Jay GreesonHousekeeping
OK, we got 64 entries this year in the Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler Optional). You guys are awesome.
There's one unsigned entry (we have emailed the person and are waiting for a response) and if you do not see your name below, please let me know. Also of note, if you are the last-minute Christmas-type (say hello to everyone at Hamilton Place next Tuesday, OK?) and still want in, send me your picks at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. (The games and spreads as well as my picks are here.)
The plan is to update scores on each Monday. Deal? Deal. Good luck.
Also, I think we have enough for a first- and second-place payout. First place will get some TFP swag, maybe an ESPN 105.1 T-shirt, and $50 Visa gift card. Second place will get a $25 Longhorn gift card. Last place will get their entry fee back. (Yes, Spy, it was free to enter, so it's fair to say that everyone from third to last technically gets their money back. Nothing - I mean NOTHING - gets by Spy.)
Here are the folks who are in there like swimwear:
*5-at-10
*Mrs. 5-at-10
*Lil 5-at-10
*Chris J
*Jason T
*Ted P
*Andrew W
*Michael P
*Michael J
*Kevin C
*Sparky H
*Mike W
*Mike R
*Chris B
*Pat B
*Kevin K
*Hudson C
*Bo C
*Todd G
*Andy M
*Richard J
*Jason G
*Brent R
*Justin S
*BigBlue
*WarEagle!
*IronBowlChamps
*TideTerry
*GoDawgs
*BamaMike
*GBO (Mike)
*VFL (Bill)
*Bill H
*(unsigned - waiting for email replay for call handle b/c we don't want to put the email address out there)
*Kyle O
*Gardner G
*Sportsfan
*Uch
*Jeff N
*Mike B
*Mark P
*Ellis M
*GoodLunch
*Ted T
*Dawg747
*Gary M.
*Commodore Scot18
*LionScot67
*Mr. Spud
*Tom P
*Chuck H
*Andrew G
*Spy
*Gatorman
*Bob V
*HGLIII
*Ernie H
*Fat Vader
*George A
*Jim L
*Andrew O
*Scott B
*Mark W
*Barry L
To the mailbag
From Lawrence
Jay, I like your writing and had a question for you because you used to be in sports. Did you see the story about the Olympics rules being auctioned for millions of dollars? It made me wonder what would be your Rushmore of sports memorabilia?
Thanks for the bowl contest (is it too late to enter?) and Merry Christmas.
Lawrence
Great question.
Here's the story of the Olympic manifesto written in the late 1800s which kind of frames the mission of the modern Olympics - it does not mention any IOC corruption, that comes in later missives and rewrites - that was sold at auction this week for $8.8 million.
I love the thought of having enough money to outfit a room with truly elite sports artifacts and walking around with a snifter of dark liquor in a smoking jacket, pointing to the items and retelling the stories.
(Kidding. Mostly. But if you can casually spend almost $10 million on a 120-plus-year-old written article, how much money do you truly have? And I hope the IOC used some of those ill-gotten gains through the years to buy this thing, because if it was bought for that hefty price by an individual, well, buckets of boundless bank accounts, that seems downright wasteful. It set a new record for highest price on sports memorabilia, topping the $5.6 million spent in June on a game-worn Babe Ruth Yankees jersey.)
A caveat or two about my Rushmore on this topic. First, I would never look at this as an investment. If that's your basis of a Rushmore, then things unbelievably rare like a Honus Wagner card or the original rules of basketball written by Dr. Naismith, are the types of things that will only increase in value. Now there are a couple of things on my list that are downright rare and no doubt expensive, but the sports memorabilia game is arguably the best definition of things being worth what someone is willing to pay for them. Ask any of us who collected baseball cards in the 1980s and 90s.
Second, as you will see, while a couple of these would be quite pricey if they ever hit the open market, these things are more about the event and in a couple of cases, the sports fan in me.
Without further ado, here's my Rushmore: The ball Wes Byrum kicked through the uprights on the final play of Auburn's 2010 national championship win over Oregon; Jack's green jacket from 1986, which is the first golf moment I remember and one of the reasons I became a fan; Kirk Gibson's bat and the ball he sent into the stands in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series; and the last one is tough because there are a lot of them that would be super cool - Tyson's gloves against Buster Douglas, the historic value of anything Jackie Robinson wore in his first year in the big leagues, so many NFL items - but I'll go with Jim Craig's 1980 hockey jersey from the Miracle on Ice.
Great question.
This weeks Rushmores
Rushmore of Christmas villains (and we had an interesting discussion about two categories of the villains who stay villains, like the larcenous duo of Pesci and Stern in "Home Alone," and the guys who stay villains, like the all-timer, Mr. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life"): Mr. Potter, Scrooge and Grinch (yes, they both turned to the side of Christmas at the end, but the two villains that are forever synonymous with Christmas bad moods are Grinch and Scrooge, right?) and Marv and Harry from "Home Alone."
Rushmore of pre-World War II athletes we wish we got the chance to watch: Bobby Jones, Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Jesse Owens.
Rushmore of best adult cartoons: "King of the Hill," "Family Guy," "South Park" and "The Simpsons" (yes, we believe it to be an adult cartoon)
Rushmore of faces/people (real and fictitious) connected to restaurants: Colonel Sanders, Dave's daughter Wendy, Shoney's Big Boy and the clown under the Golden Arches.
From Chas
Question for the bag: Is there anything more central to a good life than giving and lifting up those who have less than we do?
Chas
What a great question and what a perfect time to offer it.
In my mind, my job as a servant in this life, is service to my Lord, my family and my fellow man.
And if what I'm doing does not fit into one of those three categories, then I really need to question whether I should be doing it in the first place, right?
Sure, I fail at times. I'm human. But the goals of service should be listed and embraced way more frequently they are.
As for being more central, well, for me, because I have been blessed beyond words and measure, it's a huge factor. And I embrace the challenge to and the joys of being charitable and giving, especially this time of year. (And if you can, friends, share what you can. Believe me, the return is way better and more rewarding than the sacrifice.)
Great sentiment and question, Chas. Merry Christmas and thanks for being one of the great regulars around these parts.
From Brent
Quick question for you - Best walk-by Christmas party snack or treat?
Brent
Wow, that's great. First, and we have said this before, it's impossible to walk by a plate of Honey Baked ham and not grab a piece.
IM-possible.
As for the best, well, my wife's pine bark is high on the list. (It's melted chocolate, homemade toffee melted on saltine crackers. Oh, my.)
The sugar-coated pecans are also on that list.
As for heavier appetizers, the meatballs are can't-miss. So are the boiled shrimp.
Hey, I'm a fat man. I walk by very few Christmas snacks.
From Press Row fan
With the James Wiseman news, do you think Cole Anthony plays again for my Heels?
PR fan
Great question.
If I had his ear, I say no. In fact, I say no way.
Why? We all know that Wiseman is going to make millions playing basketball, not because of his college degree. Same with Cole Anthony, and it's going to happen sooner rather than later.
Seriously, Cole Anthony is going to get one semester of college studies. And $10 million on the line.
What does he gain by coming back in a month or six weeks or whenever and playing?
The ol- college connection? PUH-lease. And the folks who say Wiseman quit on the system, no, the system failed Wiseman, in my opinion.
And the quicker they dump the one-and-done the better. (And know this: The over-the-top handwringing from the "need to go to college" and "what about the guys who enter the draft and don't get picked" is predictable and already tired. Just stop.)
From Patrick
Didn't you say you were going to pick basketball games now that football is done?
You are not doing a very good job of it TBH!
Patrick
Fair point. Side note: Never been a big user of the modern abbreviations in today's abbreviated written communication. So there's that.
To be fair, we have been making the picks rather consistently at the end of Press Row, but you have a point about the connection we share here.
OK, here's the scoreboard moving into bowl season, the winding down of the NFL and a renewed commitment of basketball best guesses.
College picks this year: 63-51-3 (55.3 percent);
NFL picks: 51-32-2 (61.4 percent);
College hoops picks: 14-11 (56 percent) - we had NC State plus-9 last night in a close loss at Auburn;
NBA picks: 4-1 (80 percent) - we had the Bucks minus-3.5 last night.
We are on Charlotte plus-6.5 and are scared of the total because these are two running football teams playing in 30-plus-mph winds.
We'll ride with Bowling Green minus-11.5 over Norfolk State and Indiana Pacers minus-4.5 over Sacramento
As for the NFL picks, well, here you go: Saints minus-2.5 at Tennessee, New England minus-6.5 over Buffalo, Tampa-Houston over 50, Chiefs minus-6 at Chicago, 49ers-Rams over 45.
Enjoy the weekend and Merry Christmas, gang.