Morning friends. Happy Friday.
To the business.
Rushmore of TV Westerns: “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke,” “Lone Ranger” and I include “Yellowstone” because of my age, but I know some won’t.
Rushmore of Francis: Francis Scott Key, Frances McDormand, Frances Bavier (aka Aunt Bea) and Francis Ford Coppola. (Left out the Franks and with all apologies to former Falcons wide out Wallace Francis, star tight end Russ Francis and France’s penchant to surrender.)
Rushmore of songs with ‘day’ in the title: Wow, this one was tough. “Happy Birthday” has to be there. “Tuesday’s Gone” by Skynyrd. “Yesterday” by The Beatles. And “Sunday Morning Coming Down” by The Man in Black. Wow, that leaves a lot on the table.
Rushmore of most-hated cartoon characters ever: Caillou, Scrappy Doo, The Great Gazoo and Dora the Explorer.
Here’s Paschall on 50 years of night games at Neyland, and it comes with some of the best prime time affairs involving the Big Orange.
Here’s Hargis on Boyd-Buchanan’s quick turnaround under Gary Rankin, who is pretty sharp at coaching that football stuff. (Side note: The photo of those new Boyd-Buch unis that have a similar feel to the great Pitt Panthers uniforms are sharp.)
To the bag.
From a couple of you
Are you doing NFL picks this year or not?
Gang —
Sure, why not. And there are some things happening on that front that we’ll discuss more in the coming days.
And, Eliminator Picks, because I know there are some of you who entered Week 1 and hit — lots of Saints backers got a close call — who have not entered yet.
And while a tie will allow you to advance, an empty sheet means the end of the road.
As for the picks, let’s go here:
Raiders minus-5 over Arizona. I think the Cardinals are going to stink on ice, especially with DeAndre Hopkins out.
Baltimore minus-3 over Miami. I think the Ravens are going to be really good, and Lamar Jackson is taking the lack of a contract extension personally.
Minnesota-Philadelphia over 50 and Cincinnati minus-6 over Dallas.
Last week: 1-0 against the number with the Buffalo Bills carrying some major Week 1 weight.
This season: 1-0.
From Craig
The “article” you authored in Tuesday’s paper did not contain a reference to sitting on a toilet for a lengthy period of time. Losing your crudeness?
Craig —
Haven’t lost it, per se.
Maybe I just misplaced it this week.
Sorry about that.
Can’t hit ‘em all flush. We’ll wipe away our tears and move forward.
From Diane
Good morning
In your (Saturday) column you ask what would happen to a white person who behaved in a similar fashion to that of Marie Mott.
Well, of course, this DID happen back in 2016. He was elected president. But I, and a lot of other folks, are working hard to keep that from happening again.
Diane —
Thanks for reading, and looks like Ms. Mott’s track record caught up with her in the polls.
From Chas
Friday bag question: Today (Thursday) Former President Trump said the nation would face "problems ... the likes of which perhaps we’ve never seen" if he is indicted over his handling of classified documents after leaving office, an apparent suggestion that such a move by the Justice Department could spark violence from Trump's supporters.
The Donald said an indictment wouldn’t stop him from running for the White House again and repeatedly said Americans “would not stand” for his prosecution.
Is this 1) a threat; 2) a prediction; 3) irresponsible; 4) copycatting Lindsey Graham; or 5) all of the above.
Chas —
It could be 1, 2 and/or 3. I do not think Trump is trying to follow Mr. Graham’s two-step.
I wish I could think or even pretend to acknowledge that maybe Trump was inferring the perils of going down the path of holding a sitting president to the rule of law that clearly at times must be side-stepped if not broken entirely because of circumstance and situations.
Which I think is an interesting conversation, but I do not think Trump is viewing it in terms of a philosophical discussion on protocol.
From Don
Teams that change their uniforms to create excitement and interest have an identity crisis, don’t they?
Don —
Interesting point.
I think there are three primary paths here.
There is the traditionally non-traditional uniform crew, led primarily by Oregon and TCU. Each of those schools change styles and schemes like we change socks. (More so than Spy changes socks, though.)
There is the "recruits and young fans love the different look" claim, which I think is kind of overblown.
Alabama and Georgia are not alternating their looks, and they seem to be doing fine on the recruiting trail.
And there really is the cash-grab aspect to it from the schools. Like Georgia, for example. They have not worn the Black shirts very often, but there are still plenty of them in Sanford come Saturday, you know?
And at $89.99 a pop.
But in the modern age of NIL — where players get a cut of their jerseys that are sold — here’s betting even the most traditional programs with the classiest of uniforms could feel pressure to have a different or alternative jersey.
Because if they came out with a Houndstooth jersey in T-Town, how many 10s and 32s would fly off the shelves and get some more cash in Bryce Young’s or Will Anderson’s pockets?
Have a great weekend friends.
Jay Greeson