Draft odds
We are two days from the NFL draft.
I love the draft. You know this.
This will easily be the most-watched draft in NFL history. It will not be close.
Last year set the all-time draft viewing record with an average of 6.1 million over the three-day affair and more than 11 million for the first round. That was 11 percent better than the previous record set in 2018, so the draft's stock is rising.
Now with nothing else going on, Thursday's TV numbers figure to be even bigger.
It also figures to be the most wagered on non-game-related event in sports history.
And the angles are everywhere.
Truly. Everywhere.
In fact according to BetOnline.ag, you can bet on some expected things like number of trades (over/under 3.5), number of dogs show during the first round (over/under 3.5), and who will the first overall pick hug ("Mom" is even money, "Dad" is +250, girlfriend is +300, friend and or sibling is +700) and whether any draftee will be shown drinking beer (No is -400; Yes is +250)
You can also bet on whether any room with have more than 9.5 people in any shot. You can bet how many first-round picks will be in glasses (13.5 over/under) or in ties (20.5 over/under.)
And you can bet even money on whether they will mention whether Jake Fromm played in the Little League World Series. Seriously.
But fortunately, you don't have to bet anything at the 5-at-10 to have a little action on the draft. Why? Because, the Dodging the Draft While Feeling the Draft and Drinking a Draught Draft Doohickey is full speed ahead and it's free.
Each of the below questions is worth one point. If there's a tie, we will have a Friday, day-two draft tie-breaker, which means we really want there to be a tie so we can extend the contest.
Here are the questions, and feel free to add your answers in the comments or email me at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com:
> Who will be the second QB drafted?
> How many SEC players will go in Round 1?
> First team to make a trade? (Clarification: The team with the higher pick will be deemed the first team to trade. For example, if the Giants trade the No. 2 pick to the Dolphins for picks 5 and 18, then the Giants is the answer. Clear?)
> More offensive or defensive players drafted in Round 1?
> Over/under 1.5 running backs drafted in Round 1?
> The Atlanta Falcons' first pick will be? (Clarification: This is the player picked. For example, if the Falcons pick Derrick Brown and trade him for more first-round picks and pick other players, the answer is Derrick Brown. Clear?)
> Who will be the first wide receiver drafted?
> Heck, let's go ahead and extend this beyond Thursday, right? In what round will Jake Fromm be picked?
Go.
That's a wrap
OK, pardon my extremely specific, self-involved views today.
We covered the draft, we are going to discuss the best show on TV right now and our weekend cooking exploits. That's so about me, it makes me think of, well, me.
(OK, side story: How self-involved was this only child as a extremely little 5-at-10? Well, when I was first learning to speak, and I learned how to talk before I was 1 - zip it, Spy - I would stand up in my crib and say "I, I" and "Me, Me" for people to pick me up. Well, the easiest mark when she was around was my mom's mom, so my grandmother moniker for her was "Imeme." So there's that.)
Friends, in this day and age of isolation and quarantining, if you are not watching Better Call Saul, well, my heart aches for your loss.
The pre-story of drug cartel attorney Saul Goodman and his path to corruption has become a truly amazing story.
It's better than its predecessor Breaking Bad, which is one of the top five or seven shows all-time.
The acting, the writing and the story are so good, you know - or you should know - how things are going to turn out, but you don't.
And sweet buckets, the psychopath that is Lalo Salamanca is one of TV's best villains since the heights of Game of Thrones.
I will not get too much into the discussions of last night's season five finale - if you have specific questions fire away - because of spoilers and such.
The status and rise of this season delivers a couple of undeniable truths now:
Vince Gilligan has written, directed and created two of the best TV shows of all time, which is staggering all things considering. In fact, the only way Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is not on anyone's top 10 is because they have not seen them. That begs the question, is Vince Gilligan the greatest TV mind of all time?
Better Call Saul is now well beyond Laverne and Shirley or The Simpsons or The Jeffersons or Maude or Frasier or whatever else is nominated as the greatest spin off of all-time. (Side question: Googling "TV spin offs" I learned for the first time that "The Andy Griffith Show" was actually a spin off from "The Danny Thomas Show." I had no idea about that, and I thought I knew a great deal about "The Andy Griffith Show.")
And you want to know something else? There are a slew of characters on Better Call Saul, that deserve a spin off of their own, too. Oh my - it's that good.
Tuesday in the kitchen
OK, last Saturday was beautiful, and beautiful weekend days around the 5-at-10 compound means one thing above all else, regardless of being shut in or quarantined:
Grilling. Plain and simple, whether we are flipping seared mammal flesh for the four 5-at-10 members or 10 times that.
Since it was just the core group, we did a flank steak, and friends, I offer this with equal amounts of humility and frankness it was downright perfect.
The most important part of any 5-at-10 grilling effort is marinating the meat for at least 24 hours.
Our marinade is pretty straight forward - 1/3 cup of olive oil, 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar, teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/3 cup of soy sauce and about 1/6 cup of honey - and measured for around 2 pounds of flank steak.
Marinate overnight - we mentioned the importance of this right?
Fire up the grill, and it's best if you have at least two burners. Get one extremely hot and the other side on medium-to-low heat.
Take the meet from the marinade - but hold that delicious sauce friends - and place it on a piece of aluminum foil big enough to wrap the entire piece of meat.
Cover each side generously with good salt and black better. This will create a steakhouse-like crust on your flank steak.
As for grilling, place the meat on the hot side of the grill for two minutes on each side. This will sear the marinade and the flavor. After each side is seared, give each side about three minutes on the lower heat.
(Side note, and this is true for almost all forms of meat on the grill: Do not be an over-flipper. Trust me on this.)
After no more than three minutes on each side on the lower heat, remove the meat and wrap it back in that aluminum foil for 10-to-15 minutes.
Now take the marinade and boil it. I added mushrooms for a sauce or you can use it just as an au jus, but either way it turns a great flank steak into a home run dinner.Enjoy, and feel free to share any cooking tips or isolation cooking discussions you wish.
This and that
- While we're speaking about the draft, here's a cool promotion - and an actual sign that the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell have a sense of humor. Through social media and Bud Light's help, fans can film and post their traditional reaction when Goodell walks to the stage. From the Bud Light twitter account: "The NFL Draft will be without an important tradition. And we just can't let that stand. Record your boos then post & tag @budlight and #BooTheCommish. We'll deliver the boos to the Draft, and for each #BootheCommish thru April 25, we'll donate $1 to NFL Draft-a-Thon up to $500K."
- Speaking even more about the draft, here's TFP all-around ace David Paschall with one QB analyst's thoughts that Jake Fromm and Tua Tagovailoa are way closer than most think in terms of NFL prospects.
- Here's Knox County mayor Glenn Jacobs, who also is known as former WWE wrestler Kane Kane, on Press Row on Monday.
- Here's former UTC linebacker and current Cleveland Browns player Tae Davis on Press Row from Monday too.
- Speaking of wagering, here's today's A2 column on sports betting in Tennessee.
Today's questions
It's Tuesday. That means true or false.
True or false, you are in the the Dodging the Draft While Feeling the Draft and Drinking a Draught Draft Doohickey. (If not, why not.)
True or false, more than 15 million people will watch Thursday's first round of the NFL draft.
True or false, if it was in place to do so legally and easily, you would make a bet on Thursday's NFL draft.
True or false, you knew that Andy Griffith was a spin off.
You know the drill. Answer the T or Fs, leave some T or Fs.
As for today, April 21, well, The Red Baron - the flying ace in WWI - was shot down and killed.
Elvis hit No. 1 for the first time ever on this day in 1956 with "Heartbreak Hotel."
Mark Twain died on this day.
Rushmore of all-time recognized pseudonyms. Go.