5-at-10: NFL rumors, Joe Mixon, Q&A about Big Dirk's great career, Rushmores with the AT&T girl and most unbelievable sports movie premises


              FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2016, file photo, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson carries the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Minneapolis. The Vikings on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. have declined to exercise their option for next season on Peterson’s contract. This makes the franchise’s all-time leading rusher an unrestricted free agent when the market opens next week. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2016, file photo, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson carries the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Minneapolis. The Vikings on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. have declined to exercise their option for next season on Peterson’s contract. This makes the franchise’s all-time leading rusher an unrestricted free agent when the market opens next week. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King, File)

Rumors and combine futures

The combine is in the books, and that's OK.

Now the rumors start flipping, and with the NFL new calendar officially flipping on Thursday, there are stories in the works.

There's this tidbit of the Browns being willing to part with the No. 12 overall pick for Jimmy Garoppolo. A draft haul of Myles Garrett and Jimmy G would be exciting for Cleveland. (We think Jimmy G has the good; we are still unsure about Garrett, regardless of his freakish work at the combine.

There is talk of Adrian Peterson eyeing two new teams and DeSean Jackson being intrigued by Dallas.

There also is this story which details some of the big names returning to college football who will be combine hot shots this time next year.

Some of them are quite familiar - Sam Darnold, Christian Kirk, Christian Wilkins, Saquan Barkley to name four - and one of them may be surprisingly familiar. Jalen Hurd, the former Tennessee power back who is looking for a new school and possibly a new position, made the list. He is listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds and posted a social media clip of him running at 23 mph.

Who wants to tackle that? No one.

Who wants to test that? Every NFL team.

photo FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2016, file photo, Oklahoma football player Joe Mixon speaks out for the first time since the release of a 2014 video showing him punching a woman in the face, at a press conference in Norman, Okla. Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook believes Joe Mixon should be at this week's NFL's scouting combine. Mixon was absent during Friday's, March 3, 2017, running back workouts because a league policy bars players convicted of violent crimes from attending. Mixon and Westbrook were college teammates. (Steve Sisney/The Oklahoman via AP, File)

Case study

Adam Schefter, the ESPN NFL reporter who breaks more news than just about anyone on any beat anywhere, said on Mike & Mike on ESPN 105.1 the Zone this morning that he was surprised how highly regarded Joe Mixon the player is viewed by NFL teams.

Scheffer said he is a sure-fire first-round talent in the eyes of NFL evaluators. And he also said, he will be a late second- or third-round pick because of Mixon punching a woman in the face early in his career at Oklahoma.

Mixon was not invited to the NFL combine and will work out for teams today at OU. He was willing to meet with teams Tuesday, but only four - Bengals, Browns, Lions and Saints - teams requested a meeting according to the NFL Network.

So what is the take away here?

The NFL, because of appearance - and do not underestimate the power and imagines of the video - cost Mixon millions, right? And this is not excusing or apologizing or defending Mixon. Off-the-field issues are part of it. And that's a good thing.

But let's not congratulate the NFL for its random morality. This is more about image than integrity for the NFL.

Believe that.

photo Dallas Mavericks' Devin Harris (34) watches as Dirk Nowitzki (41) of Germany takes a shot that sinks giving Nowitzki his 30,000th career point in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Dallas, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dirk hits the big 3-0

Dirk Nowitzki scored his 30,000 career NBA point on Wednesday. That ranks sixth all-time, and look at the one-name studs who comprise the top five.

Jabbar. Malone. Kobe. Jordan. Wilt.

And then there is Dirk.

The achievement should not be lost, and in some ways, Dirk has been a forerunner in the changing face of the stretch-four, big-men-shooting-3s age of the NBA.

Dirk's legacy and career may be undervalued in the grand scheme of things. In fact, how would you answer these questions about Dirk on a one-word Wednesday. (And most of these are yes or no.)

Was the Dallas deal of sending Robert Tractor Traylor to Milwaukee for Dirk on draft day back in 1998 on the Rushmore of most lopsided NBA trades ever?

Do you take Dirk or Duncan as the power forward of the last 20 years?

If you took an All-NBA team of the last 20 years, does Dirk make it?

Does Dirk have a spot on the Rushmore of professional careers from European athletes?

This and that

- Weeds on college hoops? Yes please. Here's college hoops guru Mark Wiedmer with a great profile of Baylor School grad and MTSU star Reggie Upshaw. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/preps/story/2017/mar/08/mtsus-upshaw-special-court-it/416551/

- Speaking of college sports, here's more intel from TFP UTC ace Mean Gene Henley on new UTC defensive coordinator Tom Kaufman. Seems like a very experienced hire. Also, is there something in the water at John Carroll, because it feels like there are a lot of coaches with JCU backgrounds. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/college/story/2017/mar/08/kaufmleaving-syracuse-be-utc-defensive-coordi/416555/

- We don't dive too much into health-related stories around here, but the picture drew us into this one. The lead click-bait headline was 10 foods that are tied to death. The photo? Bacon. Gee, you think so doctor. https://www.yahoo.com/news/bacon-soda-too-few-nuts-tied-big-portion-170115771.html

- If you are part of the folks who have grown tired of LeBron James, well, you may not want to read this. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ftw/2017/03/07/12yearold-lebron-james-jrs-latest-highlight-video-has-his-dad-buying-into-the-hype/98862272/ That's a story in which James says his 12-year-old son LeBron Jr. is a better passer and shooter than he was at that age. At least if LBJ Jr. makes it we will know who to compare him against.

- http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/politics/local/story/2017/mar/07/andy-berke-leads-early-votes-chattanooga-mayor/416506/

Today's question

We have been a little Rushmore-light this week, so we will drop a couple.

First, today is Milana Vayntrub's birthday. If you asking, "Who?" well you are not alone.

She is Lily from the AT&T commercials. She turns 30 today. Does she make the Rushmore of most-famous reoccurring commercial characters?

Also of note, the New York Stock Exchange turns 200 today. We have one more birthday of note. James Van Der Beek, and he deserves two Rushmores.

First, who makes the Rushmore of four-name famous people? Second, what makes the Rushmore of most nonsensical sports movies, since the turning point of Varsity Blues is when the players tell the coaches to leave, and the coaches leave and the players return to the field and coach and no one bats an eye.

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