5-at-10: ESPN-Le Batard meeting, Titans camp issues, How long can we blame Butch Jones, Rushmore of worst sports movies

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota throws during a voluntary team workout Tuesday in Nashville. Mariota's injury history has kept the Titans from being in a rush to re-sign him beyond this year, but he said that won't distract him from preparing for his fifth NFL season.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota throws during a voluntary team workout Tuesday in Nashville. Mariota's injury history has kept the Titans from being in a rush to re-sign him beyond this year, but he said that won't distract him from preparing for his fifth NFL season.

Crossover questions

Sometimes I feel like expanding the themes of the 5-at-10.

Should we do more politics? Should we do more general news and less sports? (Those are not rhetorical, gang. Happy for your feedback because this, not unlike "Cheers," is kind of all of our place, I'm just the one pouring out the original points/pints. Yes, I occasionally put out a political pint - heck, my regular job at the TFP is more politics and people than sports these days any way - just wondering.)

I have thought more about this week with the ESPN-Dan Le Batard tift.
Personally and selfishly, I hope the Mothership and the Prodigal Son work it out. Le Batard is outspoken, he's brash, he's passionate and he routinely references that the show will end at some point when it drives off the cliff. The end will be self-inflicted. He's also brilliant, one of the five best sports writers of his generation, the best interviewer working in sports TV or radio today and the leader of the best radio show around. (Press Row is 2 in my book, but I may be biased.)

Le Batard and ESPN brass are reportedly meeting today in NYC. Could this entire thing be a PR stunt? Maybe. Le Batard's remarks last week about the president's remarks were more about the network's policies and the reaction to the remarks than anything political.

Granted, anything that references President Trump these days - good or bad - irritates a large number of folks because of the divide and the political polarization we are witnessing.

That said, according to the great reporting from John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, here are some telling internal numbers that ESPN has based its "No Politics" policy on, whether Le Batard likes it or not:

> An ESPN poll in June (not sure of the numbers in the poll, which is important) found that 74% of fans prefer not to hear about politics on any of ESPN's platforms, with 69 percent of the folks who identify themselves as Democrats saying no and 84 percent of Republicans saying they did not want politics on ESPN. The big number is 85 percent of those surveyed that described themselves as 'avid fans' said they do not want politics on ESPN.

> To that end, over the last 18 months - Jimmy Pitaro's "No politics" policy was adopted not long after he was announced in November 2017 - the numbers and ratings of every SportsCenter portal have increased, and the primary versions - the 7 a.m. and the 6 p.m. - have increased in 13 of the last 15 months year over year.

Those numbers are telling. And no matter how much I love the Le Batard Show - and let's be really honest, without Le Batard, that show is a circus of misfit toys - those numbers carry a ton of weight.

(Side question: Will ESPN put its straw in the river of advertising dollars over the next 16 months in what will be the most expensive presidential campaign in history?)

Titanic

I am genuinely intrigued, perplexed, and without a best guess on what kind of team the Tennessee Titans are going to be in 2019.

The Titans report to camp today, and wow, the news ripples are undeniable.

To that end, let's review:

> Marcus Mariota enters the most important season of his professional career. The former No. 2 pick is in his fifth year, the final and option year of his rookie contract. If he plays well, he will be in line for a nine-figure extension. If he doesn't play well, he could be going somewhere like, say Arizona on a two-year, $12 million deal to be a backup.

> The Titans' most accomplished offensive player just missed the first quarter of the season. All-Pro tackle Taylor Lewan announced on social media that he will miss the first four games for violating the NFL's PED rules. His heartfelt Twitter video aside, this is 100 percent on the athlete - if you make your living with your body, what you put in your body has to be your responsibility - and Lewan's absence will be felt.

> The Titans just wrote a historic check to safety Kevin Byard in the richest contract for a safety in NFL history. Dude is a player for sure. (But if you are going to pay a tackle $80 million over five and a safety more than $70 million, are you in a place to give your QB nine figures? Just asking for a friend.)

Add those wrinkles into a team with a slew of questions: Is Derrick Henry an NFL back you can build around? If not, is he part of a package that you can afford and that can co-exist back there? Will Corey Davis ever develop into a bona fide No. 1? How will Delanie Walker return after the injury? Who will be the difference maker among the front seven?

And that's not even discussing a division that has improved greatly. Look across the AFC South.

The Colts have arguably the best combination of "most complete young roster-big-time franchise QB" in the conference considering the home-run drafts of '18 and '19.

The Texans have a franchise QB still on a rookie deal, arguably the best WR in the game (and maybe the best WR 1-through-3 in the league if Will Fuller is healthy), and a front seven that is scary good.

The Jags added Nick Foles to a team that has for more than two seasons been a QB away from being a contender to challenge the Patriots.

(Side question: Do you think the Titans should put into play a two-year tanking process that next year generates a top-three pick that lands Jerry Juedy and a full-blown tank effort for Trevor Lawrence in 2021? Thoughts?)

Question of timing

I spilled some interweb ink above.

Sue me.

With that, I will move quickly here as we try to put a bow on this joker.

Wells and I had a brief conversation about this on the radio Wednesday, and I want a little feedback from you guys and gals, whether you are a Johnny Vols Fan or not.

We had a call about the ineptitude of Butch Jones. No, that's not the topic. Those answers will be pretty universal unless you are a) a member of the Jones family or b) a big-time Big Orange hater.

No, the question I posed was: How long can Butch be blamed?

Yes, I think the barren cupboards, the questionable recruiting decisions and the inattention to details such as, you know, the weight room, certainly could mean a disappointing 2019 could be hooked to Jones' lack of leadership.

And that would be telling considering how many of the big-time coaches who have turned programs around have had monster seasons in Year 2.

But how much longer is this going to be Butch's fault? Discuss.

This and that

- Here are the match-ups for the TFP Best of Preps Kickoff Jamboree at Finley next month: Friday, in order, starting at 5:30 and in 30-minute-interval spots, Boyd-Tyner, CCS-Grace, Hixson, Tyner, Boyd-Grace, CCS-East Hamilton, Hixson-McCallie, Central-Bradley, East Hamilton-Bradley, Central-McCallie; Saturday, starting at 3:30, Howard-Copper Basin, Cleveland-Red Bank, Howard-Signal, East Ridge-Copper Basin, Walker Valley-Red Bank, Sale Creek-Signal, Walker Valley-McMinn, Brainerd-McMinn, Brainerd-Sale Creek, Notre Dame-Ooltewah, Baylor-Soddy-Daisy, Notre Dame-Soddy-Daisy, Baylor-Ooltewah.

- Steve Kerr, let's sit the next few plays out there, champ.

- Wow, Utah was picked at Pac-12 media days as the preseason favorite. Who saw that coming?

- TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer offers some interesting talking points about the Choo-Choo Challenge golf event at Council Fire. Well done, Weeds.

- Is there a bigger dork with a bigger bankroll than Steve Balmer, the owner of the Clippers? Wow, his antics at the news conference introducing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on Wednesday were, well, you decide. Side note: Balmer made so much money at Microsoft that he could buy the most valuable 15 teams in the NBA and still have $5 billion left over to run them. Read that again.

Today's questions

OK, let's do some true or false as we start NFL training camp. Yes, on a Thursday. Hey, whatcha' got against Thursday?

True or false, no player has more at stake individually this fall than Marcus Mariota.

True or false, Dan Le Batard is one of the five best on-air talents at ESPN.

OK, on this day 20 years ago, Lance Armstrong won his first of seven straight Tour de France titles.

Walter Payton would be 65 today.

Matt LeBlanc is 52 today. He, of course, was Joey from "Friends." He also was in "Ed," and that's our Rushmore topic.

With "Ed" - the movie with the monkey playing third base, yes, a monkey, as the linchpin, what's the Rushmore of worst sports movies you have ever seen?

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