Let’s handle our business.
First, the Olympics were jaw-dropping Thursday. Let’s get to it.
› Team USA rallying from down 17 to topple Serbia was amazing. It was amazing because Steph Curry had never been an Olympian, and he saved the American bacon. It was amazing because the US team that likely averages nine-figure bank accounts looked like a passionate AAU middle school crew coming back. Steph was great and KD is on the short list with Shaq on the block, MJ from the wing and Kareem’s skyhook as the most-unguardable basketball players ever.
› The track action was also cool. In a Games dominated by GOAT contenders, U.S. female hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is every bit in that conversation. She won another gold in her specialty event and set her fourth world record in the process. That said, it’s hard to fathom our COVID beliefs of three years ago. Three years ago, we would have cancelled the Games if Noah Lyles showed up with the COVID. Thursday, he raced in the 200-meter finals.
› Who’s ready for some breaking today? OK, if there is one undeniable breaking fact, it’s that the best break-dancing movie is “Breaking.” The worst of course is “Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo.”
› Water polo is pretty amazing when you realize those folks are treading water.
› Cindy Ngamba made history by becoming the first medalist from the Olympic refugee team when she won bronze in boxing.
As for the Rushmores, let’s try these:
Rushmore of Dustin Hoffman movies: “All the President’s Men,” “The Graduate,” “Rain Man,” “Tootsie.”
Rushmore of sad TV deaths: Henry Blake on “M*A*S*H” is far left. Hodor on “Game of Thrones.” Wallace on “The Wire” (narrowly over Omar) and personal choice of the blonde girl in “1883.” (Side note: Coach and Ducky died in real life during filming, and both “Cheers” and “NCIS” treated that loss with great care.)
Rushmore of “bombs” in all measures — the universal term for a long football pass, the atomic bomb, the Gap Band classic “You dropped a bomb on me” and getting bombed.
Rushmore of music-based TV shows: “American Bandstand,” “Soul Train,” “TRL” on MTV and “Name That Tune.” (The contest shows kinda stink.)
Here’s Paschall with a UT update.
To a loaded mailbag — and my answers will be as brief as I can make them — and you guys smashed the record for comments in a week this week.
From Steeler Fan
Hey Jay,
Enough of Brandon Aiyuk, already, the most over-hyped NFL story of the spring-summer. Still, the wild inflation in WR salaries intrigues me from a strategic standpoint. If you are an NFL GM and you suddenly have $100 million tied up in three players: QB1 ($50-$60 million), WR1 ($30 million) and WR2 ($10-20 million), it seems to me that will wreak havoc on salary caps and allocations to other stars. It will also mean teams climbing over one another to get great QBs and WRs on rookie deals. As a draft guy, how does this cause you to rethink your draft board. And do you think a team with $100 million tied up in three players can win the Super Bowl.
Steeler Fan
Be careful what you wish for, because the line of WRs — be them the 1 or the 2 — who have left a Kyle Shanahan-play-action-based scheme went into pass-catching witness protection.
Anyone remember Calvin Ridley?
The 49ers are an amazing case study right now. So are the Cowboys. They have drafted well for years, but now the checks are coming due and the windows are closing.
You have to give the QB1 — an elite QB, that is — the $50 million. Not Kurt Cousins, but Patty Mahomes and Josh Allen and Joe Burrow.
To your other point though, I am pretty sure the highest-paid WR to ever win a Super Bowl was Keyshawn Johnson with the Bucs back in the day. (Yes, Tyreek Hill and Cooper Kupp have cashed in since winning a Super Bowl, but that goes to your point.)
My standing rule would be we’re drafting a second-day WR and a second- or third-day RB every single year for attrition, be it physical or fiscal.
From JTC
Should the Braves get a new manager? He only gets one or two-year deals typically. Why should the Braves keep Brian Snitker? Who’s next?
JTC
I don’t think so. I was happy to see Snit get tossed earlier this week. I was starting to think it was a cardboard cutout of the man.
I also saw a report from a Mets beat writer in the NYC saying that whispers around MLB are Snit will return after 2025 when his current contract expires.
And look, I blindly follow AA — he’s earned it. But the moves — and the lack of moves among the staff — clearly say either he phoned it in at the deadline or his bosses said, look, we are tapped and no major moves because injuries have gutted us.
And as goofy as I think Snitker is — and there’s a real argument he’s already lost the room because he’ll never defend Acuna, which was fine when Freddie and Dansby were in the 770 — this meltdown is really not on him.
From Andy
Hey there,
Do you really bet on backup QBs? I can’t bring myself to bet on preseason football.
Thanks for introducing me to Dinger Tuesday, even though I’ve lost more than I’ve won. (I have won twice, though. I went Ohtani one time you went Freddie, and that hit. I think Judge got me the other one. Hey, it’s hard. I had to go with the layups. I also picked Yelich one week when the numbers looked good, and he went oh-fer that night and landed on the IL the next day, lol. That’s life.)
Anyway …
Happy 20th and congratulations. Hope all is well in Greesonland!
Nice hearing from you in Twitter/X … haha. Be well.
Go Ravens.
Andy
Great to hear from you, too.
We are good.
Of course, I bet backup QBs, especially in week 3 of the preseason. Those cats are looking to save a roster spot or put tape together for their next job interview.
We split last night, but I still believe in the theory.
Also, we’re getting close to making a decision on Fantasy Football. How many takers do I have?
As for Dingers Tuesday, it’s the best promo out there, but like so many bets I’ve made this summer, I have whiffed more than Dave Kingman on that one.
From Mike
I just want to know if two Krystals in a “value meal” actually qualifies as a meal?
Mike
Such a great question.
Not only no, but heck no, and your query got me thinking:
What the heck happened to a five-dollar lunch?
Fast food is neither fast nor cheap anymore.
Remember the $5 footlong at Subway? That was part of FDR’s New Deal, I think, because you can’t get out of there with a drink and chips for anything less than $15.
And don’t even get me started on the tip jars at the drive-thru.
From Patrick
I got to thinking (yes, it’s dangerous, I’m aware of that), of all the great things to cover … What would be at the other end of that scale, as I ponder the poor folks on the beat of the downtrodden Chicago White Sox?
How hard would it be to find something interesting to write about on a team that can’t seem to stop losing? At what point does anybody not just want to talk anymore about yet another loss?
Patrick
Great question, and I can remember having a very similar conversation with the dude that covered Vandy football in Nashville. At one point he has covered like 20 wins in eight years or something like that.
Could luck coming up with the “Close again”-themed ledes for that beat.
But you’re right.
MLB is every day.
Every day and what a grind it is. Even when the team you cover is good.
Have a great weekend, gang.