Pete's sake. Move along. Nothing to see here.
Thoughts?
This and that
- After the concerns and the issues with three Oregon players being admitted to the hospital after some workouts, the strength and condition coach with the Ducks has been suspended. Now comes tragic news that a Northern Michigan player died after a workout this week.
- Man, that Bob Stoops is sure running an A-1 operation over there at Oklahoma right? Here's the latest player charged with a felony. He may get suspended for the first series or something (depending on opponent). Here's a belief that under Stoops Oklahoma has a family program - the Corleone Family, maybe.
- This could be interesting. CNBC and Michael Strahan are building a show around Alex Rodriguez in which A-Rod puts financially struggling former professional athletes and money-savvy professionals looking to get them back on their feet. This could be very intriguing. Side note: In case you are wondering, A-Rod made a tidy sum of $441 million in baseball contract salary. That's not endorsements or anything else.
- Hard loss for the Vols basketball team last night that was even harder to watch because the officiating was brutal. Also noticed that Kentucky won at Starkville last night, another step forward for the Young Cats who can score with anyone and get everyone's best shot, especially on the road.
- Enjoyed TFP ace sports columnist Mark Widener's view on the potential coupling of Fulmer and Blackburn to run the UT athletic department. Discussed this some on Press Row on Tuesday. It has its merits. Thoughts?
Today's questions
Lots has happened on Jan. 18 through the years.
For example, 21 years ago today, the owners unanimously approved interleave play. Eight years ago today, the US announced George Clooney as a UN messenger of peace. (Think a messenger of piece of tail may be better suited, but you know how those Hollywood types like to get on the commercials and tell us how great we have it and how bad it is somewhere else. Whatever.)
Kevin Costner is 62 today, and the Rushmore of Costner would be...
Also, "The Jeffersons" debuted on this day in 1975, which leads us to the Rushmore of TV spinoffs.
Go (and remember the mailbag.)