Day 2 of the new ESPN lineup
We asked on Multiple Choice Monday which of the new ESPN radio shows had the best chance to be a hit.
Couple of initial reactions, other than my frustration of cutting back the LeBatard Show, which is well-known.
Almost all of you in email voted for Mike Greenberg's new show. I get it. Time slot and experience and familiarity give #Greenie a great shot. (Nevermind the ESPN power brokers who clearly love Greenberg, considering they broke up the most iconic tandem in sports radio history so Greenie could have a shorter commute and do TV, only to come back to radio and push Mike Golic Sr. into traffic twice.)
That said, buckets the Keyshawn, J-Will and Zubin Show has had a five-star start.
It's been an A-list of big-name guests, from petition-starter Justin Fields and Bill Belichick on Monday's opener to Coach Cal and Coach K today.
In fact, the range of KJ&Z as a show was perfectly timed compared to the NFL-heavy Golic or Wingo tandem it replaced.
Coach Cal was as good as I have ever heard him, and while he said on multiple times he did not have any knowledge of anything-football related, he's adamant about several things that I could not agree with more. And whether he wants to admit it or not, they directly apply to the should they play college football debate as well.
> Transparency. Coach Cal drummed his school's website, which gives up-to-the-minute numbers of on-campus cases. That's good. But better transparency - regardless of what they show - must be used. Why in the name of every medical personnel from Dr. J to Dr. Fauci can we not get a panel together of the Big Ten and Pac-12 medical folks who have these numbers and the SEC-ACC-Big 12 people who have ideas and numbers that point to opposite conclusions.
These are not recruiting trade secrets people. These are possible life-saving and livelihood-saving ideas and plans.
> Patience. Both coaches were clear with an approach of taking it day to day in preparation. Coach Cal was clear they are discussing options - preseason tournament bubbles with power programs and or mid-majors before possible later starting dates make a lot of sense - but each asked, "Why rush a decision when things are changing daily?"
And that would be my second question to Kevin Warren, the Big Ten commissioner, who has flip-flopped like a beach sandal walking to the Gulf, considering that a) Big Ten announces a schedule on a Thursday, b) reports on a Saturday leak that the Big Ten is cancelling, c) the Big Ten meets on Sunday, d) those reports are rebuked on Monday, e) season cancelled on a Tuesday, and f) word leaks that Warren's own son is an SEC football player who has not opted out.(And while we are here the reports that Big Ten officials are wondering if there really was a vote to end the season is a downright dreadful look. Awful in fact.)
> Leadership. Coach K banged the drum for former Big East creator Dan Gavitt to be the czar of college basketball, and shared a story about how the NCAA's biggest problem is it is not a person but a series of committees. (Yes, and no. I can see that logic, that dealing with the red-tape created to protect personal greenbacks within the NCAA staff makes decisions and mobility downright impossible. But as big a factor of the NCAA's shortcomings and failures is also due to the person in charge in Mark Emmert.)
A czar - a decision maker for college hoops and football - have long been needed, and those needs are being exposed and magnified in the time of fiscal and physical calamity.
> Need to play. Both coaches were adamant about wanting to play and needing to play. Cal spent a few minutes talking about his players and their mental health and what playing means to them. Coach K was more direct and said that they absolutely had to have an NCAA tournament this year because of the financial reasons.
Coach Cal even used a phrase that I have used frequently in this whole thing: "We owe it to the players to explore every option to try to find a way to let them play."
Which leads us to the talking point of the "Let's call it now" people of 'You guys are pushing these athletes to play' for the money. I think that plays off the almost-always true and universally easy talking point of exploiting the athletes for the millionaire coaches who lead hundred-million-dollar programs. But it doesn't apply in this case.
It's the athletes begging to play and the coaches begging to coach that are driving this narrative. In fact, the tangential businesses next to athletics are still going to lose money this fall even if they play SEC football.
Fewer games with 30-or-so-percent capacity makes it impossible to meet revenue projections in an unprojectionable time. (Yes, some revenue is better than none for T-shirt dealers and restaurant managers, but you get the idea.)
This is a very fluid time, and as a leader, the ability to be extremely flexible can not be overvalued. In a lot of ways, the words and actions of Coach Cal and Coach K screamed leadership.
The actions of Warren, and Mark Emmert, and so many others have been the opposite of that.
SEC football and shots fired?
The schedule was released.
Week 1 has the feel of a dress rehearsal, that also could be scrubbed pretty easily if Corona comes calling.
There are strange twists to it, too, especially with the Iron Bowl being the penultimate game of the season.
Wait, why I am discussing this when TFP college football expert David Paschall breaks it down here.
And while we're here, the details from Jeremy Pruitt's first Zoom meeting with reporters as the Vols opened camp also revealed some intriguing items.
Most notably is the denial of Cade Mays' transfer eligibility request.
Mays left Georgia after some controversially accusations from the family and a possible lost finger - seriously - but let's again go to Paschall's prose on the matter.
The words that matter to me there are from Pruitt: "Why should we stand in the way of a young man or woman trying to figure out where the right place for them is?. Right now that's not the rule, but I hope that it eventually will be the rule. I know that for everybody who has transferred from our place, I have written a letter for a recommendation for them to the NCAA that requested that they be approved for immediate eligibility."
Big picture, I too believe all college athletes should get a one-time free transfer.
But more focused picture: Are those shots being fired at Kirby for possibly not releasing Mays?
Convention in name only
OK, night one of the Democratic virtual convention is in the books.
Before we go much further, here's today's A2 column on the lack of virtue in today's political realm.
And being on an island in the middle of this storm of galvanized extremes the takeaways likely will be just as stark whenever the Republicans take the stage.
But this is the first, so let's share some thoughts.
First, in a day and age in which the middle class is ever-shrinking, I trust could not care any less what a Hollywood celebrity has to say about a political candidate. And that goes for Eva Longoria or Chachi or James Woods or anyone from The View.
And I certainly do not need those same B-plus at best celebs to tell me what's wrong with the other side. For example, the Arizona woman who lost her dad to Corona had a message that could not be ignored. "His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life," she said. Debate the semantics of that all you want, but the moment was powerful.
For the most part, Monday was a high-profile hair-washing for the sitting president. Rinse, lather Donald with insults, repeat. It was also pretty forgettable. (Side note: Sorry Bernie Bros, Sanders teeters on the rails of a caricature and his overwhelming socialist approach would have gotten him drummed in November.)
That said, wow, can that whole Obama family deliver a home run speech - even if not all of her anti-Trump allegations were not true. (And yes, the fact checkers responsible for checking the allegations from all speakers in both conventions will need 12 computers, 72 fingers and a staff of dozens to keep pace.)
Still, the plan to preach to the bases with criticisms of Trump from the left and Biden from the right ring hollow for me. As an unconvinced voter, I would be way more impressed with the ideas and solutions that either candidate or party wants to share rather than accusations, insults and hatred of the other guy.
Which brings us to the main talking point a lot of us conservatives have no real good answer for.
"How can you vote for Donald Trump?" It's an undeniable question of his character, and to be honest, character matters in every job, and especially so in that job.
But so is philosophy and beliefs, and every time I shake my head about something Trump has Tweeted or how far the GOP fades to the fight-minded (and frequently white-minded) rather than right-minded and away from my personal and financial values, I simply don't believe the solution to answering that is electing a Democrat, because they also do not share my values.
This and that
- You know the rules. We shared Paschall's busy Monday above. Here's TFP sports editor and prep sports guru Stephen Hargis with another football region preview.
- For the most part as a fan of transparency the very thought of baseball's unwritten rules are laughable. I get them, and lived by them when I played. I also see how silly a lot of them are in hindsight. Example No. 13,027: The Rangers believe Fernando Tatis Jr. violated the spirit of the game by swinging at a 3-0 pitch to hit a grand slam with the Padres already up seven. I wish I was kidding.
- Big week for the NBA with the playoffs starting. According to this story in Variety, the NBA's fight with President Trump has caused Trump to say the NBA is in "big trouble." The ratings numbers since the restart have been mixed, but the playoffs - especially right now in August - for the prime time games will be pretty telling. And last night's Clippers-Mavs game was entertaining.
- Braves rallied for a nice win over the Nationals last night.
- Yeah, this shocks exactly no one. Tiger Woods' son Charlie shot 3-under to win a nine-hole junior tournament this weekend. His dad was on the bag.
- Some Indians are speaking out against their teammates who broke the Corona protocol. Interesting times in that locker room for sure.
- On "Get Up" on ESPN on Tuesday morning, this is what Nick Saban said on the spring season and the certainty that a whole lot of teams would have a whole lot of future NFL players leave for draft preparation: "I think one of the real consequences of this is, if you're a junior or a senior and you have an NFL grade, are you going to play in the spring? Or is that going to become sort of a JV season with a lot of these juniors and seniors opting out?"
Today's questions
True or false, it's Tuesday after all.
True or false, Jeremy Pruitt was firing shots at Kirby Smart with the quote above from Paschall's story.
True or false, you will watch meaningful minutes of the first round of the NBA playoffs?
True or false, you will watch any of the political conventions?
True or false, if the presidential ballot was Biden or Trump or Saban, you would vote for Saban.
You know the drill, answer some T or F, ask some T or F.
As for today, wow, couple of back-to-back big days for the acting realm. Yesterday was DeNiro and Sean Penn.Today, start with Robert Redford. (I was going to ask for a Redford Rushmore, but we did that one four years ago.) https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/columns/story/2016/aug/18/5--10-double-standards-legacy-and-local-replacement-uts-dave-hart-retiring-rushmore-robert-redford-movies/381888/
Also on this day, Aug. 18, Roberto Clemente also was born on this day. So was Patrick Swayze. Rushmore of 1980s leading actors, because I think Swayze may make it. Go.