5-at-10: Super Bowl, UT stumbles, Tiger smiles, Rushmore of coaches


              Seattle Seahawks' Richard Sherman answers questions during media day for NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Seattle Seahawks' Richard Sherman answers questions during media day for NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Gang, hope this finds you spry.

From the "Talks too much" studios, there's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives.

Super Bowl

The media circus of Super Bowl week is in the rear view, so maybe now we can start to look at the game.

Side note: The tired sideshow that is Marshawn Lynch, who answered all 29 questions Tuesday with, "I'm here so I won't get fined," has hit a nerve with us. In fact, it's official, we're cheering for the Patriots because Lynch is such a jackwagon. And if we would have been at the media event Tuesday, our question-and-answer session would have been as follows:

photo Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch leaves at the beginning of media day for NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Us: "Marshawn, what's the meaning of life? Why are we here?

Marshawn: "I'm here so I won't get fined."

Us: "That's as deep as a half-eaten bag of Skittles. Do you think you'll get fined?"

Marshawn: "I'm here so I won't get fined."

At least that way he would have been actually answering something. Oh well.

As for the game, let's focus our view on three guys you may or may not be aware of. It'd be easy to say Lynch or Gronk or any of the other stars, but here are three guys that need to play well for the game to go their way:

* Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner. Dude is a legit playmaker, and a great tackler in space. How he handles the Patriots running game - especially early - will be huge in determining if the Pats can establish balance.

* Seattle right tackle Justin Britt. The rookie from Alabama has played well, and the Seahawks average 5.7 yards per carry when they run right, but how the rookie holds up against a veteran and physical Patriots front seven will be interesting.

* The ball boy, for obvious reasons. Does anyone have plans for a ball boy cam? This needs to happen.

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College hoops 3-point range

Let's hit three quick topics in college hoops.

- We greatly enjoyed David Paschall's story on the stinkatude of modern day college hoops and what could be done to fix the game. The problems are beyond the shot clock, though. Sure a 30- or even a 24-second shot clock would increase pace, but at the current state of the game, that would just mean a potential extra 10 or so total possessions a half, which would mean roughly 16 more bad shots a game. The athleticism has never been greater but the product has never been as sloppy.

- Tennessee's ability to go on the road and compete is truly impressive, even in defeat, like last night's 69-64 loss at Arkansas. Side note: We have always believed a true mark of a well-coached team is how they look coming out of timeouts and how they create offensively on in-bound plays. Donnie Tyndall's play to get Robert Hubbs a clear look with the Vols down 3 in the waning seconds last night was very well constructed.

- We normally pay as much attention to the Georgia basketball as the next guy, but the Bulldogs are playing exceedingly well. Tuesday's 70-62 win over Vandy was Mark Fox's bunch's fifth SEC win in a row. Georgia had four players in double figures and shot better than 50 percent from 3 (9-of-17). Nice.

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Tiger Woods

The not-so-young right-hander named Eldrick but known as Tiger met with the media Tuesday.

photo Tiger Woods talks to the media after playing a practice round at the Phoenix Open golf tournament on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

He seemed downright giddy. And confident. And even happy.

Which seems to be a great, Great, GREAT sign for the upcoming season for Woods - and for golf.

If Woods resembles pre-martial implosion Tiger, golf becomes 1000-times more fun. This is non-negotiable.

Hate Tiger all you want, but no professional sport anywhere is as dependent on one guy like the PGA is with Woods. If he starts contending at majors again, golf becomes very intriguing again.

As great as Jimmie Walker has been - and he has been Dy-NO-mite - the PGA Tour will have a hard time grabbing the casual fan without Woods as the drawing card.

Sure, McIlroy is fun and Mickelson is arguably the most crowd-friendly and gallery-approved player since Palmer's heyday, but no one with a club has shaped interest as much as Woods since Steve Rubell and Club 54.

Seriously, who else is there? Patrick Reed? Nice story, but c'mon. Jordan Spieth? Sure, the kid may be the future face of the game in America, but that face would be lost in the crowd once you got 10 feet outside of clubhouses and 19th holes.

Tiger though is a one-named brand that makes Sunday must see. Tiger is a one-name needle mover on the short-list of the biggest draws in sports.

So here's hoping your game is in as good a shape as your mood Tiger.

Your game needs you.

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This and that

- We were sad to hear that UTC cut men's indoor and outdoor track. We are saddened by this for a multitude of reasons, mainly the athletes who had their program shuttered. That said, we will not throw stones at UTC for making that decision. We live in a tough time in the athletic climate that is filled with hard and emotionally crippling choices. So as we all wish well for the athletes, we also send a message of thoughtfulness to UTC AD David Blackburn for being put in a tough spot. Here's Weeds' view on the matter.

- A week from signing day and the pressure and intensity continues to build. We enjoy recruiting - not as much as the draft; we love the draft but you know this - but it feels a little different this year for some reason.

- Go figure: There used to be a star-studded crew in the Slam Dunk contest. Now, the stars come out for the 3-point contest, and there's actually a Plumlee in the dunk contest. If a white dude from Duke wins the Slam Dunk contest, well, that's like the fifth sign of the apocalypse, right?

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Today's question

"We are the World" was recorded 30 years ago. That's simply crazy talk. Thirty years.

"We are the world. We are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving."

photo San Antonio Spurs coach Ettore Messina, of Italy, yells to his players during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Friday, Nov. 28, 2014, in San Antonio. Messina, a Spurs assistant coach, stood in for Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who missed the game due to a medical procedure. San Antonio won 112-104. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

Everybody sing.

"There's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives. It's true we make a better day, just you and me."

As for a quick Rushmore, let's go here: In honor of Greg Popovich's 66th birthday, what's our Rushmore of best active coaches. Go. (And remember the mailbag.)

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