Weekend winners
Roger Federer. We really are going to need a tennis and non-tennis division, right? Federer was amazing, topping Rafael Nadal in a turn-back-the-clock match. It was Federer's 18th major - and yes, Jack Nicklaus sent out a congrats - and adda an emphatic line in the best ever discussion. Side note: That was the fourth five-set major final match between Roger and Raffy, the most ever. Yes, those of us at a certain age can forever recall the glory of Borg-McEnroe, but there is no doubt what the all-time tennis rivalry is. Now and forever.
Serena Williams. Yes, even the tennis division is going to be tough this weekend. As great as Roger was, know this about Serena: She set the all-time major singles championship mark with 23 after beating her sister Venus on Saturday. And now know this: Serena now has 10 major championship after the age of 30; the next most for a player beyond the big 3-0 is three.
Keionta Davis. The UTC defensive end had six tackles and a sack in the Senior Bowl on Saturday, an effort and a stat line that solidifies his place in the draft. Davis, along with a lot of folks, made himself some money over the last week in Mobile. Also on that list is Alabama tight end O.J. Howard and potentially UT quarterback Josh Dobbs, who by almost all accounts was among the most polished guys in a rather weak collection of quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl.
SEC hoops. Yes, Kentucky gave one away to Kansas, but the league played toe-to-toe with the Big 12 - and that was with South Carolina sitting out of the cross-conference exhibition - and its seven schools with RPIs in the top 50. And those rankings were after several of those Big 12 teams - Kansas State, Iowa State and TCU - took losses to SEC counterparts. Side note: Want to see two SEC teams exceeding expectations this year, watch Tennessee at Auburn on Tuesday night.
Effort in the Pro Bowl. Did the players get mad? Was there an extra six-figure bonus on the line for the winners? Whatever it was, the effort was clearly there for the players in the Pro Bowl on Sunday. No we could not stay with the game for the duration, but there were goal-line stands and defensive effort and actual tackles. That makes for a much better game. Side note: The skills competition was pretty cool and Odell Beckham Jr. can catch anything.
Weekend losers
San Francisco 49er fans. OK, the 49ers are a mess. A rotten roster that roughly five years ago was arguably the best in the NFL. A rotten management situation that ran off Jim Harbaugh, who is arguably one of the five best football coaches on the planet. So they cleared the deck, firing their second head coach since running off Harbaugh and former GM Trent Baalke, who couldn't get along with Harbaugh. And the first big hire is. wait for it. John Lynch, the former safety and current broadcaster who has the same football GM experience as Jomo. Wow. The hiring brought comparisons to Detroit hiring Matt Millen, who assembled the roster and the coaching staff that guided the Lions to the first 0-16 season in NFL history. And here's the worst part: Lynch got a six-year deal. We'll say it again: Wow.
Venus Williams. Maybe this is a little harsh, but consider this: That almost assuredly was her last miracle run to a major final considering the way the bracket and the draw fell. Yes, by all measure at 36, this was likely her last roll. And she lost to her sister. And, yes, she's s surefire tennis Hall of Famer, but considering that she has seven major singles titles (we thought it was more) and spent a grand total of 11 weeks at No. 1 in her lengthy career (again, we thought it was more), is it fair to ask if we thought Venus would have accomplished more in her career. Stupid kid sisters.
Tennis in general. OK, it was a glorious weekend for tennis all things considered, and this makes the fourth tennis entry into today's 5-at-10, which quite possibly sets a single month record. Still, thing of what could have been? The match time meant live TV viewers were minuscule. Now know that the complete dream sequence to get a Williams-Williams women's final and a Raffy-Roger men's final would be next-to-impossible to replicate. And that adds to the fact that name three players under the age of 30 by Memorial Day - Murray and Djoker turn 30 in May - that draw your interest. Exactly. And if golf has taught us anything, it's that you need some sort of plan when an all-timer walks away. And tennis, despite the spike in interest and popularity this weekend - even at 3 a.m. - must realize that its two greatest champions are leaving much sooner than later.
James Robinson. Yes, we normally do not include high schoolers on the weekend losers list, but Mr. Robinson's neighborhood is a little different. Robinson, a four-star wide out, was cited for marijuana possession during a recruiting trip to Ohio State over the weekend. Yeah, that kind of raises some questions - of the recruit and the recruiting hosts - no?
Cam Sutton. Hey, we think the former UT cornerback can be a NFL player, especially when you add in his return skills. That said, he struggled at the Senior Bowl in technique and in live action. And for a player who missed most of his senior year - and even when he was healthy was obviously limited - the Senior Bowl and the combine showings are even more important. Here's Yahoo's list of players including Sutton who did not help themselves last week in Mobile.
FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2015, file photo, Baylor coach Art Briles yells from the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Lamar in Waco, Texas. Briles is accusing Baylor of wrongful termination and indicating he has no interest in settling a federal lawsuit filed against him and the university by a woman who was raped by a football player, according to a motion filed Thursday, June 16, 2016, as part of the lawsuit. Briles says he wants a judge to assign him new attorneys and his personal legal team is demanding that Baylor turn over all its files in the sexual assault scandal that has gripped the Baptist university for months. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) Baylor outrage
We have always wondered what it would take for another football program to get the death penalty.
Baylor University is doing its dangedest to find out. Here's the report from the weekend about the expanded charges and lawsuits against the Baylor football program and the way it allegedly ignored claims of sexual abuse and rape. Here are the shocking stats:
- There are 52 allegations of "acts of rape" by 31 football players for 2011-2014;
- Former OC Kendall Briles - and son of former coach Art Briles - is listed by name in the Title IX lawsuit with the allegation of telling a Dallas recruit: "Do you like white women? Because we have a lot of them at Baylor and they love football players." (Worth noting here that Kendall Briles is now the OC at Florida Atlantic for Mr. Joey Freshwater himself, Lane Kiffin.)
- There were five alleged gang rapes committed during that time.
We don't believe that the NCAA will ever issue another death penalty like the one that crushed the SMU program back in the early 1980s because there is too much at stake for everyone involved.
And in truth, if these allegations prove to be true, the NCAA may not have to.
This is awful and scary, specially for those of us with daughters.
This and that
- This was a contender for a weekend loser, but it has not become official. There are rumors swirling that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred gave Cleveland the 2019 All-Star gala - an eight-figure lottery ticket - in exchange for doing away with the Chief Wahoo logo. Interesting. And it's also interesting that PC backroom deals are no big deal by comparison.
- Side note: With all of the Executive Order stuff and immigration backlash happening around us, this would have been the best weekend ever for some public figure to share bad news, right?
- Speaking of the President's executive order about immigration, here's an interesting twist that includes former UT hoops star J.P. Prince, via Yahoo: "Two American basketball players, Joseph Jones and J.P. Prince, are stranded in Dubai after Iran's decision to ban U.S. citizens prevented them from returning to the country where they play professionally, Eric Fleisher, the agent for both players, told The Vertical." Here's the rest of that story, with a shout out to Paul Harvey - God rest his soul.
- Speaking of Paul Harvey, here's his glorious "So God made the farmer" essay, which Dodge used as the back drop of a truck commercial in a Super Bowl commercial four years ago.
- Thought this was interesting, courtesy of our friends at Cynopsis Media: "NFL partner Microsoft is offering a Custom Cleat Design Competition at the Super Bowl where New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler and Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman will wear customized cleats during their pre-game warmups prior to the big game. The cleat designs will be created by fans at Microsoft's NFLX location using Sketchable on Microsoft's new Surface Studio and Surface Hub devices. Once Butler and Freeman choose their favorite designs, cleat artist Marcus Rivero will create the cleats live at the space to be completed on Friday."
- Thought we'd share this great photo of pop superstar Justin Bieber getting checked into the boards during the celebrity part of the NHL All-Star weekend. This is pretty entertaining on a lot of levels.
Today's question
Go with who won the weekend and who lost it.
As for a Rushmore, well, this one feels pretty good. On this day, all the way back in 1930, Gene Hackman was born.
Yes, it's a little hard to believe that Hackman is Eighty-Flipping-7, but that's the fact jack.
So, with the universal acceptance that around these parts "Hoosiers" is far left, what's the Rushmore of Hackman feature films.
Go.