Prayer answered
Chattanooga Area Prayer Breakfast is set for Tuesday, May 7.
If you have never been, I encourage you to attend.
If you have been, I want to make sure you know who is speaking this year.
Gang, there are a slew of events that folks are a part of and countless would like free pub.
At least 99 out of 100 - and more like 999 out of 1,000 - would get little more than a mention here or three around these parts.
This one is different for a lot of reasons.
I wrote about Sherman Smith, this year's speaker for the Prayer Breakfast, in this morning's A2 column.
I was limited in space, but his story has depths and "Oh Mys" and "No Ways" normally reserved for a Mission Impossible sequel.
In fact, here's the story from ESPN the Magazine that also became an awesome E:60 special on the world-wide leader about Smith and Deland McCullough.
If you have the time, read either of those and if you have a few extra minutes, watch the special. If you do, stop reading this now and come back when you are done.
It's amazing, right? Simply impossible to fathom to a level that Hollywood script writers would say, "Yeah, we're going to pass. No one would believe it."
Here's Reader's Digest version is this:
Smith dated a woman when he was in high school and she became pregnant and never told Smith. She moved away for nine months, gave birth and put the baby boy up for adoption.
Fast forward 17 or so years, and Smith is the running backs coach for Miami University. He recruits Deland McCullough to come play for him, and takes McCullough under his wing. McCullough has a record-setting career at MU - Smith's alma mater by the way - and has his eyes on the pros.
McCullough has a serious knee injury before the draft and decides - after consulting a lot with Smith - to become a coach. He even gets an internship with the Seattle Seahawks with help from Smith, who coached running backs for the Seahawks from 2010-2017.
Fast forward to November 2017 and McCullough reaches out to social media his birth mother and the talk. Early in the chat, McCullough asks who his father is. His birth mother pauses because she has told only three people ever who was the dad.
She decided McCullough deserved to know.
It was Sherman Smith.
#MindBlown
Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann follows through on a two-run double during the second inning of Wednesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Atlanta. The Braves lost 3-2.Bullpits
OK, this will not be the last time we discuss this I am afraid.
Hey, the Braves have a really fun collection of young bats. Albies-Donaldson-Freeman-Acuna-Markakis-Swanson and whomever else is pretty rocking.
And for all the heckling I give the starting pitchers, it has not been terrible.
Max Fried - can someone explain why his name is pronounced Freed instead of fried as in chicken? - has been aces. Kevin Gausman was excellent in two of his three starts. Toussaint looks the part and I like Sean Newcomb's upside and that's without the return of Mike Foltynewicz.
But c'mon gang, can we not find a guy or three in the back end of the pitching staff to figure out a late-inning situation without the sense of certain doom?
Last night's 3-2 loss to Arizona featured Jesse Biddle losing the strike zone in the 10th inning.
And the bullpen struggles are only magnified the longer that Craig Kimbrel remains unsigned.
How about some numbers? Yes please.
Braves' save percentage: 40 percent, which is fourth worst in baseball.
Braves bullpen ERA: A steamy 5.17, which is eighth-worst in the league.
Braves bullpen walks: 39, which is fifth worst in the league.
Braves bullpen on-base percentage against: .362, which is eighth worst.
To magnify all of that is the collection of young - and inexpensive - talent, and it's not like this a new issue.
The Braves bullpen had a 4.17 ERA last year - 17th in the league - and lost arguably the best arm with news that closer Arodys Vizcaino is done for the year after shoulder surgery.
Dear Braves
Make a move to help the bullpen.
Thanks,
Signed everyone in the South who needs you to be competitive until football returns.
Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku, left, is unable to make a catch while covered by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey in the end zone during the second half of Sunday's game in Baltimore.NFL schedule released
Wow, we are in a place that if the NFL collectively tooted, it would need a two-hour special on ESPN2 at least.
So the schedule was released and we're supposed to do what with it exactly?
We did notice that the Browns have four prime-time games, which is amazing considering they are the Browns.
Here's a quick glance at some interesting items other than the Browns working late.
> I love the NFL on Thanksgiving, and I am thankful Bears-Lions is on tap. Bears-Lions or Packers-Lions needs to be the nooner on Turkey Day. Period. Pass the dressing. (Side question: Do you call it dressing or stuffing? Discuss.)
> The other games on T-Day are Dallas-Buffalo (gross) and Saints-Falcons. Giddy-up.
> Speaking of the Saints, well, Saints at Rams in Week 2 in the Pass Interference Rematch Bowl will be fun.
> Week 8 could be a tough flex call for NBC with the Browns going to Foxboro and the quarterback duel of Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes that week.
> Here's your highest-rated regular season game (other than Thanksgiving) if both teams contend as we expect: Dallas at New England in Week 12.
This and that
- Here are the earliest of early opening lines for Week 1 of the NFL, including the Browns as a 5-point favorite over the Titans.
- OK, throwing a bat because you are excited you just hit a baseball 450-feet gets you a fastball in the ribs? So tired of that dated junk. We call the NFL the No Fun League. Do the fragile egos of pitchers really can't take this? Then don't hang a meatball down the middle. Whatever.
- If I told you an NFL player dented his team's Lombardi trophy using it as a baseball bat, and asked for guesses, everyone's first guess is Gronk right? Of course it is because of course it was.
- OK we first met the current Jeopardy! champ because he set a single-episode record last week. On the episode that aired Wednesday Las Vegas sports gambler James Holzhauer reset his record earnings in one show with a perfect game. Yes, perfect. He finished with $131,127 in his 10th straight win. He's somewhere between Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Long time record-holder Ken Jennings owns the career earnings mark at more than $2.5 million in a 74-game winning streak, but Holzhauer has a smidge less than $700K and already has the four best single-day scores ever. How dominant was he Wednesday? He went 40-for-40 in the first two rounds and had $71,114 heading into Final Jeopardy! His competitors had $5,400 and $5,000. Wow.
Today's question
Well, it's April 18, and on this day in 1775 Paul Revere went for a fairly important ride.
First crossword puzzle book was released on this day in 1924. What's a seven-letter, two-word phrase that combines Hanks size and Monty Hall's wager "Big Deal."
James Woods is 72 today and Rick Moranis is 66. (And a Rick Moranis Rushmore would be fun.)
But, today is National High Five Day.
Rushmore of Best movie High Fives. Go, and remember the mailbag.