Lots of political billboards in the news this week.

Here's your Friday mailbag before the weekend.

Sometimes, the best ideas are the most clear ideas. And the most obvious.

The Braves played. The Braves lost. It happens.

I watched every minute of a Monday night Ravens-Raiders game that went to overtime and way past my bedtime. I can't recall the last non-Super Bowl football game at any level I watched every minute of on TV.

A vulgar chant condemning President Joe Biden was trending on social media over the weekend, a chant that has reverberated in college football stadiums during the first two weekends of the season in Austin, Texas, in Auburn and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and in Knoxville, too.

Oregon. Now that was a nice win.

There are multiple job openings across our area right now.

Remembering really is the very least we can do. We should find ways to honor our great country.

The NFL season arrived Thursday night as the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers played America's team, the Dallas Cowboys.

In honor of one of the sneakiest best movies ever made — "Almost Famous" — let's kick off the NFL season with 10 storylines that are directly applicable to great movie quotes.

Look around and you can find a lot of betting options for the upcoming NFL season. Trust me on this.

The NFL season kind of sneaked up on us because, at least in part, we do not have a fantasy team this year. That prep work always made the run-up to the NFL kickoff feel more detailed.

Nominate now and come back next week to vote!

We normally cut this song and dance short on holidays and vacations and leave a mini-version. Hey, it's tradition. But not on Labor Day. Simply too much happening and, yes, this will be exceedingly college football heavy.

Well, everything has a price.

The Tennessee Vols opened the Josh Heupel era on Thursday night, and the Mocs opened their most promising season since the days of Chamberlain Field.

The Dodgers are the class of baseball. On this I believe we can agree.

Welcome to the "er" months. And not a moment too soon. With that, we will start our focus on baseball.

We are witnesses to history, friends.

Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau were involved in an epic playoff, and that seems like an afterthought.

Chattanooga City Council member Demetrus Coonrod this week threw out the idea that the city should study whether it should get back in the schools business.

It makes my head hurt that for all the technology we have watching, analyzing and dissecting the sport of football, we still have old, mostly white, dudes gauging the position of the ball being moved by freaks of nature with unreal size and speed.

Who knew 'stadium' was the latin word for super-spreader.

I think it's a good time for the Braves to take a couple of days.

So, who knew the name of our town's baseball team is also a caveat for investing with John Woods?

Two well-known leaders had strikingly similar approaches, and strikingly different results, about fighting COVID-19 over the weekend.

We have to start with the Braves, right? I mean, have to.

Let's talk a little politics, in practice as well as policy.

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.

OK, we're two weeks from the first Thursday night action of the college football season.

Good talk yesterday, friends. Sometimes we're overtly silly; sometimes we're overly serious. Felt like Tuesday was one of those days for the latter.

Maybe they knew that August was going to really stink, but your Atlanta Braves have saved their best for the dog days as we speed into the "er" months.

Dansby has been the best hitter in baseball in July — which is a good thing because he was one of the most disappointing hitters in the game from April to June.

My favorite athlete from the Olympics continues to inspire.

First, let's handle our BID-ness. But before that, in this time of stress, I feel the need to tell some funny stories. Well, at least they are funny to me.

If you try to please everyone, you will please no one.

The switch-hitting Braves lead-off hitter bailed out anything but Fresh Prince closer Will Smith.

Braves played. Braves won.

I believe in my soul that the producers of the HBO preseason camp docu-series "Hard Knocks" would take the Dallas Cowboys every season.

What will be your final memory of the just-completed Olympic Games?

NBC has to be hand-wringing about the numbers from these Games, which closed over the weekend.

Let's move quickly, we're running out of beach time.

The Braves made some moves, and they are not as good as they should be or as good as we thought they would be.

Meet Tamyra Mensah-Stock, who became only the second American female wrestler ever to take gold and the first Black female wrestler to do it.

Happy 44th birthday to Tom Brady, who may have the GOAT résumé across all of sports, friends. Think about that.

The Braves' 8-9 stretch without back-to-back wins or losses is the longest run of its kind in MLB history, at least that's what Dave O'Brien offered on Twitter after Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Brewers.

The Olympics normally do stir me — as a person and as a sports fan. THESE Olympics do not stir me.

Whether on a rodeo horse or a pommel horse, 21-year-old Brody Malone can make it look easy.

This is downright comical if it wasn't so downright scary.

I don't understand. Truly.

Despite a final Hail Mary, the Big 12 learned it's on the clock when Oklahoma and Texas announced they will not renew their grants of media rights when the deal is up in 2025.

Wow, with all of the glowing praise in local media last week about Bryan Johnson, it almost felt like we lost him.

The Big 12 realizes its football survival is attached to keeping Texas and Oklahoma. That's as clear as the physics degree on Spy's wall.

So the baseball team formerly known as the Cleveland Indians has changed its name.

The ratings for the Olympics were going to be a challenge anyway considering the time difference, but now? Dreadful.

Nick Saban needs to make $50 million a year. And he still may be underpaid, even at that price.

Milwaukee has been known for a few things through the years.

Peyton Manning rarely made a bad decision as a quarterback.

The strangest Olympics of the modern age has its opening ceremony on Friday.

Yes, I am biased — sue me — but the numbers from the All-Star weekend scream that Shohei is a superstar regardless of the language barrier.

I wish this was a fish story.

We have two weeks until the trading deadline, and while the Braves have underachieved mightily, there is a clear half-full/half-empty scenario with the defending NL East champs.

It was a mirage, after all.

Speaking of college football, this will create some ripples. And I fully expect some other programs to follow along.

To be honest, I watched more of the All-Star Game than I had planned.

So Stephen A. stepped in it Monday on "First Take."

Five years ago, Rhea County, Tennessee, resident Bill DeVault got a phone call from the U.S. Army looking for a DNA sample.

Who's the best, the GOAT (greatest of all time)?

If your last name was Avant-garde, you would be expected to have some cutting-edge skills.

A Friday mailbag for your weekend.

I was prepared to write about the way national media has become ever more distracted in the post-Trump political realm.

Wednesday's elongated day-game should have been the theme of this series with a downtrodden Pirates pack rather than the outlier. Whatever.

So now, after two straight losses to a Pirates team that was 23 games under .500 before the Braves came to town, the Braves are teetering.

Last night's embarrassingly flat 11-1 loss to a dreadful Pittsburgh team came 36 hours after a truly awesome win.

Will we remember this Hawks charge to the Eastern Conference Finals as the pinnacle or the process to a title taking shape?

A Friday mailbag for your holiday weekend.

Paul Barys, the 70-year-old, soon-to-be-former chief meteorologist at WRCB-TV Channel 3, has spent more than half his life telling area residents whether they need umbrellas, windbreakers or sunscreen.

So it starts today. Name, Image and Likeness is official.

For a lot of states, tomorrow is the day college sports changes.

Of course, there's more on the Gwen Berry story. The backlash.

Every year about this time, two things are guaranteed.

Harris English is eighth in the Ryder Cup points standings right now, and the top six automatically make the Ryder Cup team.

CeCe Telfer, who identifies as a woman and runs the 400-meter hurdles, was ruled out of Friday's U.S. Olympic trials because her testosterone levels were too high.

Wow, the feedback from Tuesday's column about singer-songwriter Macy Gray's assertion that America needs a new flag because our current one is racist was out of the ordinary.

The Hawks are making the most of a golden chance with a chemistry and confidence that is tangible.

It's never a bad time to discuss college football, right?

There was a lot of discussion after the Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA is a bunch of money-grubbing gasbags.

So Macy Gray is the latest celebrity to step into our national debate about race, race relations, equity, discrimination, inclusion (or exclusion) and social justice. And, of course, Gray has a lot to say about Black and white.

Rahm was a worthy champion on the final eight holes — including back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to post 6 under — but everyone else looked like weekend hackers at your Wednesday morning low-ball for most of Sunday.

If I asked if you remembered where you were 27 years ago Thursday, there's a chance you wouldn't. A lot of us have a hard time remembering 27 minutes ago.

A monster mailbag for your Friday and a look at my flowing mullet in all its glory.

So, arguably the two most improbable comebacks in professional sports history involve Atlanta teams.

So the whispers about pitchers doctoring the baseball became discussions. And those discussions became outrage.

I believe the NBA has a problem, and it has very little to do with its stances on the problems in our society.

For the last quarter century, Scott Wilson's summer vacation was long on the heat and short on the time off.

In K-town, the Vols dodged the drops and survived a critical Game 1 and dominated LSU in Game 2 to punch its ticket to the College World Series. This will be fun.

A quick mailbag for your busy Friday.

Apparently, we didn't know Bo. Any of us.

It has always been when and never if. That's the word that has always started the questions about expanding the college football playoff field from its current field of four teams.

Baseball has forever been a game for cheaters. Right or wrong, stealing signs, corking bats, PEDs, you name it, if baseball players can get away with skirting the rules, then bully for you.

David Roddy's accomplishments over a 26-year career in law enforcement don't need my praise. His achievements speak for themselves.

What a show the young Atlanta point guard put on in Philly on Sunday as the Hawks grabbed Game 1 and seized home-court advantage from the East's No.

I was digging on the radio Thursday morning and stopped on one of my local faves, 107.9FM New Country, and a familiar voice that recently has been anything-but-familiar rang out.

I did think there could be a viable spring football market, especially for the original XFL, which appeared well-heeled and well-organized. But they were not well-heeled enough and they went belly up.

Coach K was a lot of things, and a lot of people will debate the angles and interpretations of those things.

So, Kirby Smart is recruiting at such a level, he's adding five stars on June 1.

We had a revelation this morning. We can add to the list.

Because of the ultimate sacrifices of so many — and not just those who gave their lives, but those who were forced to go on when loved ones gave their lives — we get to live in the greatest country in the world.

Bad blood and rivalries are great. But cat fights and poor sportsmanship are not.

Among the many things that the pandemic took away was more than a year of sports enjoyment.

First, if this takes, Osaka just killed the postgame presser.

For most of us a little NBA goes a long way, right?

For the most part I've ignored the Aaron Rodger-Packers feud. It has been innuendo and feelings and very little tangible stuff. Until Monday, when Rodgers skipped a voluntary practice session with the team.

Lots of people are having lots of passionate debate about how this country discovers - as quickly and as safely as possible - what our "next normal" will look like.

Phil Mickelson, became the face of the sport (again) in a sporting moment that in a lot of ways became the image of our return to normalcy.

There will be dozens of weddings around the tri-state area on Saturday. It's a postcard-worthy day in May, after all.

Pull up a chair. Now, it may be semantics, but I've played Augusta National two times.

Saturday, more than 70 years after his death, Cpl. Henry Helms will be laid to rest.

Wednesday night, simply put, is why we watch.

So, it's May 19 and we have had five no-hitters in the big leagues this year after Spencer Turnbull's first no-no against the Mariners on Tuesday night.

For all of the talk about a split in the Republican Party, the math doesn't add up to anything other than Democratic control well into the future.

Simply put, it was the best sports moment since college football 2019 and may have been the most sports-related goose-bumps I've had since Tiger on Sunday in Augusta more than 25 months ago. Great times.

Friday was the three-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that paved the way for each state to decide whether to legalize sports betting.

I am not ready to write that these Braves are not good yet. Because they are.

So now the federal government is buying shots.

Hey, get your fill on that here. Go right ahead and break down which revenge game is best and how Tom Brady returning to Foxboro has you giddy.

I need some help here, because I pray the Braves are not going to waste the unlimited potential of the best young player this franchise has produced since some skinny kid with quick wrists named Henry was moved from second base to the outfield.

OK, among the oft-discussed matters around these parts, there are a few.

We are making great strides in re-establishing the normal rhythms of life: students returning to school, mask mandates expiring, vaccination efforts progressing. Families are planning vacations, and weddings are on the calendar.

After Keith Mitchell and Luke List entered Sunday's final round first and fourth and played in the final two groups, CBS's coverage was a three-hour-plus Baylor golf infomercial, and we need to see if Jim Nantz has a kid there the way he was fawning over the excellence of the Red Raiders.

It was a nearly perfect Armed Forces Day Parade through the streets of downtown Chattanooga on Friday.

OK, let's handle our BID-ness.

Looking around our cordial city, it's hard not to believe we're starting to step toward our next normal.

This Hawks team is the best the franchise has offered since the Budenholzer bunch won 60 a handful or so years ago. And more than that, they are fun to watch.

Ladies and gentleman, let's enjoy the early marvels of the exploits of Huascar Ynoa, who has stepped into the massive void atop the Atlanta rotation and is swatting big flies.

The Lookouts return to the field tonight and fans can return to the stands. (Tonight is sold out, although the weather is not looking promising. Figures.)

What lawmakers hope will be the final week of the Tennessee General Assembly will be a busy one.

Did you see that every SEC team had at least one player picked? The SEC had the most players drafted (65) for the 15th straight year.

Until they get an ace, the Braves can and likely will be good and potentially very good. But it's hard to see them ever being champs without one.

Unless you were going into surgery or cleaning someone's teeth on Thursday, you were not required to put on a mask in Hamilton County.

Got a prediction for the draft tonight?

Merry Draft eve everyone. What did your team put on its wish list?

For those of you who know your way around this neighborhood, my amazement at Shohei's plethora of skills is not new.

The revamped Padres rallied Sunday for an extra-inning win over the Dodgers in what has become baseball's most-entertaining rivalry.

Shocker, the Democrat-controlled House approved statehood for the District of Columbia.

I do not believe our biggest issue in terms of our nation's division is our inability to agree on things. We've always faced that.

As a social commentator, LeBron James is a helluva basketball player.

That was disappointing.

Apparently the PGA Tour is pooling together an appearance pool to help incentivize the game's biggest stars to appear at events.

It's only natural that this week's power poll ranges into our favorite offseason event of them all.

News last week of increased pressure from progressives on President Joe Biden to cancel student debt made me want to find the closest keg party.

Have we not been through enough? If Ronald Acuña's abdominal strain is serious, well, then that could well be my breaking point.

I wrote earlier this week about the misdirected angst over Georgia's new voting law. Some of you disagreed and said the aim was not election integrity but a political power grab.

I thought we'd be gobbling up sports on TV, especially after the way America watched Tiger King and the MJ doc.

Tim Kelly cruised to an easy win this week to become Chattanooga's 66th mayor.

In the current four-game slide that started with that ridiculous replay fiasco Sunday night, the Braves pitchers have allowed 32 runs. Yes, 32. If that's the best they got, they are going to need some more Acuñas ASAP.

First it was Deion Sanders taking the head coaching job at Jackson State in Mississippi. Now comes news that former Tennessee Titans star runner Eddie George is the next coach at Tennessee State.

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

The headlines have become commonplace.

I thought it was typical TV bluster, a hot-take on the hot topic over the weekend.

From the satellite studios of the Georgia coast, let's make the magic happen.

So, as to be expected there are a bunch of the record-setting 82 entries with DJ and Bryson on the list.

There's a real chance that for the first time since early 2020, this weekend — even with limited patrons on the grounds — this will feel like the most normal event of the past 13-plus months.

OK, first, it's time to change the "One Shining Moment" song at the end of the NCAA tournament, right?

So, the MLB is pulling the All-Star game from Georgia because of the recent voting laws. Wow.

This may be the part of the show — and yes, this mailbag has grown quite heavy, like my weight and my mullet in the pandemic — where I get a little sentimental.

Thursday was the strangest April's Fool Day ever.

This may be the most excited I have been for MLB to start in a long time. A long time.

We know the team is legit and the top four in the order are as good as any 1-thru-4 in the game.

How many Saban warriors will hear their names called? LSU had a record-tying 14 players drafted last year. Alabama could cruise by that for a couple of reasons.

If you are going to put your second-best product on the field, why are you charging first-rate ticket prices?

As you watch college basketball this weekend, here's example 12,054 of how cracked and crazy the NCAA as a whole is.

When my email gets roughly an even amount of blowback from opposite sides, well, that has to be a good thing, right?

Sunday will be the 700th episode of "The Simpsons."

How about these headlines that covered college sports Wednesday.

Did you see the White Mamba trending on Twitter Tuesday?

Speaking of the tournament, watching some of the action last night on CBS made me realize something. Is there anything in sports more overpriced than the play-by-play guy? Seriously.

We certainly could have offered the NCAA seeding folks as losing the weekend. The only sure-fire way to have this many upsets is to have the seeds be this poorly done.

OK, sometimes, the things that find their way into my inbox are too perfect for even me to mess up.

I too am giddy about the start of the season and plan on at least one — if not more — trip to Truist this summer.

Got a hunch which sporting event is the most bet on every year?

Wow, lots on the college basketball plate today.

So, Matt Ryan restructured his deal to help the severely cap-strapped Falcons with their cash situation.

And poof, just like that, the NFL is back, center stage and in the front of our focus. Did it ever leave?

March Madness is this week, and as any college basketball fan can tell you, watching the scoreboard can be a tricky business.

It's Monday, and we breakdown the winners and the losers, and there was so much going on this weekend we felt we had to have a college basketball and non-college basketball section. Right? Right.

In the world of politics and elections, have you noticed that voters are often forced to pick the best bad choice among candidates?

Among the best brothers ever in their respective sports, their dad was also a notable professional player. Coincidence? Not hardly.

It was a year ago Thursday that the sports world stopped.

Fried at last, Fried at last.

I am disappointed in LeBron. Terribly so, in fact.

The NFL's power is in its appeal. And that appeal manifests in a slew of directions, positively and negatively.

Wait, what? You are telling me the British monarchy is not a sweeping example of progressive inclusion?

Is this Mocs bunch as good as anyone putting pads on for real this spring?

Has anyone else noticed that when the conversation about cancel culture takes center stage and the cancelers are backed into a corner, the conversation changes?

OK, before we get to your questions and emails — sharing some of the feedback I get in a normal week, some with comments, some without, because you guys and gals are interesting folks — let's do our checklist.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott stepped on his tongue recently.

Texas is swinging open all its double doors a week from today.

Hey, on Tuesday, we're going to keep the conversation of the most popular league in the country.

Bias has always been a four-letter word, and it is viewed as one in most cases.

Big leaguers on the green grass in spring training makes almost everything right in the world.

So, Mr. Potato Head is exploring the options of dropping his courtesy title.

Few things surprise me. Very few in fact.

Early voting ended Thursday.

The conversation around these parts on Tiger Woods on Wednesday was insightful and thought-provoking. Nice job, gang.

No singular athlete in my lifetime was more game-changing and more 'must-see TV' at the heights of his powers than Tiger Woods.

The NFL is closing in on finalizing the 17-game schedule for 2021. Count me in.

Man, Kermit was right.

Novak Djokovic. Dude won the Aussie Open, which is still a major, at least in name, so he's now within two of the record 20 held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

You know that TV commercial that ends with Chattanooga mayoral candidate Tim Kelly filling a pothole?

I don't know what the right decision is on these things, but I do know you have to be amazingly careful what you say. It can cost you your job. Trust me on that one.

I love the efforts from the people in our town to lift the state football championship games from Cookeville, Tennessee.

I hope the Blue Cross Bowl comes to town. Whatever is lost in the central location in our elongated state would be made up with the grace and ambiance of our glorious town.

This coaching carousel — in a money-crunching time without a 2020 March Madness and limited football attendance — was much, Much, MUCH bigger than I ever expected.

In a sports culture that has never been more divisive, I offer that there is one uniform view that can bring us all together.

Super-speedway racing 101: Stay close until the end because anything can happen. Anything.

There's another wild sight to be seen in Chattanooga.

It feels really swell to have a discussion about the anthem and it not include protests, kneeling, stopping the tradition or forcing people to adhere to it, don't you think?

At least the Hamilton County Commission is now circulating its pay raise end-around proposal through an email from the county attorney rather than the petition "randomly" placed in their break room a few years ago.

So Mark Cuban's ant-anthem stance lasted one day in the light.

The NCAA lost $600 million by not having a 2020 men's basketball tournament. Another hit like that would kill various programs across the country, and not just small schools.

Before we get to the contest results, let's review some of the story lines of the last 36 hours after the big game, shall we? I think we shall.

Apparently Brady hates the sound of the 'GOAT' tag for some reason, but simply put, is there any other way to describe him at this point.

Whether you are a Dalton State student or the biggest star of the moment in country music, this really shouldn't be that hard.

I am riding with the Bucs primarily because that was my pick before the season. Why change now?

Sunday is a pinnacle event, the most-watched, most-discussed, most-wagered-on single game in American sports.

So signing day came and went. Here are the headlines: Alabama dominated.

The NCAA lost $600 million by not having a tournament last spring. Another empty March and there will be nuclear winter for who knows how many programs at dozens of universities across the country.

Matt Stafford. The former Detroit QB was dealt to the L.A. Rams, who instantly became a very trendy and likable bunch for 2021 considering the pieces.

So the fix is in at the Subway. Allegedly.

My Georgia-fan friend had a perfect one-word description on the (UT) hire: "Lazy."

A year ago Tuesday, Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others died in a helicopter accident. Yes, just a year, and that was just the first of many kicks we absorbed in 2020.

I've been doing this for far too long to overreact one way or another about Day 1 of a new coach.

A year ago today Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others died in a helicopter accident. Yes, just a year, and that was just the first of many kicks to the crotch from 2020.

Welp, Tom Brady is headed to the Super Bowl.In other news, cats hate dogs and vice versa. Yeah, and 18-wheelers in the left lane of the ridge cut stink.

Brady's status as GOAT is irrefutable at this point, and now the question becomes: Is Tom Brady the greatest team sport athlete of all time?

My biggest complaint about the Hamilton County Board of Education has for more than a minute now been the muddled application of what we all know as the organizational chart, which clearly shows who answers to whom.

It's time for the Friday mailbag.

Last Vol in the building turn the light out please.

The praise has been overflowing for the man with a throwing motion that looked akin to unfolding a rusty lawn chair that's missing a bolt or three.

Where do we begin after just another Monday in UT football?

Tom Brady's win Sunday got him a ticket to his 14th conference championship. (Yes really, it's 14.)

Many of you know that I went to Auburn. Hey, they threw a diploma in my window heading to Panama City, so I figured I'd stay awhile.

Let's handle our business first. Deal? Deal.

Jim Coppinger lowered his mask Wednesday during a news conference and announced the Hamilton County mask mandate will continue through March 31.

How about the trio of stars, scorers and fringe personalities the Brooklyn Nets have now assembled.

A record-low number of folks watched the Tide roll THE Buckeyes, as Monday's broadcast averaged 18.65 million viewers across the multitude of ESPN platforms on which it aired.

The scenes from D.C. last week were unimaginable until they were real.

His first Tour win since 2013 was also played in 81-degree weather on a course on the coast of Hawaii and came with a tidy check for $1.34 million. Yeah, that's a strong weekend.

A historic week — and not in a good way.

I love sports, my friend. Even when they don't love me back. (Which, as an Auburn fan, is a regular happening.)

So, anything happen Wednesday that caught your attention?

Amid the turmoil of election politics this week, I saw bona fide, Grade A hope in the pages of the TFP on Wednesday.

The Chargers got record-setting rookie QB Justin Herbert at 6 overall, and more noteworthy he was the third QB off the board.

Seriously. Here's hoping the teams and coaches and officials get vaccinated by then, but shots or not, there will be shots in Indy come March.

Things are already looking up in 2021.

OK, there's the big picture realization of the NFL's reach and power when it comes to TV popularity, which is the pipeline of cash in the modern realm of sports business.

The weekly mailbag.

In a year when all the breaks have felt like they have gone against us, well, the Fab 4 picks are limping into 2021 with two sprained ankles, a strained hammy, a sore calf and a hyperextended knee. No es bueno.

Florida coach Dan Mullen praised his quarterback Kyle Trask for his commitment and character because Trask has decided to play in tonight's bowl game.

OK, you die-hard Braves fans and those of us who spend our summers watching and wanting the best for Atlanta's MLB bunch have to be wondering, 'Huh, what just happened?'

Yes, we as fans form connections with players and programs, with famous faces and franchises. It's inevitable.

Merry Christmas gang.

Amid today's difficulties and divisions, the pandemic and the problems, we have never needed Christmas spirit more.

Barnes' bunch is beastly, and if they can find ways to avoid long offensive droughts, especially against zone defenses, they will be there to the very end.

OK, everyone knows I went to Auburn. Heck, they even threw a diploma through my car window after half a decade (and then some) as I was heading back to Georgia.

First, no matter the circumstances the COVID is a bad thing. Get well Jeremy Pruitt and the slew of UT players and staff who contracted this dreaded virus.

Tom Brady. OK, he's the GOAT — his combination of skill set and accomplishments are undeniable at this point — and Sunday was a large reminder of that.

While we are in the realm of surreal things of 2020, Colonel Sanders, sex symbol, has to be high on the list.

If I were to list my beliefs in order, I'd go my Lord, the unconditional love of my family, my country and the undeniable truth that Auburn is going to mess this coaching search up to high Hades.

News from the Hamilton County Commission meeting Wednesday offered the rarest of sights in 2020.

It was the only choice, but the NCAA has made a long and colorful history of making head-scratching decisions that should have been a no-brainer.

Alabama is 1, Notre Dame 2, Clemson 3 and THE Ohio State is 4. That's how the college football playoff committee viewed the top of the realm.

There is now a clear transfer of power in terms of assets when it comes to gauging and valuing the all-important species known as the NFL quarterback.

Did I think Malzahn was going to get another year? I did.

The NBA player rankings were intriguing to me, both in big-picture and in terms of direct rankings.

Cobb County, Georgia, in the Northwest edge of Atlanta, has a lot going on. It's home to the Big Chicken, Six Flags and the Braves' new ballpark.

Yes, Paschall's breaking news is arguably the best local sports headline since the pandemic, but the next question looms just as big. Let's just hope we can have crowds come next spring.

Before we rank the teams, and have to eat a little crow served with a side of feather, there is simply no debating the place the NFL holds in terms of league power across the sports spectrum.

Every once in awhile a Hollywood heavyweight gets it.

Pruitt gets double treatment on this losers and winners Monday because, in my eyes, there is simply no explanation for how the quarterback situation has been handled.

It's not easy being cheesy, and then there's this:

The 5-at-10 was part of the reason I believed I could do radio, and now the 5-at-10 proved to be what ended my time in radio.

There were several reminders that were clear and distinct from the Wednesday afternoon NFL scrimmage between Ravens and Steelers.

We are more than a month into the legalized betting world in Tennessee, and unless it happened and no one told me, our ethics are intact.

OK, tough week in Knoxville. Scratch that. Tough couple of months in Knoxville.

OK, for maybe the first time in history of the 30-minute college football playoff announcement show, tonight's version will not be 26 minutes too long.

Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and were well fed and safe, however you chose to spend it.

Sure, we all wanted her to get a chance to kick a PAT or attempt a field goal, but the directional kickoff to start the second half was ground-breaking nonetheless.

No Matt Ryan hatred. Heck, he's on my fantasy team, and while I do not think he's a first-ballot guy, I do believe he's on a Hall of Fame career curve.

It's more difficult to be thankful this year. We're isolated more than ever, not just on this holiday, but in terms of our daily lives and normal activities.

We have opened this conversation to readers each of the last several Thanksgivings to share what you are grateful for. We did it again, and again you did not disappoint.

If BYU was playing this week, they would be among the picks. Alas, the unbeaten and severely disrespected Cougars do not suit up again until Dec. 12.

So, you can't win without a quarterback, or can you?

Eight months of unknown, eight months of fighting mental and physical fatigue.

As every other college football power finds ways to play competitive games, the Tide simply dominates.

I am now convinced that we need to review every ballot and recheck every vote.

I think UT will beat Auburn, but this is not as much a pick for the Vols as it is against an Auburn team that has gone totally erratic.

I would not have a problem advising any of my buddies who call for picks and tips to look at the dudes atop the Heisman odds and expect huge numbers.

In a year when we need grace and gratitude more than ever, 2020 is reminding us that nothing is safe.

So the draft takes a huge hit in familiarity and fashionability in my opinion.

News of the NCAA looking at bubbling up in Indianapolis for March Madness had a strange feel Monday afternoon.

I am sure we can all agree on two things: 1) The school system and superintendent Bryan Johnson are weighing all of their options, and 2) there are no easy answers.

This Masters — and DJ's first green jacket — was the closest thing to normal as a sports fan as I can remember in 2020.

As the coronavirus numbers continue to climb, maybe the only good COVID news this week was the talk of progress on vaccines.

Long story short, I love the Masters more than any other sporting event for a single word. Respect.

It's a pick 'em game, so take a side, grab your popcorn and let's go.

For those of you who would love to see me head back to sports, well, sorry. No such luck.

I wrote some yesterday about how the Masters spans the time and the generations. Maybe only Churchill Downs equals the universal backdrop where all the greats competed through the years.

We'll start with the big picture — think of everything that has happened since the last time we gathered at this venue? Dang.

Without Trump, what in the world are we going to kick around during the family Thanksgiving gathering?

Unforgivable for a head coach to put his team in a position to lose like that. Borderline fireable for cause if you ask me. Seriously.

Several things happened on election night Tuesday. Heck, some of them even made the papers and some of the TV broadcasts.

There are a lot of things that I still love about sports, but they are more singular and specific rather than rooting interests and personal favorites.

OK, by most reports, the NBA players and owners have come to terms to start the season in the days before Christmas.

Naturally we do not have a declaration yet as to who will be our next president, as ballots in battleground states across the Rust Belt are still being counted.

My personal thought, though, is the lack of fans hurts college football more than every other sport. The environment. The pressure. The magnitude and the meaning.

So on this true or false Tuesday, true or false, Saturday is a must-win for the psyche of the UT fanbase and its long-term belief in Pruitt.

I'm sure you're with me, but I am so ready for today to be done.

You have to be careful kicking dirt on the all-timers.

Normally I am right there in the middle of the group of folks bemoaning the all-too-soon arrival of Christmas music and decorations.

You guys and gals are what makes this place fun, because we all enjoy conversations more than lectures or sermons.

Wow, 10 years. A decade. Today, well kinda.

Early voting in Tennessee ends Thursday.

It has to be the perfectly imperfect conclusion to the strangest baseball season anyone this side of Stephen King could have envisioned.

Are teams truly powerful if they are too quarterback dependent?

Baseball is far from dead. But it's hurting.

OK, in a political season unlike any other, with the possible exception of the every-four-year-refrain that this is the "most important election" of your lifetime, maybe the clear winner was the process Thursday night.

All hail the 2-minute code of silence and the mic shut-off. Repeat: All hail.

Georgia is off, and that means we are all over the Bulldogs in 10 days. Good teams that have to stew over a bad loss for an extended period normally come out salty. SAUL-TEE.

So the Big Ten is back. Yeah, so what do we think?

OK, the NFL is a collection of riddles, wrapped in fortune cookies, enveloped in enigmas, surrounded by shrouds of secrecy.

Howdy friends, how was your fall break?

Braves fans. I know a lot of them. A lot of you guys are among them. And there are few things that reach the gut-punch level of professional sports than losing a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven.

I embrace the enthusiasm and energy these Braves bring, and in a lot of ways I believe it has served them as much as their stellar bullpen and surprisingly great starts from their ever-young rotation.

Sure, I might not bet on Alabama every week, but it feels like a 10-day old tomato to do otherwise.

But forget what the talking heads at the Fox studios were blabbing — the Braves have every bit of momentum, should feel overwhelmingly confident, and enjoy the relaxed swagger of playing with a supreme cushion.

Anyone else have any questions about whether Max Fried fits the bill as an ace?

King James' résumé does not have to apologize to anyone for being in the GOAT discussion.

Game 5 of the NBA playoffs was Friday night.

If they can't reschedule it, then the Titans should forfeit.

I can't help but wonder how much the state of Tennessee would be raking in right now with legalized online gambling.

So in this cursed year that is 2020, we have a definitive answer on the source of all our problems and all of our shortcomings.

If Acuña stays healthy, he's a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and there are not a lot of dudes you can say that about 300 games into their careers. But this one is clear.

Maybe, in this craziest of crazy years of all of our lifetimes, the Braves-Marlins is the perfect microcosm.

Dan Rather is among the most famous news professionals of this lifetime. Maybe ever.

Couple of staples in and around our Weekend winners and losers by now.

OK, Tuesday's presidential "debate" generated plenty of heat and hatred from almost everyone who voiced an opinon on that televised debacle.

Did you know that later this month, the 5-at-10 will have been a fixture on weekdays — every single weekday, regardless of holidays, illness or vacation — for a decade?

Whew. Who else was living and dying on almost every pitch in the Braves' marathon Game 1 win over the Reds?

Wow, the takeaways from last night's presidential debate are plentiful.

Above all the things that have become our new daily expectation in 2020, there is one old normal that simply remains unchanged. LeBron James is in the Finals.

What's Patrick Mahomes' ceiling, because his skill set is Rodgers-esque and his surrounding cast from coaches to crews could be Patriots-like?

Monday night, Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore's Lamar Jackson, two of the best young quarterbacks since Peyton Manning was young and still a quarterback, duked it out in front of millions of viewers for, among other things, who is in line to be the face of the NFL.

Whomever you think is the GOAT, LeBron continues to craft a résumé forged with line items that are impossible to deny.

And the fourth betting operation poised to get the go-ahead in Tennessee is ... drum roll ... Action247.com, a company based in Nashville, waiting for the final official OK from state lottery folks.

They are not admitting the undeniable truth that a football season with a college football champion happening without the Big Ten or the Pac 12 would be devastating for the Big Ten and the Pac 12. Financially. In interest. In perception. And in appearance.

The Miami Heat win over Boston last night was fun. Well, not for Spy, but for just hoop watching it was a treat.

Rachel Nichols has become the female face of pregame and postgame NBA coverage on ESPN. She's good at her job, and one of the reasons is she asks tough questions.

The Braves have 20 division titles, the most in baseball since divisions were crafted in 1969.

Will MJ give NASCAR the buzz he brings everywhere and the buzz the sport is starving for?

Two pioneering TV personalities. Two funny women. Two scandals and two different outcomes.

Another Sunday, another wasted effort from a high-profile offense by a staff that apparently was absent the day they taught detail at coaching school.

Well, the coronavirus and the demand for business owners to find ways to make up lost revenue have hit us in ways that maybe we could have expected and in ways that no one could have expected.

Here is a monster mailbag for your Friday.

This weekend will be about survival. Of course, I would love for Phil Mickelson and/or Tiger to be in the mix, but hard to see it happening.

The Big Ten called an audible this week, reversing field and announcing football will be played starting the weekend of Oct. 24.

So, in preparation of a must-have postseason, Major League Baseball and the players association have agreed to bubble-up.

Man, gotta tell you guys, getting into the fall routine feels great.

I'm not sure anything in our country can shock me anymore, and that's saying something.

Will the Big Ten play this fall? Sure sounds like it according to Day.

I said a silent prayer Friday for those lost and their loved ones affected by 9/11. It was the 19th anniversary of that tragedy.

Before we get to the mailbag and try to have some fun, let's say a silent prayer for the memories and those lost and affected by 9/11 on this day 19 years ago.

True or false, you would take Patrick Mahomes over the field for MVP.

The NFL starts Thursday night. It will kick off its 101st season.

I'll offer that the NFL has been the one organization across all sports — and all of society really — that has been as deliberate and determined to plow through the pandemic.

Hey, I hope you had a great Labor Day. But it's hard to fathom you had a better Labor Day than Dustin Jonson.

Sports. Wow, what a weekend for sports fans, right? Something everywhere, even with the NFL intrigue of cut day.

There will be a river of ink spilled and a million blisters hatched from the hand-wringing over what surely is our next COVID-19 controversy.

Here's your Friday mailbag for the long weekend ahead.

We have covered the fallacy of politicians' "stick to sports" mantra many times over the last few years.

With all apologies to Tom Brady, there is only one Tom Terrific and it was George Thomas Seaver.

College football has started and will continue tomorrow night with more games. And the conversation and anticipation will only grow.

So, the Braves stood pat and watched as the Padres got better, the Reds got better and, heck, the Phillies got better with deals at the deadline.

When demands for civil treatment by all police officers become deaths of police officers, we're through the looking glass.

And while we're here, the Dodgers set a National League record for the most homers in a month with on more day to go in August.

I think a big part of the problems of division in our country today are because far too many are set so firmly in one opinion that everything else must be gleaned or bent to support that overriding opinion.

Not sure I'm surprised by this — we talked some about the conversations of boycotts Wednesday morning in this space — but it's certainly surreal.

The pandemic has been unpredictably predictable — the only certainty is that every aspect of our lives has been affected.

"This is really about providing that opportunity for the players," Saban said about the questions about the motivation of trying to play a college season amid the pandemic.

I do believe that as a player LeBron's the best I've ever seen. Yes, a better player than Jordan, but not a better winner or the competition that MJ was.

Last week the Democrats got together, patted each other on their backs and took turns telling us how bad Donald Trump is.

This one is clear High School Football won the weekend friends.

OK, if you missed the Democratic National Convention, well, no one is going to fault you for that. But if you're looking to get caught up, here's the CliffsNotes:

Wow. Talking SEC picks feels good, friends.

Paul Pierce said that if the Lakers lose to the Blazers (Game 2 is tonight; Blazers lead 1-0), then LeBron is washed and he has no business in the GOAT conversation. Yawn.

In a sea of negativity, count me among those trying to see the positives in our coronavirus fight.

We're talking nationally about baseball, and it's not about the Reds or the Marlins going into quarantine or some Indians bullpen pitcher breaking Corona protocol.

Are those shots being fired at Kirby for possibly not releasing Mays?

Admit it, the headline made you chuckle.

The Yankees. Wow, they've won nine straight against arch-rival Boston, which is scuffling like we have not seen since pre-Pedro days.

This week's mailbag.

OK, for some of us who grew up loving baseball — loving it friends — a big part of the attractions was always numbers.

Not sure many of us are surprised, but the Big Ten and the Pac-12 made Tuesday the worst day in college football history – and potentially the last day of college football as we knew it.

The Big Ten and the Pac-12 announced that they are shooting for a spring season, which is junk and hard to envision in almost any circumstance.

If there were any lingering doubts about the Braves' focus on the here and now and winning, well, they dropped another clear exclamation point on their intentions.

My hair is uncharacteristically long these days.

With all the worries and concerns of the pro-Alabama 'conspiracy' theories, the SEC was OK with the bombastic schedule released last week? Really?

Well, beach blanket ballgames are in the books. Headed back to the 423 and be back in the saddle proper-like next week.

If you are looking for the public trends, well, you guys love some Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm.

So players on the WNBA Atlanta Dream — a team that has among its owners Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler — has decided to change course and change its message on protest T-shirts.

We got a golf major this weekend friends. Repeat. A. Golf. Major.

The Yankees are 7-1 after rolling Boston and Judge is on pace for a historic roll through the shortened season.

Maybe this coin shortage thing should tell us something.

I know they are going to try everything possible, and while football is football and it's impossible to socially distance and block and tackle, I 100 percent believe that the NFL will do anything to make a season happen.

Here's an idea pitchers? Don't want hitters celebrating or slow-walking a home run trot, keep the dang ball in the ballpark.

What did you expect? Seriously, we'll ask again: What did you expect?

Baseball is spinning, like a tight Steve Carlton slider, and the future is going to be as difficult to grab as a Niekro knuckle.

Colin Kaepernick will forever be known more for what he did on a football field during the national anthem than what he did on the field after the anthem played.

Fans or no fans. Cutouts or empty seats. Meaningful baseball with the names and logos that we all know and love was such a joy.

There was something downright peaceful and completely pre-2020 to be sitting with the family, eating a hot dog (seriously, we had hot dogs for supper) and drinking a CoCola watching a real MLB game last night.

Baseball is back. Allegedly. Reportedly. Hopefully.

We may be staring at the most critical 10 days in the history of college sports. So let that sink in.

Uh, gang, Kirk Ferentz is not out of the woods yet at Iowa.

Over the weekend, Fox News' Chris Wallace stepped into the circle and, wait for it, practiced journalism.

MLB baseball on my TV. Sweet buckets in a time of craziness, the smallest connection to something that feels like regular summertime activities is most appreciated.

Amid all the corona controversy, here's one thing we should universally recognize: If the Chick-Fil-A logistics team ran the testing centers, the entire Chattanooga area could be tested by lunch Monday.

And I know this, be it MLB playing 60 games or if the SEC (fingers crossed, fingers crossed) only plays eight games, if the Dodgers or the Auburn Tigers win it all, I will not give two bleeps what anyone else has to say about the scenarios.I will celebrate titles.

Lots of big money was tossed around the NFL on Wednesday as teams had to either extend star players on franchise tags by 4 p.m.

The build-up was blustery.

Tiger is back. That's always a good thing, friends.

Man, there are a few athletes that are truly leading by example in these confusing and troubling times.

I asked, and you folks responded. Big time. And you responded with a degree of uniformity seldom seen in these divided times.

So what's next? I'm with a few of you in support of RedTails — the self-given nickname the Tuskegee airmen gave each other — and think the transition would be pretty seamless, all things considered.

And just like that — like a moth unable to avoid the flame — some Hamilton County commissioners want to reopen the slush-fund, vote-buying scam known as discretionary spending accounts.

The Big Ten announcement was striking and the more I think about it, the decision must be viewed through a multiple array of prisms that offer varying perspectives.

But you have to think that as the clock continues to tick, by this time next week, you have to believe that a plan needs to be in place, right?

There was a report over the weekend that the NFL is adding to pregame playlists for the first week of the upcoming season, provided there is a season, of course.

The "Yeah, what about" defense of shortcomings big or small can be a scary carousel.

It's an amazing scenario when pledging to give an athlete $500 million is every bit as good a deal for the team as it is for the player.

Are the Washington Whomevers winners or losers of the weekend?

First, I realize this is a statement and not a question. I also reluctantly shared it because it's somewhat self-promoting.

OK, huddle up.

We're way behind, but great comebacks are borne in moments surrounded by great obstacles.

Yes, it's July 1, which means it's Bobby Bonilla Day.

There are a lot of heavy issues around us, even in sports conversations.

The heated debates around barbecue should be about Carolina or Memphis, maybe even vinegar- or mustard-based.

Is there a better place for a 31-year-old former MVP to springboard toward a Ryan Tannehill-like career rebound than New England? I don't think so.

There has been little that surprises any more in 2020.

Here are some thoughts on the baseball world and today's changing culture for your weekend.

Baseball is back. Now what?

In this convergence of medical, social, financial and emotional controversies, we have directly and indirectly felt the unprecedented absence of team sports.

I wrote about the strides NASCAR has taken — strides that are proper and more brave in terms of any league's fan backlash than any other — for A2 today.

Sports have been at the crux of social unrest and uncomfortable conversations about race long before we knew George Floyd's name.

MLB owners have voted to implement a 60-game season.

Sunday's NASCAR race was postponed by weather. But the breaking news Sunday night had nothing to do with rain or rescheduled details.

There's a good chance that a corporate statement starting with the words "not wanting to be in the political discourse" or something like that is becoming the modern version of "with all due respect" when the next part has very little respect offered.

Here is your weekend mailbag.

The NFL turned its back on him because of business decisions. Now the NFL is welcoming him back as a business decision. So there's that.

Tuesday was a big day for a couple of notable Hall of Fames around the sports world.

Baseball is going to completely botch this, aren't they?

There's a shortage of some qualities in our national character.

Welcome back sports. Tournament was entertaining — yes, we all would have liked Rory, and say, Jordan in the playoff rather than Berger and Morikawa — and finished in a playoff.

Well, the cancel circle has expanded.

Here are a few takes on pop culture and the sports world for your weekend.

And, like that, sports are back.

You're aware of the cancel culture, right?

OK, the draft is about to happen. Some teams will take some future stars. Some teams will take some future insurance agents. That's how the baseball draft — the most unpredictable draft anywhere — works.

The first time I met Lumber Morrison was on the golf course.

The MLB draft is today. I love the draft you know this.

While the NFL is in the crosshairs — and considering its recent history with Colin Kaepernick and the dominoes of that — the NBA should be facing some very pointed questions right now too.

If baseball can't get out of its own way and lets money keep it from playing this year — and makes fans turn to the NBA, the NHL and of course football when the time comes — it will be a generational mistake that will cost the game countless fans and likely billions of dollars.

How crazy has the last 24 hours been for Drew Brees?

The weight of the newscycle in our country right now is almost unbearable.

At some point Kaepernick likely will speak. There are too many folks looking for a comment from him to be honest. Will we listen then? We'll see.

The MLB owners have taken a step backward and returned to the March agreement with its players for prorated salaries.

I'm afraid to wonder what June of the disastrous, terrible, rotten, up-to-no-good, really bad 2020 has in store for us.

While baseball is bickering, basketball looks to be skating smoothly toward a return as Adam Silver and players union leader Chris Paul have worked out a deal that reportedly will be approved later this week.

Have a good weekend friends. Here's your Friday mailbag.

For the most part, Donald Trump can do nothing right in the eyes of his haters and next to nothing wrong in the eyes of his followers.

The Corona has changed our fandom, maybe even in ways we won't even realize until the games actually return.

For the leadership groups of the major sports leagues in our country to be this tone deaf is staggering.

Maybe it was the lower expectations for Lance than I had for The Last Dance, but I thought Sunday's first of two parts on the 30-for-30 on the greatest American cyclist of all time was well done.

This side of the Masters and that early-morning British Open dual between Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson a few years ago, I watched more of The Match on Sunday than any other single-golf telecast in my life.

Thoughts on the sports world for your Memorial Day Weekend...

NASCAR clearly made a business play by, pardon the pun, racing back into action.

Forty years ago today, "The Empire Strikes Back" was released, which makes me smile.

The NCAA will vote later today on whether or not to extend the moratorium on college sports activities beyond May 31. There's a lot of scariness in that sentence, right?

There are a slew of changes to the Rooney Rule being pitched this week by the NFL owners.

Last weekend was supposed to be graduation weekend for so many college and high school seniors across the country.

NASCAR. Huge winner, and I watched way more of the NASCAR than I planned and would have watched more if not for being at the lake and spending most of the afternoon either in the water or with a hook in the water.

At times, 2020 feels a little like a chapter from Revelations, the last book of the New Testament that predicts the end of days.

I trust my crystal ball and use it frequently, but the future images of what sports will look like are as nebulous as clouds and the perspective of those trying to shape those guesses seem as uncertain as those folks who think they have a potato that looks like Richard Nixon.

Whether it's Blake Snell or Trevor Bauer or even Adam Jones, who is now playing in Japan, the feedback from MLB players after details of the MLB owners' proposal are leaking out in terms of the financial terms.

I don't know.

Today, it truly feels like the sports world has edged to the brink of the stark reality that 2020 may be a wash for way more sports teams — and leagues — than we ever imagined.

As is the case in almost every negotiation of this size, it's of the utmost importance to remind everyone that this is proposal No. 1. There likely will be several, and several counter-proposals to match.

If we know anything about anything it's "If you get a guy that Nick Saban truly wants, well, you got a guy worth getting."

Billionaire Elon Musk is a lot of things.

What do I miss about sports in general? To begin with, everything.

It's no secret that a lot of the regulars around these parts are most concerned about what will happen come September.

Not sure if it was curiosity. Maybe it was desperation.

I'll admit it — I watched a good chunk of the KBO.

Trevor Lawrence is no-doubt No. 1 overall prospect. What does that mean if Miami or Coincy gets No. 1? Who knows since they just spent top-rive picks on a QB. But it's interesting for sure.

So, how's your life in a pandemic going?

OK, where do we begin with chapters 5 and 6 of "The Last Dance" this morning?

The Chattanooga Area Prayer Breakfast was scheduled for next Tuesday, and with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee booked, the breakfast had set a record for tickets sold.

Did you see the ESPN story about college football in 2020? Super long read but I would be curious on your thoughts.

Our NFL draft review comes complete today with another top-five list.

Like most of us, Dr. Allen Coffman is sickened by the politicization of the coronavirus.

So today, let's look at the five worst drafts. Deal? Deal.

Over the next three days, we're going to peel apart a list of five from the draft.

The headlines are dominated by everything COVID-19-related.

Jake Fromm. Wow, that had to be a painful way to spend a weekend with your name atop the "Best available" list for what felt like a week.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is offering the most aggressive re-opening plan in the country.

You like the draft, as we know. What I don't understand is this: Why? What does the draft prove? I think of Manziel, for example.

OK, for those new to these parts, well, I love the draft. The regulars know this.

So Andy Berke became CNN's Southern Democrat go-to last night.

Have the Chattanooga Lookouts played their last game?

This will easily be the most-watched draft in NFL history. It will not be close.

Tennessee legalized sports betting a year ago. Apparently, more than 12 months later, the details remain devilish.

There simply is too much from the one sports event that has felt like an actual sports event in a month.

OK, we're officially at the place where every name that starts trending on Twitter elicits the same response: "Do they have the Corona?"

Friday mailbag and more.

And like that, poof, it's gone, like Keyser Söze. Damn you, The Corona. Damn you.

The questions about the coronavirus have been constant; lots of those questions are unanswerable.

Considering the gaping void in the sports world right now, shouldn't we expand the draft contest beyond round 1?

There's actually something in the sports world that I will give some TV attention to tonight.

Hey, 2020, kick rocks. Pound sand. Long walk, short pier.

Jesus. The Son of God celebrated his anniversary of rising from the dead over the weekend. Thank you Jesus.

We shared last week about the group of Nolan Elementary School third-graders who sent handwritten thank-you notes to our health care workers helping patients overcome the coronavirus.

The Friday Mailbag

How could school be different? The options are limitless, be them virtual and/or practical. To their credit, state school leaders offered a survey for everyone connected to local school systems.

Today's question is bigger than a "Which way Wednesday" piece. On this day in 1974, Hank Aaron hit homer 715.

Did Monday feel kind of, dare we say optimistic?

It's become a bit cliche to bemoan the politicization of this pandemic.

We're going to offer a few more winners this week because we all need some good news right about now.

Looking for ways to continue educating our children, teachers all across Hamilton County are innovating, crafting and redirecting the education process.

The Friday mailbag

OK, we're three weeks from round one of the NFL draft.

We talked earlier this week about the need for sports and our starvation for entertainment.

Which format should the (fingers-crossed) reported golf match with Phil, Tommy, Tiger and Peyton have: Best ball, scramble, alternate shot or some of each?

There are actually a couple of sports-related TV options today, and a bit of promise for sports viewing in the immediate future.

President Trump trumpeted his TV ratings over the weekend, comparing the numbers to a "The Bachelor" episode or a "Monday Night Football" game.

Almost all of us can agree that the cancellations around the sports world have been life-changing.

We are living in an unprecedented, even surreal, time, folks.

What in sports have you missed the most?

On this day in 1979, Bird-and-Magic met in the NCAA title game. Think about the power of that rivalry for just a second.

We have long trumpeted Chattanooga for its myriad assets. We're proud of where we live.

Thursday was supposed to be the first day of the baseball season.

It's hard to see the Games canceled — this is a multi-billion-dollar extravaganza — so moving them back a year considering the logistics and the details makes sense.

What started as a suggestion from his wife to stay home, be active and have a little fun has blossomed for Aaron Wood.

With mounting pressure from some of the biggest participating nations, it appears the 2020 Summer Olympics will be at least postponed and most likely pushed back at least a year.

In this time of the unknown, we need to embrace the wisdom of borrowing from the successes of others.

The Friday mailbag.

The first day of March Madness always brought the surge of buzzer beaters, the drama of upsets, the finality of lose-and-go-home (the sport's original and best one-and-done), brackets busted or saved.

The epicenter for the best and the worst among us in our collective fight against coronavirus is Hixson, Tennessee.

Tom Brady is gone. I didn't think it would happen, to be honest.

Let the ripples reach.

The sports news amid the coronavirus craze is either bad or non-existent.

Morning, hope you're safe. We're going to make it through this thing, friends.

Gang, as you would expect, the flood of coronavirus emails was staggering.

How was your coronavirus Wednesday? It certainly was news filled.

Let the spring excitement begin for Johnny Vols Fans everywhere.

Barry Bonds sat down with The Athletic for a very interesting — and quite candid — interview.

Gang, a bunch of you are freaked out by the coronavirus.

LeBron. Dude is 35 and delivered a statement this weekend with a dynamic all-around performance Friday night against the Bucks and a crunch-time clinic Sunday against the Clippers.

Friends, happy March. May it be drier than the previous days of 2020.

Do you think part of the NFL's motive behind the new Collective Bargain Agreement is to dismantle the XFL?

Joe Biden stole the headlines of Super Tuesday, redirecting the Democratic primary race and making Mike Bloomberg the biggest money-wasting politician in history.

The speculation has been everywhere this offseason about Patriots QB Tom Brady.

Tennessee's NCAA hopes depend entirely on winning the SEC tournament next week.

Of course Major League Baseball is trying to put on an authoritative face as a countermeasure to the cheating scandal that has been the talk of the game for months.

Come Tuesday night, a large part of America will be watching Super Tuesday results.

If reports are accurate, Romo is set to get a $17 million a year contract from CBS to call football games.

Happy birthday, Leaplings.

"I'd vote for Castro over Trump, and I'd read David's (Cook) grocery list over anything you have ever written. (Bleep)hole."

The details are pretty clear. Other than Santiago Vescovi's excellent shooting form, almost every other aspect of UT's point guard play has ranged from subpar to stinky.

Normally you'd have to go to a youth hockey all-star meeting to see that many white people yelling at each other at the same time.

The player representatives approved the league's offer and will take it to the entirety of the players in the league for a vote.

The NFL players union and the owners will meet today and try to iron out their differences in the ongoing discussions about a new collective bargaining agreement.

Weekend winners: Everyone involved in the completion, the opening and the dazzling debut ceremony Saturday for the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center. Kudos to all, and it's somewhat fitting that the next piece of our downtown commitment to a better 'burg is right there next to the aquarium, the original community venture that was the catapult for Chattanooga proper.

I know the measures of justice have to be blind, but sweet buckets of beatdowns, John Lee King and Rebekah Anamay Wilson need to prosecuted to the highest limits of the larceny laws.

I know you are having fun with your XFL gambling parts but I have a question for you.

The league is looking to expand to 17 regular-season games, with one fewer preseason game, as well as expanding the playoff field by a team in each conference.

I guess my question has to be, "Why?"

There has been a lot made about this QB free agency cycle. And rightly so, considering there's at least three surefire Hall of Famers out there.

Hey, you guys and gals know me. I am here for the laughs and the irony.

The headline was eye-catching.

Tennessee hoops. Good night. The Vols had backed themselves into a corner in terms of NCAA inclusion.

Superintendent Bryan Johnson, the Hamilton County schools bigwig, apparently is close to getting a new contract.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

It was one hiring, but it pulled back the rug on several huge issues that expose the hypocrisy of college sports and the ever-growing divide.

The last 10 days may be the perfect example of how broken, poorly led, and out-and-out inept the NCAA is.

New York Post reporter Joel Sherman shared that Major League Baseball is exploring major league overhauls to its playoff format.

Was the XFL debut a success, a big success, a flop or a "What is this XFL thingy of which you speak?"

Lots of chatter about local school system guru Dr. Bryan Johnson.

I read what you wrote about Will Cain. I like him too. Who is the best ESPN personality in your opinion? Thanks and I love the 5-at-10.

It's really hard not to like Pruitt's second full recruiting class.

It took until the announcement portion of the Hamilton County Commission meeting Wednesday for anyone to address the elephant in the chamber.

It's World Series-or-bust for the Dodgers. Period. End of conversation.

True or false, if you could have bet easily and legally on the Super Bowl in Tennessee you would have.

The biggest event in the U.S. came and went Sunday.

All of us who had Patrick Mahomes and over 30.5 rushing yards. How bad a beat was that?

Friends, we are staring down the barrel at Super Bowl Sunday.

Is Kobe best honored by no NBA Player to ever wear #24 again? Or would it honor Kobe more by seeing one #24 jersey on EVERY team EVERY season?

I'm picking the 49ers, and the numbers that do not lie — like Shakira's hips — are simple.

I have lamented frequently on social media in this space.

So will Mahomes be the Marino — or, in the M-based name game — the Montana of his generation?

If we were going to surmise who has the most at stake this Sunday, the answer starts and ends with Andy Reid, right?

Can you remember a celebrity death that has affected us more than Kobe Bryant's?

Play ball.

I love the Titans and I know that you hate them and that's OK.

We start with a tear in our eye and — a little anticipation that our cholesterol numbers will drop.

I can say this with the utmost confidence: Eli Manning is a great guy.

Now comes news of the Braves adding Ozuna, which generates a fair amount of attention around these parts.

Will The Captain get 100 percent?

A number of speeches in our relatively short history as a nation are universally viewed as the "best."

Four teams played Sunday; two teams advanced to the Super Bowl.

Jay, I believe the Ravens loss to the Titans may be the largest upset in the Super Bowl era after the New York Jets victory.

True or false, Derrick Henry is the biggest match-up problem in the NFL right now.

The Oscar finalists were announced this week. It was a field that represented a diverse range of interests.

So congrats, Braves ownership, you have saved money but again betrayed your fans by fielding a team good enough to contend for a playoff spot and very little else.

The LSU Tigers finished one of the most dominant college football seasons ever with an emphatic 42-25 win over previously unbeaten Clemson.

Sometimes, I wish sports announcers could be the voice of the political realm, if for no reason other than the emotion they would bring.

The best football player on the planet right now is Derrick Henry.

Proving yet again, that it's a super long way from "Full House" to the big house, Lori Loughlin is making folks scratch their heads — again.

Let's find that entertainment.

Derrick Henry yanked the Patriots' will to tackle, and that's saying a mouthful.

We'll start this morning with the most fundamental non-faith and non-family statement I can make.

There's lots to like in these NFL playoffs, especially if you are rooting for newness.

In retrospect, Tua had to go, right? Had to.

Did that happen Saturday night?

What? There's unrest in the Middle East?

OK, earlier in the year, I wrote that a good gambling tidbit would be taking the Patriots every time they were favored by 10 points or fewer.

I spent a lot of yesterday wondering: What in the bleep was that, Gus? Seriously.

On most holidays, we move quickly. This is not most holidays.

As we look back on the decade in college football, the face certainly is that of Nick Saban.

My formative years were in the "Me" generation.

The Titans are soaring into the playoffs and the once-unimaginable task of winning in the 'ry' months does not seem as daunting right now.

Friday mailbag with a defense of Eddie Murphy's all-time greatness, NFL picks, Baseball movie character starting lineup

Our NBA picks went 1-1 as the Warriors erupted in the second half to win by 12 as an 11-point underdog.

Merry Christmas, gang. I hope you had a blessed one, and let us all remember that the greatest gift all of us ever received was born on this day.

From the Ho-Ho-Ho Studios, high atop Whiskey Hill, let's be jolly.

It's Christmas Eve, and Santa is working up a sweat on his Peloton for a big finish to the season.

When you have that much talent and you need the hapless Giants to beat the Eagles to get into the playoffs, you have failed.

We got 64 entries this year in the Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler Optional). You guys are awesome.

OK, first the macro. I like the first signing day. Truly.

Hamilton County attorney Rheubin Taylor closed what is expected to be the final county commission meeting of 2019 with the caveat, "Unless something comes up."

Hard to imagine the choice for these 20-somethings right now?

Drew Brees topped Peyton Manning's all-time mark with his 541st touchdown pass.

Someone asked me over the weekend the last time we had carolers.

OK, we talked a little last week about how much time we'd give the Presidents Cup.

I'm curious about the crossroad of freedom and outrage.

It's time for the Friday mailbag

We have to start here. Wait, let's back up a step.

Words are like water in the old verse from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner": "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink."

Cole is the first pitcher with 300-plus Ks and a sub-2.50 ERA since the 1910s.

Like Stardust on the main stage, let's go to the polls and some sneaky important stats as we head into the final three weeks of the regular season.

Joe Burrow. Or is it Burreaux? Wow, what a season. And the question is not whether he'll win the Heisman, but if it will be the biggest landslide in Heisman history.

Cellphone injuries among pedestrians are at an all-time high. Seriously.

OK, we're here and there are a lot of experts taking a lot of underdogs.

Maybe there is such a thing as bad publicity after all. That, or Peloton actually means "virtual firestorm" in Latin.

Which way Wednesday starts this way: Am I crazy for staying with the bang-up Bulldogs against the lethal LSU offense? Discuss.

This morning, on ESPN Radio Jason Fitz and Mike Golic Jr. listed a top four of NFL teams in how the college football playoff committee might view them.

You know, for those of us who have wondered why the stores have Christmas stuff on display sometime between Labor Day and Columbus Day, the answer may be at our fingertips.

Gus Malzahn. Yes, we have been hard on ol' Gus — and he has deserved it — but Saturday had to be a sweet win for the Auburn head coach. He now has three wins over Nick Saban.

It's time for the Friday mailbag.

We do this little morning meeting every Monday through Friday. Even Thanksgiving Thursday.

I hope you have plenty to be thankful for on Thursday. Too much even.

So, let's get to the picks, right? Right.

Before we get to the NFL's most powerful and powerless, the lessons on Monday Night Football were clear in several regards.

The 5-at-10 picks. No-Pay November. Who knew all we needed was a catch phrase to catch fire.

The TFP's business team had a story earlier this week on the worst toys of this holiday season.

What do think about Myles Garrett's claims that Mason Rudolph made a racial slur that triggered the fight?

Everyone is entitled to their views, I suppose, but if I was a Rams linebacker and was looking for some input on how to slow down Lamar Jackson, and Weddle's got nothing, well, I'd downright have questions about where Weddle's loyalties lie.

At issue was what can people do on their property, and what they can't.

Not much has changed. Although with Tua on the shelf, if Bama wins out we think the Tide may not be the most attractive non-playoff SEC team. Think that likely will be Georgia, as long as they play a dogfight against LSU in Atlanta.

So how many of the QBs slinging it right now would you be willing to trust in three years?

Does Colin Kaepernick want to play in the NFL?

UTC and Rusty Wright. Wow, what a comeback. Kudos coach. Job very well done.

OK, with all apologies to fortune cookies, any mystic tarot card readers and all Magic-8 balls around, I'm going to predict the future.

Well, I guess we could start that if Mason Rudolph had thrown a punch it would have been intercepted. Thank you. Thank you. Don't forget the wait staff.

THE Ohio State has become THE ATM since week 1. Another game, another cover. But 52 feels crazy. Simply crazy. On the road, gang.

What you got going on this Sunday?

Everyone needs to go full-blown Aaron Rodgers on these rankings.

Game-changing moment this morning at the 5-at-10 compound.

Ed Orgeron and Joe Burrow. A near flawless first half from Burrow spring-boarded LSU by Alabama into the top spot in everyone's eyes. And no one enjoyed it more than Coach O, who took his Tigers to T-Town and toppled the Titan that is Lord Saban.

So Donald Trump is heading to the big LSU-Alabama game Saturday.

The Friday mailbag.

Forget No-Shave November friends. We're angling for a No-Pay November in which your entertainment broker is finding you rather than the other way around.

The SEC has a pile of bowl tie-ins. Comes with the territory of being the best in the country, no matter what Dabo thinks.

Did anyone else notice that Aaron Rodgers certainly noticed that a lot of his teammates had a really good time in L.A.

Kudos, Riverbend.

Hey, Kirby was going to make this list one way or the other, right?

It's easier to be happy for a Nats fan or a UVA fan I would think than it would be for an Alabama football fan, a UK hoops fan or a Yankees fan because after all they have a slew of titles.

Nick Saban is 68 today. Interested how you rank these three dudes in order of best to third best: Lord Saban, John Wooden (The Wizard of Westwood) and Geno the Great.

Auburn's loss Saturday hit me hard as a fan.

I am all for the NFL trade deadline becoming a thing.

Weekend winners and losers

OK, amid all of the chatter about our public education, let's start with Hamilton County Schools' proverbial elephant in the room.

The Friday mailbag and 5-at-10 turns 9.

Man, spinning wheels is a great time when you're 17, couple of iced-down Coca-Colas in the mud.

It's OK to be sad today. And frustrated.

Wow, lots happening in Game 1 of the World Series, right?

The World Series starts tonight

OK, it started with 70 or so teachers penning a letter to the Hamilton County Commission for not voting to allow a potential wheel tax on the March ballot.

I love what I do. I love where I do it. And I love for whom I do it. After all, without readers — in print, online, on a phone or tablet — we don't have a reason to exist.

Honeycutt would be the first to admit that Dale Murphy was a much better player.

OK, we've pulled even. Yay for us.

What do you think when you hear the word "luxury" tossed around?

At some point I will remember what I have told myself a half dozen times — pick Alabama as long as Saban is there. Period. Move along.

Holy buckets, can you believe we're back discussing ways to increase taxes?

Can you believe we are through six weeks of the NFL season (and halfway home in college football)?

Weekend winners, losers and that time I went viral.

It's pre-dawn here as we look for random socks and pack our stuff in our Times Square hotel room and start our trip back.

From the satellite office in Times Square — hey, is that Jerry Seinfeld? Let's do this.

We are on vacation. Good times.

OK, gang, some house-cleaning announcements.

Weekend winners and losers

Is it Bend or broken?

The Friday mailbag

It's hot.

Before we get to the 5-at-10, I want to congratulate the web folks for reworking the site.

I grew up a Tennessee fan. Not sure how many of you guys and gals knew it.

Retired U.S. Navy Chaplain Cmdr. Phil Sumrall will open a special event around lunchtime Wednesday with a prayer in honor of a man he never met.

It's here. It's all happening.

This past weekend's winners and losers are in.

Few movies have had the pre-release buzz or hype over movie-circuit award show success as "The Joker."

The Friday mailbag

We get a sneaky great Thursday night game tonight, even if the play may not be all that good.

We have passed through the looking glass to the real-life place where the cliche "no good deed goes unpunished" has become a way of life.

Paschall, Wells and I submit ballots. Mine is below. This also allows a chance to share an interesting debate about rankings.

Three games in and we are nearing the tipping point of the famous Dennis Green rant "They are who we thought they are, and we left them off the hook."

I admit it, I quit award shows a long time ago.

Daniel Jones. Well, we all nailed that one right?

Thursday, as members of the Hamilton County Board of Education were eyeing how to spend their budgetary windfall, someone asked if I was going to write about what they believed to be the glorious move by the school board to allocate $2.5 million to Sale Creek High School for a football stadium.

Pickers gotta pick, right? Ask Dwight Yoakam. Or Buck Owens. And while we are there, let's get back to the "Streets of Bakersfield."

There are a lot of us who look suspiciously and caustically with eyebrows raised at the public budgets pitched every year.

You know the drill. Power poll from the NFL is a Tuesday staple. Power poll from the closest thing to the NFL comes Wednesdays.

OK, we have become used to NBA teams embracing the process. Of course the process is acquiring as much draft capital as possible.

Atlanta Braves. The Braves took two of three from Washington and punched their postseason ticket.

What was your biggest takeaway from the debate?

For a lot of college football fans the slate of this week's games may not be overly entertaining to watch, but it could be extremely entertaining to risk.

As Americans, one goal we should all share is how to make our voting process as easy as possible.

Well, here we go. Full week of the NFL in the books.

In a couple of days, the trimmed herd of Democrat candidates for president will take the stage in the next debate.

The Titans crushed the much-hyped Browns in Week 1, and Marcus Mariota looked pretty decent.

This will be the first full football weekend - high school Friday, college games Saturday and the NFL on Sunday and Monday — of the season.

It's time for the Friday mailbag.

Well, last week was entertaining in every way until it wasn't entertaining.

Walmart is no longer selling bullets for handguns. The superstore super power is taking other steps in terms of selling ammunition and guns and what it allows customers to bring into its stores.

This NFL power poll continues this year

I feel for Steve McB, and TFP sports editor Stephen Hargis and Brad Shepard and Weston Wamp and ESPN 105.1 the Zone program director Wells Guthrie and my cousin Scott Cole and several other folks who have been long-standing and, over the last decade, long-suffering UT fans.

Weekend winners and losers

Hamilton County's longest-serving employee retired this week after nearly six decades of service.

It's time for the Friday mailbag

Where do we start. Buckets, where do we start.

Well, for the first time in 30 years, involvement in prep sports declined, according to this story on ESPN.

Anyone else surprised that the ripples from the Andrew Luck announcement are still circling?

A group of Hamilton County pastors is determined to foster positive race relations among police officers and black people.

Rory McIlroy. We have said for a long time now that Rory's A game is better than anyone else's A game on the planet.

Yes, we are officially the Divided States of America because we have reached a place where we will argue about anything, especially online.

Jay, my work buddies and me read the 5-at-10 daily and almost always something you write carries our lunch conversation.

Long before the Ricky Bobby mantra — "If you ain't first, you're last" — became the new-age mission statement of NASCAR folks everywhere, we believed in the glory days.

I am trying to figure out which is more vexing these days, and I wonder if you can help.

Braves played. Braves won.

OK, we have reached a place where we will argue about anything, especially online.

For a lot of us, the perception of the season changes long before the weather.

New England Patriots. No this has little to do with the outcome of a meaningless preseason game in Nashville

The University of Tennessee is going to sell beer at Neyland Stadium this fall.

Thanks for the preseason picks; what are your 'overreactions'?

There is a Little League hubbub a-brewing as the New England Regional has been consumed by accusations of sign-stealing.

Count me among the taxpayers who are super pleased with the advancements and progress in test scores for the Hamilton County Schools system.

OK, the 28-hour marathon of fantasy football coverage on ESPN has ended.

We have openly admitted to the growing man crush we have on Ronald Acuna Jr. Dude is that much fun to watch.

Race Imboden is an American fencing competitor. He's really good at what he does.

Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts, who got back on the practice field after being suspended until his arrest for cocaine possession was sorted out. Werts was arrested July 31 for what police thought was cocaine on the hood of his car.

OMG! We have "learning designers" in schools now? This is crazy.What is happening to us? Teachers, folks, they are teachers.

As we discussed before, the expansion of legalized gambling will change the way sports are covered sooner rather than later, and the info and tips or trends from folks with a betting history will be everywhere.

We will recap a slew of college football tidbits in the 'This and That' because there are a lot of items out there.

The Braves rolled to a 12-7 win after building an 11-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth at Minnesota.

From the files of the Interweb being a strange, funny and at times head-scratchingly surreal place come the following two stories that are perfect for you 5-at-10ers.

Here we are, back to school and back to controversy.

Tom Brady. And yes, we could put Brady on this list every Monday. His life is pretty excellent all things considered.

Are there any new 5-at-10 items to be looking for as we steam toward the family oriented, interweb-based column's ninth birthday?

We all were nervous, and we all know that nothing was announced until the process inched closer to the witching hour of 4 p.m. on Wednesday's deadline.

The Braves won last night by scoring 11 runs on the heels of Josh Donaldson's latest three-run jack and Austin Duvall's insane hot streak since being called to the big leagues to fill the spot of injured Nick Markakis.

Between cooking breakfast and hustling to get to the sand, my time is crunched.

OK, we are going to move quickly this week. Today, there's a lot to get to, but we are still going to try to move quickly.

OK, the tug of war over the budget and the added funds on top of the added funds for our schools has been painful. And everyone has blisters and rope burns on their hands because of it.

Sometimes I feel like expanding the themes of the 5-at-10.

I admit it. I am not a downtown business owner. Sadly.

The Atlanta Braves have no business losing to the Kansas City Royals when you get six impressive innings from your starter and four runs.

NFL camps are opening. That is a good thing because it certainly means football is, cue Hannibal Lector, "closer closer."

So what did I miss?

Jim Harbaugh. Loved his comments late last week about controversy following Urban Meyer's tenure at previous stops.

There were more than a few. In no specific order.

We're wrapping up SEC Media Days here in Hoover, Alabama.

When Nick Saban speaks, college football listens.

This the unofficial start to college football season, these media events designed for hype and lacking hyperbole.

Let's review the storylines from this week's British Open:

There were some interesting - if not that surprising - trends here Tuesday as the cavalcade of cliches and coach-speak continued at SEC Media Days.

For most SEC fans, the annual mid-July gathering known as media days offers the first chance in spring practice to hear from the coaches of their favorite teams.

We're one day into the annual SEC glad-hand fest that is known as media days.

Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey took the stage Monday at the home of this craze known as SEC Media Days to discuss the state of his league.

Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey took the stage Monday in Hoover, Alabama to discuss the state of the league.

OK, by the time you read this, there is a real chance I will already be in Hoover, Ala., for SEC Media Days.

I have bought my last cup, bag or anything related to Starbucks.

The Friday mailbag

The Braves are six games clear in the NL East.

The conversation we started in this space Tuesday generated a lot of response.

Less is more

ESPN SportsCenter opened this morning with 12 consecutive minutes on the Home Run Derby.

I'm not sure that nostalgia technically covers it, but two images of Sunday made me realize how far off course we are as a nation.

U.S. women's soccer. The 2-0 victory in the World Cup final was not even that close.

Though I may not agree with Ms. Rapinoe's attitude toward the White House, I will give her props for her answer yesterday, in which she said this is a great country and we should strive to be better.

Happy birthday, America.

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

There is a lot of hand-wringing about Kawhi Leonard joining the Lakers, becoming the most dominant trio since Moe, Larry and Curly were running comedy back in the day.

Crazy right, that we're halfway through 2019.

The mailbag is here.

Well, the last six weeks have been a lot of fun Braves fans.

Our county's mayor worked the room after a political setback in a long career in the public eye.

We'll start this morning's chat with a puzzled look at the New York Yankees.

Buckle up kids, this could get messy.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry sometimes.

Your Atlanta Braves hitters. Yes, we all wanted more from Dallas Kuechel on Friday, but winning two of three when you easily could have been swept is a mark of a team that is potentially special.

Did you really say this week on Press Row that backup QBs deserved to be in the Hall of Fame? You've said some dumb things but that may be the dumbest.

We are in a contentious time around these parts.

I love the draft. You know this.

Today, even though we are still a few days from the official start go summer, let's explore the divide between contenders and also-rans in today's MLB.

Not unlike our Tuesday essays in college basketball season, we will examine the MLB in general on Tuesdays for the summer. (Or at least until football returns.)

Everyone involved in the Anthony Davis-to-L.A. LeBron, who has his best sidekick of his career.

OK, the Chattanooga Beer Board cancelled another meeting.

NBA Finals thoughts? Whatcha got? (Also, those of you heckling my Warriors-in-6 pick, well, that's fair, but who had any idea that KD would get 12 minutes in the series and Klay would put 30 on the board before leaving with a knee injury in Game 6?)

OK, because we are going to be outraged about anything — everything? — now the U.S. Women's soccer team is under fire for being too good, celebrating too much and fulfilling dreams.

Gang, I know a few of you have not paid the NBA an ounce of attention. And that's fine.

Rafael Nadal. How about this: No athlete ever has been better at any venue than Nadal has been on the clay at the French Open. He won his 12th title at Roland Garros — and his 18th major, which ranks second among men ever — and his career record on the clay there is 93-2. Yes, 93-2, which is so good, even Saban looks at it and says, "Dang, that's strong."

Apparently the National Basketball Association is considering doing away with the word "owner" because it is racially insensitive.

Binge-watching ideas, Braves adding Keuchel, College football Hall of Fame talk and everyone's favorite hate mail.

Wednesday morning at the Hamilton County Courthouse started with doughnuts and several dozen poster-waving partisans clamoring for a tax increase.

Fun time for the Atlanta Braves.

I love the draft. You know this.

Late last week Hank Haney was suspended from his day job as a radio host on the PGA Tour Network on XM Radio.

We all know Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger is presenting his proposed budget next week.

Tennessee's decisive action proved to be quite wise.

I want this series to be good.

We're here.

Yes, they lost on Memorial Day, but the Twins pass the unofficial start of summer with a 10-game lead and leading the league in homers and homers allowed.

Happy Memorial Day weekend.

There was a gaggle of supporters cheering at the top of the gentle incline of the Walnut Street Bridge on Sunday.

OK, here's the winner - Sorry Brooks (more on him in a moment) and everyone else - from the weekend.

Have you tried the social media app that takes your picture and transposes it to the opposite gender?

Seinfeld is one of those shows that I can watch episodes that I've already seen 10 times and still be entertained.

OK, Tuesday night, when the Hawks got just about the worst result possible from the draft process.

Terry Bradshaw apologized earlier this week for calling actor Ken Jeong "that little short guy from Japan." Jeong is a Korean American.

Jay Greeson on the NBA Draft, PGA, Terry Bradshaw and more.

Jay Greeson on Game of Thrones, NBA Draft, PGA Championship and more.

Jay Greeson on Kawhi Leonard, the Braves, James Harden and more.

For a Chicago Cubs fan, the "You're Outta Here!" call came quickly and with little regard to intent or circumstance.

Jay Greeson on Game of Thrones, Albert Pujols and more.

Jay Greeson on Joey Gallo, Kevin Durant, the Braves and more.

Did you notice on Wednesday that Houston Street officially transitioned from a one-way to a two-way street?

Jay Greeson on Braves/Dodgers, dynasties and more.