From Lisa
I love the Titans and I know that you hate them and that's OK.
Are you going to do any mock drafts and who do you think the Titans will target? Thanks and I love your blog.
Lisa -
Thanks for the kind words, and, no, I do not hate the Titans. Just because I've picked against them - wrongly a few times, I might add - does not mean I like or don't like them. And in truth, their story was excellent for those around these parts this postseason.
As for the other, yes, we will have a mock draft or three.
We love the draft. You know this. (And it's going to be a wild ride in Vegas, gang.)
The Titans' biggest moves will be in free agency, considering that Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry have to be the top two decisions in front of the organization.
The Titans are slotted 29th in Round 1.
Depending on who they address as a priority in-house among the free agents will be telling. Say, if they let tackle Jack Conklin walk, they address that in Round 1.
Some background: Tennessee was 10th in offensive efficiency in 2019 and 14th in defensive efficiency.
The Titans are in the luxurious spot, again depending on the re-signings, of taking the best player available.What does that mean? Well, this draft is rich in wide receivers - could you imagine a speedster like Henry Ruggs III added to this bunch? - and offensive linemen.
This draft is also rich in running backs, and if D'Andre Swift starts to fall, well, that would be a great back-up plan if the team offers Henry a franchise tag as most expect.
The trend I expect to gain some momentum is following the 49ers' blueprint of being able to create pressure with a four-man rush. So I could certainly see teams in the back half of round one looking for defensive linemen who can get to the quarterback, as well.
From Peter
Have you watched the Aaron Hernandez documentary? It's amazing and I would love to hear your views on it.
What's your "Rushmore of sports documentaries" and thanks for the 5-at-10?
PS Who won the Bowl contest?
Peter -
Hudson C won the Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler Optional) and Good Lunch finished second. Those prizes have been sent, and if you do not receive them in the next week or so, please let me know. (And a special shout-out to Good Lunch, who lives in Iowa. The 5-at-10's reach appears to be expanding, no?)
First, let's punt the notion about "Rudy" or "Hoosiers" or "Remember the Titans" as documentaries. They are very loosely based on true stories, and the dramatic effect of Hollywood is very real and tangible.
I have not seen the Hernandez documentary, but I plan to and I've heard great things about it.
The list of these has been greatly augmented since the 30-for-30s, which is the best thing ESPN has ever done.
OK, "Hoop Dreams" has a spot on this list. It's amazing.
If "Free Solo" is a sports doc, then it's on there, too. The multi-part "OJ: Made in America" ESPN did last year was awesome.
I'm not sure "Miracle" counts, but it is so close that I would consider it. If not "Miracle," I would likely add "The Two Escobars" about drug kingpin Pablo Escobar's effect on soccer and the fallout of that in his home country.
(And we're all stoked about the multi-part documentary on the Bulls coming this summer, right?)
From Big Dawg
I love the Super Bowl prop bets contest. Thanks.
What's the biggest bet you've ever won or ever lost? I really enjoy your writing about gambling, sir.
BD -
Great questions.
OK, first, the biggest loss I ever took gambling was on Friday, Nov. 13, 1992. I lost $30,000 on the Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe fight. It was a dreadful weekend, for sure.
Yes, there are a lot of other details to the story - and some of you who know me well have heard them before - but let's just say during my college days I did not always live on the right side of the law, and that I may or may not have had a very well-paying gig that sounded like "lookie" for a couple of years.
Well, I never accepted bets on boxing but being what it was, and I believe that was a Georgia-at-Auburn weekend, too, so let's just say that the CoColas were flowing, and one guy talked me into taking just one bet on the match. Little did I know that his whole fraternity house pooled together a bunch of money on Bowe as an underdog.
I tried to pass any of it up the chain but no one was taking any more boxing action.
So I ate the whole thing. And showed up Thursday with it in cash.
And sold my operation and moved on. So there's that.
I wish I had bet $100 on every pick I've offered for you guys and gals this year, but for the most part, my heavy gambling days were left in Auburn, Alabama, 27.5 years ago.
(We'll post a hoops pick or two later today. We missed THE Ohio State last night and are 19-16 picking college hoops games this season.)
Thanks for the kind words, and I am fascinated about the changing face of sports gambling. And here are some interesting tidbits from David Purdum of ESPN.
> The 49ers have an NFL-high 57 sacks this season (including playoffs). They're the 7th team in the last 15 seasons to enter a Super Bowl with more than 55 sacks. The previous 6 all won.
> Super Bowl favorites' all-time record against the spread - 26-25-2 ATS. There have been 26 overs, 25 unders and one push. (There is no recorded over/under for Super Bowl I).
> Bettors have wagered $2.55 billion on the Super Bowl at Nevada sportsbooks since 1991. Bettors are down $174.6 million on the Super Bowl during that span in Nevada.
Cool.
And for those who want to play along with the Proper Super Bowl contest, well, it's free and all you need to do is email your picks on these props to me at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com:
> Coin toss, heads to tails?
> Length of the anthem, over or under 1 minutes, 59 seconds?
> Chiefs minus-1.5, who you got?
> Over or under 54.5 total points?
> First player to score (and kickers count, and if it is a safety, then the tackler gets credit)?
> Which half will have the most points scored, first or second?
> First song during the halftime performance?
> MVP?
> Longest TD play, over or under 44.5 yards?
> Donald Trump Tweets on Super Bowl Sunday, over/under 13.5?
From Cody
Thoughts on the Ozuna pickup?
(and)
From JTC
So does that (Braves) rotation go Soroka, Hamels, Folty, Fried and Newcomb (or Felix), you think?
Cody -
My thoughts on Ozuna are here.
I like the pick-up, but I would have preferred Josh Donaldson.
But this needs to be said, too: Braves GM Alex Anthopoulus has stayed true to his plan and that plan more than that of any other GM in Atlanta pro sports history not named John Schuerholz, has been impressive and warrants the benefit of the doubt.
So AA has wiggle room in my eyes, and this looks to be the bunch he'll roll with. So we'll roll with them, too.
JTC -
Of the three biggest questions of the spring that we can all see - Freddie's elbow, who plays third base and the rotation - yours is the most critical.
While the order of the first four may be juggled depending on match-ups, we all have to believe that Soroka, Hamels, Foltynewicz and Fried have a spot barring injury or complete spring meltdowns.
So that No. 5 spot could be Sean Newcomb, who has been a left-handed Nuke LaLoosh with dominant stuff at times then not able to hit the water if he fell out of the boat, or Felix or whomever.
It also is worth watching what they do with a guy like Kyle Wright or Bryse Wilson or even a Touch Toussaint, no?
Here's betting that other than Soroka and maybe Fried because of his electric stuff, some of those young dudes have been shopped and will continue to be shopped in the weeks to come.
From Lunch Bunch
Our crew hopes you had a good holiday. Our lunch bunch, as you call us, got back together this week and had a conversation in advance of UConn-UT and wondered what you thought about it.
Which current college sports powerhouse would collapse the fastest when its head coach leaves?
LB -
Wow, that's a great question, and very timely before last night's UT-UConn rivalry revival.
Here's the game story from UConn's dominant second half and 15-point win. And Geno's right. It's not the same without Pat Summitt.
But what is the same: Summitt built the Lady Vols, for sure, and in a lot of ways she built the platform that has allowed the rest of women's college basketball reach this place.
She is easily the most impactful college sports coach of all time in terms of her sport, and only John Wooden is really close. (College football was already a monster before Bryant - thanks in large part to the rise and death of Knute Rockne - but you can make a hard argument that in terms of social and racial impact, Bear Bryant may be the most impactful college coach of all time. How he helped turn the South's eyes to the talents of black football players - and black people in general - cannot be overstated.)
I don't know if the Lady Vols will ever return to the status Summitt demanded and attained. And that may be the greatest testament to her impact.
I think Saban is as good as anyone I've ever seen coach. Regardless of sport. But Alabama will be back, even if whoever replaces Saban whenever he steps away sinks, because the Tide has always found a way to return to the top.
I think Coach K has built Duke into a place that it will always value basketball and his successors will be able to maintain that success there.
The two that jump out to me are Geno at UConn and Dabo at Clemson. And in the end, I believe that UConn's dominance is all about Geno, and whenever he walks away, the dynasty will leave with him.