Weekend winners
The NBA All-Star weekend. The dunk contest had controversy - and know this, the only way we're truly talking about the dunk contest is for it to have controversy - but it was certainly great with dudes jumping over other dudes. (And now there are reports that the fix may be in on some behind-the-scenes wheelin'-and-dealin' with the judges. Someone get the Astros on the blower.) Good times. The tribute to Kobe was especially cool and Common's rapping intro was pretty excellent. And the rule changes to the game, while a bit confusing beforehand, were 100 percent effective in their desired outcome. How effective? Well, someone took a charge in the All-Star game, yes, took a charge. There were defensive stops, timeouts called to draw up plays and guys actually D-ing up. The players were seriously into the outcome late in the third period and throughout the fourth quarter, and that's a win for everyone involved.
Mason Rudolph. There are seldom winners in scenes like the Myles Garrett fight and helmet-swinging incident. But what do we always say when someone accuses someone of something outright terrible and potentially career changing? We say, well, if person X was accused of this and did not do it, wouldn't you fight like the dickens to clear your name? Well, that is what Rudolph is doing against Garrett's allegations that Rudolph called him the N-Bomb. And, if we can all agree that if Rudolph had called Garrett a racial slur Rudolph likely would have been punished, then if Garrett falsely claimed the slur was used - and Rudolph's lawyers are threatening to sue - then should that be punished? Discuss.
My picks. If my math was right, our XFL picks finished 6-2 on the weekend, with three under-the-totals cashing and winners with the D.C. Defenders (minus-6.5 in a 27-0 win over New York), the Seattle Dragons (plus-2.5 in a 17-9 win over Tampa Bay) and the Dallas Renegades (minus-4.5 in a 25-18 win over L.A.). We missed on the Houston Roughnecks (they were an 8-point favorite and won 28-24 and that game went over the 50.5) and are now 11-4 (which is 73.3 percent) against the spread in XFL games. Long live the XFL.
Lots of Braves fans I know. First, Dave O'Brien of The Athletic is reporting that almost all of the position players minus a couple are in camp several days before they were required. That's a good thing for chemistry and clubhouse bonding. Second, the contract extensions for GM Alex Anthopoulos and manager Brian Snitker accomplish two pretty important things: 1) Anthopoulos has earned the rarified air of the benefit of public doubt because so many of his decisions have panned out dang-near perfectly, and that front office stability with a team built around young, in-house players with team-friendly contracts is a big-time plus; 2) My hardcore Braves fans friends now will have Snitker to second-guess and complain about for the foreseeable future. Good times.
Everyone involved in the local Hamilton County Special Olympics basketball tournament at UTC last week. Here's a slide show of some of the images from TFP ace photographer Troy Stolt. Well-played friends. Well-played indeed.
Weekend losers
Tennessee hoops. Good night. The Vols had backed themselves into a corner in terms of NCAA inclusion. Saturday, with a loss snatched from the jaws of victory at South Carolina, that corner became an NIT enclosure. Sure, if Rick Barnes' bunch ran the table - with two games against nationally ranked Auburn and a date at UK and at home against bubble-licious (or even bubble-vicious) Florida - there's a Lloyd Christmas chance. But Saturday's loss - UT had a 58-52 lead with 3:30 left - to a South Carolina team that is 16-9 and now is almost certainly in front of UT in the NCAA pecking order, really, Really, REALLY hurts.
PGA Golf. OK, I'll start. Rivera is a nice course and all, but CBS announcers telling me how much the field loves it - someone offered that almost all the players have it as a top-three course in the personal lists - without, you know, actually having the players talk about it is hollow. And lazy. And this comes with the lamentations of golf fans about the shoddy work of CBS on Sunday. (Yes, golf fans complaining about golf coverage feels like one of the most common topics in the "First World Problems" customer service window.) That said, a chance for a truly star-studded field and a star-filled finish dwindled quickly as Rory stumbled from the gate, DJ never got going, Matt Moochar did not have the wheels fall (which I was rooting for), and Adam Scott won by finishing all of 1-under in the final round.
Rob Manfred. Is anyone involved in the MLB in general and the sign-stealing debacle going to directly stand up and give some straight answers? Houston's owner and two of its star players sounded like scolded and lying kindergarteners last week. Sunday, it was the MLB commish, and Manfred was as wishy-washy as his original punishment for the Astros looks like this morning. Manfred has borderline done the impossible - he has made Roger Goodell and Adam Silver looks better at their jobs as commissioners of the NFL and NBA, respectively. Manfred said that stripping the Astros of a "piece of metal" seemed futile. Huh, Commish, do you have that same thought when handing the trophy out in the locker room as everyone celebrates and grown men are soaking each other with beers and bubbly? As for the Astros' statements, here's Manfred's biting commentary of the worst handling of a PR issue since Nixon, "It was not successful."
NASCAR. Again, this is not NASCAR's fault per se, but man, a rain-soaked race day and a delayed finish on Monday for the biggest race of the year is some seriously bad mojo. And to make matters worse, for me as a sports viewer, here were my TV plans on Sunday afternoon as I was cooking Sunday dinner and for the week ahead: PGA Golf first, and that started to disappoint; XFL second, and that kept me around; NASCAR third, and I actually stopped by a couple of times to see what was happening and I never saw one lap of actual racing. No es bueno, and somewhere Liz Warren and Bernie Sanders are going to blame this on Trump. Or climate change.
XFL 2.0 2.0
This is the second attempt for the XFL, and by any measure almost assuredly the last secondary attempt from any non-NFL professional football league for likely my lifetime.
Because, let's face it, if Vince McMahon being committed to losing tens of, if not hundreds of millions of dollars in Year 1 to get to Year 2 does not work, who else it going to roll those nine-figure dice?
The numbers will be out later today of course, and those are the metrics that matter. But as one individual sports fan with a weekend full of options - and with my cable fully intact, unlike this fun-filled view from TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer about playing board games with his kids rather than watching Sunday's XFL action - the second week was better than the first. (That said, I am completely on board with board games with the kids. Good times. In fact, we had a drag-out family game of Uno before bed last night. Great times.)
Of the good (other than my picks of course):
> The league has what appears to be its first emerging star, something that absolutely is a must considering that professional sports without big names creates a vacuum of interest that is nearly impossible to fill. Defenders QB Cardale Jones is handling his BID-ness, and let me be the next - and certainly not the last - to offer this stat: Jones is undefeated all-time as a starting QB: in high school, THE Ohio State and now the XFL.
> The games on Saturday were rather blah, but Sunday's action was good football. There was a one-score game in the early window that was decided in the final moments, and the Week 2 finale was a great 28-24 finish that may have been the best and cleanest game of the season.
> The changes - especially the kickoff formations and the transparency of listening in to the officials' conversations on the field and with the review team - continue to impress me.
The bad:
> The haves and have-nots are divided almost exclusively by quarterback play. That makes the XFL like just about every other major football league anywhere, but it's magnified greatly when Cardale Jones is Aaron Rodgers and the Vipers may call me to see if I can still sling it around.
> And most importantly, will any of this matter?
That's the hundred-million-dollar question, right?
The numbers will not be available until later today, but finding a connection - be it the play, the gambling, the innovations, you name it - with more and more fans is the life-goal of the league.
I have been entertained - both as a fan and as a gambler - by the XFL. And I'd much rather bet on any football than golf or NASCAR, and I'm certainly having way more success on all levels of football than college hoops.
But can the XFL connect, because that's the only way it can survive, whether Cardale Jones ever loses a game or not?
This and that
- Speaking of the NFL, here's a quick story on Tim Tebow saying he had discussions with the XFL before staying the course and trying to make the major leagues with the Mets.
- Speaking of golf, here's PGA Tour player Ryan Palmer making all of us feel better about our game. Palmer needed six shots to get out of a green-side bunker.
- Speaking of the Astros and Manfred, can someone explain to me why Manfred, Dusty Baker and all of the baseball talking heads worrying about opposing pitchers throwing at Houston players? Gang, this system was completely fine in everyone's eyes before now, and it was always wink-wink, nod-nod, and viewed as pitchers intentionally getting justice for violations of the unwritten rules of the game. So let me get this straight, the way this played out: Hitting a 500-foot home run and either joyously flipping your bat or taking about 6 extra seconds rounding the bases = a fastball in the back; Cheating your tails off as an organization, stealing individual awards and team achievements, and disgracing the game = protection from the unwritten rules after the written rules refused to punish the same players. Seems perfectly logical. In Opposite World.
- Tough story here as Elton John lost his voice on stage and left a show in New Zealand in tears. Dude lost his voice. But man, hard not feel for the fans, too.
- Few columnists I've ever met have the touch of TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer. My style is certainly way more direct; Weeds, he has a velvet glove, and sure, he's been known to slap folks with it on occasion, but more times than not, his touch is his talent. That was evident here with the balance and blame on both ends of the Mike Avenatti-NCAA choice, which is like choosing between having nothing but sandpaper or poison ivy as your nose-blowing options.
Today's questions
We have a lot to get to, right?
Weekend winners and losers. "Clete you tell him. Sectionals of '33. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 let 'er fly Yeah, in and out."
What got your TV attention this weekend? Did you watch any college basketball other than your favorite team? (I think college basketball is suffering a serious issue of identity.)
As for today, well, Feb. 17, let's explore.
Sardines were first canned on this day in 1876. Was going to ask "Sardines, friend or foe, but do you know anyone who likes sardines?
Today also has some serious birthdays. Michael Jordan is 57 today. Billie Joe Armstrong (lead singer of Green Day) is 48. Ed Sheeran is 29. Paris Hilton is 39.
Also, Jim Brown is 84 today.
Rushmore of best actors who were professional athletes in team sports (no Rock, no Arnold). Go, and Brown's catalog is better than you may recall.)