Let's handle our business.
First, let's follow the rules. Here's Paschall's prose on a UT newcomer making waves at spring practice.
As for the Rushmores:
Rushmore of TV teachers: Mr. Kotter, Coach Eric Taylor, Mrs. Krabappel and Walter White.
Rushmore of most arrogant fan bases: Yankees fans, Alabama fans, Boston fans in general, Cowboys fans, and yes, I'm pretty surprised that the hoops legions from UK and Duke missed the top four.
Rushmore of basketball movies: "Hoosiers," "Hoop Dreams," "Space Jam" (with MJ, not LeBron), and "White Men Can't Jump." (And while that Rushmore is pretty weak compared to the other genres of sports, the Rushmore of bad hoops movies - "Air Bud," "Juwana Mann," "Eddie" and the one with Kevin Bacon recruiting an African center - is down right horrid.)
Rushmore of Vince Vaughn vehicles: "Wedding Crashers," "Old School," "Dodgeball," and "Swingers," as Vader noted, is Vaughn's impenetrable top four. And a pretty dagnabbin' strong Rushmore to be honest.
And for those keeping up, here are the tie-breaker entries for the NCAA tournament contest around these parts: Chris B has 370, Doug D has 408 and Joey T took 415. Good luck guys.
To the 'bag.
From UTC Mocs
Question - a movie is being made about you.
1) Who would you want to play you?
2) Then being honest, who should play you to get the most accurate depiction?
UTC Mocs -
I am troubled by how much thought I put into this one, to be honest.
And yes, the immediate thought everyone had is that Brad Pitt should play me, but I'm sure his schedule is full.
Ed Helms, Vader's nomination, is a thought. Others noted the large melon required and the certain 'smart' aspects that would be needed.
To be honest, I thought about Philip Seymour Hoffman first - the Lester Bangs PSH from "Almost Famous" more than say, the Scottie from "Boogie Nights" PSH - but as good an actor as he was, he's dead, which certainly makes him unavailable.
And there is the physical casting that must be addressed, because at 6-foot-4-inch, 230(plus) pounds, neither Cruise nor Stallone nor the vast majority of the 5-foot-7-inch minions circling LaLa Land will cut it.
So my final couple of picks would be either Conan O'Brien (if he could put on a couple of hundred pounds) or maybe Daniel Stern.
Thoughts?
From DougDyer11
Question for you Jay – How do you think Hendon Hooker feels about U. of Tenn High School junior commit Niko - the $8 million dollar deal guy? Normal human reaction would be "what about me?" My guess is he probably is a little more than jealous, ticked-off, resentful. And this leads to a bigger question on the unintended consequences of the NIL. What if on the Heupel-Hype train, that all this enthusiasm is highly dependent on Hooker leading this team, that on say Aug. 31 Hooker just says "Hey, I would like $8 million. I know you have it. You just gave it to a guy who won't play a down for two years" and "If you don't, I'm going to hold out." It may not be Hooker specifically doing this but as a comedian once said "Somewhere, some guy." And in this scenario, Tenn would almost be forced to acquiesce and find the money, or else see the season implode. And some people will say, well if a college player "holds out" for money it would ruin his chances in the NFL, make him look like a prima donna, etc. However, we know that is SOP for NFL players. I really could see this type of situation playing out in Power 5 NIL world. I know Hooker is reportedly going to get around a $1 million NIL deal, but that aint $8 million.
DD -
Such a fantastic question and like so many of the aspects and avenues of the NIL quagmire, it has been left completely unaddressed by the NCAA.
That said, I am certain that the coaches within the programs have discussed this and addressed this multiple times.
Heck, it was one of the earliest concerns for the big-time bosses like Lord Saban and Kirby. The dissension that a money divide could create is massive.
As for holding out and affecting NFL views, didn't just a few years ago we all think players skipping bowl games to get ready for the draft would be viewed as "Me over Team" and hurt players in the eyes of the scouts? Now, that's standard operating procedure too.
Two of the most interesting parts of this story and the reports of the $8 million for the five-star kid - reportedly to be the UT kid who will forever be called Nico the way Tua is called Tua and Giannis is called Giannis - for me are the limitations in terms of transferring in this deal and the potential future funding this deal could provide.
If what The Athletic reported is true, whoever this five-star is gets cut off if a) he discusses the inner-workings of the deal which violates the confidentiality of the deal and b) if he enters the portal. That's heavy incentive to sign and to stay.
As for future funding, the deal from the story gives the five-star player the $8 million in increments over the first three-plus years of his college football career.
But if this five-star turns out to be Peyton Manning, how much could Peyton's reps and agents have made during his three years in Knoxville? Heck, he would have made probably $5 million in jersey sales alone.
So if this kid is Nico and the deal was done through the UT group that vowed to raise $25 million a year to help recruit star-studded talent to Knoxville, that money generated goes back into the coffers and the cycle would only grow.
The Hendon Hooker question is an interesting one and specific, and impossible to answer without his direct words.
It also is one of the reasons that teams are so happy to get those universal deals that pay every scholarship football player the same sum. And didn't a Georgia QB last year split his with his linemen and teammates? That's a savvy move too.
The hypothetical scenario that I'm waiting for - and maybe the NIL will delay this one for a while because the stars are now getting some coin - is what happens if the Duke or UNC roster decides not to take the floor during the Final Four because they want $200,000 apiece for the 20-plus million folks are turning in to watch Coach K's finale?
From Pat
Thoughts on Kaepernick as honorary captain for the Michigan spring game?
Pat -
To be honest, none until you asked me about it.
Whatever. And this has to be one of two things:
Either this is huge Nike deal - Michigan is one of the biggest Nike partners not named UNC or Oregon - and the university and Coach Khaki are happy to oblige.
Or one of the whitest coaches in the country - his nickname is Coach Khaki, people - is trying to improve his street cred on the recruiting trail.
Either way, "Orange whip, orange whip, three orange whips."
Simply put I don't quote "The Blues Brothers" enough, and I could see someone asking Jim Harbaugh what kind of music he likes and e says, "Both kinds - country and western."
From a few of you
Jay, please tell me you're going to have a Masters contest?
Gang -
Rest easy. Of course, we will have the "Masterfully Mastering the Masters, Masters degree not required" contest.
If memory serves it's the oldest of all our contests. Good times.
We'll start taking entries next week, but the rules are the same as always. Send me five golfers, top four count, and for the place each player finishes, you get that many points. Low score wins. A perfect entry would be 7 - the winner which would 1 point, and three players tying for second, which would be 2 each - and good luck with that.
As for my Tiger hopes, well, here's hoping he's on a mission from God.
Have a great weekend friends.
Jay Greeson