Let’s handle our business.
Rushmore of worst TV moms — Peg Bundy in “Married with Children,” Brianna Barksdale in “The Wire,” Cersei Lannister in “Game of Thrones,” and of course Livia Soprano in “The Sopranos.”
Rushmore of soft drinks other than the direct Coke lineage as in Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, etc. (and yeah, this one will be debatable depending on tastes, but here’s mine) — Dr Pepper, ginger ale, root beer, Sprite.
Rushmore of non-American golfers since 1970 — Seve, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and I am going Rory over Norman and Ernie Els, to be honest.
What is Clooney’s Rushmore of movies — “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” is a resounding far left, “Good Night, Good Luck,” “Michael Clayton” and “Out of Sight” and yes, J-Lo is a smokeshow. Clooney’s catalog is better than I remembered.
To the bag.
From Mike
Jay, I know you are a Falcons fan, but I have a Titans question for you for Friday.
Am I crazy to think the Titans may be building this the right way around Will Levis?
If I am crazy, then don’t tell me and just cancel this email.
Mike,
It’s hard to picture a Titans team without Derrick Henry, but that’s the reality moving forward.
And if Levis is bona fide, I completely concur that the Titans are doing everything in their power to put him in the best position to succeed.
They drafted a tackle to help with protection, and the O-line should be stout.
They have DeAndre Hopkins as a WR1 and added Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd in the offseason.
We are in a strange spot that Levis may have the best WR1-WR2-WR3 trio in the league. Think about that and what it could mean.
Tony Pollard is younger than Henry and a better ball catcher.
Whether Levis is a dude or not at this level remains to be seen, but Titans fans should be pleased with all the measures GM Ran Carthon has taken to give him the best chance to succeed. (And the best way for the Titans to measure whether Levis can be a QB1.)
From JTC
Hey Jay,
I think you played Augusta twice. Settle a bet. My buddy and I have a foursome that plays to an average of +10. None of us are great putters but all good ball strikers. At Augusta playing best ball could we break 100 from the tips? Members tees?
JTC,
So, first, let’s clarify, best ball is all of your foursome playing your ball through the hole and taking the best score from your group.
Scramble is taking the best shot on each swing and then going and playing the best one.
Scramble, of course you will break 100.
True best ball from the tips? It would be close, but even in my heyday of playing golf — I was down to about a 6 — I was never a good putter.
But the caddie I had when I shot an 82 — have I mentioned lately that I played Augusta National (twice) — was tremendous and I have always been coachable. (Side note: When you play a joint that has caddies, enjoy the caddies’ experience. And tip them at least a Benjamin.)
(Side question: Who wants to hear some of my caddie stories, because everytime I play a course that has caddies, I always ask, “Who is the most famous person you have carried a bag for?”)
That said, I shot 92 and 82 in my two trips around Augusta National but that was from the members tees, which is at least 1,000 yards shorter.
Best guess is yes, you would crack 100, but it would be close.
Hole 1 is a mother from the back tees, and 5 may be the hardest on the course that is not 11. Everyone’s knees knock on 12, and while the pros make 13 and 15 look easy, they are not.
Best ball bogey every hole gets you at 90, but 100 is a pretty sound over/under.
From Chas
For the bag: In the Drake vs. Kendrick thang, who you got?
Chas,
Neither.
I miss NWA and Eazy E.
And the Beastie Boys’ “License to Ill.”
Brass Monkey, that funky monkey.
From Patrick
Auburn’s road baseball unis are sweet. Of course, Auburn’s road football togs are among the best in the business too, right up there with UCLA’s.
How the hell is Auburn’s baseball team 4-20 in the SEC? Yeah, yeah, SEC loaded, blah blah blah, but the ACC has six teams in the top 12 and Tech is .500 in that league. Must be smoke and mirrors — again — for Tech baseball.
Patrick,
Yes, AU’s unis are forever classic. Georgia Tech’s unis are golden, too. (Pardon the pun.)
What’s our list for top five college uniforms? Discuss.
That said, your question is fair and layered.
First, it looks like Georgia is going to host a regional, which should be standard operating procedure for a school in that state with that amount of talent in its backyard.
As great as Georgia high school football is, Georgia high school baseball is better.
Plus, Georgia has the lottery, which is a free way for the Olympic sports to augment their scholarship limitations.
Auburn and the state of Alabama do not have that luxury.
One of the things that has helped Tony V and the Vols is a baseball-focused NIL crew, and the results recently are crystal.
From UTCMocs
JG, you said “Because I know some of you espouse the ‘if it’s a foul in the first minute, then it should be a foul in the final minute,’ but I do not ever want the refs deciding the outcome. Period. In any sport.”
Okay, logically if a referee changes his calling in the last few minutes as you suggest, then their actions are affecting the outcome, sometimes contrary to the reality of what should be called. If a referee sees a foul and doesn’t call it, he has helped decide the outcome. A foul is a foul. Nothing in the rule book about letting them get away with more in the last minute.
UTCMocs,
I can see that line of thinking, and I do not wish for whistle swallowers or blind eyes.
But the current state of referees in basketball screams that they believe they are the story.
They are not. Please let the players decide the game.
Yes, fouls happen in the final seconds. Yes, I wish the refs had made the right call in the Final Four three years ago and AU would have played in the title game.
Yes, I complain about the calls and the noncalls and all the rest just like every other fan.
But, I want the outcome to be decided by the dudes in uniforms and not the ones in stripes.
And while your theoretical comp is fair, what do you say about refs calling PI on a Hail Mary at the end of a one-score football game? Is that changing the game, and if it is, is that change not for the better?
Have a great weekend, friends.