To our business.
Rushmore of all-time great pros who played a college or pro game in Chattanooga — Yeah, had next to no idea the depths of this one. We’re going to break it down by level. All-timers who played a college game in Chattanooga — MJ, Unitas, Bradshaw and Steph. Pro game — Babe, Gerhig, Bird and Kershaw (slightly over Griffey Jr., Ripken Jr. and all the rest). Side note: Arguably the best performance in the 423 by a future professional star was the night Mark Pryor lit up the Lookouts with something like a dozen Ks and hit a homer. Take that Shohei.
Rushmore of iconic movie characters know for their hats — Indiana Jones, Capt. Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka’s top hat, Charlie Chaplain’s lid in “The Tramp.” And yes, this one was tough, too.
Rushmore of most universally known three-letter abbreviations — NFL, USA, PBJ and ATM. (Side note: There’s a great exchange early in the new animated Spiderman about people calling it an “ATM machine,” which is like saying “anytime teller machine machine.” Which also is the case when people call it the SEC conference.) We may need to do the social media version at some point.
Rushmore of back-in-the-day former “it” actors who failed to reach those lofty expectations — Chris O’Donnell, Josh Hartnett, Christian Slater and Corey Feldman.
One more item of disinterest: The divorce proceeding for “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner will create headlines all summer. Here’s the first one. Costner’s wife of 18 years has asked for $248K in child support for the three kids they share. That’s not a quarter of a mil a year people. That’s a month.
To the bag, and we got a lot of feedback on the UGA story from earlier this week, on both sides. Here are a couple, one from each.
From a bunch of you
And what can Kirby do if no report is filed. Nothing besides a stern talking to about putting yourself in a certain position?
(And)
I honestly think Kirby would win at all costs. Never really thought that about Richt. Or Saban. But the Georgia boosters got what they wanted. Now they have to weigh having those two crystal footballs versus all the pub that is now coming out. I really don’t think they care about the bad pub. They got back-to-back and that’s all that matters.
Gang,
Stories like these win awards because they are a) important and b) amazingly difficult to do amazingly well.
This AJC story feels like there are some holes to be honest, and that comes from a longtime newspaper junkie.
And in truth, I think almost every extremely successful leader at almost every elite-tier occupation is willing to sacrifice decency at times.
The details — all the details — are so very important in stories like this, and I do not know even what percentage of the details we know, or have been reported.
But I do not think “win at all costs” is accurate for anyone. Would Kirby cover-up a murder? Now, if Kirby got caught up in a serious crime, would a few South Georgia Bulldogs backers take the rap for Smart? I bet he could find a few.
Heck, I have contended that Saban could shoot someone in the chest in downtown Birmingham and 12 Harvey Updykes would take the life sentence for him in a New York second.
And be sure, this is a huge problem across college campuses across the country and not just with athletes.
Another detail that must be discussed is how many violent acts against women have been reported against male UGA students over the seven years Kirby’s been running the program.
From TC
Well, you have certainly triggered some memories!
Thought you might get a kick out of this one. I mentioned how my dad and his brothers (he was one of six) loved fireworks and always celebrated New Year’s and July 4th and Christmas Eve.
Dad was from Saltville, Virginia, which is up I-81 above Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia. He grew up about 10 miles from Emory and Henry College.
So one New Year’s Eve, when I was about 6 or maybe 7 , the family had gathered for the holidays.
That particular year stands out in my memory because there was about 5 or 6 inches of snow on the ground, which was not unusual for the mountains of Southwest Virginia that time of year.
Dad and a few of the brothers broke out the fireworks that night as the New Year approached.
They were always pretty heavy into “Roman candles” of various sizes. “Big boomers,” whistlers, bottle rockets, etc.
I don’t recall the name of the particular fireworks, but it was the kind that you could hold one end, light the business end and fire off about 10 little various color “fireballs.” A little like holding a small mortar.
So, they make the mistake of letting me hold that thing. I’m holding it a little lower than should have, well remember I was 6/7? First little fireball discharges in the general direction of a couple of dad’s brothers who take off yelling.
I think this is great fun, so I proceed to chase my Dad and three of his brothers around Grandad’s house, yelling, laughing, slipping in the snow, covering their heads.
Amazingly, nobody got a direct hit.
There’s not a July 4th, Christmas or New Year’s Eve that I don’t recall that night, 70+ years ago and it never fails to bring a smile.
Good times gone too fast!
Hope you and family have a great July 4th holiday.
TC,
Thanks so much for sharing, and if you are a Southern male my age or older and you don’t have a “bottle rocket battle” or a “Roman candle shoot-out” then you a) missed out on a true tradition or b) have blocked out said memory through years of therapy.
This email made me thankful for all you guys and gals who share your stories and anecdotes and make this place what it is.
It also reminded me of this social media video of fireworks gone bad that has gone viral and somehow the minivan escaped unscathed.
From Wesley
After watching the LSU celebration, would you rather be on the bottom of a dog-pile or the that last yahoo making a feeble attempt to be on top but misses the mark?
Is dog-piling a worn-out and high-schoolish celebratory exercise?
Should dogs be offended that sports teams are making a mockery of their excrement?
Wesley,
First, this made me laugh out loud.
Second, count me among team dog-pile as a celebration tool.
It also made me think that our high school baseball team had a “tradition” for sophomores who made the team. Beyond the right-center-field fence was a ditch where a lot of the water from the school would collect.
Most sophomores who made the team got the choice of being randomly “dog-piled” after practice or jumping into the 4-foot-deep stagnant pond that was known as Lattanzi Lake after the most famous coach Campbell ever had.
I, being a ratherly obnoxious sophomore who also was pitching more than most of the upperclassmen, was not given the choice.
I got both, and at the bottom of the dog-pile, let’s say it was not hugs and high-fives. Let’s also say I was, let’s call it “tossed,” into Lattanzi Lake.
Still, count the 5-at-10 as pro-dog-pile, no matter how crappy I was retreated back in the spring of 1987.
From John
No chance Liberty Media gives Othani what the Dodgers will. Here’s a question: To be eligible for the HOF you have to play 10 years. If Othani makes it to 10 years on the dot, and then gets hurt, does he make it?
John,
Absolutely correct on every account.
First on the contract, and a lot of you guys got a little bent out of shape with the “Acuña for Ohtani” trade talks earlier this week.
Now way the overly (and sometimes not-needed) cost-cutting Braves will get into the half-a-billion bidding process that will be the Ohtani sweepstakes.
The Dodgers make the most sense, and so do the Yankees. Not just because those teams have top-three annual payrolls every year, but they have such a large Japanese contingent in their community, they would get the biggest return on that investment in terms of new fan connection.
And let’s be really clear about this: Shohei is the most amazing athlete in team sports.
He’s Mahomes leading the Chiefs to a TD and then making a TD-saving tackle on the next defensive possession.
He’s Messi scoring a goal and then in the next game being one of the world’s best keepers posting a shutout.
Now for Shohei, who homered and drove in two more last night to bring his MLB-leading numbers to 29 dingers and 66 RBIs, his duality makes him the true unicorn, but his numbers would be in contention even if he was just a hitter at this point.
If he played a decade before getting hurt, his 162-game average at the plate projects slashing .273/ .359/.555 and would finish with 390 homers, close to a 1,000 runs scored and more than 1,000 RBIs and with a win against replacement of 43.0 for those 10 years. That would be close to a Freddie Freeman decade.
Just as a hitter.
Now add in his averaged 162-game stats as a pitcher projected over a decade, which would be 150-70 record with a sub-3.00 ERA and 2,440 Ks with a WAR of 59.0.
And to get a fair comp, that’s a total WAR of 102.0 — in just 10 years mind you — which would top-30 all-time.
No MLB player in the top 45 all-time in WAR played fewer than 15 years by the way.
Shohei is that guy.
Have a great weekend, friends.