From Mark
Hey man, I love your writing, and that column on the Emory students and chalk had me crying. I was wondering what you thought about the NCAA semifinal between Syracuse and UNC. Who do you think the NCAA wants to win and why is this not a bigger deal?
Thanks, enjoy your work.
P.S. -- you are going to do a Masters contest right? Thanks.
Mark -
Thanks for reading and playing along.
I think this has been kind of big deal from the start. It's obviously not an ideal situation for the Final Four, but it's one that it certainly deserves.
As for which team the NCAA wants to win, I had written something on how the NCAA would prefer the Orange since Syracuse has already served its main penalty and it at least serves as a story of rebound and coming back from trouble.
But that was before we saw the silliness with which Jim Boeheim delivered this anti-logic.
Boeheim, you see, views his program's mistakes as simply breaking the rules and not cheating. Please, you myopic, euphemistic gas bag.
How convenient for a guy whose program cheated on drug tests and provided impermissible benefits to recruits for a decade sees it as rule-breaking. Gross.
In fact, his cracked prism view inadvertently throws shade toward UNC, which is mired in a grade scandal (or the more traditional form of cheating).
The other thing I hope the Final Four broadcast crew asks the pertinent question in the room:
How does Boeheim - or habitual cheater Larry Brown or even scumbag poobah Rick Pitino - get nine-game suspensions for monster violations to NCAA rules and to morality in general, but Bruce Pearl had to sit out for three years for lying about a Bar-B-Q?
(And yes, the Masters contest is on. For sure.)
From P-T
Hey man, are you guys going to do a Rushmore of Fools on Press Row today?
P-T -
Maybe. Let's recap our Rushmores of the week around these parts.
Monday - Rushmore of all-time college basketball coaches: Rupp, Auriemma, Wooden, Coach K.
Tuesday - Rushmore of beverages (nonalcoholic versions): Coke, Water, Milk and a sneaky great iced tea.
Wednesday - Rushmore of fart scenes: Blazing Saddles around the campfire, Caddyshack with Al on the dance floor, Nutty Professor at the dinner table and either of the Dumb and Dumber scenes (Lloyd lighting his or Harry on the broken toilet at Mary's house).
Thursday - Rushmore of potatoes: Baked, mashed (and we like all kinds of mashed), fries and hash browns from the Waffle House.
As for the show today, we may come up with a Rushmore of fools. Contenders include "Pity the Fool" from Mr. T, "Only Fools Rush In" by Elvis, Fool's Gold, and Brick Tamland from "Anchorman."
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones talks with cornerback Justin Martin as the Vols warmed up for practice inside Neyland Stadium on March 26, 2016.From Jeff -
Hey man, I have a question for you. With all the talk about winning the SEC, are the Vols expectations too high? Thanks.
Jeff -
Not at all. In fact, we heard Boston coach Brad Stevens tell a great story.
In his first year at Butler, he started the season with a goal on the blackboard that said "Let's make the tournament." And Butler did, and they got bounced in round one.
Stephens said he looked at his team, and they were content on being there, and he never started another season with any other goal than winning the whole thing. Why? Stephens said he never wanted to undershoot his team and let them be satisfied with something short of what they could achieve. (And yes, there probably were some eyebrows raised the first time he wrote Butler: National Champions on the blackboard before the season. Well, the Bulldogs surprised a lot of folks by getting to back-to-back title games. Know who wasn't surprised? The Butler Bulldogs.)
So in regard to the Vols, those goals should be super high, especially since this is the best collection of talent UT has had since Fulmer's heyday.
Considering the potential exodus of UT underclassmen in next year's draft - and the rebuild mode/new hire settings around the SEC East - this should be the time the goals are set supremely high.
From Terry
I was wondering, you are funny on the radio but do you participate in April Fools Day jokes?
Terry -
Great question.
No, not really. And in the newspaper profession, we have seen only backfires and nightmares from people trying to be cute.
One place we worked back in the day had a front-page story about a potential mad cow outbreak in the coverage area. The folks in charge thought using the by-line "A.J. Oker" (as in "A joker") would be clear to everyone.
Since this town was about 35 miles north of Atlanta, it blew up and the AJC and CNN were on it before lunch. To make matters worse, this happened on a Sunday, and that paper did not have a Monday or Tuesday edition, so before the paper could address it, it had already been through the ringer of public scorn.
In fact, here's a story about Google canceling its April Fool's Day gag because it cost some folks their job. (Well, unless that's an April Fool's Day joke.) Not sure about the radio, though, so tune in and see what's happening from 3-6 on Press Row. And the absolute "drop the mic" April Fool's Day joke of all time was Sidd Finch by Sports Illustrated on this day 31 years ago.
Braves
Atlanta Braves' Erick Aybar throws the ball to home plate in a drill during a spring training baseball workout, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)From Fran
Is there anyway the Braves can contend?
Fran -
No. Simply put, absolutely not.
The Braves are 6-20 this spring. (How'd they ever win six? It's a miracle.) The Braves No. 2 starter is Bud Norris, who was 3-11 with a 6.72 ERA last year. (Man that really makes you intimidated by starters 3-though-5 right?). Offensively, the line-up is a patchwork collection of retreads who the organization hopes can just hold down spots into the next generation comes along.
If you think "Major League" is a documentary, then you think the Braves can contend.
In fact, name one thing you trust on this team other than Freddie Freeman? It's tough.
It also raises the very real question that without some major free agent acquisitions, especially some starting pitching, it's hard to see the goal of contending in the new ballpark in 2017 as viable too.