Let’s handle our business.
Here’s today’s A2 column from a round-faced fellow.
As for the Rushmores, let’s go quickly.
Rushmore of Bell: Cool Papa Bell, who was so fast that legend has it he once hit a line drive up the middle and the ball hit him in the head as he slid into second (and as loyal reader John M pointed out, Satchell Paige always said that Bell was so fast he could turn out the light and be under the covers before the room was dark); Liberty Bell, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and AG Bell and all the bells he inspired.
Rushmore of best individual game performances in NBA history: Wilt going for 100; Magic in Game 6 of the Finals his rookie season; MJ’s 63 in the playoffs that inspired Bird to call him “Jesus in shorts;” and Kobe’s 81-point night.
Rushmore of Captain: Captain America, Captain James T. Kirk, Captain Crunch and Captain Augustus McCrae from “Lonesome Dove.”
Rushmore of racing families: Andrettis, Foyts, Earnhardts and Unsers.
To the bag.
From HHH
What is a comparable rule in another sport that could put this argument about the shift in baseball into context? Because to me it sounds like baseball players are saying the equivalent of if a basketball player complained about a team playing zone defense because said complainer is on a team with poor shooters.
My gut reaction is these guys should shut up, figure out how to hit the other direction or adjust the strategy – i.e. bunt. But there’s gotta be more to it than my simple mind is thinking of.
Please help me understand.
HHH –
I wish I could, Triple H. I wish I could.
In truth, unless you are Bonds or Bryce Harper, it’s always been puzzling to me why the shift has not been handled with competitive balance.
Like your zone analogy, if you want teams to quit the shift, bunt for hits until they have to reposition.
Like you, I am cautious to ever change rule for strategy purposes, but the NFL has flourished since changing the pass interference rules in the late 1980s to help offense.
I think I understand analytics pretty well, but when you have guys like Joey Gallo complaining about the shift – when Gallo hits .199 with 38 homers and made the all-star team for Pete’s sake.
Side note: Dave Kingman was ahead of his time, friends.
From Chas
247 Sports has ranked SEC quarterbacks for the upcoming season. See what you think.
The top five consists of Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young (Alabama), K.J. Jefferson (Arkansas), Hendon Hooker (Tennessee), Will Rogers (Mississippi State) and Spencer Rattler (South Carolina).
Stetson Bennett (national champion Georgia) comes in at No. 6, way too low, I think.
Then a pair of incoming transfers. Former LSU quarterback Max Johnson (Texas A&M) comes in at No. 7 while USC transfer Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) is at No. 8.
Will Levis (UK) comes in at No. 9 followed by Myles Brennan (LSU), Anthony Richardson (Florida), Zach Calzada (Auburn), Brady Cook (Missouri), and Ken Seals (Vanderbilt).
I’ll be surprised if Levis doesn’t finish better than #9.
Chas –
Young is a clear one. And yes, Levis will finish better than 9.
That said, Levis and Jefferson will be forced to replace their WR security blankets next year, which makes me wonder how good Jefferson will fare without Treylon Burks on the outside.
I think that ranking is entirely too low for Jaxson Dart in Kiffin’s system, too.
The SEC will have some high-caliber QB play next year for sure.
From LTH
Jay, shut your mouth about the Mocs and Coach Paris. Are you trying to get him to leave? You local sports people never talk about UTC unless it is bad or you are complaining or telling someone to take a new job. Bigger is not always better, Jay, but what do you know anyway – you have been in Chattanooga forever.
LTH –
Thanks for reading.
Hope the Mocs fare well at the upcoming SoCon tournament.
And I don’t want Lamont to leave, he’s aces.
But my opinion hardly matters right – after all, I’m still in Chattanooga.
From Edward
Mr Greeson,
I read the TFP every day and always enjoy your well-thought-out, intelligent column. However, I must disagree with your recent opinion about the proposed new stadium for the Lookouts. We are season ticket holders to the Lookouts. It is essential we get a new stadium for the Lookouts or we face losing the team altogether. This would be a terrible loss to our town. Chattanooga is a renaissance city in transition from an industrial economy to one based on tourism and culture. Chattanooga has become a destination city for travelers. Just today I received an email from AARP in which they identify Chattanooga as the #1 reasonably priced city in the US for visitors. Spectator sports are a huge draw for locals and visitors alike. A well-run team playing in a classy stadium can generate massive revenue for the local economy and provide jobs.
If you want a great example of the huge positive economic impact of a team playing in a new quality stadium, look no further than the Washington Nationals. My wife I moved from Washington, DC, to Chattanooga, her hometown, in fall of 2019. In DC we were season tickets for the Nationals. (Fortunately I was able to stay in DC long enough to attend their playoff run and World Series victory, the thrill of a lifetime.) The Nationals built a stadium in one of DC’s worst neighborhoods, an ugly, blighted, dirty area of empty lots, boarded buildings, broken glass, abandoned vehicles and lost hope. Once Nats stadium was built, the surrounding neighborhood underwent a total rebirth, with the massive creation of new hotels, restaurants, bars and a revitalized marina. Streets were repaved. The South Capitol Street bridge was rebuilt. New apartment buildings were constructed and the neighborhood is now one of DC’s trendiest areas, especially for young professionals. A few years later DC United, the pro soccer team, built a new stadium in the same vicinity a few blocks away. The turnaround that occurred is an urban revitalization miracle. I will send you a few photos from the internet.
The derelict area on the river in Chatt’s Southside is the ideal location for a new stadium. That side of town is ripe for redevelopment. The creation of a stadium on that site will lead to new restaurants, hotels, bars, trendy stores, music venues, new use of the waterfront for recreation, and other businesses that cater to visitors and locals. In Southside there is vast acreage for parking. AT&T Field is quaint but dumpy. The facility is antiquated and worn out, with filthy restrooms, limited refreshment options, no elevators, no facilities for those with disabilities and poor sightlines such that fans are looking directly into the sun. You reference the owner making money from beer and parking but I will point out beer at AT&T is already $5 and there is NO parking for fans. The facility is so cramped the coaches and media folks park in a lot that is frequently bombarded by foul balls. The site of AT&T is more suited for a business or high rise residential structure. We can and must have a better ballpark or MLB will relocate or close the franchise. Chattanooga needs to keep the Lookouts now and for our bright future. The boost to our pride in the city and the boost to the local and state economy from a new stadium on that site will be huge. The state should provide most of the funding along with a modest increase in ticket prices. The cost will be recouped quickly with dividends paid deep into the future.
We cannot afford to do otherwise.
Thank you for reading! Love the column.
From John
Jay, very good skepticism this AM in your column! I wouldn’t bite on this “deal” at all and these elected, God-fearing Republican hacks who tend to be cheap as anyone shouldn’t be pressured by well-groomed guys wearing big watches and shoes with buckles on them.
We’re all prisoners, Jay, of our vast sports industrial complex. We’ll let these schmoozing finance guys point out the merits of a new stadium and the revenue it’ll bring to them anyway.
Both today and tomorrow they’ll receive plenty of revenue, we can count on that. I’d let ’em all walk unless they pony up more money OR there’s a new Howard HS thrown in. Would be a great message to send but we’ll all buckle to large corporations in the end.
And BTW, who was responsible for the design of AT&T Field such that hitters and fans are facing into the sun during games? Thank you.
Edwards and John –
Thanks for the feedback, and I wanted to share some of the feedback from the Lookouts discussion we had earlier this week. I wrote about it for A2 and it generated a lot of feedback.
Not so surprisingly, it was 80% or so against the city and county picking up the check – or at least that much of the check – for a new ballpark.
Couple of items that are important here:
First, as I said earlier this week, I 100% want the Lookouts to stay.
Second, to be as clear as I can, without a new stadium, the Lookouts will leave. It’s not a negotiation on that; it’s an either/or.
Third, I am for the city and county taking some risk with bonds and funding even if the return is not seen for more than a decade. The Lookouts add to the quality of life in the city.
Fourth, and Jason Freier and Co. need more skin in the game for me to be comfortable with this. Asking the city and county to bond two-thirds of this project is simply too much for my taste.
Fifth, Freier and Co. should have thought forward in this pitch and pledged $10 million or a sizable donation to Hamilton County schools, and take that argument away from the other side. And yes, the taxes long-term go into the county coffers, which is where the schools are funded. But if we are being generous and assume the bonds will be paid off in 12 years, any public school parent of a student at a school with a need will no longer be a public school parent in 12 years.
Sixth, the question about whether this development will happen with or without the baseball stadium is important, because if they are going ahead either way, well, that plugs Mayor Kelly’s want for a ‘gateway’ into the city, which seems overly simplistic and somewhat disingenuous if you ask me.
Finally, if we are going to finance something and really want a return on the investment, add a dozen high-end and artificially turfed youth sports fields, and get into the business of hosting lacrosse and soccer tournaments weekend from late February to Thanksgiving. Ask any parent of any kid playing any level of travel sports how much money is being spent in that endeavor and it will shock you.
Edward, I see your point, and sports can be an economic trigger, but in terms of tourism, I do not think the Lookouts can be compared to MLB clubs. The Braves and the Nationals draw regionally and nationally. The Lookouts draw from this area, and if I had to guess, 95% of the Lookouts crowds drive home after the game rather than stay in a hotel.
John, I think the idea was to have a river view while watching a ball game, but that sunshine – especially in the dog days – is a fatal design flaw. Regardless, with MLB taking the reins and a lack of expandable land around the current stadium, the changes MLB wants make AT&T almost obsolete.
Now Freier has been lobbying for a new, publicly funded stadium since he first bought the team and before MLB got involved. This crossroads was coming one way or the other, but the MLB demands just started the clock for real.
From JTC
Ok here’s a possible mailbag query. Sport with the biggest home-field advantage? Team?
JTC –
Interesting question
Biggest home-field advantage I believe is in golf. Think about when you have played against someone on their home course. Man the extra knowledge is worth, what, 2 or 3 shots a side?
When it comes to crowd influence, I will lean toward college hoops because of the proximity and the presence of the fans to the players.
I think Duke is an easy nod. And while we’re here, sweet buckets of big bucks, did you see what tickets for the final Coach K game at Cameron on Saturday against UNC are going for? On StubHub, the cheapest seat is $4,500 and prices range north well into the tens of thousands of dollars.
It’s the same set-up that Auburn employs with the students right on the floor, which maximizes the noise.
Great question.
Have a great weekend folks.
Jay Greesona