Thinking out loud: Looking back at Dana Jacobson-Bill Belichick interview

Thinking out loud…while wondering what Rudy Ruettiger is up to these days?

• There's a sports broadcasting power couple-in-the-making getting married this weekend – the radio voice of the Celtics' Sean Grande and CBS' Dana Jacobson are tying the knot. 

• Can't imagine there will be too many nights at home in front of the fireplace for those two, for about 10 months out of the year.  Just sayin'.

• Did you see the 'death stare' Bill Belichick gave Jacobson last week during a pregame TV interview?  It was a bit disconcerting, yes.  Probably uncalled for by Bill. 

• But Dana was only doing her job as a reporter, even if Bill was only doing his in the manner to which we have been accustomed to seeing for twenty years.  Jacobson later posted via social media it was 'no big deal.'  If she didn't have a problem with it, why would you?

• Not for nuthin', but the Patriots' defense is – right now – the best I've seen in 30+ years of covering the team.  That doesn't mean it will stay there.  But they have a mix of athleticism, aggressiveness and ability that is conditioned to defend current offensive trends. 

• It's very simple, really.  Stuff the gaps.  Cover the receivers long enough to allow the QB time to do something he doesn't want to do.  And then make him (and the opposing team) pay.  They still haven't given up a touchdown since last January against Kansas City.

• If you had Buffalo undefeated with the Patriots in Week 4, preparing for a Battle of Unbeatens, show yourself.  Rookestradamus would like a word with you.

• How about this nugget?  There are currently eight undefeated teams so far this year, right?  Four of them missed the playoffs last year, including Buffalo (with SF, Detroit & Green Bay).

• Dallas, a future Patriot opponent (November 24th in Foxboro), is 3-0 for the first time in 11 years.  How 'bout them Cowboys?

• The problems with the running game at present are two-fold.  One – relative inexperience up front in the line, thanks to injuries and the tackle-guard shuffle of personnel.  Two – no James Develin.

• The Brown grad is a Pro Bowl fullback.  Tough to replace a guy that's actually on the field for more snaps than your starting tailback (Sony Michel).  13 teams don't even have a fullback on their roster.  But he's invaluable in New England. 

• If he can come back from his neck injury off of injured reserve, they'll take him.  That leaves one spot remaining for two others on IR – OT Isaiah Wynn and WR N'Keal Harry.  Who ya' bringing back?

• Did you see where Antonio Brown is back enrolled in school at Central Michigan?  Good for him, I guess.  Don't know if it will make him any smarter, however.  That ship may have sailed.

• Man, would I love to grade his English essays.  I could post them on Instagram, too.

• And I agree with what Boomer Esiason told Greg Hill earlier this week – signing Brown was NOT a mistake.  Brown's actions were the mistake.  Considering the depth issues now starting to appear, especially at receiver, perhaps you can also see why?

• 18 years ago this week, TB12 replaced Drew Bledsoe.  It was history.  But we sure didn't know that back then, did we?

• J-Lo and Shakira for the Super Bowl halftime?  No thanks.  Food, drink and, um, relief are more important.  Unless A-Rod gets up there to make a fool of himself and dance with them.  I might watch that.

• Did you know that 19 years ago this week, Remember the Titans was released?  C'mon.  Whenever you see it appear in the TV listings, you flip to it.  Amiright?

• Easily, I'm in double-figures on views of that one, start-to-finish.  It got me to thinking of my favorite sports movies of all time, which is a great debate with no real right or wrong answers.  But I generally go with those that strike at emotion and tell an interesting story. 

• Let's drop a Top 10 Sports Movies here, in no particular order – and feel free to agree, disagree or include your own.

• Hoosiers should be on everyone's list, especially in college hoop-mad Rhode Island.  If it isn't, you should check your fandom at the door and be refused admission into the Dunk or Ryan Center.

• Glory Road is a vastly underrated movie.  It dealt with timely and unfortunate present-day issues of race and bigotry.  And since I once worked with Nevil Shed – who was a focal point in the movie as one of Don Haskins' players on that 1965-66 Texas Western team, it makes the list.

• Sandlot is timeless.  Ageless.  It is my childhood on the big screen, as I fondly recall playing baseball with my buddies (including "Big E") when we were kids in the summertime.  But we never played with someone as talented as Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez. 

• A big hammer is set to club Kansas and long-time coach Bill Self.  Both received an NCAA Notice of Allegations for recruiting violations this past week, following North Carolina State receiving similar treatment in July. 

• The question now becomes 'how stiff a penalty?'  Not 'do they get a penalty?'  Five Level I violations – the most serious – have been alleged.  Self is a Hall of Fame coach, accused of lack of oversight and breach of conduct.  Yikes.  This is big.

• Will the NCAA actually punish a marquee blue-blood, potentially ransacking a program that has been a national power (and big money-maker) for decades?  College athletics' governing body, indifferent, inconsistent and insipid in the past, has as much on the line here as do the Jayhawks.

• Georgia Tech received four years' probation this week, and a 2019-20 postseason ban for recruiting violations.  Louisville and Arizona are expected to be next up facing the music, potentially awaiting more than just a couple of slaps on the wrist as programs mentioned within the recent FBI probe and trial. 

• It will be interesting to see if the NCAA shows any leniency toward the Cardinals, who pulled the trigger two years ago by firing Rick Pitino – then kissed and made up with him, at least in a legal sense, just a few weeks ago.

• The Friars, by the way, have a potential date with the Arizona Wildcats for December 1st in Anaheim.

• Baseball movies?  There are several good ones.  Moneyball, Major League, Field of Dreams, The Rookie, The Natural, Bull Durham and A League of Their Own all come to mind.  But my favorite?  A tie between The Rookie – because it's based on the true story of Jim Morris going from high school coach to major leaguer.

• And, A League of Their Own.  Again, because it's based on historical events.  Starring Tom Hanks and Gena Davis, they do a fantastic job of taking the movie-goer back to another era and placing you right in the middle of what (probably) happened.  I imagine it wasn't far from the truth.

• It also gave us one of the greatest, single lines in cinema history: "There's no crying in baseball!"

• Providence and marketing partner Learfield/IMG College held a gathering for athletic sponsors this week at the Ruane Center on campus.  There was a line out the door for a turn in the special 'massage' chair in their Innovation Lab. 

• Bring that thing to the Dunk.  It would be a gold mine. 

• The 40-day countdown is underway. PC, and others around the country, officially began the college basketball year Thursday on the practice floor. 

• The first Ed Cooley Radio Show of the new year debuts this week, Wednesday night 6:00-7:00 pm from Audi Warwick on Bald Hill Road.  Open to the public, we'll catch up with coach on several subjects surrounding the upcoming season – and recap a very active (UConn, hello) offseason.

• Former Friar all-American, ex-USA hockey star, Olympic champ and Hall of Famer Cammi Granato is trailblazing again.  Granato has been hired as the NHL's first female pro scout, signing on with the new franchise in Seattle beginning play in 2021.  She lives just across the border in Vancouver.

• Athletic Directors are coming out against the proposed California legislation that would allow athletes to earn income from the use of their likeness.  Including those inside the State of California.  Seems they don't want, potentially, to be shut out of NCAA championship opportunities.  Think any of them have bonuses tied to team performances?

• Oh, and the likelihood of this story going away is slim-to-none, if only because New York and South Carolina politicians are considering similar legislation.  What say you in RI, MA and CT?

• Pick any movie in the Rocky franchise, including the "Creed" sequels, and it has moments.  But for my money, Rocky II was as good a sequel as there ever has been.  And Rocky IV, with the death of Apollo Creed, brought in the true Evil Empire of Soviet Russia – easy to root against during a Cold War era.

• It also happens that Rocky IV (in 1985) was the highest grossing sports movie for 24 years, until "The Blind Side" came along.  Which wasn't bad, either…thanks to the presence of one Sandra Bullock.

• Friday Night Lights, simply because I lived them growing up, and covered them in my first years of working in sports media, earns a spot.  As real a sports story as has ever been portrayed. 

• Honorable mention goes here to Varsity Blues, set in the fictional West Texas town of West Canaan, and My All-American, the true story of former Longhorn safety Freddie Steinmark, who died from cancer in the early '70's.

• The Greatest Game Ever Played depicted the early life of golf champ Francis Ouimet and his stunning 1913 US Open win at Brookline over Britain's Harry Vardon.  Loved the drama, the feel for the competitiveness and the fact it was at Brookline Country Club – even if there were a few historical inaccuracies.

• Miracle, Caddyshack, Bleed for This, Seabiscuit and Jerry "Show me the money!" Maguire (also a memorable line) all deal with different sports (hockey, golf, Vinny Paz & boxing, horse racing, football), but all had merit on their historical or hysterical content.  I'll pick two – Caddyshack and Seabiscuit – to reach the personal Top 10.

• Could there have been a better start to his Brown career than the one QB E.J. Perry – the head coach's nephew – had last week at Bryant?  Perry was named as the FCS National Offensive Player of the Week with five TD's and 410 yards of total offense.

• Despite 486 yards of offense and converting 67% of the time on 3rd downs against the Bears, Bryant is 0-4 to start the coaching tenure of Chris Merritt and finishes a three-game homestand Saturday in Smithfield against Saint Francis.

• URI lost a heartbreaker on a last-second field goal to UNH last weekend.  The Rams host Stony Brook under the lights Saturday night, still in search of the elusive first-win for 2019.

• Seriously, the Tampa Bay Rays drew 8779 fans Monday night to the Trop, in the heat of a pennant race.  I suppose we should be thankful for the problems we have around here.

• Baseball has a people problem.  If it's the A's and Rays in the AL Wild Card, those two teams rank 27th and 28th, respectively, out of 30 MLB teams in "fandom" says ESPN Research.

• But the Minnesota Twins won the AL Central, and have been one of the 'good stories' of 2019 for the sport.  So has first-year manager (and Cumberland, RI's own) Rocco Baldelli – taking the division pennant in his debut. 

• Need a rooting interest in the playoffs outside of New York?  Sorry, Yankee fans.  There you go.

• Why does it seem no one wants to be the new Red Sox GM?  Two reasons: 1) Does anyone really want to work alongside a management team that won't let them do their job?  2) The remaining presence of Tony LaRussa. 

• No doubt, Red Sox GM is a tough, tough gig.  Why not just ask LaRussa to do it, short of begging Theo to come back?

• If there IS a feel-good moment for this pitching staff debacle in Boston, it's definitely the development of Eduardo Rodriguez. It appears he's learned – or at least he's learning – how to fight while on the mound.  That can never be underrated as a character trait for a pitcher.

• And Rick Porcello certainly knew how to shoulder his responsibilities, even if it seemed he couldn't ever correct his mistakes.  Porcell-blow has probably thrown his last pitch in Boston, but if the price is right, I could see him back here.

• Not saying it's a bad idea or the wrong thing to do here – but it appears Providence's school zone speeding cameras are a hit…for bringing in revenue. 

• A totally-Rhode Island phenomenon – no real business sense of note, but hey, let's figure out a creative way to pull money from the public's pockets anyway.  That, our pols can do.

• Rudy might be the all-time favorite sports movie for a lot of people.  Not just because it showcased the Fighting Irish tradition at Notre Dame, or because it told the story of family traditions and rivalry from within, but also because everyone loves the story of an underdog.

• Rudy Ruettiger was the ultimate underdog.  Coming from a strong-willed working class family.  Struggling to attend college.  Being "five-foot nothin,' weighing a-hundred and nothin'", and then making the football team as an undersized (5-6, 165 pound) tackling dummy.  Ruettiger finally realized his goal of becoming an 'official' member of the team when he got into the final two plays of a 24-3 win over Georgia Tech in 1975.

• Ruettiger has since gained more mileage from an otherwise non-descript career as a walk-on than any human alive.  The films' release was 26 years ago, in 1993.  To this day, Rudy capitalizes on his fame as a much-sought motivational speaker.  His role in the movie was portrayed by Sean Astin – who is also capitalizing these days by having once 'played' Rudy on screen.

• Astin reprises his former Rudy role for Kentucky Fried Chicken TV commercials.  Hey, a guy's gotta make a living, right?

• @DexWest tweeted on the Patriots this week: "I'm no expert but I do not know how anyone could be comfortable with the depth of this receiving corp. No go to TE and kids are the backups at slot & wide receiver. I do grant that White is a go to guy out of the backfield."

• Dex:  Especially now that Antonio Brown has knuckle-headed his way out of Foxboro, receiving depth is treacherous territory. N'Keal Harry could come back off of IR, provided he's healthy enough and able to contribute.  It all depends on where this team is by the bye week.  My guess – Harry keeps his redshirt year, and if physically able, James Develin and Isaiah Wynn get the nod off IR instead.

• Interested in having your questions on local Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send 'em to me! It's your chance to "think out loud," so send your questions, comments and local stories to jrooke@weei.com. We'll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster…and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...

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