We are headed from our satellite office in Cape San Blas this to do a little fishing.
I love fishing these days. Even if I enjoy catching more.
Let's move quickly.
Braves beliefs
I wanted Brian Snitker to get tossed on that foul ball. I know it was not reviewable - more on that in a moment - but Snitker's lack of emotional investment at times irks me.
I want MLB to either figure out replay or ditch the whole kit and caboodle. Period. No in between, because what they have right now is worse than flawed. It's nonsensical. You can review a fly ball in the outfield but not the infield? Seriously.
I want to have stuff like Huascar Ynoa. I also want Huascar Ynoa to pitch like he has stuff like Huascar Ynoa.
I really want to see Ronald Acuña hitting first next year with Freeman-Albies-Riley-Duvall-Pederson-d'Arnaud-Swansby hitting after him. That's as good as anyone in either league could muster 1-thru-8.
I also really wanted the Braves to handle their business last night - they did 5-4 - because let's face it: Game 5 in Milwaukee against Corbin Burnes would have been as much fun as sitting through a root canal while getting an IRS audit.
Now it's World Series or bust for the Braves.
Good times indeed.
One more to Gru on
So the Jon Gruden storylines continued.
Starting early on with Keyshawn Johnson taking a victory lap of "I told you so" about Gruden.
Still that leaves a cloudy picture of the relationship between Johnson and Gruden, no matter how bad of a person we are learning that Gruden is. (And Johnson's record is far from spotless.)
In fact, here is an excerpt on what Hall of Famer Warren Sapp thought of the Keyshawn and Gruden flap during their time in Tampa Bay.
There also came the news that the Bucs bailed on Gruden being in their ring of fame or whatever they call it.
OK. And we all get it.
But back to the big picture conversation we had about drawing lines of acceptable behavior and unacceptable behavior in the NFL and how that prism seems cracked at its core, O.J. Simpson is still in Canton.
So Gruden is a real-life Archie Bunker who pulled the wool over all our eyes. So he's being scrubbed from every corner of the game.
And maybe it is the right thing to do. But it's also the easy thing to do by comparison.
And OJ killed his wife and did all the things OJ did, but his bust is in Canton.
Well alrighty then.
This is not defending Gruden. As Don said Tuesday, if anyone thinks this is a hatchet job against Coach Chucky, you have to remember first and foremost that Gruden sharpened and handed everyone said hatchet.
But if we're going to scrub the game of unsightly characters, well, then let's put on the rubber gloves and get to work.
Because as inappropriate and offensive as Gruden's emails and opinions are, does anyone think they are worse than the sexual harassers and women abusers (and worse) who are in the league (at all levels) or in even in Canton?
Interesting Gru-ling
Yeah, there's a lot to unpack in baseball. (Wowser - Freddie Freeman just left the building to give the Braves a 5-4 lead.)
But remember, I'm currently fishing and had to write this before going to bed last night.
The release of these Gruden emails is quite interesting to me too.
Are we talking about Freedom of Information work from someone? Are we looking at the NFL moving pieces and getting their target?
Could be either. Or both.
But now that the NFLPA is calling for all the emails to be released.
And the NFL is saying no.
The employees of the Washington Football Team - the folks who started this with a lawsuit and petitioned for more than 650,000 emails, among those were Gruden's hate-filled missives - are calling for release of those too.
Again, don't hold your breath. Which again makes you wonder if the NFL is looking to get better or just to boot Gruden.
Because this statement from the lawyers representing the Washington Football Team employees claiming of harassment and unfair work conditions screams volumes, at least to me:
"It is truly outrageous that after the NFL's 10-month investigation involving hundreds of witnesses and 650,000 documents related to the longtime culture of harassment and abuse at the Washington Football Team, the only person to be held accountable and lose their job is the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders," lawyers Lisa Banks and Debra Katz said in a statement. "If the NFL felt it appropriate to release these offensive emails from Jon Gruden, which it obtained during its investigation into the Washington Football Team, it must also release the findings related to the actual target of that investigation. Our clients and the public at large deserve transparency and accountability. If not, the NFL and [commissioner] Roger Goodell must explain why they appear intent on protecting the Washington Football Team and owner Dan Snyder at all costs."
Again no one should feel sorry for or feel obligated to defend Gruden. I know I am not.
But did the NFL offer him up as a sacrificial lamb because he called Roger Goodell some offensive names?
Are they trying to be better or just get to better PR times?
This and that
- Get in the 5-at-10 Bracket Challenge friends. Play along here.
- You know the rules. Here's Paschall on the growth of the UT wide receivers.
- If our primary answer to the recent spate of gang-related shootings downtown is tighter curfews then everyone on the Chattanooga City Council needs to be removed for cause. Uh, folks - the people who are willing to pull a gun and pull the trigger could not give two #$%^&%&s about curfew violations.
- How huge was Freddie Freeman's homer off Josh Hader, the Brewers left-handed closer? Well, this season, Hader had allowed 6 hits to the 50 left-handed hitters he had faced. He struck out 23 of those 50 and only one had an extra base hit (an Eric Hosmer double back in May). Until the Braves do the honorable thing, Freeman will now be known around these parts as Freddie KGB, a spin on the Rounders character who famously said, "Pay that man his money."
Today's question
Which way Wednesday starts this way:
Which Atlanta Braves hitter would you want at the plate with the game tied and the bases loaded, Chipper or Freddie?
Which NBA story is more tiring at this point, Ben Simmons or Kyrie Irving?Which coach would you want running your program, Heupel or KIffin?
Which word would you use to describe these Atlanta Braves, who were 52-55 on Aug. 1 and are heading to the NLCS (again)?
As for today, let's review.
Jerry Rice is 59 today.
Paul Simon is 80 today.
Borat is 50 today.
Bill Mazeroski's famous Series winning Game 7 homer to lift the Pirates over the Yankees in 1960 happened on this day.
In honor of Freddie Freeman, what's the Rushmore of home runs in Atlanta Braves history?