5-at-10: Andrew Luck fallout, Eddie Murphy back to SNL, college football primer, Rushmore of best college football debuts

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck speaks Saturday night during an impromptu news conference announcing his retirement from football.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck speaks Saturday night during an impromptu news conference announcing his retirement from football.

Luck fallout

Anyone else surprised that the ripples from the Andrew Luck announcement are still circling? (Side question: Ripples circle, right? Ripples could also ripple too, right? And of course Ruffles have ridges. So there's that.)

The timing certainly is not ideal, but the two-way street that has a one-way view for fans continues to be decidedly in favor of the team.

Be it transfers, retirements or anything in between, the word loyalty almost always gets bandied about, and never are teams and organizations held to the same "loyalty" standard.

If Andrew Luck's serious injuries had diminished his play to the point that he could not help the Colts, they would cut him. For sure. Ask Peyton Manning, who was waived by the Colts with the neck issues so they could draft Luck.

Given that Luck's injuries have limited his enjoyment of life rather than limiting his long-term football abilities, the choice is a relative simple one.

In fact, I think the growing trend will be more and more football players getting close to the age of 30 and wondering if there is enough money in the bank to call it a career.

Not unlike Joe Thomas and Patrick Willis is recent years, bona fide stars walking away before they are carted off is a trend that will only continue.

And grow.


Christmas, a little early

OK, SNL has long since fallen from the list of must-see shows. In fact, we have a slew of DVRed shows that rank way above the SNL crew these days.

(Yes, "Yellowstone" is chief among them. Seriously. This week's season-finale is going to be stout. Has to be. Someone gonna take a bullet, people.)

Anyhoo, as for SNL, well, when Eddie Murphy was announced as the host of SNL on Dec. 21, well, that one is an absolute must see. Get EPB on the blower and see how far in advance I can set the DVR.

Eddie Murphy is, in my mind, every bit as clear a GOAT as Michael Jordan is.

Period. And his two stand-ups - "Raw" and "Delirious" - are two of the top four or five of all time. Pryor, Carlin and Chappelle are right there, too.

Now add in what Murphy did on the screen, and who has his resume?

"Trading Places," "48 Hours," "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Coming to America" is as strong a comedy Rushmore as any leading actor could almost ever hope for.

Welcome back, Eddie. I'll be watching.



College football primer

We need some college football every day this week. Right? Right.

Here are five quick storylines that caught my eye as we speed toward the season kicking off in earnest, which starts with a slew of games Thursday night.

- Speaking of Thursday night, is the line in the Clemson-Georgia Tech game more about the defending champs or the totally rebuilding Jackets? That number is huge - Clemson at home laying 36 - and is as big as any in a Week 1 game between two FBS teams. (Nebraska is also laying 36 against South Alabama.)

- As TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer noted in his column today, the distractions of off-the-field arrests are the last thing any program wants to start game week. Tennessee has to a) deal with them being against one of the Vols' three best NFL prospects; b) ponder real questions about campus security in a day and age in which we can't be too careful in those matters; and c) consider the domestic violence allegations, which also is a hot-button issue in our current climate. Hey, at least UT is starting with a patsy rather than a serious threat. (And while we are here, kudos to Jeremy Pruitt for his approach, which is very basic and very sound, in handling the deal with Bryce Thompson, a freshman All-American last season who has been suspended indefinitely. Should that be the baseline on matters of domestic allegations? Suspended until we know more, especially in matters of romance among college kids not old enough to buy a drink?)

- And we can't have a college football primer without TFP college football guru David Paschall, who tells us Georgia (minus-21 at the moment) is ready for either Vandy quarterback and Nick Saban is impressed with David Cutcliffe. (And that's true, of course, but Alabama minus-34 seems about right, no?)

- I am cautiously optimistic about Auburn this year, and a big part of it is how relaxed Gus Malzahn has been all summer. Seriously. (Coaches who are relaxed like their teams; coaches who are hyper normally have a lot of concerns. At least that's my theory.) Here's more on how Malzahn took a hard look at his past offenses and how it may affect his return to calling plays this season.

- Yes, the opener between the 'Canes and the Gators was sloppy, but know this: There will be more than just two games on Week Zero next year. The numbers were entirely too strong for there not to be a nooner, a 3:30 p.m., a 7 p.m. and Hawaii at home for the late-night chaser. According to the overnights, Miami-Florida was up almost 1,000 percent (seriously) from last year's comparable game, which was North Carolina A&T and Jacksonville State. It was also the largest overnight on an ESPN night game since Alabama-Mississippi State in 2017. (And just to make sure we all know who is boss, the 4.1 overnight rating of Miami-Florida was still behind Pittsburgh and Tennessee in the Sunday preseason game for weekend numbers.)



This and that

- Absolutely Michael Jackson's name should be dropped from the Video Vanguard Award. We have said it before, no celebrity has ever got the pass - celebrity, not politician because, well, Ted Kennedy killed that woman - Jackson has. There were even stars at the VMAs last night saying, "Well, we don't know what really happened." OK, but for THAT many allegations to be levied against Jackson, well, OK.

- OK, this is my favorite story of the year so far. Seriously. Meet Connor and Christian, two elementary school boys in Kansas. Christian has autism and on the first day of school two weeks ago was overwhelmed. He sat on the floor and began to cry. Connor walked over, grabbed the boy's hand and walked with him into school. When asked what the lesson of their friendship is, the boys said in unison, "Be nice." Amen fellows. Amen.

- One of the better Twitter follow arounds is Rex Chapman, the former UK hoops star. He is the poobah of the "block or charge" craze on the social media platform. He also passed along this gem on Little Ronnie Lott. As for Little Ronnie Lott, well, according to the Twitter timeline, yes, Lane Kiffin has already offered the hard-hitting youth. (What's a yute? You know the two yutes? "My Cousin Vinny" is wicked good and continually underrated.)

- Mariners outfielder Keon Broxton got tossed for an errant throw - of his batting gloves. Watch the video, and see Broxton take a very questionable called third strike, then drop his helmet and bat at home plate and throw his batting gloves toward the equipment mound he left at home plate. One of the gloves had some serious carry and whizzed by the umpire's face. And say goodnight Gracie.



Today's questions

True or false, it's Tuesday.

True or false, Andrew Luck is a Hall of Famer.

True or false, there will be at least four Week Zero games next year.

True or false, Eddie Murphy is the greatest comedian of all time.

Answer a few, leave a few.

As for today, "Mary Poppins" debuted on this day in 1964.

Let's go off the board, and considering the growing number of true freshmen seeing their first college football action this weekend, if Herschel is the gold standard, who else makes the Rushmore of the best college football debut?

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