Morning friends, and happy spring break.
That's right, the 5-at-10 clan is already headed full steam toward the coast. St. Simons, here we come. Spy, keep your eyes peeled.
Before we get to the great - and I mean great, as in Tony the Tiger GER-rate - questions, let's handle our BID-ness.
First, gang my mullet is the absolute truth. Like late 1980s country music star or Big 12 football coach at the height of his powers. Think Joe Diffie meets Mike Gundy, but in a good way. That's right prop me up by the jukebox, because I'm a man, I'm 40. (Fifty actually, but hey, it's the new 40. And here's hoping in the next five years 55 is the new 35. I'm all for being the numeric Benjamin Button. Get off my lawn.)
Next, here's today's A2 column with a possible side hustle for yours truly to help the ends meet and meat.
You know the rules. So here's Weeds on college hoops.
As for this week's Rushmores, well here you go.
Rushmore of women in baseball. Jackie Mitchell, Jackie Robinson's wife, Doris Sams of the women's league that was the basis for "A League of Their Own" (and Marla Hooch, what a hitter) and Annie Savoy.
Rushmore of Tower: Eiffel and the leaning one over the Pepperoni place in Pisa. Big Ben is there, and then the Twin Towers. Sorry Sgt. Hightower from the Police Academy movies.
Rushmore of Mel Brooks movies: The fun thing about doing a little Rushmore research is realizing what you knew and forgot or didn't know to begin with. Mel Brooks is a dude friends, and how the Caesar's Hour variety show was not more rewarded and revered is anyone's guess since a young Brooks and some dude named Neil Simon were part of the same writing room. I learned that he was an executive producer on The Elephant Man too. His Rushmore though is Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Producers and History of the World Part I.
Rushmore of Cy(Sigh): Cy Young, Cyrus the Virus from Con Air, Sigh of relief, Cyclops.
From Chad
Jay, a friend of mine pointed me to your blog and I am so glad she did. Keep up the good work and keep telling the truth - although you likely will be cancelled some day.
Not sure if you have spoke to this before since I am kind of new but what do you think of the universal DH, because I hate it.
Thanks and if you could use this on Friday that would be cool. Hi Shelly!
Chad-
Welcome aboard my man, and nice shoutout. And hi to you Shelly. (Sorry, kind of opposed in general to the exclamation point.)
I hope I don't get cancelled, but sharing an honest opinion can be dangerous, especially for white males. And that is the thing that makes us wooly and weary of the cancel culture. (Side question: Bull Durham is arguably the best sports movie ever made, and for my money, when Crash confronts Nuke on the bus after he gets the words wrong to the song is the best scene in the best sports move ever. "She may get wooly, young girls do get wooly from all the stress.") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EroyjPcw3sg
Sure it's easy to call out anyone for dropping the N-bomb, but how is Coke supposed to handle its affairs when a) it has classes for employees to be less white and b) is chastised for not being more outraged enough for the overblown Georgia voting overhaul.
And while we're here, if we as a nation are going to embrace the fight for equality should we not have had at least a conversation about boycotting the Beijing Olympics, because, gang, America looks like Mother Teresa in terms of racial equality and human rights compared to China. Thoughts?
Where were we? Oh yeah, the DH.
For the vast majority of my life I have hated the DH, especially at younger levels. My high school coach over-thought the whole deal - or tried to find a way to get more kids on the field to keep parents off his back - and did not let pitchers hit until they were seniors.
I thought this was nuts - N-U-T-S - because a) growing up the pitchers are always the best hitters and b) if you didn't let us hit as sophomores and juniors then how in blue blazes are we going to be ready too wing as seniors. Yeah, he and I did not see eye to eye and it had little to do with me being 6-4 and Coach being 5-8.
(Side note: My sophomore year I was the No. 3 starter on the varsity and came in for long relief on a couple occasions for a senior and got to actually bat because once you eschew the DH, you have lost that option entirely. I finished that year 6-for-9 with a homer, but still when it was my turn in the rotation, I got DH-ed for.)
Watching the automatic out that most pitchers represent is an extra drag on a game that already drags. So I'm OK with it. And believe it or not, I'm a bigger fan of the runner on second to start extra innings than I thought I would be.
But I think the DH should be in both leagues but evolve with the following wrinkles.
No DH for the starting pitcher. When you remove the starter, then you can designate a hitter for that spot in the lineup. It also adds to the intrigue of the teams using an opener - a guy to come in and pitch one inning before turning it over to the bullpen.
If you pinch hit for the pitcher, the pinch hitter would then be the DH, or in the case of Madison Bumgarner or Shohei Ohtani, those guys can remain as the hitter in that spot even when they are no longer pitching.
Why penalize those dudes for having extreme skills, you know?
Reward those dudes for their versatility, and in turn, reward the teams who acquire dues with versatility.
From Chas
On Monday, Jay preached society is broken because Lil Nas X shot "a music video giving Satan a lap dance and those of us who follow Christ who have a problem with that - never mind his Nike shoes that have Satan in the name for Pete's Sake - are in the wrong."
I have no interest in buying his shoes or seeing his video, and I'm guessing Jay hasn't seen it either. But today I read a column claiming Nas sold a bunch of shoes and created controversy to do so. That's an old marketing trick. Along the way he made a bunch of conservative Christians eager to find a culture war to fight under every bed.
Absolutely Nike has a legit bone to pick. The sales trick is in bad taste, but bad taste sells lots of products. According to the columnist I found, after giving the devil a lap dance, Mr. X wrings his neck. Again, I haven't seen the video, but that sounds like Satan does what Satan does, tempting, but after the temptation, Nas does the right thing, vanquishing temptation and The Tempter.
How is that different from Charlie Daniels' singing about dealing with temptation and vanquishing the devil who went down to Georgia? Throughout history artists in many media have used Satan as part of their storytelling, and long as it comes right in the end, we're not offended.
Maybe the offense is that Nas is gay (so I learned). Christians are divided on how accepting to be of gay people in the Church. That must be part of the reason for the social media trolling of Nas.
Jay, if your point was that the back and forth on social media about this subject is disappointing, I'm with you.
If your point is that people shouldn't do stories or paintings or movies or videos featuring the devil, how is this one different from the thousands of others mainstream culture accepts?
And have you actually seen the video? I try not to criticize art I haven't seen or heard.
Is it OK that Duke and lots of other schools use "devil" and devil imagery to promote themselves? Would you buy a Dirt Devil vacuum? Or deviled ham from the Underwood company featuring Old Nick in the logo?
All questions for the Friday bag.
Chas-
I have seen the video. And the presence of the devil is not the issue for me as much as the details of this devil. And to be sure, there's no way I'm eating potted meat because it's potted meat, whether my Savior or his mortal enemy is on the package.
First, there is entire aspect of giving the Devil a lap dance in terms of religious and sexuality. And it has zero to do with Lil Nas X's sexual orientation. Heck, there was a deal with Madonna and her video several moons ago with sexuality and religion
And would that be beastiality more than homosexuality? Is the Devil a specific gender? Because if he's not, then we know he can't play girls' high school sports in Tennessee.
Because it was a Monday and I was trying to be brief, I may not have explained my issues with this as well as I could have.
Not unlike the overly sexually expressive performance of WAP by Card B and Megan Thee Stallion at the Grammys - which I criticized then by the way - the sexual imagery of the performance was my first issue. To your example of Charlie Daniels, well, Johnny jumped on a hickory stump not Beelzebub's lap.
To make that worse, Nas got all indignant - even to the point that he was praised by some chowder head with the New York Times - about the concerns a lot of us have because so many kids loved his "Old Town Road" song.
Nas Tweeted: "i literally sing about lean & adultery in old town road. u decided to let your child listen. blame yourself." Which is fine, I suppose. But my kids listened to the Kids Bop-edited version, and beyond that Nas continually embraced the praise - and the millions of dollars - from the kids that loved that song. He also was happy to take all the Nickelodeon awards from it too.
But now, we're bad parents because we didn't know what it meant and not wanting our kids to see him grinding on the minister of darkness?
I don't have an issue with his orientation or his artistic choices. The video sucks whether he's rubbing his fanny on the Devil or Dionne Warwick, and his music was going nowhere fast until Billy Ray signed on for Old Town Road.
As for the devil mascot or what not, I got no issue with that or the image of Satan in movies and what not. It's not really my cup of tea, but hey to each their own.
It also begs the question, big picture in this time: Which is more offensive, Rebels or Devils?
Either way, that lewd, hypocritical hack Nas X will never get another dime from my wallet, a minute of my ear or a casual piece of my attention. I'm not calling for him to be cancelled; he has every right to be every bit as big a hypocritical (Bleep)hole as he wants. I'm just eliminating him from my little corner of the world.
He's a waste of money, time and energy, no matter who he's attracted to.
From Anonymous
So I've been off my schedule this week but did get to read the column (Thursday). I certainly wouldn't want my name on this (and you prob don't want to post it so maybe just a question), but seriously, the only difference in what KD and Justin Thomas wrote and said was the filthiness with which KD's was presented and the fact that he was talking to a human and JT was talking to a golf ball. A GOLF ball, Jay.
And just for the record, I must be way more sheltered than I ever realized bc I can't even with those comments. I have never read anything so vile and really can't believe there are people out there that have.
Anonymous-
A little background. Justin Thomas uttered a homophobic word that sounds like 'Bag' when he missed a putt in Hawaii earlier this year. He was cut by several sponsors, had some stern chats with PGA officials and has issued several mea culpas.
His was an emotional response caught on a live mic one time, and while we know the cockroach rules apply, he, as the reader referenced, said it to a golf ball in anger. Heck, remember when the UK player called the white Wisconsin player the N-word and nothing happened?
Whatever.
KD deserves all kinds of heat from an NBA that has been banging its chest about equality. Heck, the WNBA should be up in arms about his words and hatred. In fact, challenging a man 20-plus years his senior who is 10 inches shorter and nowhere close to as athletic to a fight and issuing those kinds of threats likely is illegal. Intern Scott you're an attorney, can I get a ruling?
So what say you, Adam Silver? Are you for equality and decency or are you for easy social stances that please LeBron James and the vast majority of your work force?
And this is not back Rapaport, who is kind of a hack these days.
Now comes KD addressing it, saying "I'm sorry people saw that language." Wow.
And while we're here, this is the most worthless piece of reporting on a story like this I have ever seen. There is one quote about the exchange and hatred with Rapaport and the rest of the story is about KD's hamstring and his timetable to return.
His only quote on the Rapaport exchange: ""I'm sorry that people seen that language I used. That's not really what I want people to see and hear from me, but hopefully I can move past it and get back out there on the floor."
He went on to have four other quotes about his injury and return. Because JT had numerous news conferences about his incident and if/when Morgan Wallen returns, you think he gets one question about his drunken rant before it returns to talks about touring and his record?
I'll ask anyone out there: Which is worse, what KD typed over and over to Rapaort, including the threats and offensive words, JT using a homophobic slur in an emotional outburst caught on a live mic or a drunken country singer using the N-word on a hidden camera?
And yes we all know the N-word is the King Daddy of all slurs, even more than the references to Hitler and such. But it makes you wonder if it is the verbal hate or the color of the person committing the verbal hate that matters more?
I'll hang up and listen.
From Joe Don
There's something rotten in the state of Denmark.
I listened intently to Coach Rusty Wright's interview on Press Row Monday and it just did not smell right. The tenor of Coach Wright's voice was reserved. His answers sounded calculated and cautious.
I'm wondering if the "opt out" decision was the plan all along. The Mocs managed numerous practices and then four "real" games, including one with mostly newcomers. That's a better spring practice schedule than ever before. There was more opportunity for true evaluations heading into the Fall.
Seems to me the Mocs' mentality was the end will justify the means never mind that the fan base felt duped.
What do you think?
JoeDon-
This may be the part of the show - and yes, this mailbag has grown quite heavy, like my weight and my mullet in the pandemic - where I get a little sentimental.
I do not disagree that something seems amiss. (Side note: I do disagree with using the double negatives of "do not disagree" and others of that ilk. Let me start again.)
I concur JD, something seems fishy with this whole thing.
Was it possible that this was the plan from the get, and they wanted as you referenced, to get four games and extra practice reps in before pulling the plug? Sure it's possible.
Heck they got a ticket-buying home game in there too.
Here's what I know/have heard:
> Rusty Wright wanted to deal with Spring as much as Old Man Winter. He hated this plan from the get;
> The contempt for this whole idea was growing in the locker room. Will that frustration linger? Who knows. Was there some sort of mutiny?
> From what I've heard there has been a lot of double-talk from a lot of folks involved, be it across the SoCon or from the SoCon and a in a slew of directions.
> And from what I've been told and emailed there are a lot of fans who have two main questions: Why start at all and if you had a chance to make a real run at the title right now, why not go for it?
Because the UTC apologists are lining up with the "I back Rusty" chants and "19 games in a calendar year" and those are fine.
Heck, I back Rusty too, even if I disagree with how this was handled/played out.
Look at the ways that are better. Calling the year before the season. Telling fans before the game, "Hey, we're sitting 21 of 22 starters vs. Mercer" rather than this 'young guys are going to play some' song and dance.
Heck I can even see an argument of finishing the spring with an eye on a title. Then next fall in the wake of 19 games in 10 months or whatever it may be, if you pushed chips and made a run this year and then said later this year, "Yeah, were going to limit snaps because of concern for these players' health" then who would argue with that?
Again, I think Rusty is a very good coach who is going to win consistently here. Heck I know he is.
But I also believe that there is a whole lot of stuff under the surface that has not been said or reported about this whole deal.
From JTC
Jay, over the past year you blessed us with many of your cooking adventures. Please share your favorite new dishes that the family has enjoyed.
JTC–
This may be the part of the show - and yes, this mailbag has grown quite heavy, like my weight and my mullet in the pandemic - where I get a little sentimental.
Friends, you regulars around the 5-at-10 parts are fantastic and I appreciate you giving me your most valuable asset - your time - more than you will ever know.
And while we're here, absolutely we're having a Masters contest next week. That's THE contest for this group, no?
OK, stay focused, it's getting late and the CoColas are flowing. (I wrote this Thursday night since we are headed south as you read this.)
For the last few months, I've been working on trying my own recipes.
I am working on my process for frying chicken, and it's getting pretty close to company worthy to be honest. And homemade mac and cheese.
I have developed a chicken piccata that is downright outstanding and a London broil that I'd serve to the Queen. Want the recipe?
From Wesley
JG:
The news media got duped by Voltswagen and now they're ticked.
Heck, we've been getting fake news from the media for years, but the tables are turned and suddenly the scribes (and Pharisees) don't like it very much.
C'mon lighten up, Francis. VW pulled one over on the media with its Voltswagen Press Release. Take your whuppin', laugh it off and go about your business.
Personally, I think it was an ingenious ploy. As a media-type yourself, what's your take?
Side note Sports Illustrated dedicated a cover and huge story to a hoax. April 1, 1985, the Curious Case of Sidd Finch and his 168 mph fastball. Classic story by George Plimpton. I think I still have my copy somewhere.
Wesley–
First and foremost, I fell for it too.
As a news hack, well, the perceptions of fake news and bias and all the rest make us a little more sensitive that we probably should be. So it goes.
I'm OK with a good April's Fools Day gag. In fact, considering that I was connected to one of the worst newspaper April's Fools Day jokes ever, this one is wicked benign.
I forget the year, by I was the sports editor of the Marietta Daily Journal and the Cherokee Tribune, two papers owned by the Brumbys north of the ATL.
The Cherokee Tribune did not publish on Monday or Tuesday, and this was long before every newspaper went to the online first. Heck, I tried to search for it, but can't even find reference to it, but I was there and know it happened.
It was either 2001 or 2002, and the editor of the Cherokee Tribune thought a 'fake' news story about Mad Cow disease would be a hit.
The only clue was the author's name, which was something cryptic like "By Jo King."
So the paper published a story in the Sunday paper about a case of Mad Cow being found near the regional airport in town, and before church was out, CNN was up from Peachtree Street looking for details.
It became national news and the Tribune was backpedaling like Deion Sanders.
Yes, the Sidd Finch story is legendary, but I'll stay away from those if it's all the same to you my man.
From Scott
Is there anything (ANYTHING) that could be given to you, promised to you, etc. in exchange for you "cutting off your thingy"? For me – no way.
Scott–
Nope.
Enjoy the weekend friends.
Jay Greeson