5-at-10: True or false Tuesday with NFL draft storylines, all-time shooters and Acuna will be best Brave ever

Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) follows through on a two-run home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, April 9, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) follows through on a two-run home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Friday, April 9, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Draft time

Right when I was about to get the post-Masters blahs, I realized something.,

The NFL Draft is right around the corner.

I love the draft; you know this.

There is so much to love about this draft. So, so much.

So with that knowledge and our Tuesday pledge to continue our NFL rankings, it's a match made in mock Heavan. A virtual power poll-ooze if you will.

In fact, like Batman advised Robin, let's go easy on the pole today, and five specific things to love about this NFL draft.

> How will the Falcons mess this up? Fact: The Falcons bungled more drafts than a first-time bartender. Fact: The Falcons biggest need is pass rusher and pass rusher is arguably the thinnest position in this draft. Fact: The Falcons have a Hall of Fame QB who has multiple seasons left. As for opinion, Mel Kiper just dropped his 4.0 version of the mock draft. The first three picks off the board in Kiper's recent projections are QBs. Hence, the Falcons have the pick of the best at literally every other position. For what it's worth, Kiper's mock has the Falcons trading back to 6 with Miami and the Dolphins getting my favorite non-QB in this draft Kyle Pitts and the Falcons drafting Trey Lance at 6. Yep, that would be par for the Falcons dysfunction.

> Bill Belichick's Patriots facing, for the first time, the biggest question every other NFL team has wrestled with. The Pats need a QB. Kiper believes this is a QBrich draft and has five in the first 10 picks. He also sees the Pats trading up into the top 10 to get Justin Fields from THE Ohio State. Man, I'm high on Justin Fields. Spy, thoughts about Josh McDaniel pulling strings with Fields running the offense?

> Value of panic? That has to be the swing question about five QBs in the top 10, right? Because if Fields drops to 10, are you reaching because for the first time since Tom Brady took over for Drew Bledsoe, the Pats could be getting a dude who would have been the No. 1 overall pick next year or they could be getting a faster version of Dwayne Haskins. I believe in Fields, always have. I believed Kirby sticking with Jake Fromm cost the Bulldogs a national title. But that's me. And if you want to offer the Haskins comparison, I'll counter that after his 4.4 40 at his pro day, I think Justin Fields is a better throwing Lamar Jackson. So there's that.

> Which WR goes first? Depending on which day it may be and which of the star-studded SEC wide outs most recently worked out for scouts. The Alabama duo of Waddle and Smith or the uber-talented Ja'Marr Chase, who you got? (Side question: 'Waddle and Smith' sounds like the fellas who stand atop the 18-wheeler and give you a 1-800-number to call if you are in a wreck and want a settlement, no?) As for this question, while I love Waddle's return skills and Smith was amazing last year, despite opting out last year, Chase is the best college WR since Jones and AJ Green.

> Do not overthink this. Fit and five-star can happen and should not be questioned. Derrick Brown was the perfect fit for a Carolina team that was desperate for a D-Tackle last year and he was great. Same thought for Penei Sewell at 5 and Cincinnati, which must improve the offensive line or Joe Burrow will never play a full season.

Best ever

OK, the Braves have experienced a strange V diagram of franchise fortune during their time in the A-T-L.

For the first 25 years - 1966-to-91 - they were arguably the worst team in baseball year-in, year-out.

From 1991-to-now, they have been among the biggest winners.

They are flush with young talent and are a legit contender to get and even win the World Series, last night's bullpen debacle aside. (Side question: I got burned by an all-too-early wondering about Ronald Acuña's slow start before he got hotter than a $200 used Honda, but Freddie Freeman looks flummoxed right now. Thoughts?)

Anywell, the Braves have had an enviable runoff the last 30 or so years. Sure we would all like for them to have more than one title, especially with a decade of Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz.

And that three-decade run of excellence makes this statement feel like hyperbole, but I believe it.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is physically the best Atlanta Braves player to ever put on a glove.

Period. And if dude stays healthy we're talking Griffey with better average. Peak Canseco skills without the PEDs and an infinitely better glove.

His skill set is so far beyond the five tools it's hard to even describe. Consider this: As much fun as it is to watch him hit, my three favorite things to do in baseball right now are, in order:

> Watch Acuña hit;

> Complain about the decision to move the All-Star game;

> Watch Acuña run the bases.

Dude scored from third on a pop out to the second baseman friends.

I know Mike Trout is on an all-time trajectory, and I believe Ronald Acuña is the most talented baseball player on the planet.

Shooters gotta shoot

Tis true. Smoldering or frigid, the great shooters have be fed shots.

Like great comedians, painters or Hunger Games participants, the odds are ever in their favor.

We mention that this morning because of the exchange of two of the greatest shooters of my lifetime, and know this: - Greatness knows greatness.

Steph Curry became the Warriors all-time leading scorer last night and in the postgame Zoom, former Warriors star Chris Mullin gave him a heartfelt salute.

(Side note: When all my buddies were fawning Magic, Bird or and Dr. J before all switching to MJ growing up, Chris Mullin was right there with Chuck Barkley as my favorite NBA player. Loved him at St. John's - and hated Georgetown, so those Bi East Big Monday match-ups back then were must-see TV ("Send it in Jerome.") - and due could he slap shoot it.)

And speaking of shooting it, Curry passed Wilt to be the all-time Warriors scorer with a monster 14-of-24 shooting effort from the field - including 10 3s - and made 15 of his 16 free throws for a tidy 53 points.

He can slap shoot it too. In fact, it's the family BID-ness. Did you know that Steph Curry doesn't even lead his family in NBA 3-point %? That would be Seth Surry, who is 43.7% from deep to Stephen Curry's 43.3%. And if you're wondering daddy Dell Curry is in the top 40 in NBA history at 40.2% for his career.

Which, because we slide into tangents like this, best NBA shooters of my lifetime.

I think Steph is assuredly there. So is Larry. Guys like Reggie Miller and Ray Allen are in the conversation. Mullin was the best mid-range shooter I've ever watched.

This is not really considering the spot-up specialists mind you. Yes, Steve Kerr and JJ Reddick and Legler and BJ Armstrong were marksman, but they were waiting on the wings, feet set, for a dribble-and-kick open look.

These are the dudes with the ball in their hand with the game on the line who you have to guard 40 feet out.

All of those above guys are great and have some serious bona fides - especially some highlight reel crunch-time buckets - but for my money, a name a lot of folks won't recall because of his unfortunate and untimely death was as good as any of them.

Draen Petrovi was as good as anyone I've mentioned and before he was killed in a car accident in Germany at the age of 28, he went 45% from 3, 53% from 2 and 87% from the line while averaging 22.3 points.


This and that

- Here's today's A2 offering with a query about whether the SAG's released statement last week that said in part, "We oppose any effort to suppress the constitutional rights of Americans, including our members" applies to the second amendment too. And not to get too deep off the rails, I believe you can tweak both voting laws and gun ownership regulations for better policies for each.

- Julian Edelman retired Monday.

- Country road, take me home. And to the bank. West Virginia is offering $12,000 to folks to move there and work remotely from there. Hmmmmmm. Almost Heaven, indeed.

- All apologies to the Padres patrons out there. The Padres got their first no-hitter in franchise history over the weekend. That was worthy of a Monday mention. Alas, 5-at-10 failure is not uncommon. (Side note: Yeah, add that to the list Chas. 'Not uncommon' is pretentious and worse is wasteful. Goodness knows we are flush with wordiness, so being judicious with those syllables should be a goal not a coincidence.)

- Visor tip to the 10-and-under little Signal softball bunch who won the East Ridge tournament Monday night. The fiesta right-hander who got the W in a 2-1 title game fight was aces. But I may be a little biased. A smidge.

- You know the rules. When TFP sports editor and prep sports guru Stephen Hargis writes about high school sports, well, it's a must-read and a must link around these parts. Today is even moreso. Because as valid as his guru status is on area high school sports in general, Hargis' expertise on this subject matter is in the levels of unmatched. Like Paschall on SEC football, Weeds on UK hoops, Trump on narcissism, Spy on Georgia Southern football, Quake on UTC hoops, and Saban on talent, Hargis on SPitt-Marion County football is the Gospel friends. Here's his view on new SPitt coach Chris Jones ending the rivalry with the Warriors. Side note: We also missed noting the Pirates hiring an NFL assistant - seriously - to replace Vic Grider.

- Occasionally we get fans stories - the Braves backers being outraged and throwing stuff on the field after Sunday's replay fiasco - that make you shake your head. Then we get ones like this Jags fan who found Trevor Lawrence's wedding registry and bought the future Jags QB a wedding present. Cool.

Today's questions

It's Tuesday, true or false. Morning Ernie.

True or false, Julian Edelman will be a Hall of Famer.

True or false, during Saturday's Masters rain delay - as boring and forgettable as this Masters was by comparison - when they were showing Tiger's 2019 victory, when the weather cleared up, you wanted CBS to stay with Tiger's Sunday drive for five jackets.

True or false, the Jumanji remakes are better than the original Jumanji.

True or false, Ronald Acuña Jr. will be the best Atlanta Braves player ever.

You know the drill, answer some T or Fs, leave some T or Fs.

As for today, April 13, let's review.

Thomas Jefferson was born on this day in 1743. Hmmmm, can we think of a Rushmore for him? We'll get back to that.

On this day in 1860, the first Pony Express reached Sacramento.

Rushmore of Pony. Go.

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