From Kyle
Say Pearl wins it all this year. Does UCLA come knocking since cal is locked down. And if so does Bruce accept?
Also from several of you Who you got this weekend?
Kyle (first)
If Pearl wins it all - and that is a huge if considering the Tigers are the underdog in every conceivable Final Four scenario - then he becomes the hottest name in hoops.
The biggest fish in a pond of a non-traditional power. UCLA certainly would come calling, but this is not the UCLA we remember. (And truth be told, Phillip Fulmer and the UT athletic decision makers better be paying attention to this hire so that the Lady Vols do not mirror the march to mediocrity that has been the Bruins' bitter basketball being of the last 40-plus years.)
And he would have to listen, but I think Bruce would stay. And maybe that's wishful thinking because he's made basketball matter at my alma mater. I think Bruce has to be incredibly thankful for the opportunity Auburn gave him considering the skeletons and the show cause stuff.
Either way, Pearl is about to get a nice raise, and a monster of an extension. So there's that.
We are running late this morning and to get to the entire mailbag, well, we may have to post our picks and Final Four forecast a little after lunch.
That said, I believe Michigan State has too much - too much experience, too much great point guard play, too much moxie - for Texas Tech.
As for the Virginia-Auburn game well, I really have no idea. My head says take the 1 seed who defends the 3 better than any team in America. My heart says take the Tigers and ride the wave of unpredictable destiny into Monday.
Oh my.
This week's Rushmores/questions
Best athletes to wear the double numbers and which is the best (Has to be 44 right?)
00 - Jim Otto over Robert Parish;
11 - Isiah Thomas over Mark Messier;
22 - Emmitt Smith over Elgin Baylor;
33 - Kareem over Larry Legend and Tony Dorsett;
44 - Hank Aaron over Jerry West, My Urinal Buddy, Reggie Jackson and Pete Maravich (And that's some excellent nicknames wearing 44 - The Hammer, The Logo, Pistol Pete, Mr. October);
55 - Not sure Orel Hershiser maybe, but that seems weak;
66 - Mario Lemieux;
77 - Ray Borque;
88 - Tony Gonzalez over Swann, Irvin and Eric Lindros;
99 - Gretzky. Period.
Rushmore of female cartoon characters: Disney/non-Disney. Non-Disney: Jessica Rabbitt, Lucy van Pelt, Olive Oyl, Marge Simpson (narrowly over Lisa Simpson and Wilma Flintstone). Disney: Minnie Mouse, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Tinkerbell. Yes this one was not easy.
Rushmore of current college coaches: Coach K, Roy, Izzo, Cal.
Rushmore of worst NCAA title games (modern era, since the tournament expanded): UNC over Gonzaga was gross basketball (UNC shot 38 percent from the field and was 4-of-27 from 3 and won); UConn over Butler was dreadful; UNLV smoking Duke in 1990; Florida over UCLA in 2006, maybe.
From Steve
I have been to my share of spring games in Knoxville, and enjoyed most of them. "Back in the day" UT used to give fans a "goodie bag" that had some pretty sweet swag, and you could walk around on the field, and it was still fairly easy to get a ball or hat or picture signed...and, it was an actual scrimmage game with pretty decent action. That went away some time around the same time as Fulmer did, and the swag became a pocket schedule and few other little things, no go on the field, you had to pick a line to get an autograph, offense or defense...and the game itself? It became more of a 7 on 7 two hand touch game with some stupid drills mixed in. Not much fun. Now, UT is really pushing for fan attendance this year. Many are saying it's because it helps so much in recruiting if the recruits can see the type of atmosphere in Neyland. C'mon now, ive been to many spring games, even with the huge crowd Peyton's senior year, and the year after the National Championship, and that atmosphere is nothing like a real game day atmosphere. Also, don't most of these prized recruits come visit during an actual game day weekend and get the full experience? I'll likely go this year if the weather is good and nothing else comes up, but I don't think my presence or the presence of 30000-60000 other fans at the spring game is going to sway any recruit to pick UT.
Steve -
Completely fair point and the spring game - especially those scheduled on the Saturday of the Masters - are easily skippable.
As for the recruiting point, well, in Saban's first spring game half the state of Alabama showed up and it became a national talking point. It became a buzz worthy topic that started, "Alabama cares SOOOOO much about their football program that they sold out the spring game."
So Saban turned that into a monster recruiting talking point - let's face it, Saban could turn an above average French Dip from the area Quizno's into a recruiting edge - and then people tried to emulate that.
It's the tail trying to wag the Saban. And if Pruitt convinces 101,000 Johnny Vols Fans to spend a Saturday watching some variation of football in which third-down stops are worth two points and well-covered punts are worth 1.35 points and, well you get the idea, then great and kudos to the fans who continue to support a team that has been hard to support for going on a decade.
But if Pruitt gets a stadium full of folks for a glorified walk-through with a scoring system, do we really expect that to push him in front of Saban in the eyes of the recruits? Of course not.
(That said, Kirby got a ton of barking Bulldogs in Sanford his first spring scrimmage and he etched together a recruiting masterpiece, but again, it was not because of the spring turnout.)
Of course, the real decisions are made on in-home visits and official visits - if not long before.
From Todd Colling
Bobby Cox - overrated or underrated? Hope he can overcome his current medical situation.
TC -
We all hope Bobby Cox, who likely would make the Rushmore of people in sports who wore No. 6, which is a sneaky better Rushmore than folks realize considering that Russell, Dr. J and Stan Musial, with all apologies to the James' Heat years and Al Kaline, recovers his medical maladies.
I'm going to lean to overrated.
Four Hall of Famers on the same team for the back half of the 1990s and all you get is one title.
And let's be really clear here, this side of the NBA, the MLB's long playoff format is done in an effort to limit unpredictability, and if you can't win more than one World Series with three of the six best pitchers of the entire 1990s well, that's not good enough.
From Michael C.
You and I are about the same age I think and I'm all for the Can't But Me Love talk and that leads me to two 1980s movie questions for you.
1-If we agree that CBML is way underrated and on the Rushmore of 1980s underrated movies, what are the other three?
2-The best friend in CBML is that dude from Children of the Corn. What's on the Rushmore of 1980s actors who will forever be a character they played as soon as you see them? (Sorry if I worded that bad, but I hope you get what I am saying.)
Thanks for the 5-at-10-I read it every day.
Michael C.
Such a great question. Two in fact.
We'll go with the second one first, and yes we get the gist of your query. And that character was Malachi in Children of the Corn, which was creepy as bleep. And yes, the horror movie has made a triumphant return to the theaters - they are cheap to make and are turning a healthy profit - but the 1980s horror movies were boss. The first Nightmare on Elm Street. Children of the Corn. The first Halloween. Poltergeist. The Shining. Hellraiser. The original Pet Seminary, which was wicked creepy as bleep.
As for the identified actors to characters from that glorious decade well it could be called the Ferris Bueller Rushmore, because there are several folks in that movie alone that will forever be the character they played. (The secretary. Ed Rooney. Ferris. Even Cameron.)
We'll start with Ferris and Matthew Broderick. Here's betting he hates the daily, "Hey Ferris" calls in NYC. We'll give you Malachi if for no other reason than how strange that dude looks. We'll follow with Billy Zabka as Johnny Lawrence in Karate Kid. (And yes, Billy Zabka was a blond bully stereotype from central casting for a lot of 1980s flicks, but they all fall in line behind Johnny Lawrence.) The last one for me and this may be personal was the dude that played Danny Noonan in Caddyshack. Sure he was in the Great Santini before that and the Slugger's Wife after that, but Danny Noonan will always be Danny Noonan.
As for underrated, well, there simply are too many to even name. But we will try because that's what we do, but we have to limit it to just comedies that we find underrated.
First, Soul Man was fall down funny and likely because of its racial overtones, every copy has been destroyed.
Last American Virgin is on this list, and while it might not be as funny as some of the others - the end is Terms of Endearment-tear worthy - it's pretty excellent.
Next, we'll add Midnight Run. Wickedly underrated.
And finally, we feel obligated to mention that John Cusack is likely the most underrated of all things from 1980s comedy. The Sure Thing. One Crazy Summer. Better Off Dead. We'll take the last one because I need my $2.
From Sam
Your piece on Coach Cal got me thinking about how many coaches out there would get a lifetime contract if they asked for it?
Keep up the great work here and on the radio show. You guys are an awesome way to spend my ride from Brainerd Rd. to Dade County.
Sam -
Thanks for the kind words and for playing along with the silliness.
Coach Cal deserves a lifetime contract, especially if there is some sort of MON-ster buyout. And to be fair, to get a lifetime eat like that, the buyout should be somewhere close to the size of Rhode Island. I mean if Coach Cal is approached by the Lakers or whomever is coaching the Alien All-Stars in LeBron's remake of Space Jam, what's next on the list of contract improvements beyond 'Lifetime Contract?' Would UK then have to pony up an afterlife clause in which Cal's descendants get a check after he's dead? (If you think that's crazy, Alabama would so do that for Saban. Heck, the entire state is still doing it unofficially for Bear's family.)
But your question has merit Sam. Merit and intrigue.
OK, Coach Cal is there because he is there. And lifetime contracts are like salaries. You are worth what someone is willing to pay you or offer you. And UK gave him the lifetime deal, so he's there.
And I thin there are more in college hoops than any other sport.
Coach K obviously. UNC would give Roy one if he asked. Syracuse has not parted with Boeheim despite all his run-ins with NCAA troubles, so he has one. Gonzaga would gladly give one to Mark Few. Heck, I think Bruce Pearl could come close to getting one from Auburn. Tom Izzo is close and could punch his ticket with two more wins in the next 72 hours.
I think Geno (of course) and Muffet McGraw are there on the women's side. Counting Cal that's five dudes and seven total with a few others lurking.
I think there are only two guys across all of pro sports that have reached that status - Popovich and Belichick. Even someone like Erik Spolestra or Steve Kerr - guys with multiple titles at the same locale - are not on that list in my mind.
Which brings us to college football. Saban will have one of these by the end of the weekend if he wants one. But who else?
Kirby is close, but he's not there yet. Clemson would gladly give one to Dabo, but I'm not 100 percent Dabo would take it. And from there, I don't think anyone else has reached that point.
Thoughts?
