Weekend winners
Roger Federer. Federer won the Aussie Open this weekend to earn his 20th major title. He’s the first man and the fourth person in tennis history to win at least 20 slams joining Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf. Wow, that’s a strong weekend.
Ryan Leaf. McCallie School has had a strong run of getting motivational speakers before its annual big-shot basketball tournament. And, as TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer’s preview shares, Leaf is no exception.
Kyle Lauletta. As if this NFL draft class of quarterbacks needed more names and more intrigue, meet Lauletta, the former Richmond gunslinger who was MVP of the Senior Bowl on Saturday. He capped a great – and very profitable – week with an 8-of-12 showing for 198 yards and three TDs. (Those who also helped their draft position last week in Mobile are San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny, UTSA defensive end Marcus Davenport, Western Kentucky QB Mike White and LSU receiver D.J. Chark. By most accounts, while their game stats were not as faddy as Lauletta’s first-round QB prospects Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield helped their stock at the Senior Bowl, too.)
Steph Curry. LeBron is the best basketball player on the planet. Kevin Durant is the most unguardable. Russell Westbrook is the most athletic. But Saturday night, Curry reminded us why he’s the most entertaining. Short by NBA standards – he’s actually a solid 6-3 friends – and slight Steph has long been an undersized, feel-good story since his days at Davidson. But when he’s dropping daggers like he did Saturday night against the Celtics, the “Wow” factor is off the charts. Off screens. Off the dribble from 35. Off a quick pass with two guys jumping toward him, Step feeling it from range may be the most entertaining commodity in team sports.
SEC hoops. We have talked about the turnaround of the league, which is set to have a record-setting number of tournament teams. For the first time the SEC won more games than it lost in its challenge with the Big 12. And that was even without its best team, Auburn, not in the mix because the Tigers finished 11th in the standings last year. (Side note: It will be interesting to see where the Tigers are ranked when the poll comes out today. We understand the doubt nationally about Auburn – it’s Auburn after all – but man watching that bunch play is to see a chemistry that is very strong and very unusual.) Of note for the SEC was UK’s rally at West Virginia, Alabama’s impressive showing against Oklahoma and Trae Young and Florida’s overwhelming throttling of Baylor.
Brock Boeser. The Vancouver rookie made the most of his NHL All-Star game debut, earning more than $337K in bonuses, MVP rewards and winning the shooting skill contest, and that’s not including a new car. That’s some serious cheddar for anyone, but for a rookie making $925,000 this year, that’s a very nice weekend.
Lou Williams. Man, is there any doubt who will be the NBA’s best sixth man this spring? Williams has now scored 20-or-more points in 12 consecutive games coming off the Clippers’ bench. It’s the longest such streak in more than 35 years.
Bonus pick: Golf. Rory was in the mix in Dubai. Tiger was doing Tiger things on an impossibly tough day on a well-recognized course. Jason Day made the playoff. The game had star power, U.S. Open-like conditions at Torrey Pines and perfect San Diego weather. (It’s a fringe weekend winner, however, because, man, there’s nothing worse than a Monday playoff between two dudes that may last one hole. Nevermind the fact that J.B. Holmes took almost five minutes to lay-up on the finishing par 5 knowing he needed an eagle 3 to get into the playoff. And then there is the whole etiquette breach when that dude yelled at Tiger during a birdie putt. Manners, children. Manners.)
On Wednesday, NCAA president Mark Emmert criticized how Tennessee has handled its search for a new football coach.Weekend losers
Mark Emmert. It has to be past time for him to go right? In what has arguably been the most controversy-filled tenure in college sports leadership history, comes word that Emmert knew of the allegations of more than 37 acts of sexual assault against then-Michigan State and US Gymnastics Dr. Larry Nassar as far back as 2010. Yes, 2010. Emmert said he was told the authorities were already notified. Sweet loads of CYA Emmert, you jackwagon. If that’s the case, Mark, then why is your organization issuing a notice of inquiry now that everyone already knows all the nightmares that happened up there. Why not back then? Who knows if Emmert and the NCAA had gotten involved seven-plus years ago if that action could have stopped that monster sooner and in turn prevented someone from suffering this nightmare.
Everyone at Michigan State.The layers of this are staggering, and now there are a lot of fingers being pointed and allegations being levied that MSU athletics, especially the football and men’s basketball teams, have had numerous players accused of sexual assaults. The AD and the university president have already resigned. Whether the coaching staffs followed the protocol could very well determine of Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo will be coaching the Spartans into 2018 and beyond.
Brainer-and-Austin East brawlers. Wow how about that story, news that the Roadrunners and Panthers boys’ high school basketball game was called midway through the second quarter because of an all-out brawl that included fans spilling on to the court. When the video surfaces – and in today’s day and age, there’s always a video – this could be national news.
United Airlines. This quite possibly is the worst P.R. optics imaginable. Carrol Amrich borrowed money from her landlord to buy a plane ticket from Colorado to Minnesota to she her dying mother. Because of a computer glitch and some misinformation in the rescheduling process, Amrich had her ticket voided and was escorted off the plan. She rented a car and tried to drive to Minnesota, but her mother died before she could get to her. Awful.
An official ball for the NFL Super Bowl LII football game from the Wilson Sporting Goods Co. in Ada, Ohio, is displayed Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. The New England Patriots will play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl on Feb. 4, in Minneapolis, Minn. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)First annual NFL title game Props contest
Yes, we have a lot moving and shaking today.
But here’s our first Super Bowl props contest, affectionately known as the Super Duper bowl of Big Game Bets.
Here are the rules. Most correct answers out of 10 wins the prize pack, which will include some TFP swag lunch gift card to a fern bar-type establishment and maybe another trinket or three. On the open-ended questions, the Price Is Right rules are in effect. Meaning on question 1 of “How many passing yards will Tom Brady have in Super Bowl LII” if you answer 301 and he throws for 300, the person who guessed 1 is closer than the person who guessed 301. Deal? Deal. (And yes, the over/unders set by Vegas are one side or the other, but considering the number of folks we expect to play, 10 either/ors could set us up for a lot of ties. As always it’s free to play, so whatcha waiting for?)
1. Tom Brady’s passing yards.
2. Person to score the first points of Super Bowl LII. (Please specify any offensive player or kicker. If you want to say defensive player, that includes everyone else and covers all returns, defensive scores and safeties.)
3. How long in seconds will the national anthem last?
4. Patriots minus-5, who you got?
5. Justin Timberlake’s first song during the halftime performance.
6. Who will be the MVP?
7. Which will be longer: Longest made field goal, the first punt or longer pass completion?
8. The Eagles player with the most yards from scrimmage (rushing or receiving only) will be?
9. How many official sacks will be made?
10. Total points scored, over/under 47.5.
This and that
– Because we all need a little more Nick Saban line-dancing on recruiting trips, especially on a Monday.
– Here’s some more golf: First, Tiger Woods was scrambling like a young Seve. Dude could not find the fairway with a map, compass and old-school Indian guide. He was tied for worst in the field in terms of driving accuracy and still managed to post a very respectable finish because he chipped liked a monster and putted like Woods circe 2007. Did you know that in his more than 20-year career, Woods has missed a total of 17 cuts? That’s nuts. How bad was Tiger’s driving? He hit 17 of 54 fairways, the worst number of his career. (Here’s betting that Taylor Made, the apparel company that provides Woods his driver since Nike went belly-up in the golf equipment BID-ness is not going to use that stat in any of its promotions any time soon.) And make zero mistake, Tiger’s presence was overwhelming. The galleries were huge. Here’s betting the overnights will be up, too.
– Local guys update: While a late second-round bogey from Stephan Jaeger prevented the Baylor quartet from all making the cut at the same event for the first time, there still was some serious coin up for grabs for former Red Raiders Harris English, Luke List and Keith Mitchell. While the exact totals will not be known until the playoff is decided today, here’s the ballpark numbers we have figured for each, based on the pay distribution chart. English tied for eighth and will make $193,200. An expensive weekend of 73-75 dropped List to a tie for 12th but he still is projected to make $123,337.50. Mitchell also tumbled some on the weekend with a 74-78 and finished tied for 63rd. According to my projections, he’ll collect $14,628, which is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
– Josh McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots from 2006-08, and the Patriots led the league in scoring during that time. He was the Patriots offensive coordinator from 2012-17 and the Patriots led the league in scoring during that time. When McDaniels was the head coach in Denver from 2009-2010 the Broncos ranked 17th in scoring and when he was the OC of the Rams in 2011, the Rams were last in scoring. This is of note since McDaniels is reportedly heading to Indianapolis to be the Colts head coach. Maybe the Colts should see if he can bring Tom Brady, too.
– The Pro Bowl is an easy joke. How do you know you’re bored, have a gambling problem, know that’s nothing good on TV. Insert watching, betting on Pro Bowl one-liner here. That said, there are two things to know about this weekend. When the NFC had the ball with 90 seconds left and down 24-23, the AFC defense actually looked motivated. (Winner’s Pro Bowl share is $64,000; loser’s Pro Bowl share is $32,000.) Secondly, while the TV numbers of the NFL have sagged all season, and the TV ratings for the Pro Bowl have dwindled recently (last year was the least-watched Pro Bowl since 2007), it’s still a great microcosm and perspective of the NFL’s TV issues. Yes, the numbers are down, but last year’s 7.4 million viewers were more than watched Game 6 of the Stanley Cup, the Indy 500 and would rank as the 11th most watched college football game of the 2017 regular season.
– Thought this clip was funny, as one-handed UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin was doing a sideline interview during the Senior Bowl and missed a rep on the out team.
– There’s never a good side to a school shooting, but how about this story? The editor of the local paper in the Kentucky town with the most recent shooting is rushing to the scene to cover the event and then learns her son is the alleged shooter.
– From the Coach Norman Dale files of “My team is on the floor.” A Missouri team pulled out a 51-50 win with two players on the floor for the final minute. Four of the team’s six players had fouled out in the fourth quarter. Make it a good one, Strap.
Today’s questions
Weekend winners and losers. Who ya got?
Also, because we are interested in your opinions on this: Will either Tom Izzo or Mark Dantonio lose his job because of the allegations around their programs at Michigan State? Man, we’ve had some slow history days in January, so far. Not today.
The debut performance of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” was reportedly performed on this day in 1595.
Karl Benz patented the first gasoline powered car in 1886.
John D. Rockefeller was born on this day in 1874. WC Fields was born on this day in 1880. Oprah is 64 today.
Tom Selleck is 73. Steve Sax is 58. Heather Graham is 48. So is House Speaker Paul Ryan.
The Coca-Cola Company was incorporated on this day in 1892.
With that, what makes the Rushmore of soda pops? (And does anyone still say soda pop?)