Weekend winners
Game of Thrones Crud. No spoiler Monday. Forget that. There was no, we will revisit this tomorrow.
Avengers: End Game. More than $1.2 billion worldwide in the opening weekend shows the power of the super hero movies at the box office.
NBA playoffs. Hey, when did those start? Seriously, I looked up this weekend and there were a coulee of entertaining NBA games on the TV. Good stuff. I have tuned out the NBA for most of the last couple of months. But I’m here for Rockets-Warriors, and the old-school NBA fan in me is all for a Sixers-Celtics Eastern Conference Finals. Sunday’s Game between Houston and Golden State was fun. Steph Curry hit a money shot; Kevin Durant was a dude; James Harden did James Harden things. Side question: Even as unlikable as the Warriors have become, I am rooting for them to win this series and the next one, because, simply put, not unlike the Patriots, having them around longer makes the playoffs more entertaining because you have a somewhat rooting(against) interest.
Albert Pujols. Yes, the monster contract with the Angels has been a disaster for the team. But Pujols passed Barry Bonds for third all-time in RBIs this weekend. That’s awesome in its awesomeness in the grand scheme of accomplishments. Kudos big Al. (RBIs became an official stat in 1920, and there’s some controversy that Babe Ruth has more than 2,200, which would put him second and Albert fourth with Hank first and A-Rod second/third otherwise.)
Mark Wiedmer. Other than links, we try to limit the TFP self-congratulations around these parts. In fact, we normal prefer the self-deprecating approach more times than not. But gang, if you did not read Weeds – the TFP ace sports columnist – on the Special Olympics in Sunday’s paper and on former UC legendary QB John Green in today’s paper, well, you have our permission to go those links and then return to our regularly scheduled programming.
This image released by HBO shows Vladimir Furdik as The Night King on the season finale of “Game of Thrones.” The final season premieres on Sunday. (HBO via AP)
Weekend losers
Game of Thrones Yes, it has reasons to be on both lists. Stink. no spoilers. I am about to bust. There were some amazing parts for sure, but there were several things not to like, such as DANG IT! See you tomorrow.
Dave Gettleman. Dude, every time the New York Giants GM opens his yapper he sounds more and more overmatched for his job. In response to the first-round pick of Daniel Jones at No. 6 – the overreach of the draft and pick that generated the most head-scratching – Gettleman said he knew for sure that two teams were going to pick Jones before the Ginats’ second pick at 17. C’mon man, no one knows anything about the draft and the fact that you got outsmarted by Daniel Snyder should make every Johnny Giants Fan shudder.
Butch Jones’ recruiting. For the second consecutive draft the Tennessee Vols went pick-less. Yes, you read that correctly.
Sports fans. Man, anyone else getting exhausted by all the talk about officiating after every close game in the postseason? I know I am.
Golf. Hey the two-man thing needs some pizzazz gang. I watch a lot of golf, but that did not blow my hair back. I appreciate them trying something different, but not sure that worked.
Tyreek Hill. Man, if those tapes are accurate, what a scumbag.
Draft review
Not sure how to feel. It’s going to be too long until we see the draft again. Tear. #Sadness.
Yes, we mentioned some draft tidbits but here are a few teams that crushed (in my opinion), a few that struggled (other than the Giants, who actually added some nice pieces after the No. 6 debacle) and a handful of people who have to be smiling right now.
Teams that drafted like champs:
> New England. Seriously, the folks that run the Pats just do things in a way that make fans of so many other teams go, “Hey, why can’t we do that.” And that’s with the knowledge that drafting is probably the worst thing that Belichick and Co. actually does. Adding a first-round WR in K’Keal Harry, who is a monster at 6-2, 228, a high-ceiling corner in Jejuna Williams, and an over-aching DE in Chase Winovich, who will turn into Mike Vrabel 2.0, is an awesome first three picks. Add in Alabama RB Damien Harris – a steal in round 4 – as well Jarrett Stidham, Arkansas guard Hjalte Froholdt and former top-overall high school prospect Byron Cowart and the Patriots crushed. Side note: If you count Cowart as a former SEC player – he played at Auburn before transferring to Maryland – does it really surprise anyone that Belichick took six SEC players in his 10 picks. Cue Fredo: “I’m smart. Not like everyone says I’m dumb. I’m smart and I want respect.”
> Indianapolis. Hey, the Colts added a former Patriots front office dude and all he has done in the last two years is crush drafts like Bluto crushes beer cans. Kudos.
Team that struggled
> Houston. The Texans have a franchise QB and they were terrible at protecting him last year. The solution, a smalf-school reach at tackle – and sitting around as the Eagles jumped in front of them to take the best tackle in the draft – and a late-round O-linema over the weekend. How bad was it? Well, know this: This draft grade from NFL.com gave out more than 20 As, and the Texans got the worst grade with a C+.
Our smiling five-some (and then some):
> Jarrett Stidham has to be tickled blue right? Dude gets to hold a clipboard for Tom Brady for the next couple of years in arguably the least-pressured spot in sports. Then, if he is called on and delivers, he likely could command a life-changing deal. Could it be better for a fourth-round fringe QB selection.
> Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney. Alabama had another boatload of dudes picked. Clemson had three defensive linemen picked in round one. The recruiting pamphlets write themselves friends.
> Jon Gruden. Seriously. The Raiders are generating buzz after adding a ton of talent this weekend (and the Antonio Brown addition), and when you look around the AFC West – Kansas City is a complete mess, Denver thinks Joe Flacco is the answer (and if that’s the case, what could the question possibly be) and Los Angeles is not a world-beater. As much as we liked a lot of the value picks the Raiders added – Josh Jacobs and Johnathan Abram are DUDES, and the corners have a ton of upside
> Matt Ryan. After being sacked a ton last year and being forced to throw on third-and-short because of a Swiss-Cheese-like O-Line, the Falcons QB welcomed in two first-round O-linemen.
> The non-draft addicted 5-at-10 reader. Thanks for playing along with the silliness. I love the draft. You know this.
This and that
– I have watched countless hours of sports and it’s hard to recall anything remotely like this. Here you go: Two soccer teams playing in some other country with funny names. (No, nothing uncommon about that for sure.) OK, one team has a player go down with injury, and apparently soccer etiquette calls for the team with the ball to kick the ball out of play to allow the injured player to leave the field. Instead, the team went down and scored to take a 1-0 lead. A brawl ensued. When everything settled down, the coach of the team that scored ordered his team to allow the other team to score an uncontested goal. Final score: 1-1. Imagine if this happened in an NFL game or in a MLB baseball game. Stephen A. would blow an O-ring.
– Congrats to former Northwest Whitfield High star and UTC standout Isaiah Mack, who signed a free agent deal with Tennessee Titans. Hey, it would be a lifetime achievement to say, “I was drafted in the NFL,” for every college football player. But the truth of the matter is when you get into picks in the 200-plus-range, going undrafted and being able to scan the rosters and pick which team you think you have the best chance to make is likely better for the long-term chance to stay in the league. Here’s more from TFP UTC beat ace Lindsey Young.
– The Braves bullpen continues to make my eyes bleed.
– Nashville drew record numbers for the draft and made a monster splash across the sports landscape. Yes, the bachelorette party scene was not as pleased, but whatever.
Today’s questions
Winners and losers of the weekend. Please share.
Willie Nelson – one of my personal favorites – is 86 today.
Rushmore of Willie Nelson songs.
Go. (And yes, the Derby is this weekend, and we will have a Derby contest, because that’s what we do.)