Wow, lots to get to this morning. So, as the online editors giggle at this notion -- I will try to brief.
To our business.
First and foremost, I do not -- repeat, DO NOT -- have classified documents in my garage. Granted, my garage is a complete and total disaster, but there are not classified documents in there.
Baseball cleats from when my 15-year-old was 6? Yes.
Classified documents? Nope.
Also, Billy Packer died. He was 82. He also was a very good college basketball commentator back in the day who stayed about three years too long. Rest easy, Billy.
And, site work on the new Lookouts stadium is set to begin. Which leads me here, and let's be clear about two things and they can both be true:
Statement No. 1, I am happy and the 5-at-10 clan is pleased that the Lookouts are staying. (And the only way they were staying was with a new publicly funded stadium.)
Statement No. 2, it really feels like our whole community got old-school strong-armed in this deal, no? And a saying from Nanny Greeson -- "If you are doing something in secret, you are doing something you shouldn't" -- feels mighty apropos right about now.
Rushmore of SEC QB Rushmores -- (And yes that sounds a little confusing) It's still Florida, and it does not matter about NFL success or failure, but no SEC school can match in my mind, Spurrier, Tebow, Wuerffle and Chris Leak (look his number up) as a college quartet. There are a slew that are close. Alabama has a better NFL QB Rushmore for sure. And Georgia has a better -- way better than I expected -- group, as does Kentucky and LSU. But Florida wins by a margin that is fairly stout.
Rushmore of gymnastics -- Nadia Whoseherboots, Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug, Simone Biles.
Rushmore of comedy duos, with the emphasis being on duos because Monty Python, SNL, Second City and the like are not duos -- Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen (Say good night Gracie -- "good night Gracie"), Beavis and Butthead, Laurel and Hardy. (Side note/question: This list becomes more fun with movie comedy duos, no? Like Lloyd and Harry, Jay and Silent Bob or the great work of Walter Mattheau and Jack Lemon and so many others. Discuss.)
Rushmore of TV mini-series -- "Roots," "Lonesome Dove," "Band of Brothers" and Ken Burns' "Baseball."
Point of order. This was not a question, and while I did not get back to it Thursday, it does deserve a response.
From Chas: Old biz: I don't like Tom Cruise the person, but I really like his movies. I prolly even agree he's #1 in your lifetime. But your fanboy relationship is showing when you say he's "easily" the biggest. Hanks, Pitt, Willis, Johansson, Leo and Samuel L. are close.
The important word here is biggest movie star, not best actor. Duvall, DeNiro, even Hanks, put their chips in making cinema. Cruise long ago pushed his chips into making old-fashioned, fun movies. He's Jack Reacher. He's Nathan Hunt. He's Pete bleepin' Mitchell.
And in truth, I'm not as big a fanboy of Cruise as that would lead you to believe, but I am interested in this discussion, because of the names on that list only Leo and maybe Hanks have any type of mention in this discussion.
Pitt is kinda close, but not really. What is his signature role?
While Bruce Willis was perfect as John McClane, does he have anything close to the résumé as a movie star like Cruise does? Again, I know Cruise has a list of stinkers, but is there a more bankable dude in Hollywood? (And you're right, as a person, he looks like a complete nut job, but again, that's not the discussion.)
To the 'bag.
From Spy
Time for some old man yells at clouds stuff.
Watching a couple of commercials that confound me. One is the spot about this great cookware that all the best cooks use. But if you are a lousy cook, those pots and pans ain't gonna help your beef stew taste like a rib eye. It's still gonna taste like bad beef stew. And bad beef stew is ... bad. Plus, there's the spot on eczema or psoriasis medication with the middle aged female DJ and then a young tattoo artist. Who has no tats of her own. Are you going to go a tattoo artist, skin problem or no, who doesn't have any visible ink?
Spy,
You earned this platform. Speak your peace.
While my first thought was, "Heck do I want a tattoo from some one without a tattoo" I then thought, " Will I accept a drink from a bartender who is not a drunk?"
My answer is yes, yes I would. In both cases.
From Pat
It's the third week in January. And neither Duke nor UNC are ranked in men's basketball.
Which sign of the apocalypse is this?
Pat,
Not close to the apocalypse at this juncture.
But if locusts and famine strike your neck of the woods, email me back, OK?
From John
What standards in ethics, society, industry, professions and manufacturing haven't slipped over the years? Didn't our grandfathers moan about lost quality of products and services??
For instance, who could EVER have imagined anyone as flawed, as disturbed, as cowardly, as delusional as Donald Trump being a U.S. president?? Not a ball player or movie star but as a president??!??
How comparable are Scott Rolen's numbers to Brooks Robinson's?
I'd simply induct Pete Rose into to the Hall of Fame tomorrow by just mailing him his plaque and sending him a picture of his new bust in Cooperstown. Spare us any speech, Pete!
John,
I appreciate your passion on the topic. I used to share a similar fire about baseball in general and the Hall of Fame in particular.
Now, it feels like both are farces.
As for Brooks, well he was the best third baseman to ever pick up a piece of leather, so that differentiates the two considerably.
It would almost be trying to line up offensive stats for Derek Jeter against offensive stats for Ozzie Smith in a lot of ways. But here you go:
-- Rolen: seven time all-star, 8 time Gold Glove winner, .281 career hitter with 316 homers in 17 years, one (ONE) top-12 finish in the MVP voting.
-- Robinson: 18 time all-star, 16 time Gold Glove winner, .267 career hitter with an MVP and a World Series MVP as well as 268 homers in 22 years.
And while your point is accurate that our expectations for quality and the desire to do quality work has declined in so many areas and walks of life these days it's hard to name them all, shouldn't at the very least we hold the Hall of Fame to a higher standard?
And nice work getting a Trump shot in there.
From Todd
Jay,
My thoughts are on golf this morning. Is Jon Rahm the best golfer on the planet right now? I think his best is very similar Rory's best when they are dialed in. Do we truly miss any of the "other tour" golfers? Maybe Brooks or Dustin?
A question for another day or follow-up: We've talked about best golfer never having won a major and Ricky Fowler is a good answer. What about Matt Kuchar, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter?
Todd,
Jon Rahm is the best golfer on the planet right now, and that should scare the ever living Begimminiys out of every golf executive on the planet right now.
You and I are golf fans, Todd. We enjoy it. But I know I am finding something else to do on a non-major Sunday if Rahm has a 2 shot lead over Collin Morikawa.
I will answer the best without a major in the days ahead.
From Steeler Fan
Hey Jay,
Draft question. If Brice Young, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson all go in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft, as some analysts predict, how big a deal is it that Josh Heupel beat all three in one year? It seems highly unlikely to me that a college team would beat three Top 10-drafted QBs in the same year. (And if you think Jayden Daniels and Cade Klubnik might both play in the league some day, this hypothetical trivia question gets kind of crazy: What college coach beat five future NFL QBs in one season?) It could happen.
Steeler Fan,
This question is perfect.
And impossible to answer.
But I know this. Any team that takes Will Levis or Anthony Richardson in the top 10 is doing it wrong.
To the Heupel point, it's kinda strange that he's a QB whispers as well as apparently being an anti-QB whisper no?
That tells me as much about about his ability -- and his staff's abilities -- to make QBs great and and make great QBs ineffective.
From Mark
You mother (bleeper)! You said "FOLLLOW MY PICK -- WIN MONEY!"
And this week you are sucking (bleep)!
Thnaks for nothing!
Mark,
Yep, we'll win some and lose some. So it goes.
Enjoy the weekend friends. Not you, so much, Mark.