Morning friends. For those of you who are familiar with the happenings, well, you already know this is the 5-at-10.
For those who are checking in and checking us out, well, you need a little background, I suppose.
We started this in late October 2010 and have proceeded every Monday through Friday since. (Yes, holidays, vacations, sick days, you name it.) We're north of 2,000 consecutive 5-at-10s by this point. So it goes.
We picked the name because originally the 5-at-10 was going to be five things at 10 a.m. (Kind of like a 5-and-dime idea for us old folks.)
Back in the early days, we followed the 5-at-10 with a 2:00 Drill, which was our afternoon answer/update. But the response got so big and the community of regulars grew so much that waiting until 2 p.m. to respond seemed dated.
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From the "Talks too much" studios, high atop Whiskey Hill, let's make the magic happen.
Super Weekend winners
Andy Reid. Got to be Andy Reid, right? Got to be. I believed he was a Hall of Famer before Sunday's Super win, but now Reid gets to forever ditch the "Coach with the most wins without a championship" tag. Good for you, Big Red. Good for you. (Also winning the weekend was Wilford Brimley - yes, the star of "Cocoon" - tweeting a picture of Andy Reid with the caption "Supposedly I'm coaching this evening." Good times.)
Patrick Mahomes. Yes, there are several from Super Bowl Sunday. It's Super Bowl Sunday, people. But know this: Mahomes won his first Super Bowl. (Cool.) Mahomes won his first Super Bowl when he really did not play that well for the first three quarters. (Cool because he was cool.) Mahomes - and possibly Zion - now appear/s to be the next 'It' athlete for the 2020s and beyond. (Cool times 10.) Also of note: He can tell folks he was the youngest NFL MVP and the youngest Super Bowl MVP. And if that's not cool, well, then you are the opposite of cool. (Side question: What is the opposite of cool?) Here's TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer on Mahomes being a super dude at the end of the Super Bowl.
Scott H., who smoked our Proper Super Bowl contest. Scott hit a blistering 8 of 10 - getting "Tails," "under on the anthem," "Chiefs," "under," "Gould," "second half," "Mahomes as MVP," and "Under on longest TD play." There were four tied at 6 - Matt B, George A, C-Rank, and Sean D. Thanks to everyone who played. We will have our annual March Madness contest around the NCAA tournament and, of course, the Masterfully Mastering the Masters Masterpiece contest in April.
The NFL in general. The celebration of the NFL 100 years. The NFL Hall of Fame weekend and awards. The patriotic commercial to start the Super Bowl. A fine finish. And the minting of the future face of the league with Patrick Mahomes - as well as Tom Brady all-but-guaranteeing his return somewhere in 2020 - made this a super Super Sunday for the Shield.
Super weekend losers
Kyle Shanahan. Wow, the play-calling wonder boy lost it. Of course, Johnny Falcons Fans everywhere are used to that song and dance from Shanahan on the biggest stage. For all the hubbub about "trusting" Jimmy G, well, the end of the first half showed ZERO trust in anyone involved in the 49ers offense - the play-caller included. (Side note: The ESPN analysts covering for coaches' miscues like Shanahan's at the end of the first half these days makes you wonder how many of these dudes are interviewing with NFL teams?) How about this stat: Shanahan the play-caller has now been part of efforts that have blown a 28-3 third-quarter lead and a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead in the Super Bowl.
All of us who had Patrick Mahomes and over 30.5 rushing yards. How bad a beat was that? Well, Mahomes had 44 rushing yards until the final drive and took a knee three times. But it was not a traditional victory formation. It was a scramble-style victory formation that helped the Chiefs run out the clock and caused Mahomes to lose 15 rushing yards. At least one betting service cancelled the bet, it was that egregious of a bad beat. A Caesars executive said it was a six-figure swing for the Vegas casino to the good. (And while we are here, our picks went bagel-for-just-about-everything Sunday, including a 2-for-10 in our contest. We finished the NFL season 64-45-4, which is 59.8 percent against the number. It's the first time all season we've been under 60 percent during the NFL season because we finished 5-12-1 in the playoffs.)
Commercials. Was there a great one? Yes, there were a few. Loved Bill Murray in the Groundhog Day-themed commercial. Laughed out loud at Sam Elliott's mustache doing the wave opposite Lil Nas X. There were others, too. But for the half a billion dollars advertisers spent on Super Bowl commercials, was there a commercial that moved you enough to buy the product being pitched? Because that's the mission, right? (And man, if the Google commercial where the old fella talked to the computer to try to remember the great things about his dead wife did not make it dusty where you were, well, go to the doctor and have your soul checked.)
The Donald. Man, can someone in the Oval Office not have first-review rights of the commander-in-tweet's social media account? On the eve of the Iowa Caucus and in arguably the busiest Twitter storm of the year right after the Super Bowl, Trump congratulated the Chiefs and the entire state of Kansas. He later redirected and corrected it to Missouri, and yes, part of Kansas City is in Kansas. But if the Grizzlies win the NBA title, this is akin to congratulating Memphis and the great state of Arkansas, no? And yes, we all make mistakes on social media, but dude is the leader of the free world and I am gloriously thankful for the surging economy under his leadership. But c'mon, man, because I don't need my 12-year-old knowing more American geography that the President. Seriously, for the billions of dollars spent by the federal government, we can't find someone in the Secret Service who can green-light Twitter for Trump?
All of those who voted for Mahomes over Damien Williams for MVP. Mahomes is excellent and could be an all-timer, but he was rather pedestrian for the majority of this Super Bowl. Williams was awesome - 17 carries, 104 yards and scores running and receiving.
Bonus pick: How in the world are we in the Super Bowl - the bleepin' Super Bowl people, with more than 100 million folks watching - and we do not have a camera angle right on the goal line to see definitively whether Damien Williams crossed the goal line? This is not a November MAC-tion Tuesday game between Akron and Miami of Ohio. This is the Super Bowl. C'mon, people.
Elsewhere in sports
Normally around these parts on Monday we check the winners and losers from the weekend.
The Super Bowl understandably dominated the scene this weekend. But it was not the only thing circulating. Here are three more winners and losers from the weekend that was.
> Auburn basketball winner. This bunch is not close to as skilled as the Final Four crew from last year. But they are athletic and tenacious and they outlasted Kentucky thanks to a million air throws and defensive pressure that rattled UK's reserve guards. (Kentucky's starting guards, including the supremely gifted Ashton Hagans, battled foul issues all afternoon.) Moreover, the scene for "College GameDay" was electric and the crowd was unbelievable. Sure, that is common place at the blue-blood locales, but for Bruce Pearl's program, that was a great commercial for the program across the country in the eyes of the recruits.
> Damian Lillard winner. Forget Giannis or LeBron or anyone else. The undersized Portland playmaker is the best player in basketball right now. By a lot. How's this for a last 10-game split: Lillard is averaging 41.6 points, 9.3 assists and 5.4 rebounds over his last 10 while shooting 52.8 from the floor, a scorching 50 percent from 3 and 87.9 from the line. In Portland's four-game winning streak, Lillard is 30-for-51 from 3. Egad.
> Webb Simpson winner. Kudos to the veteran PGA player for winning in a playoff in Phoenix. Good times. And big paydays. Baylor update: Harris English and Keith Mitchell finished tied for 16th at 10 under; Luke List was a shot back at 9 under, which tied for 25th.
> Antonio Brown: both. In his first sitdown interview with anyone since his disastrous 2019 unraveled a career that appeared to be destined for Canton. It was weird but it also included AB saying he felt like he owed an apology to the entire NFL.
> UT hoops loser. The Vols are spiraling in the wrong direction, and it's tough to watch right now. As gritty and entertaining as last year's team was, is how frustrating and seemingly indifferent this bunch appears.
This and that
- Shakira is 43. J-Lo is 50. Yes, there was a whole lot of skin and shaking. Yes, there was an international tongue tribute that set Twitter on fire. Yes, J-Lo went over the 2.5 outfits - and combined there might have been enough material for one complete jumpsuit - rather quickly. But dear Lord, kudos to the care those ladies put into their bodies. We will repeat - 43 and 50 - and they were working it last night.
- One more Super Bowl tidbit: Demi Lovato continued her career revival tour with a really excellent national anthem. After slaying at the Grammys last month and redirecting her narrative after a near-fatal drug overdose last year, Lovato appears back and better than ever. It also fulfilled a bucket-list item for the former kid-TV star. Almost 10 years to the day after writing this "One day, I'm gonna sing the national anthem at a super bowl. Onnnee dayyy," Lovato crushed Sunday evening.
- And speaking of calling your shot, how about Patrick Mahomes' high school classmate Spencer Shaw in their yearbook when asked "What are you looking forward to about your class reunion?" Shaw's answer was "Seeing Patrick Mahomes' Super Bowl ring."
- Late-rising football prospect Ladd McConkey of North Murray picked the Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend. And you guys and gals know the deal: If something of note happens in the world of college football, we turn to TFP college football wizard David Paschall for more info. Here's his story on McConkey, who less than a month ago was picking between the likes of Coastal Carolina and Bucknell before his name exploded on the scene. Cool story, and the kid was aces on Press Row late last month, too.
- I am a sucker for things like this, but the Baltimore Ravens got area elementary kids to write tributes to Lamar Jackson, and after Jackson became the second unanimous MVP in NFL history, this clip was aces.
Today's questions
Super Bowl winners and losers. Go.
Favorite commercial. Go.
Best snack/food at your gathering. Go.
As for today, well, on this day - Feb. 3 - in 1959, the music died when the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper crashed. Waylon Jennings was supposed to be on that plane, too. (Side note: That would be an amazingly tough thing to deal with, no?)
On this day in 1876, a fellow spends his last $800 to start a sporting goods company. I think things worked out pretty well for Albert Spalding and his family.
And we cannot mention Spalding without thinking about Judge Smails' grandson and yelling at him to get his foot off the boat.
Can we try this one: Rushmore of best "Caddyshack" quotes? Whatcha got?