Let’s handle our business.
› Lou Gehrig would have been 122 today.
Rushmore of Lous — Gehrig, Skip to My Loo, Lou Holtz, Lou Brock with apologies to Lou Costello. Hey Spy, who’s on first?
Rushmore of “music” — McCartney, Beethoven, Prince and Mozart. And if you wanted to bump someone for Brian Wilson, I’d be OK with that.
Rushmore of sports movies from a book — “Moneyball,” “The Natural,” “Field of Dreams” and “Friday Night Lights.”
Rushmore of sports Phils — Mickelson, Fulmer (more of a regional choice but still), Jackson and Esposito.
Also of note, congrats to all those involved in the Best of Preps ceremony last night. Loads of heavy lifting from Stephen Hargis and his crew, as well as behind the scenes from Mark Jones and his TFP posse. Well done, as always.
And the Braves completed the sweep of the Mets. June 17, people.
Indiana forced a Game 7, which is much-needed for one of the least watched NBA Finals in the post-Jordan era.
To the bag.
From SteelerFan
Jay, do you think there is any chance that all of this Caitlin Clark hubbub is scripted by the WNBA?
Because this has played out almost too perfectly for the league, all things considered.
SteelerFan
Fair question, because there certainly is a “professional wrestling” feel to a lot of this, right?
Clark is playing lights out and talking Larry Bird-levels of smack along the way.
Her teammates are rallying around her like the Four Horsemen rallied around Richmond Flair.
Her opponents are angry because they are getting punked as well as being world-class jealous of Caitlin’s coin and notoriety.
Still, I don’t think any of the conspiracy theories across all sports have validity because the secrets would be too hard to keep and the reverb if found out could be devastating.
That said, the WNBA needs to do whatever it can to make sure these theatrics do not wind up getting Clark hurt, because if the golden goose gets got, well, bye-bye gold.
From BicycleBob
Wyndham Clark needs anger management help. It’s not his first offense. He should get professional psychiatric help and should have plenty of time to get it because he needs to be banned from the PGA for at least a year.
A friend of mine says with the way the Braves are playing, they could be a seller at the trade deadline. Jay, who would they unload, and should they send several away?
BB
Wyndham Clark apologized for his outburst — as he should have.
But for a game like golf that so often pats itself on the back for being the sport that embraces self-called penalties, there should be consequences.
And he should be the one to announce that he will self-impose a one-year ban on playing in the U.S. Open.
As for the Braves, I have been thinking a fair amount about this.
It also comes after news broke that the Braves said no thanks about getting in the Rafael Devers trade talks, which is another mark against Alex Anthopoulos, in my mind.
No market for Olson or Ozuna to me.
I would explore what the market could offer for Ozzie Albies, but his struggles this season would assure you of selling low. Same with Michael Harris.
Can’t move Austin Riley, which points us to two names.
Would you consider dealing Spencer Strider? Maybe, if the price were right.
And finally, what about the “untouchable” tag of Ronald Acuña Jr. — knowing that there really seems to be a rebuild on the horizon and in the coming months, you know Acuña and his people are going to realize he is fiercely underpaid and want a reworked contract?
My thought would be Albies and Strider and rebuild around Acuña, or stand pat and roll the dice.
From Kevinology
Someone commented no big deal that Shedeur went 101 in a 60 when just months ago he went 144 when he was supposed to go 25! Also, Johnny Manziel said he felt like Shedeur would become the starter. With that endorsement, what could go wrong?
Kevin
I know this was tongue in cheek, but even in our “32 days since we last mentioned Shedeur Sanders” part of the summer, this brings a big philosophical point to the forefront.
Someone in Cleveland has to be smart enough to realize that the four QBs in camp have certain tags on them.
Joe Flacco — not the guy anymore.
Kenny Pickett — never been the guy and never will be.
Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders — who knows?
The Browns are going to stink, so why not stink young and find out if either of the rookies could be that guy in today’s NFL?
From Spy
Your AGT. Which doesn’t stand for Ain’t Got Talent.
Sports franchise to own? I actually considered NASCAR. It’s a franchise. It has an owner. And rule books you cannot buy.
As much as I’d love to own the Red Sox, especially now, I think I’d have more fun owning the Braves.
I switch the channels when … I see a Will Farrell PayPal commercial come on. I don’t watch ESPN for anything except live sports, so their talking heads are spoiling the air with more CO2 without me watching. I avoid most cable news programming, or rather, most cable commentary programming. Morgan and Morgan commercials … I’ll turn when I see John Morgan’s fat face on TV.
Best CFP breakdown model? How about break it all down. Let’s go back to two polls and arguing over who No. 1 should be. Forget the playoffs. Just go back to bowl games. Might give talking heads more to talk about other than … the Knicks or Dak Prescott’s legacy.
Spy
Well said. All the way around.
Have a great weekend, friends. And, how ’bout those Knicks, huh?