Morning. Wow, high school football ran late. (Yawn.)
Morning. Did we say that already?
Let’s handle our business.
Rushmore of Robert Redford films — “The Sting,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Natural,” and “All the President’s Men.”
Rushmore of Sean Penn movies (and side note, dude has more than his fair share of stinkers) — “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Mystic River,” “Colors” and “Bad Boys.”
Rushmore of Steve Carell — “The Office,” “The 40-year-old Virgin,” “Anchorman,” and his turn as Gru, which is awesome.
Rushmore of all-time impactful movies — “Star Wars,” “Steamboat Willie,” “Birth of a Nation,” “The Jazz Singer.” (And that’s with an extreme apology to “Jaws.”)
Here’s Paschall with some UT football odds and ends, including the choice to wear the smokey grey uniforms.
To the mailbag, which is going to be a little shorter than normal because a) we were up wicked late last night with high school football, and b) the comments being erased kind of hurts this endeavor.
From JTC
Have the Dodgers clinched?
JTC —
Yes, but no.
The Dodgers are so good, who else could lose Trevor Bauer — a three-year, $102 million free agent signee two years ago — and Walker Buehler and still be rolling at this clip.
(Side question: Trevor Bauer’s off-the-field stuff is gross and nasty, but the MLB has handled this situation better than the NFL handled the DeShaun Watson stuff, no? Discuss.) https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianred/2022/08/16/trevor-bauers-accuser-files-counterclaim-against-pitcher-while-his-arbitration-hearing-continues/?sh=718906402adb
Still, the Dodgers are scary good.
> Scary good that if they lost all of their remaining 45 games, they still would finish at .500 and be in playoff contention;
> Scary that a former NL MVP (Cody Bellinger) frequently hits ninth in their order;
> Scary that they have a run differential of plus-249, which is more than the Braves (plus-113) and the Mets (plus-117) combined;
> Scary that their road record (41-21) would be the third best home record among all big league clubs;
> Scary that they have scored the most runs in the big leagues and allowed the fewest.
So, no the Dodgers have officially not clinched, but that 17-game lead in the NL West feels pretty safe.
From Fat Vader
Anything Goes question for you today.
Do you get any respect around the office for having the most active comment section around TFP that isn’t the mudslinging kindergarten playground of Bennett’s toons?
Another AGT Question that has the internet buzzing this morning and seems to fit the 5@10 perfectly (take from that what you will):
Tied Game, 30 seconds left. Forrest Gump wants to go home, but Bobby Boucher thinks Forrest is talking bad about momma. Who wins?
Vader —
The folks at the TFP are amazingly impressed by the loyalty of you 5-at-10 regulars.
Truly. And so am I.
Not sure the comments catch anyone’s eye above my pay grade, but I know I appreciate the civility and the back-and-forth. It’s truly a different beast than most of the online landing spots I have ever seen.
And that’s a credit to you guys and gals. So thanks.
(Side note: Not sure if the previous comments will ever return or not. The upgrade has its perks and its speed bumps, but if you have other questions or comments, let me know and I will pass them on.)
Now to the hammer.
Boucher pummels Forrest Gump. Meets him in the hole and knocks the twang out of his mouth.
First, Gump was an All-American on a team of All-Americans playing for Bear in pre-Wishbone heyday.
Second, Bobby Boucher took the Muddogs to Bourbon Bowl for Pete’s sake.
Third, Gump’s straight-ahead running style generates speed, but Boucher’s tackling prowess is unmatched. (Well, unless we’re going to start talking about ‘The Icebox’ from “Little Giants.”)
Now that said, Forrest is going to get up, hustle back to the huddle and come again and again and again.
Side question: Do you think Forrest or Boucher would have been Heisman finalists? I think Gump would have been, and I have to believe Bear would have done more than just let him return kicks, don’t you? Gump toss left and Gump toss right is not too difficult. He may not be a smart man, but he knows what love is.
It also begs the question about what other fictional athletes would win in a tete-a-tete.
Like is Benny ‘the Jet’ Rodriguez a better player than Kelly Leak?
No movie basketball player wants any part of Jimmy Chitwood, right?
And while we’re here, in reel life, Drago kills Rocky, right? (Yes this one’s for you Vader, and it also makes me wonder, Drago vs. Clubber Lang, who you got and is there any chance it lasts more than 1.5 rounds?)
From PP
Why are you such a total (bleep)hole?
PP —
Habit, maybe.
From John C
So, are you going to have a football picks thing or not?
John C —
We are planning on an Eliminator Pool that we can run through email and the comments.
Anything beyond that is going to be too much for me to tackle, especially in the transition of the new system.
That said, I also am planning a little more fantasy football discussion this fall, even though I am still looking for a fantasy league to play in.
After back-to-back titles in the Weston Wamp league — back when he was ESPN Weston not County Mayor Weston — I was not involved last season and I missed it greatly.
Thoughts?
Enjoy the weekend friends, and thanks for making this little place everything it is.