5-at-10: Friday mailbag with Super Bowl contest, Super Bowl picks, Brady or Timberlake, Parental rant, Rushmores

From Justin C.

Hey man, thanks for another contest so quickly. This is a great idea.

Justin C. –

You’re welcome and I know this is not a question. But I needed some way to a) get the contest out here one final day; b) reveal my picks for said contest; and c) tell you loons thanks for playing along with the silliness. We got a great response for the first time of the Super Props to the Super Prop Bets at the Super Bowl contest.

If you want in, there’s still time. Just provide your best guess on each of the following by noon Saturday. Enjoy. (My picks are in parenthesis after the prop.)

To the props:

> Length of the national anthem, over/under 107 seconds? Under

> Head or tails? Tails

> Total number of Tweets from Donald Trump on Sunday, Feb. 3, over/under 6.5? Over.

> Duke’s Zion Williamson points and rebounds on Feb. 2 vs. Pats and Rams first-half points combined? Zion

> Which commercial will appear first, Doritos or Pringles? Doritos

> Which will be higher, Trump approval rating on 2/4/19 (according to Rasmussen Reports) or the badges of the longest made field goal? Longest field goal

> Winner of the Puppy Bowl – Team Fluff or Team Ruff? Fluff, and if you are Team Ruff, you are dead to me

> How many Bud Light commercials will feature the Bud Knight, over/under 1.5? Over

> Number of Tom Brady interceptions, over/under 0.5? Over

> Super Bowl MVP, a quarterback or the field? QB

> Tie-breaker: Distance of the longest scoring play – FG, pick 6, fumble return, any of them – in Super Bowl LIII? 49 yards.

Who’s in?

Paraphrased from a slew of you

What gives? You are not going to give ‘entertainment’ advice on the biggest game of the year? Who are you and what have done with his Royal Fat Face (Bleep)hole?

Gang –

Truth be told Why is that a thing, “Truth be told,” or “To tell you the truth” or “True story” as an intro to anything? Does that mean without that qualifier the story-teller’s blurbs and words are as solid as unicorns riding rainbows looking for the Lucky Charms lad’s pot of gold?

Where was I? Oh, yeah, well, I forgot to include my pick Thursday. That’s on me.

But that can also be rectified. Like today.

Before we go any further, War Boilermakers. Last night’s 99-90 OT win over Penn State moves us to 5-2-1 in our college hoops entertainment guesses.

Looking at this weekend, well, there’s a big-time rivalry game tonight. Yale at Harvard. Game on. Loser has to go a week without servants. Go. On a serious note: Michigan-Iowa tonight could be a lot of fun. Iowa is 14-2 at home this year so of course we will take Michigan and lay the 3.5. (There are no lines currently for Saturday’s games. But we think Duke drops the hammer on St. Johns and UK rolls at Florida and the Louisville-UNC game should be a lot of fun.)

As for the big one, well, here we go, and we are going to drop a couple of mainstream props to stay at our regular Fab 4 number (Deal? Deal.):

New England minus-2.5 over Los Angeles. We get it. Aaron Donald was the best defensive player on the planet. This Rams offense is better than the Eagles offense that tormented New England in this game a year ago. Tom Brady is 218 years old. Bill Belichick coached his first Super Bowl against George Halas for Pete Roselle’s Sake. This McVay dude is the carbon copy that every team in the league is trying to find.

But here’s the thing. One side is great in almost every phase. The other has the two best ever at the two most important positions.

We’ll go Under 56.5. Yes, betting the under is not as much fun for sure. But we think both sides will be a little tentative to start. We also believe that Sony Michel is going to get 20-plus carries. But please know this: We have been really good on NFL picks and really terrible on over/unders on NFL picks, so there’s that. (And I changed this like three times. So be it.)

We will go longest field goal > than Trump’s approval rating from above. (Trump’s rating always seems lower than it actually is, at least among the people I know, and I believe each team is going to force a couple of deep FG tries.)

The other prop we’ll take is no where near as much fun, but it feels like the easiest bet on the board. Will the roof be open for kickoff? We’ll go ‘No’ here at slight odds. (Bet $100 and win $135).

Last week: 2-2 (50 percent) against the spread

NFL picks this season: 18-9-1 (66.7 percent) against the spread

College bowl picks this season: 20-13-2 (60.1 percent) against the spread, but this paragraph on Georgia-Texas should have counted as multiple losses: “Georgia minus-12 over Texas. Bloodbath. For real. What does Alejandro say on UGA games? Georgia by 90. This time he may be right.”

College regular-season picks this season: 53-28-2 (58.2 percent) against the spread.

From Jules

On a lighter note: Timberlake is 38 today. Last year when he played at the Super Bowl, my clan started in on a discussion of who would you rather be, Timberlake or Brady (since they were in the same building and all, wonder if they give each other a head nod of recognition)?

So the consensus was Brady, even taking out the wife factor, since she’s worth twice as much as him (which is an odd dynamic and wonder how that plays into his retirement decision, I am off task). And both their wives are attractive.

But figuring that both have to spend a lot of time practicing, imagine how much practice it takes for Timberlake and all those dancers to stay in sync like they do. And imagine (if you can) being that one that just can’t get it right. Ha! Anyway, most would just rather practice throwing a football. What about you, Jay?

Jules –

Great question, and thinking about it, both of those dudes are winning at life.

(In some ways, we think JT is ‘enjoying’ it a little more. He seems to have a variety of interests, including a real passion for golf.)

And yes, each has what appears to be a very strong relationship in power Hollywood/celebrity marriages, which is very difficult in these times.

One other thing they have in common: Each has positioned himself to have a very productive career after the career that brought them to the spotlight and made them tens of millions; JT is a pretty doggone good actor and you have to believe the NFL broadcast partners will be lined up to give Brady millions to share his insight as an analyst.

With that, I would take Brady’s path for a couple of reasons:

First, we are the single least musically talented person of all-time. Ever. So that seems so foreign to me it might as well be on Mars.

Secondly, and this was the big one, Brady is no worse than the No. 3 quarterback on anyone’s list – even Stewwie’s who dislikes Brady* as much as anyone we know dislikes any all-time athlete – and is the GOAT in a lot of people’s eyes.

JT is great, but dude the only GOAT designation he could realistically grab is the GOAT most accomplished former Boy Band member over Donnie Wahlberg and Bobby Brown, maybe.

Thanks for the great question.



From Chas

Will Pepsi’s snarky Super Bowl ads turn Atlantans away from their Cokes?

Agree that Pearl’s peons have issues. Why? Please discuss.

I understand why most wags say Keldon Johnson is the first UK player likely to be picked in the draft. But I predict he’ll be the third Cat called. I’d take Hagans earlier, and odds are either P.J. or Herro will go earlier, too. How about you? And if the over/under for Kentucky studs picked first round is four, which way will you go?

Chas –

First and foremost, ain’t nothing i repeat and scream NOTHING will turn those of us from, in or even remotely connected to the A-T-L to turn away from Coke to Pepsi. (I did away with Coke products many a moon ago just to be healthy, and augmented them with ‘Co-Colas’ which is neither healthy nor Pepsi, but it has augmented me. I digress.)

Next, this is hard to say, but this is the single-worst coaching job Bruce Pearl – who is a supremely excellent coach for sure – has done. In fact, we are about to offer the most damning sentence for any coach in our opinion: Auburn’s parts are way, Way, WAY better than its sum, and that’s hard to stomach.

Don’t give me injuries to Austin Wiley – this bunch has as much or more talent as any team in the league with the exception of one (UK may be deeper and more talented; Grant Williams may be head and shoulders over anyone in AU’s front court, but 1-5 and even 1-7, AU does not have to apologize to anyone in the SEC). This team falls way too often into an offensive funk of Harper vs. his guy or Brown off the dribble.

Stagnant offense can frequently fall on catching, and that’s on Bruce. He’s done an amazing job of making Auburn basketball relevant, and in no way is there anyone out there Auburn could realistically get (other than Pitino maybe, but gross) who could be doing this.

But he’s running a rocky path that could crash the most talent Auburn has had since Chris Porter was ‘in school’ at Auburn.

I love the draft – you know this – but without having any idea of a) who all would be in the draft and b) who is picking where, trying to guess landing spots or order is next to impossible. That said, I think Johnson will be the first Wildcat taken on potential, the state of the current NBA game and dude will test like a complete and total freak.

And I’d go under four Wildcats in round one. (And while we are here, we’d set the over/under of the Vols and Tigers in round 1 at 0.5.)

—

From Joe Don

JG:

As you are clearing mantel space for your NHBL Coach of the Year trophy, here’s some thoughts for the mailbag

In light of the NFL no-call flap that won’t go away and the outstanding basketball referee article in the TFP last week, describe your coach-to-referee relationship skills:

> Quite as a church mouse? You never say anything to anybody, but just go about your bid-ness.

> Laughing hyena? You think every call against the Signal Mountain boys is ludicrous.

> A wolf in sheep’s clothing? At exactly the right moment, you will pounce on those Zebras.

> A bull shark? You’re one of the meanest dudes on the hardwood.


And speaking of self-evaluation

Do you coach more like John Wooden, Bobby Knight, Wes Moore, Mike Krzyzewski or Wade Houston?

Joe Don –

Great question and very fair.

Of your four options, I would have to go wolf’s in sheep’s clothing. Zero technicals in my hoops coaching career. (Yes, we got tossed in a 9-year-old baseball game. Not our best moment. So it goes.)

I am loud on the sideline for sure, and do a fair amount of in game commenting “That’s a travel” or “That’s a carry” or “And 1” that can be heard by most.

And let’s also say that other teams’ fans are not my biggest fan because of said volume – and some regular success, for what it’s worth – and we can tell you some stories.

As for style, well, in hoops we’d lean toward Wes Moore Again of that list. Knight was tyrant and a bully. Not me. Wooden was a wizard and philosopher, although my good fortune in the draft and acquiring talent, is somewhat similar and I do use a couple of his sayings (“Every day you either get better or worse, you never stay the same,” and “Be quick, not in a hurry.”) Coach K has the most foul-mouth ever and Wade Houston only had success because his kid was the best player in the league.

So I’ll go with Moore, who made players better and figured out ways to put them in the best place possible to win. And let’s be real clear, dude is doing WORK at NC State gang.

Great question.

From Alejandro

As one of the biggest fans of the Signal Mountain 5th grade basketball team, I could not be more proud. No participation trophies here. Rushmore of things making kids less mentally strong?

Alejandro –

Like Lazarus or even MJ round 2, the return of ‘Jandro was announced with authority.

What a great question, and one of the main reasons we devote so much time to youth sports. (Side story: There are 10 ‘participation trophies from Madeline Ray’s 6-year-old baseball team still sitting in my office. Forgot to give them out. Rest easy friends. Those Bulls finished 15-1 and won the championship trophies. Those are better.)

I was an OK player growing up. But the best things I got from sports were not stats or my name in the paper.

It taught me how to win and lose. It taught me how to compete and work and put in the hours for something I wanted to achieve or to reach a goal I set. While we are are all for being well-rounded and making sure kids have a chance to experience a great number of different paths, there is no other avenue I know that offers such a great depth of those must-have qualities for well-adjusted adults.

Seriously. Yes, you can have disappointment in music or drama or art or whatever other extra circulars you may participate in, but the tangible effects of winnings and losing, and then knowing you have a chance to do something about (practice, prepare, study) almost right away you can’t put a value on that.

Dealing with success and failure. Handling pressure and being part of a team. Leadings and following and trying to learn the differences and when you need to do the former or the latter. Experiences of being coached hard, praised and booed – loved and hated and how neither matters from those that don’t matter.

I learned all of those from sports.

Yes, I was lucky to play at the high school level and always kind of wonder how my live would have been different if I had played in college. (I likely would be coaching somewhere for the checks rather than coaching everywhere on Signal for the kids, but who knows.)

Lots of folks who want to heckle my A2 offerings tell me I should go back to sports. But little do I know I never really left sports and the lessons I got from sports will never leave me.

As for the Rushmore of things making kids mentally frail today, well, man, we’re going to have a hard time cutting that one to just four, but we’ll give it a spin:

> Weak parents, who would rather be buddies than parents. Hey, I loathe the whole ‘my parents were’ as the psychobabble excuse for way too much as much as the next dude, but how many times have you watched bad-parenting right in front of you and thought, “Well, that kid has a lot to overcome.”

> Participation trophies and worrying that unless we lower the bar for all, some little Timmy or Tammy is going to get their feelings hurt. PUH-lease. And yes, pardon the ‘old guy, get off Spy’s lawn and turn down that crazy Rock-n-Roll’ tone and rant-feel, but in an effort to make everyone feel include we have far too many groups that are watering down excellence. Hey, why give bumper stickers for a 3.0 in grade school. Dear Cartons of Crayolas, as long as you don’t eat the paste, how hard is that. Give bumper stickers for 4.0 and let the kids work for a legit and noble goal of the highest order. Heck, today’s culture of all-inclusivity would not let us recognize the ‘most improved’ kids because of a worry that would we that someone could infer that the kid in the previous grading period was not up to par. And don’t even get me started on the leagues that don’t keep score (Even thought every parent, kid and coach is keeping score in their head. And if you doubt that, well friends, you are wrong.)

> Video games. Yes, this also attributes to the physical softness of our kids – likely even more than the mental softness – but the entire, big-picture lesson of video games comes down to this: If you’re not happy with how something’s going, there’s always the reset button or a different game. Wow, that’s a life lesson for the 21st century for ya, right?

> Not enough No’s. Great call ‘Jandro, especially since you are childless – as far as we know, that is. In fact, the next time I see a parent in public give a kid a good firm no and that look – you know that look we all got back in the day when mom or dad was done playing and it was time to shut it down – rather than the easy way out of yes and moving along, I may pick up their check. And don’t even get me started on the change when ‘Time Out’ became the nuclear option for most parents.

Sorry for the rant. Welcome back, ‘Jandro, the realm’s a better place with you in it.

As for this week’s Rushmores

Rushmore of soap operas – Dallas (far left, and we will not debate this), Days of Our Lives (yes we watched, fight me), 90210 and Dynasty

Rushmore fo Hackman – wow, this one was tricky friends. Hoosiers, Unforgiven, Mississippi Burning and French Connection, and you have no idea how much it pains me to leave Royal Tennebaums on the cutting room floor.

Rushmore of current one-name celebrities – Oprah, Tiger, Madonna, LeBron.

Rushmore of Gregs – Let’s do sports and non-sports, if that’s possible. Sports: Maddux, Louganis, Norman and Olsen (all of them, reliever, catches and tight end). Non-sports: Brady, Marmalard (from Animal House), Kenner, and of course Uncle Greg, who died last August but left us with the gems of swinging and missing a golf ball but not counting it as a stroke because there was “no intent to hit” and the ever-pandering Chick-Fila-A stories as well as some interesting laundry philosophies and almost killing my brother-in-law Ben because of a disagreement over a marshmallow gun. Good times, and family get-togethers in the South, right?

Sorry gang, no hate mail. Maybe next time, right?