Super stakes
Yes we have our Super Duper Props Drop, our Super Bowl contest, and entering is easy. And free. Just email you answer to the following 10 actual NFL prop bets for the Super Bowl between Kansas City and Philadelphia. The player with the most right out of the first nine with the 10th question serving as a tie-breaker with Price is Right rules in effect.
Winner gets lunch on me. Deal? Deal.
1. Super Bowl MVP.
2. First player to score a TD.
3. Over/under 49.5 total points.
4. Longest TD play over/under 40.5 yards.
5. Chris Stapleton's National Anthem over/under 125 seconds.
6. Coin toss heads or tails.
7. Rihanna's first song in the halftime performance.
8. Last player to score a TD.
9. Color of Gatorade used on the victorious coach.
10. Patrick Mahomes total rushing yards in the Super Bowl.
Cool.
But we also have a Super Bowl in front of us, and here's a quick top five about who has the most at stake Sunday.
1. Andy Reid. OK, buckle up because this is about to blow your hair back. If he wins Sunday, Reid's second Super Bowl ring could put an extra line item on a résumé that is contending to be among the Rushmore of all-time NFL coaches. Reid will move into fourth all-time in wins before Halloween next season, he would become only the 14th coach in history with multiple Super Bowl titles (by next season, only Shula and Coach Hoodie would have multiple Super Bowls and more wins) and his offensive innovations are clear. Reid's first Super Bowl made him a Canton lock and relieved him of the infamous tag of being the coach of Dan Marino and Bruce Smith and the rest of the all-time team known as the "Best to never win it all." A second makes him an all-timer.
2. Patty Mahomes. A second title for Kansas City's gunslinger would put the exclamation point on his status as the face of the league. It also jump starts the trajectory talks as well as gives him the undisputed title as the best current QB on planet Earth.
3. Greg Olsen. There has been a ton of love thrown in the direction of the Fox color analyst, who will be doing his first Super Bowl. Well love don't pay no bills, unless you're Julia Roberts' character in "Pretty Woman." (Side question: Has there ever been a bigger fairy tale with a hooker as the princess? Discuss.) Anywell, Olsen's acclaim is great -- and deserved, he does good work -- but Fox has already paid huge -- "YUUGE," as Roberts' character told the sales ladies on Rodeo Drive -- dollars to Tom Brady and you don't write those kind of checks for Brady to be working the Falcons-Saints while Olsen does the Cowboys-Packers in the 4:25 window in 2024. Are you ready for your close up Mr. Olsen?
4. NFL officiating. Here's hoping that anything -- the Chiefs, the Eagles, Olsen, the halftime show, the commercials, anything -- is the story come Super Monday and not the officials. Please let that be the case.
5. Jalen Hurts. Yes, the Eagles QB figures to cash in on a season that has put him into the current MVP conversation and the discussion of the top 10 QB1s in the league. That's already in the books. But when he sits down to talk contract extension, winning your owner a Super Bowl is a lot, Lot, LOT better of a bargaining chip than getting your owner to the Super Bowl.
Let's make a deal
You go to bed and then poof, Deadline Eve in the NBA becomes a cross between "Antiques Roadshow," the World's Longest Yardsale and Monty Hall's greatest hits.
(Side question: "Antiques Roadshow" friend or foe? Discuss.)
Everyone was looking to make a deal.
The biggest name to get dealt was Kevin Durant, who was the final superstar in the Nets' monster talent acquisition of a few years ago that assembled KD, Kyrie and James Harden in what was supposed to be a title machine super team.
It turned into a super failure.
Durant was sent to the Suns for a slew of players and picks.
It also makes you wonder what the legacy of Kevin Durant will be considering the number of teams willing to part ways with him.
KD is arguably the best single offensive player since MJ's heyday. A 7-foot two-guard, Durant is dang close to being a career 50-40-90 guy, which is simply mind-boggling.
(Side note: A 50-40-90 guy is someone who shoots 50% from the field, 40% from 3 and 90% from the foul line. It is extremely rare. Only nine players -- Larry Bird twice, Steve Nash four times -- have gone 50-40-90 in a season.)
Durant has one of the 13 50-40-90 seasons in NBA history, and his career numbers are 49.8-38.4-88.6. That's amazing.
But it also comes with KD being KD apparently, because he now has the Thunder, the Warriors, the Nets and the Suns on his stat line, too.
Speaking of legacies, Russell Westbrook was also dealt Wednesday, meaning KD's former teammate was shipped off again. And reports are out there that Russ will be bought out by the Jazz.
Both deals put emphatic Fs on the complete failures of those involved of trying to assemble the Nets Big 3 as well as the Lakers Big 3.
Orange squeezed
OK, Tennessee went to Vandy and lost.
Never a happy sentence for the Big Orange faithful. Here's more from Paschall because dude puts in the hours.
It also raises doubts about how well prepared this bunch is for March.
(Side note: There are no such doubts for Alabama, by the way. The Tide clubbed a Florida team that this time last week was beating Tennessee.)
(Side note on the side note: If you were watching the latter part of the Alabama rout of Florida, you may have gotten to hear an insightful take from ESPN's Jimmy Dykes, who noted that Alabama basketball fans should acknowledge the role Bruce Pearl's turnaround efforts at Auburn have played in the Tide becoming a) serious about basketball and b) dag-nabbin' great at basketball. It has a lot of merit if you are aware of the rivalry, which will be on full display Saturday as the Tide go to Auburn.)
(Side note on the side note to the original side note: I know Auburn is great at home, but I'll be backing the truck up to bet on the Tide come Saturday afternoon friends. And you can book that.)
Tennessee is great defensively. We've known that since Thanksgiving.
But scoring is a chore, and it has become as big a mental hurdle as it is a physical shortcoming in my view.
Will UT make the tournament? Of course.
But the December version of this crew was a Final Four contender. Since an impressive win against Texas in late January, this Big Orange collection may have a hard time seeing the second weekend.
This and that
-- From the Twitter account of the guy who runs SportsMediaWatch.com comes arguably the most unbelievable college basketball stat in recent memory. The most watched college hoops game this seasons was (wait for it) DePaul-Creighton on Christmas Day. Seriously.
-- Speaking of unbelievable college basketball stats, try this one on for size. Wednesday night Marquette beat UConn for the first time ever in women's basketball. As amazing as that may be -- UConn was 16-0 against Marquette before last night -- try this one on for size: It's the first time since March 1993 UConn's women have lost back-to-back games. That's a span of 1,083 games friends, and UConn went 1,008-75 in that time frame. Wow.
-- I forever have loathed the notion of "Tiger-proofing" golf courses. It's a kin to trying to de-Stilt basketball because of Wilt Chamberlain. If dudes are better, then they should enjoy the fruits of their excellence. Plus, the whole notion of Tiger-proofing a course is oxymoronic, because it mainly entails making the course longer, which plays into the strengths of the guys who are the longest off the tee, like Tiger was back in his heyday. All that is said because more details have emerged about the lengthening of the famous par-5 13th at Augusta National, which will play 545 yards now from a back tee moved deeper into the Georgia pines.
-- Speaking of the Super Bowl, Michael Irvin has been pulled from the NFL Network's coverage because of an incident last weekend. The details are fuzzy, but it is relatively clear that the Playmaker's Sunday night "play" was rather offensive to a lady in the lobby of their hotel.
-- Speaking at the Super Bowl, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tells reporters that at some point he could see the controversial Thursday night NFL game being a flexed option. Interesting take, and one I am sure Amazon, which streams Thursday night football, would love since it feels like every Thursday night game is Texans-Cardinals.
-- All four of the Baylor School alums on the PGA Tour will be playing in the Waste Management tournament starting this week. Of the groupings, it struck me a bit funny that Luke List -- who crushes his driver -- is playing with Zach Johnson and Webb Simpson, two of the shorter-hitters on Tour. There will be several holes today and tomorrow in which the trio will tee off, walk about three minutes to the second shots for Zach and Webb, walk another 90 seconds to Luke's ball and then walk to the green.
-- You know the rules. Here's Paschall catching up with some UT football news.
Today's questions
It's and anything-goes Thursday, so fire away.
There are a few questions above so feel free to play along, and remember the mailbag and the Super Duper Props Drop contest above.
As for today, well, the Beatles made their famous "Ed Sullivan" debut in 1964 and almost 74 million people tuned in.
Joe Pesci is 80.
Have we done a Joe Pesci Rushmore before?
Go and remember the mailbag.