Weekend winners
Auburn and Tennessee. Each won Saturday and each finished 13-5 in the SEC. Each will hang a regular-season title banner. (Yes, Chas, that may not be deal worthy in Lexington but in these locales it is.) That said, how teams in the same league that played head-to-head are determined co-champs is anti-American.
Shaquem Griffin. Wow. The one-handed linebacker from Central Florida sizzled at the combine. (More on that in a moment.) But Griffin etched his name on every draft board with a 4.38 40, the fastest for a linebacker in 15 years. Yes, he may move to safety, but he also secured himself a spot on a roster somewhere.
Michigan. The Wolverines rolled rival Michigan State and Purdue to win the Big Ten basketball tournament.
Phil Mickelson. Lefty ended a winless drought of almost five years with a playoff win over Justin Thomas, who is cruising right now. Golf in general is in a pretty sweet spot considering Lefty has four straight top-10 finishes, Tiger was in contention, Thomas is killing it and almost every weekend ends in overtime. Good times. With the Masters 32 days away, that’s a nice list of things to get behind, no?
College hoops fans. The tournaments are in full swing. We are a week away from selection Sunday. This is when it gets fun.
Weekend losers
Aldon Smith. The former Missouri star is in trouble again. Police are looking for Smith, the suspended Raiders linebacker, for an alleged domestic violence incident.
UTC hoops. Well, that was a forgettable run for both the guys and gals. So it goes.
Louisville. Losers of four of their last five, the Cardinals are one of the most bubble-fied teams in the country. Three of those losses came against three of the top 15 teams in the country, including a nightmare last-second meltdown against top-ranked Virginia. But last weekend’s gag job against N.C. State drops Louisville to 19-12 and 9-9 in the league.
Alabama. Meet the Cards of the SEC. Alabama has lost five straight, a swoon that has them very bubble-tastic as well. At 17-14 overall and 8-10 in the league, Alabama needs to stay a couple of days in St. Louis to avoid being a 1 seed in the NIT.
The Oscars. Man, the movies nominated were dreck and this could be the least-watched Academy Awards ever.
Combine, so fine
Well, it is the Underwear Olympics.
And we completely understand the folks that say “give me the game tape” over the drills. That makes sense.
But we also know from history, there are a lot of dudes who made themselves a lot of money last weekend.
It’s like any job interview. If you want the best chance at the best jobs out there, come ready to show your stuff.
Here are the three guys – other than Shaq Griffin – who did just that:
Saquon Barkley. Most of his work was Friday, but wow. Wow. He could very well go No. 1 overall now.
Da’Ron Payne. Yes, Bradley Chubb solidified his spot atop the prospect list for defensive lineman, but he was already no worse than a top-three pick anyway. Payne, however, crushed Indy. At 311 pounds he clocked a 4.95 40. How good is that? Well, since 2000, only 10 defensive linemen who were at least 6-2 and 310 pounds ran a faster 40.
D.J. Chark. In a draft without a dominant, no-brainer A-1 wide out, Chark was great, running a 4.34 40 and putting up 16 reps on the bench and jumping 40 inches.
Speaking of running backs, Bo Scarborough helped his cause too.
This and that
– Side note here: Since returning from a knee injury, Lonzo Ball and his broken jumper are 14-of 22 from distance. So there’s that.
– Kobe Bryant won an Oscar. What did “Space Jam” ever win, MJ? Take that “Trainwreck” and LeBron. On a serious note, as celebrities everywhere are galvanizing in the #MeToo movement, has anyone gotten more of a free pass than Kobe on his sexual assault lawsuit that the plaintiff dropped in Colorado?
– Speaking of LeBron, dude’s 13-year-old son can flat ball. Here’s more.
Today’s question
As for today, March 5, well, Smoking tobacco was introduced by a Spaniard on this day in 1558.
Rex Harrison would have been 110 today. Andy Gibb would have been 60. Eva Mendes is 44.
Patsy Cline died on this day in 1963.
As for a Rushmore, does an Oscar crack the Rushmore of trophies?
Discuss.