5-at-10: Loaded Friday mailbag with some comments, a prayer, Yankees hatred and "Better Call Saul" talk

Greeson thumbnail for lead photo only
Greeson thumbnail for lead photo only

Let's handle our business

Rushmore of secretaries, errrrr, administrative assistants, on TV: Let's do guys and gals, shall we? I think we shall. Loni Anderson in WKRP, Pam in "The Office," Joan in "Mad Men" Marcia Wallace in "The Bob Newhart Show" and Lloyd from "Entourage," Radar O'Reilly from "M*A*S*H," Waylon Smithers from "The Simpsons," with David Spade as the last one. And this is with apologies to Ms. Hathaway from "Beverly Hillbillies."

Rushmore of best baseball movie managers: Morris Buttermaker, Pops from "The Natural," Lou Brown and Skip from "Bull Durham.' Lollygaggers.

Rushmore of mother-daughter acting tandems: Goldie and Kate, Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher and Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Rushmore of 'puzzles' - Crossword, Jigsaw, Sudoku, Rubik's Cube.

Today's A2 column from some round-faced fella.

To the 'bag, which is going to be a little different and more about you folks this week since we have been comment-less for a spell. So, you may see some familiar names, and there may be as many comments as questions this week because, as always, you guys and gals are the secret sauce in this formula.

From Jay

Jay, who would you rather have for the next decade, Trae Young or Ja Morant?

Jay -

Great name by the way, and I offered a similar question on Twitter last night. And before I answer, I am not convinced either is the Alpha dog on an NBA title team unless it's a really balanced team that finds the ultimate success through chemistry and depth. (And in the modern NBA that happens about once every 15 or so years.)

That said, I will take Ja because he's bigger and a much better defender. Yes, Young shoots better - by a lot - and is a gifted natural scorer.

But come playoff time, Young's size and defensive limitations become glaring.

So I'd go with Morant, but only slightly.

From JTC

Best of luck to Sean Newcomb. I think he needed a change of scenery.

JTC -

Yep. And he also needs a change-up. (See what I did there?)

Or really any off-speed pitch that is not bounced in front of the plate or 3 feet outside.

From Chas

For Friday's bag-In Ukraine, today's Good Friday and Sunday is Easter. Russia has rejected a call for an Easter truce, leading Volodymyr Zelenskyy to say, "This is a very clear indication of how the leaders of this state regard the Christian faith and one of the most joyful and important holidays."

"But we still have hope. Hope for peace, hope that life will conquer death."

Jay, you've already shared your Easter thoughts in the 5@10, but how about adding some good Ukrainian Easter wishes?

Chas -

Same wish for them that I have for all of us - peace.

And whether you meant to or not, the arcing point of convenient Christianity is a serious issue that has left far too many cultures morally bankrupt.

As for other Easter wishes, not sure where else to look.

Safety, certainly.

Strength of course.

Perseverance, which Zelenskyy appears to have by the truckload.

And ultimately, survival.



From Chas, part II

If you were flying on the same aeroplane with Mike Tyson, would you wear a mask? What kind?

Chas -

Because of the circumstances and our comment-less conundrum, I think we can all agree that Chas gets two entries. And, as he informed me in another email, he has been out of the country for a while so the comment situation had not caught his attention until late this week.

That said, like most normally thinking and life-valuing humans, I would naturally wear whatever mask Mr. Tyson asked me to wear.

And if Mr. Tyson wanted me to hold his mask in place, I'm sure I would consider that too.

From Spy

Need more reasons to hate the Yankees, besides the fact they think they know everything.

Oh, baseball? Those Yankees? Oh yeah, reason number 2,999.

Because that's the number of hits Miggy Cabrera had when he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning today with a runner on third and two outs. The Yankees intentionally walked. him.

Now, I intentionally walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded in Strat o Matic years before someone else did it in real life. But this?

That's crap. Plain and simple. Crap. Actually, it's much a stronger word but this is a company email and the company may decide to snoop on it at some point.

Spy -

As you may have surmised, Spy is a Red Sox fan. And it's not wrong.

And reason No. 3,000 will come next week when the Yankees Letter hits the news cycle and details how the Yankees were stealing signs too back in the day.

Oh, and even and all Strat o Matic references are good by me.


From Intern Scott

Man, what a great question about Top 5 coaches. If I'm hiring a guy to take me to the promised land in the next five years, here's who I would want, in order:

1. Tom Izzo
2. Bill Self
3. Mark Few
4. Tony Bennett
5. Chris Beard

If I'm, say, Northwestern or Vanderbilt, and I want to take a program back to prominence, here's my list:

1. Bruce Pearl
2. Beard
3. Eric Musselman
4. Rick Barnes
5. Pitino

Pitino is a creep, but he's wicked underrated.

Unrelated, Wimbledon's decision is the epitome of crap.

Here's a question – will UTC's/fire marshal's decision to close the upper bowl at McKenzie next year actually improve attendance, and make the environment more intimate? If so, why not screen off the top deck, and make that place seem really cozy and loud?

Scott -

I think there is a real chance to make the environment better as you referenced. It could feel like a bigger deal with the lower bowl jammed at 3,800.

Look at Auburn's tiny confines, and yeah, it helps that Pearl has put a quality product on the floor.

And something else that will help the new-look McKenzie is if they can find a way to get even 500 loud students under one of the baskets every game.The energy and enthusiasm from a good student section - even if small - is contagious and something that completely carries over.

From Triple H

Do you think Nacho gets got or somehow gets to ride off into the sunset?

Do you think Kim dies?

HHH -

He's talking about the two scene stealers in "Better Call Saul" of course, and here's the thing we have to remember.

This is prequel to "Breaking Bad" so those we saw in BB have to live.

And to my best recollection, I do not remember Kim or Nacho in Walter White's world.

So, yeah, I think they will get it before the end of the season.

But seriously, Vince Gilligan needs to spin off either Nacho or Lalo or the Cousins. Man, there's a lot of ground to be tilled in each of those characters.

Heck, the Cousins' boots could have their own season.

And to the commentary from you big-brained folks

From Tom P

I've missed being able to read and (occasionally) write a comment on the 5@10. Your mention today of the cleverness of cartoons back in the day reminded me of something I'd probably have found a way to mention in the comments, even though it's not sports related. I grew up watching school house rock in between episodes of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons. I still remember when we all had to recite the preamble to the constitution when I was in grade school that the only way I could do it was by singing the version I had heard on Saturday mornings. In fact so many of us started our turn by singing it that finally the teacher had to say - no more singing, you need to recite the preamble by speaking it. That for me simply meant - sing the line silently in my head first, and then say it.

Before I read today's column if you had asked me for a Kenny Rogers song then the Gambler would have been my first (and possibly only) answer that I could come up with quickly. After some thought I probably would have added Islands in the Stream. But after you mentioned Coward of the County I was shocked at how I could have forgotten that one. Once you jogged that old memory the whole song quickly came back to me along with many memories associated with both listening to that song, and singing it, when I was a kid. It was one of my, if not the, favorites of his as a child and I'm surprised I had forgotten it until today.



From Thomas P (yes a different Tom P, who knew)

Jay

A little harsh in your words directed toward the "self-indulgent" Coach K! I'm a UVA grad with absolutely no affection for Duke, but come on. Coach K started his career while I was a classmate with Ralph Sampson many moons ago. He lead a top tier team for decades without scandal. Jay Wright's announced retirement seems like a good way to go, but that shouldn't diminish the classy way Coach K went out - as a quality human being and one of the best coaches of all time.

Btw, if you are trying to find a replacement for Coach K, and since your search was for the best "basketball" coach, it seems somewhat close minded to leave off Geno A. and Dawn Staley off your short list.

Keep writing interesting stuff!

From TC

On Freddie: Yes, I would prefer to still see him in Braves uni, but as I have previously mentioned that as a kid, I followed the Brooklyn Dodgers when I was in grade school. Freddie is a class act regardless of what uniform he's wearing so I will still follow his career.

Garrigus and his upcoming "sandbox" adventure. Good luck with that. Is Kip Henley still caddying for him? Been a while since I've heard Kip on the golf segment of "Sport Talk" and I seem to recall that he caddied for Garrigus for a while. Apparently Garrigus a bit of a "moody" character?

I nearly went to work over there back in the 70's for HCA when they were providing management and professional services at the King Faisal Research Hospital , but then the Russians moved into Afghanistan. Speculation was at the time that they were making a move on the oil. So, I decided "No Thanks".

Had a couple of colleagues who did go over there for a couple years and overall had good experiences. Certainly were well rewarded for their time. This was when it was basically safe to be an American in that part of the world.



Gang -

Great stuff as usual.

Hopefully we'll be back rolling with the interaction sooner rather than later.

Have a great weekend.

photo Jay Greeson

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