Let's handle our BID-ness.
Rushmore of Saturday morning cartoons: Saw a lot of suggestions that are going to be hard to keep off, but for those around my age, the list starts with Super Friends. Period.
Rushmore of actor/directors: With a visor tip to Shungate for giving us the drama/comedy opt-out (or cop out if you see it that way), Mel Brooks, Rob Reiner, Harold Ramos, Charlie Chaplin in comedy Clint, Tarantino, Opie and Redford.
Rushmore of famous people known for their hats: Another split category with real people like Honest Abe, Davy Crockett, Bear Bryant and Napoleon. And fictional people like Indiana Jones, Gilligan, Minnie Pearl and Sherlock Holmes, with apologies to Duvall's great Cavalry hat in Apocalypse Now, Jake and Elwood's lids and the most dangerous hat of all-time, Oddjob's bowler in Goldfinger.
Rushmore of MTV: Madonna has to be there because she does not become the one-name icon without it, because, simply put, her music is not that good. Vader had a great point about the boy bands and pop princesses too, and I don't want to get too 1980s, but it's hard not to have Michael Jackson there too. I would put Beavis and Butthead into one spot - and in some ways their popularity became the fatal flaw of MTV, as it tried more and more programming and got further and further away from the music - and the final one is Madonna 2.0, Britney Spears.
You know the rules. Here's Paschall on the UT secondary coach Willie Martinez, who may be the only person around who has been associated with as many SEC programs as Paschall.
And, gang, if you care about high school football, even a wee bit, you need to pick up a hard copy of today's TFP. Wow, high school football previews galore as the season starts up in earnest tonight.
To the bag.
From Big Ern (the Tuesday True or False champ)
Jay,
Karen and I have been UT fans since moving to Tennessee in 1986. Karen got a master's degree from UT, so we are true Vols, mine via marriage.
We became season ticket holders in 2005. We dropped our season tickets in 2020. Karen did so begrudgingly, I freely! So, we will be watching on the tube.
This year is intriguing for many reasons. Hope springs eternal and has since Fulmer was fired, but hope never showed up in results!
This year we are not ranked preseason, not even in also receiving votes. Rivals has our recruiting class rated 28, sandwiched between Cinn and NC, exciting! MU and SC are ranked higher. As is Fl at 25. Other zinger ratings are Auburn 52, Nebraska 62, Ol' Miss 57. How do those fans feel? Is Nebraska numb now? Auburn? I suppose it could be worse.
We should win Bowling Green, Tn Tech, and S Alabama. Should win, we have had a real knack for blowing shoulda coulda in the near past. We should lose Fl, Al & GA. We have not pulled off any surprises in these type games for awhile. We could lose Pitt, MU, SC, Miss, and KY. 3-8 is not out of reach!
Heupel could be the difference maker. He is a wild card and in poker wild card games the strongest players have the edge. So it is a free year for Heupel. What does he win?
Thanks - too late to do the Rushmore, but for me, Mighty Mouse, Popeye, The Roadrunner and Tom and Jerry. I know, pretty simple minded, but hey, that's me!
Big Ern -
You sir, are far from simple minded. And you assessment on UT has to be pretty much on par with almost all UT fans. (That said, while I believe Florida is better than UT, the Gators lost a ton of talent and face UT early. If there is one super shocker - in a good way - in Year 1 of Heupel, it would be the Gators in my mind.)
I included all of your question for a couple of reasons.
First, the recruiting rankings you mentioned are important. Yes the ratings from the online folks vary and are subjective, but in some ways those become self-fulfilling prophecies for recruits who want to play with other great recruits.
Also, this recruiting cycle - in year one of the NIL - will be the most interesting one in a long, Long, LONG time. Which schools are effectively using the allure of NIL deals - like JT Daniels and Bryce Young securing deals worth close to seven-figures at Georgia and Bama, respectively - and which ones are not.
(Side note: If you are Scott Frost at Nebraska, regardless of your alma mater connection, you simply can't be this bad AND be breaking rules. The worst affront to a proud fan base is to go 4-8 and be cheating while you are going 4-8.)
As for UT, if you can find the over/under on win totals at 5, I love the over. The three non-Pitt, non-conference games are gimmes. I think Vandy is too. The three big shots - UGA, Florida and Alabama - will all be two score (and more) favorites.
That leaves Pitt, Carolina, Missouri, UK and Ole Miss, going 2-3 against those five is extremely doable, especially if Joe Milton finds a groove in Heupel's fast-paced system.
I got UT at 6-6, and some folks being very tickled with that, especially if they can play two of the three powerhouses on their schedule close.
From Chas
Tre Donaldson, a four-star football and three-star basketball prospect, announced his commitment to Auburn today. Donaldson, from Tallahassee, chose the Tigers over Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Ole Miss. He wants to play both sports. The safety is the No. 267-ranked prospect in the Class of 2022 according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. As a point guard, he's the 133rd ranked roundball player.
For the bag: Will he play both sports? Does anybody do that any more?
Question for the bag: Do YOU "hate" The Donald?
Query #2: Do YOU hate POTUS46?
Question for the Friday bag: Which SEC QB will put up the biggest numbers?
Query #2: Who are the league's top five QB's?
Chas -
Yes, Chas got a few, but on a Friday mailbag filled with familiar names, it has been a while since he has participated.
We'll try to move quickly.
There are way more folks pulling the football/basketball double duty these days than the hoops/football, and I think that is because of the nature of the sport more than the requirements or demands of the college coaches.
Football is now a 10-month-a-year commitment with camps and recruiting and the what not for the big time players. And hoops? You could play in an AAU tournament almost every weekend if you wanted, regardless of season.
That said, while Charlie Ward and Ronald Curry were two of the most famous hoops/football double-duty guys in college - and Tony G at Cal I guess - the one I would have liked to see most was Allen Iverson, who was the USA Today national high school player of the year in both football and hoops.
I do not hate Donald. I hate the opportunity he wasted. I hate that he refused to have one person in his inner circle that had the "Shut up, you're wrong" hot button. I hate that he has embraced self, which has fostered division, over nation and duty. But I do not hate him, no. Now some of his brain-washed followers? Heck yeah. Not sure how you can be a 'Back the Blue' cop supporter and condone what happened Jan. 6, but that's me.
I certainly do not hate Joe Biden, who I believe to be a kind and overly decent man, especially compared to his colleagues. I hate some of his politics, and I certainly hate the way he's being strong-armed on a slew of issues. I hate almost everything he has said and done since we pulled out of Afghanistan - and his interview with George Stephanopoulos (Side question: Am I the only one that every time I hear George's last name I think of the Sesame Street character Snuffleupagus? Discuss.) was shameful. But no I don't hate the man.
In fact, our inability these days to separate person from politics - on both sides - makes it that much easier to hate, which makes it that much more easy to be divided.
As for SEC QBs, I think Matt Corral at Ole Miss is going to have a monster year. I think his rival - whomever it may be - will put up huge numbers because it's Mike Leach's system.
Which brings us to your UK dude, the Penn State transfer. Unless UK changes its M.O. of run-first and run-well - and with that O-Line why would they? - not sure how good his numbers will be.
Of course JT Daniels and Bryce Young will have chances to light it up with a slew of NFL dudes around them. But blowouts reduce QB stats and Bama and UGa are going to have a bunch of blowouts this year.
The wildcard? Emory Jones. If the light comes on, his talent in Dan Mullen's system will be special. But that's a big if that carries the weight of the SEC East on this Friday morning.
Top five QBs, as if we were going to put them in a hat and draft? Daniels is 1 for me. Young is 2. (Spencer Rattler is not in the SEC yet so there's that.) I thought Myles Brennan was going to have a monster year but he's hurt. I'd go Matt Corral 3, and after that, I think every other one has as many questions as answers.
From Fat Vader
Two weeks away from the Fab 5 picks! Can't wait.
Think you're gonna break 40% this season?
FV-
I know this was in jest - I hope - but it also was accurate.
Last year was bad. We finish a smidge above 45%, which means we lost money. More than a little.
It was the first year since we started this in 2010 that we finished under 50% and only the second in which we finished 55%.
So we're planning on a big bounce back. Like major bounce back.
And there may be some added gambling-associated fun on our horizon this year.
We'll see, but you're 100% right, the Fab 4 picks will be back very soon.
And to paraphrase Brian Fontana, here's hoping that this year, 60% of the time, they work every time.
Jay Greeson