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An all-timer
So few franchises have the aura the Los Angeles Dodgers have.
Few have as many iconic former all-time greats, either.
The Celtics. The Yankees. Heck, even the cross-town Lakers all have a galaxy of former stars to the point where naming a Mr. Celtics or the face of the Lakers is never going to be easy.
There is no Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub, or Joe Willie Namath, who remains the face of the New York Jets for almost anyone with an IQ over single digits.
With the extension announcement Tuesday that Clayton Kershaw will return for his 18th season in Dodgers Blue, the future Hall of Fame lefty continued to cement his legacy among the all-time Dodgers greats.
He also could very well be a fifth (or even sixth) starter in a rotation deeper than the Pacific.
Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, free-agent-signee Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto makes one of the best rotations in the game, and that’s before adding in Kershaw, Dustin May, Bobby Miller or Tony Gonsolin.
Which is downright scary considering the Dodgers won last fall relying on a three-man rotation for most of the playoffs.
It makes me happy that Kershaw appears to be set to finish his career as a lifelong Dodger. Never like the images of a Tom Glavine in Mets gear or Emmitt Smith, the Arizona Cardinal.
Which way Wednesday starts this way: Which current MLB player is most likely to be the next unanimous Hall of Fame inductee? Kershaw has to be in that conversation, right?
SEC-cond look
So the illness bug that has been circulating has landed on the 5-at-10 compound and caused us to miss the much-anticipated Vandy trip to watch the top-ranked Tigers up-close and personal.
Saw it on the TV, and there were more than a few Auburn folks at Memorial last night.
And they saw a good one, and it sets the stage for a potential great one Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
But first, let’s handle our midweek business with five SEC thoughts on this Feb. 12 morning, as we are four weeks and four days from Selection Sunday:
> Mark Pope has UT’s number. As Paschall explains in detail here, the first-year Kentucky coach is now 2-0 against Rick Barnes’ Vols, and the Wildcats are 24-for-48 from 3 in those two Ws.
> The stats and statements about how highly regarded and ultra-competitive the SEC is this year are everywhere. This one may be the best so far, though. After last night, UT is No. 5 in the country and seventh in the SEC standings
> Auburn and Alabama avoided speed bumps with impressive wins at Vandy and at Texas on Tuesday, respectively. Now comes a 1-2 date in the hoops Iron Bowl. Buckle up. The cheapest ticket on StubHub as of this morning was $311.
> Is Georgia a tournament team? And how hot should Mike White’s seat be? Feels like the Bulldogs should be better than this, no?
> Florida is legit. And deep. And that depth will be tested again with the injury to Alex Condon last night. The UF big, who was SEC player of the week last week, suffered a grisly ankle injury in Tuesday win at Mississippi State.
KD’s milestone
So Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to eclipse 30,000 points.
That’s a lot of scoring, even by Wilt Chamberlain’s standards.
The other seven are household names from here to Hungary. MJ, Jabbar, LeBron, Kobe, The Mailman, Wilt and Dirk. (Yeah, that last one surprised me too — I had to look it up.)
Of that octet, Durant may be the most efficient. His shooting slashes — 50.2/38.8/88.2 — are staggering.
Not sure anyone will ever catch LeBron, who has 41,623 career points and counting, but this morning is about KD.
Durant’s catch and shoot motion at almost 7-feet is in my mind the second-toughest-stop offensive move in basketball history, behind Kareem’s skyhook.
But is KD an underachiever, considering he only won titles with those great Warriors, who had already found championships before KD came aboard?
Is he more Alex English than Kobe?
Thoughts?
This and that
› Saw this on the Twitter, and it made me think. The No. 3 hole in the batting order is the worst place to put your best hitter because it is far and away statistically the most likely spot for a hitter to bat with two outs and no one on base. Hmmm.
› I’m not a Steelers fan — know we have a few around these parts — but I so hope Aaron Rodgers goes to Pittsburgh and balls. That would be cool. And 100% in step with all things New York Jets, you know?
› So John Rocker — yes, the former Braves reliever — and Patrick Mahomes Sr. almost got into a fight over the weekend in NOLA. You stay classy, San Diego.
› It’s the rare line items that truly give me pause about how much money NBA players make. Like this one: Brandon Ingram — yes, Brandon Ingram — signed a three-year, $120 million extension. That’s almost $500K per game, He will make $10,162.60 per minute of each NBA regular season game over the next three seasons. Yes, for Brandon Ingram.
Today’s questions
Which way Wednesday started above with the query about which current MLB player could you see getting 100% of the votes for Cooperstown.
It will continue with which SEC team will go the deepest into March Madness?
Which Super Bowl side story are you most tired of — Taylor getting booed, Serena’s dance chops, or another?
Which universe is this, considering that among the three major men’s college sports, the SEC is better in basketball and baseball nationally than it is in football? Because the preseason college baseball polls have SEC at 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 nationally.
As for today, Feb. 12, let’s review:
Ol’ Honest Abe Lincoln would have been 216 today.
Christina Ricci is 45 today. Arsenio Hall is 69.
Bill Russell would have been 91 today.
Josh Brolin — who is excellent at his craft — is 57.
What’s his Rushmore? Go. And yes, “No Country for Old Men” is 100% far left.