LeBron passes MJ
It was about as rewarding and celebratory as the dentist saying "Your other 29 teeth are cavity free, now let's get to those three root canals."
As his Lakers team spirals toward a playoff-free offseason - the first time there would be an NBA postseason without him since 2004-05 when he was 20 - LeBron James passed Michael Jordan on the career scoring list.
Everyone who has read this daily sports/pop culture/whatever diatribe knows that I am a monster LeBron James fan boy.
This conversation is not about the GOAT. At least not directly.
It is about the GOAT in non-direct ways.
First, if you believe MJ to be the GOAT in his sport, then don't you have to believe that Tom Brady is the GOAT in his? Each dominated in terms of championships in the modern era. Each became a champ with a coach a lot of folks will say is right there among the best ever.
Does that make James more of Peyton Manning or even an Aaron Rodgers and all the other periphery discussions that go into what makes the GOAT or what goes into winning a title more than just a GOAT contender?
James' numbers are undeniably among the all-time greats. Check this resume: 15-time All-Star; 14-time All-NBA selection; three-time NBA champ; six-time All-NBA defensive team; four-time MVP.
James is now fourth in all-time scoring with 32,311 points. (Jordan is now fifth with 32,292.) And James dominates MJ across every meaningful stat metric. Better FG percentage (50.4-49.7), better 3-point percentage (34.4-32.7), more rebounds (8,820-6,672) and way more assists (8,584-5,633). James is top 10 all-time in scoring and assists, and yes, he's the only dude that can say that.
Debate away on the GOATs and the comparable GOAT analogies. And yes, this Lakers debacle will be a scarlet failure that every anti-LeBron faction will forever point toward in this discussion.
But I will offer this too: No player since Alcindor has entered the NBA with this many expectations and this much save-the-league pressure as James did in the post-MJ vacuum. And no one, with maybe the exception of Tiger Woods, in the modern-era of sports entered the pros with this many expectations - he was on SI at 17 with "The Chosen One" as the headline after all - and delivered as much greatness as James has.
Tennessee women's basketball coach Holly Warlick directs the Lady Vols during their home game against Kentucky on Jan. 10.Win or go home
My mind is made up.
I think Holly Warlick's time is up in Knoxville.
Too much has happened.
Too many SEC teams have passed UT, which once was unthinkable.
Too far below the standards of Pat Summitt has the program dipped. (Yes, that sounded a kinda Yoda-esque.)
Too real is the clarity that it is not as much about talent as it is motivation and execution, and we all know the least two are direct reflections on coaching.
It's all simply too much.
But we also know that Tennessee AD Phillip Fulmer embraces loyalty and love for the UT brand more than almost anything else. (Which is a little bit ironic considering how Fulmer got his dream job back in the early 1990s, right?)
Anyhoo, Fulmer clearly does not want to fire Holly, a longtime assistant who waited her turn behind Summitt as they built the model women's basketball program. Fulmer's memories of not being able to leave his UT dream job are still too real, and as truly decent and kind as Fulmer can be, I am sure he does not want to deliver that kind of pain to anyone, much less a longtime friend and a VFL like Warlick.
But even Fulmer - with the loyalty, the empathy and the orange-colored glasses - would have to see that an NCAA tournament without the Lady Vols means that the Lady Vols must make a change.
Not need to. Not should. Not consider. MUST.
UT plays LSU today at noon in the 8-9 game of the SEC tournament. According to Charlie Creme, the guy who has fashioned his place as the expert on NCAA women's tournament bracketology, UT is the last at-large team in field. The first team out of the field? Yep, LSU. Here's more on the stakes for the UT side from TFP UT ace, Gene of Many Hats Henley.
So, a loss today, barring either a complete surprise elsewhere or a complete career achievement nod to the history of the UT program come selection Monday, and UT is out.
And simply put, if UT is out, then Holly has to be out too.
Has to be.
Star power
We have discussed some of the enhanced ways that college basketball has attracted more eyes this year.
There's the Zion effect. We have covered that.
There's the isolated point of increased entertainment hunting. Undeniably, picking and betting on games means paying more attention to games. (Seriously, was anyone else refreshing their devices for the latest Richmond-UMass numbers last night. Stupid Richmond. C'mon Huesman.)
There is the SEC-effect. The SEC - with a much-improved roster of coaches that across the league is as good as any conference can offer - draws more casual fans from around this area. Tennessee is a prime example. So too is Auburn. LSU is watchable, even when they are unwatchable, if that makes any sense.
But, above all else, remember that the Blue Bloods in this sport more than any other make the trains run.
Yes, college football is a regional sport with a couple of national brands such as Alabama, Notre Dame and THE Ohio State.
But college hoops is truly the Kings and everyone else on the Court.
To that point, I found the listing of the top 10 games in terms of viewers this year to be interesting. Not surprising mind you, but quite interesting.
Duke and its fabulous freshmen was in five of the top 10. Kentucky, and it's national fan base that is truly beyond anything I have experienced in sport, was in four. (Side story: I was in college at Auburn and one of my roommates one year was a great dude named Griggs Powell, who was from Lexington and his granddaddy sold insurance and was a pall bearer at some guy named Adolph Rupp's funeral. Yes, he went to Auburn, but to watch a Kentucky basketball game with him was an experience unto itself and something like which I have not seen since. The blanket of Big Blue Nation and the fervor are truly unmatched in my book.)
Here's the list and see if you notice a trend:
UNC-Duke (4.34 million viewers), UVa-Duke (3.76), Duke-UVa (3.32), UT-UK (3.01), Indiana-Michigan (2.99), Duke-Syracuse (2.98), Michigan State-Michigan (2.88), Duke-UK (2.85), Kansas-UK (2.78), UK-UT (2.76).
That trend is clear, right? (Side note: If you are puzzled by how low Duke-UK was with this same thesis, these two facts may clear that up. First, the game was a massive runaway - Duke won 118-84 - and the above numbers are tip-to-horn averages, so obviously there were tumbleweeds generating more interest in the second half. Also, that game was on Tuesday, Nov. 6 of last year - yes election night - and no sports event this side of the NFL playoffs wants any part of head-to-head TV numbers with politics in these times. If Duke-UK played right now it would blow the roof off of Duke-UNC. Heck, if Zion comes back - really returns and plays - Duke-UNC on Saturday may top 5-and-change million.)
The other clarity here is that anyone who thinks any of the Big Boys will get any meaningful penalties involving TV banishment or NCAA tournament ineligibility from the governing body of college sports - which makes all its money from the NCAA tournament, mind you - just needs to recheck those numbers.
This and that
- College hoops picks are now 46-31-2 after a 2-2 split last night. (Man, laying 7.5 with South Florida holding a 15-point lead with right at 3:30 to play, you had to feel good before they floundered and 'won' by 5. And in truth, what else is going to get you to pay attention to a South Florida-Tulane game than a little side entertainment, right?) We have our early eyes on Temple plus-1.5 at UConn (need to check Jalen Adams availability) and Iowa-Wisconsin under the 141,
- The folks behind the "GoFundMe" Homeless Veteran scam from 2017 have pleaded guilty to federal charges. You remember that story, right? The woman said she ran out of gas and the homeless vet - who was not originally in on the scheme - gave her his last $20. It went viral and, after starting the Go Fund Me page in an effort to raise $10,000 for the homeless vet, more than $400,000 was donated by more than 14,000 donors in less than a month. That money was used by the woman and her-then-boyfriend on a BWM, trips to Vegas and expensive bags and clothes. Here's hoping that those people go to the pokey for a while.
- Alex Trebek, a surefire face on the Rushmore of gameshow hosts, announced he has pancreatic cancer. Our prayers are with Alex and his family. That C-word is a tough hombre that takes no prisoners. (That Rushmore in my mind - and I think we did this one not that long ago - is Trebek, Sajak, Barker and Richard Dawson, who was AWE-some. Chuck Woolery gets bonus points for his amazing versatility, since he did Wheel (B.S. - Before Sajak) Love Connection, Scrabble and Lingo among others.)
Today's questions
Wow, more than a little to get to today.
On this National Cereal Day Fill in the blank gang.
Your favorite cereal as a child was _____________.
Your favorite cereal as an adult is ______________.
Did we nail the Gameshow Host Rushmore? If you say nay, make your case for a replacement and who should be replaced.
OK, little bit of an essay question for our Johnny Lady Vols Fans out there: It's clear that Holly has wrecked what is no worse than the second-best program in women's sports history. We can all agree on that, even if you are related to Holly. But, as a UT fan, are you rooting for a loss today to make sure the change happens, even at the expense of the glorious streak of being the only program ever to be in every NCAA women's tournament since it started in 1982?
As for today, March 7, well, Bryan Cranston is 63 today. Kudos to that dude for reinventing his acting destiny later in life. Ivan Lendl is 59 today. Played a high-dollar golf fivesome with Lendl at Windstone several years ago.
"We Are the World" was released internationally on this day in 1985. Here's the video, and check out that star power, including Kenny Rogers dropping a ton of machismo and The Boss growling like nobody's BID-ness. Crank that puppy at your desk and watch everyone over the age of 42 start head-bobbing. Trust me. OMG that's a Huey Lewis sighting. Call the authorities. And if you were part of The News and you got left out of this video, were you ticked?
As for a Rushmore, let's go back to a conversation we had with LeBron.
Rushmore of athletes who entered the pro ranks with the highest expectations who delivered. Go, and remember the mailbag.