From Matt H.
I have been reading your blog a while now and have noticed a few rules. Have you ever published a list of said rules?
Also, I have a hunch that you like the draft. Is Brady the best draft pick ever? Thanks and keep up the great work.
Matt -
An actual set of rules? Don't know that we've ever collected a formal collection of by-laws.
There are a few that are understood, though. When Paschall writes about college football - like he did today on Nick Tiano - we link it. Same with Weeds on college hoops.
When we reference UK - especially hoops - we add a reference to Chas. We add a regular Spy reference, normally around thinking, because to my knowledge, those are the longest-standing regulars who occupied these circles almost from the very start, back when we thought a paywall was the front side of a toll booth.
We have developed a regular rotation of contests - NCAA tournament, Masters, NFL Draft, Kentucky Derby and the College Bowl contest are longstanding features. (We will have the NFL draft contest, with details coming next week.)
I try to mix and mingle as many recognizable movie quotes as possible.
Some of the regular tools - side notes and side questions chief among them - are more about writing style than set structure. And by that I mean, my writing style by design is conversational. I try to make my columns have a similar rhythm to how we would be speaking if we were discussing the topics in my writing.
I appreciate the question, and if I've forgotten anything - a very real possibility - feel free to offer it up.
As for your alleged "hunch," well, sir, I don't "like" the draft. I love the draft; you should know this.
No, I don't think Tom Brady is the greatest draft pick ever. He's the luckiest draft pick of all time. The return on investment - six Super Bowl rings from pick 199 - is staggering.
It would have been a great pick if the Pats had actually taken him earlier, but Brady was more winning the lottery than working the system. Is that splitting hairs? Maybe.
But not unlike how JaMarcus Russell is the biggest draft bust ever because of who was picked in the slots after him, there has to be some cleverness and craft into the greatest pick ever.
For instance, trading up to get Julio Jones or even Patrick Mahomes a couple of years ago are better actual draft day moves than the Patriots throwing a dart at Ann Arbor and striking gold.
Still, it's an amazingly tough question, though, but I would lean toward the 49ers taking Jerry Rice from Mississippi Valley State in round 1 with the 16th pick - it was acquired from the Pats, actually - as the best pick ever.
From Kirk
Great read, how much hell do you catch when you throw in small jabs at elected officials? I agree with the statement just curious.
Kirk -
I assume you're referring to the "Trump-level narcissism" line from earlier this week.
And the answer is normally, and it's never been more vitriolic than right now.
It also has never been more divided, especially when President Trump's name is mentioned.
If it's something positive about the president, I'm a bleeping apologist. If it's something negative, I'm in the liberal media.
And that's the thinking that has left us all in a loss.
To that end, phrases such as fake news and media bias are so detrimental to way more parts of society than most know. (Side note here: Why are the airlines and other industries clamoring for buyouts and bailouts when the media world has been hemorrhaging jobs for two decades? There's no reference to the flying industry in the Bill of Rights, friends.)
As for the views on those in my position, well, I've got a pretty thick skin. You guys have seen my hate mail. I get it, and I can take it.
But here's a little background especially for me: Of course I am biased. That's my job. I write my opinion eight times a week - five here, three times a week on A2. Read that again.
It's my opinion, which is shaped by my thoughts, my beliefs and, yes, my bias.
But to fulfill the actual "Media Bias" it would have been calculated and directed from higher levels, right? And having sat in on thousands of news meetings and story brainstorming sessions through the years, I have never had a boss say, "Hey, you have to write this."
Sure, the CNN and Fox News money grab to preach to their audiences does the entire journalism industry no favors. I understand the thought process of going for the money grab and making a profit. They are a BID-ness, after all.
But it doesn't mean I have to like it. Because I loathe it, and it has forever damaged a profession I love.
As for the "Fake News" laments, well, when media members make mistakes, well, we all pay for them in the all-important currencies of trust and credibility.
But the folks who use that banner to blame the messenger because they don't like the message are weak and part of the divide problem we face as a nation.
Specifically, I got this email from the Trump reference to narcissism: "You just pretend to like Trump and your insults like saying he's narcissistic - did you have to look that word up? - will not stop him from saving America. I'll be glad when the paper fires you."
OK, whatever. So it goes.
But a) is it wrong to say Trump is narcissistic and b) is it truly an insult? No to both. Not by the definition of the word and the course of Trump's actions. Heck, here's betting his family discusses his narcissism.
But it's a sign of the times, and thanks Kirk for reading.
From David
Wow, great get with the guy from the Jordan documentary. What are your expectations for "The Last Dance?" Thanks and thanks for keeping PressRow going - it makes my day better.
David -
Thanks. Jason Hehir - the director of the 10-part series of the final title run for Jordan and the 1998 Bulls - was tremendous. (Podcast here, and how amazing is it that episodes 9 and 10 are not finished yet?.)
I think the expectations are insanely high, and Jason talked about the day they realized they had to move this puppy up.
It's going to be great. Sports media writer Richard Dietsch has seen it - his review was the story that jump-started the Jordan talking point about how this is going to change some public viewpoints about him - and loved it. And knowing Richard, that's high praise for a sports doc.
Before we get into specific expectations, here are a couple of things that I think I know:
> There is little doubt this will be the most-watched sports-related show since we have been quarantined;
> There is little doubt this will be ESPN's highest-rated non-live sports event ever;
> If you are wondering, the most-watched ESPN broadcast was THE Ohio State beating Oregon in the college football title game in 2015 with more than 34 million viewers.
Still, with the over-the-moon expectations, it's easy to see some folks being disappointed by the actual movie, you know?
I also know this: I will be watching Sunday night for sure.
From Lunch Bunch
Jay, hope you and your family are safe. As you can guess our lunch gatherings have fallen victim to CoVid-19, but a few of us text and talk about your 5@10 most days.
Earlier this week when you wrote about the Maddux Marathon, our topic became what live sports would you settle for now as we are without all real-time live sports?
We tried to rank them as best we could and draw a line at what we still would not watch and we all wanted your view on this.
Thanks for the daily distraction, Jay. It's greatly appreciated to have something to read that is not coronavirus-related.
LB -
Such a great question, LB. And here's hoping all of your crew and the crews of your crew are safe and healthy.
We watched a fair amount of the Maddux run on Tuesday. Lord, could that guy make the best in the world look pedestrian.
Before we get to the sports tiers you requested, let's form some baselines.
We all are super worried about football. Delays, shortened seasons, split seasons to avoid the peak of flu season, possible games without fans (that's more NFL than college, in my opinion), it's all on the table. I'm holding out eternal hope, but man, each day brings another round of skepticism.
I miss the Braves more than I realized.
I love the Masters more than I realized.
Other than LeBron, I do not miss the NBA a lick. And I missed college hoops and especially March Madness way less than I expected.
As for tiers, we still have some caveats that center on the gambling industry. Because if I could get a bet on table tennis or potentially even soccer, that changes the dynamic. ('m an entertainment hunter, and I mean that in actual terms here. Almost all of my bets are relatively small and done on games that I plan on watching to add a viable rooting interest in the event. In fact, a lot of my bets are on smaller games on weeknights, because the bet puts more entertainment and energy in a Miami of Ohio-Akron game on a Wednesday night in October.
And let's be really clear here on the tiers: Football is so atop the pinnacle, a Miami of Ohio-Akron game right now would be ratings gold.
(Side note: Not unlike the ESPN decision to move the Bulls documentary forward to help fill the entertainment void, every fall series that is complete should be moved forward for an earlier broadcast run because a shut-in summer is going to be tough. And when the sports spigot is finally flipped, there will be wall-to-wall sports of all varieties on all channels.)
As for the tiers, football - college and NFL - are by themselves in tier 1. It's the only one that has not had actual scheduled games impacted yet, but we're still scared to death about it.
Tier 2 (games that we miss and would eat a coleslaw sandwich served by a bare-footed clown to have back this weekend): Baseball, major championship golf, LeBron in the NBA playoffs, coaching youth sports, Lookouts games.
Tier 3 (games that we normally would have watched but have not missed but would welcome back with open arms because of how much we miss sports): NBA games, college hoops, college spring sports, normal PGA events.
Tier 4 (events that we normally wouldn't watch but would check in on because of the lack of sports): NASCAR (Hey, we actually watched some of the iRacing, so there's that), major tennis tournaments, table tennis. Feels like we're missing something here, right?
Tier 5: Everything else including soccer.
This week's Rushmores
Rushmore of baseball numbers: 42 (Robinson), 3 (Ruth, and the first round of Yankees numbers 91 years and a day ago came about because of where they hit in the order, so Ruth wore 3 and Lou Gehrig wore 4), 44 (Aaron) and 34 (Ryan).
Rushmore of overrated movies: "Titanic," "Avatar," "Citizen Kane," "LaLa Land."
Somehow realized we left the Rushmore off of Tuesday's 5-at-10. It was supposed to be what specific athletes/skills would you pay to watch: Maddux paint the corner, Griffey Jr. take BP, Robbie Alomar field ground balls, Aaron Rodgers throw the route tree?
Rushmore of all-time golf moments: Jack's charge at Augusta in '86, Tiger introducing himself to the world in '97, Tiger over Rocco on one leg at the U.S. Open, 1999 Ryder Cup Sunday. This one was tough, and offered with a respectful nod to Alan Shepard's swing on the moon.
Have a great weekend, gang, and stay safe.
Jay Greeson