Thinking Out Loud 8/02/19
Thinking out loud…while wondering if LeBron James should be a candidate for Father of the Year…
- Tweet of the Week, from @FieldYates: "We've made it. There is now a pro or college football game every week all through the Super Bowl. Let's go."
- So, let's do as the man says.
- Training camp out at Gillette for the Patriots has had a slight dip in attendance through the first week. Why?
- Two things – one is complacency. It's real, and it ain't spectacular. Two is the schedule. Next week the team is in Detroit. The following week in Nashville. Then, camp is pretty much over.
- My guess is, many fans will wonder what happened to Training Camp? Better get there while you can.
- Danny Etling's story is fine and all that, but he has virtually no shot to make the final 53. How about a guy with a real shot at sticking, and keeping alive the streak at 16 straight years for an undrafted free agent to make this team?
- Jakobi Meyers, wide receiver from North Carolina State. He was running with the 1's in practice this week. He may be running with them for the foreseeable future.
- Stephon Gilmore was ranked #22 in NFL Network's annual Top 100 players' ranking, after being unranked a year ago. Has he improved that much in one year, or is NFLN's anti-Patriot bias showing?
- Those media pundits predicting a Patriot downfall this year are simply throwing crap on the wall and hoping it sticks. This goes beyond screaming "but TB12 is 42!" TB12 has more weapons than you think he does.
- And the defense is vastly improved from the one last year that held those high-powered LA Rams to three lousy points in the Super Bowl. Jamie Collins will be a factor. The defensive tackles are wreaking havoc on the OL during camp, too.
- I knew there was a reason #Rookestradamus has steadfastly maintained "save your quid for another Super Bowl bid." He said that. Really.
- You want analytics? I got your analytics right here. The Patriots have been Top 5 in points scored per game for nine straight seasons, Top 10 in points allowed per game for seven straight. At least 11 wins in nine straight. Eight straight AFC Championship games.
- 'Nuff said. Add another one to each category for this season. The naysayers proclaim, "but it has to end sometime!" Sure it does. And I have to eventually go away, too. But not this year. Next year doesn't look good either, Lord willin'.
- Rodney Harrison is underrated as a 'good guy.' He caught quite the rap and rep as a dirty player, but in my book – he was (and still is) honest. He wanted to win, by hitting hard. His Patriots HOF induction is most deserving, and emblematic of the early 2000's SB era teams.
- Ty Law is right. Why aren't other Patriots getting noticed for potential Hall inclusion from that era? Hopefully, they will. And Ty will beat that drum, beginning with his own induction.
- The Parcells flak over not being in the Patriots' Hall? You know my stance. I've talked about it, written about it right here and elsewhere. It's ridiculous he's not in, despite your butthurt feelings over his leaving. But it will take a Robert Kraft exception to include him at some point.
- Not for nuthin', but ex-Pat kicker Adam Vinatieri – still with the Colts, and responsible for perhaps the greatest kick in NFL history while in New England – is the only player currently in the NFL who played in the 1990's. Put that in your chair and rock it.
- Former Patriot and NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti passed away this week at age 78. He was an AFL all-star for the Boston Patriots in the 1960's, a rock in the middle of Miami's once-famed "No Name" defense in the '70's, and a huge part of the unbeaten Dolphins' team in 1972 that we still refer to every season when the last undefeated NFL team goes down.
- He was also a part of "Inside the NFL" on HBO for 23 seasons. Buoniconti was never really beaten, however, until the ravages of dementia took him this past week. He said just a few short years ago he knew football would hasten his demise, so much so he donated his brain to Boston University so studies on the effects of CTE could continue.
- His work for the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis – begun when his son Marc suffered a spinal injury while playing football at The Citadel – has contributed to untold successes with people from all walks of life trying to live as well as possible following traumatic injuries. That is his legacy – more than any 17-0 season he was a part of 47 years ago.
- An outstanding start to the Pan American Games for Team USA/Team Big East this week in Lima, Peru. The Friars' Alpha Diallo put a target on his back for his senior season by leading off with a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in the opening 35-point win over the Virgin Islands, with the team shooting 50% from three. But Alpha was only 3-of-6 from the line, too.
- In other words, there's still some work to be done. As evidenced by shooting only 20% from three against Venezuela in a heavy-legged, Round Two win. But they move onto the medal round.
- David Duke looks much more comfortable moving "off" the ball, even though his passes are mostly finding their mark to teammates for dimes. Nate Watson is a true, low-post threat…but still brings the ball down too often and opponents know to attack his hands.
- For A.J. Reeves, it's all gravy. Seton Hall's Myles Powell is a legit threat for all-American, and watch out for Villanova's Jermaine Samuels – a Franklin, MA product. Bigger and stronger, Samuels can really stroke it and should be a go-to guy for the Wildcats next season.
- Go for the Gold? Maybe not, considering the experience levels of Puerto Rico and Argentina. But a medal of any kind would be considered a success for this Big East team representing our country, and a success for PC's Ed Cooley (assisted by Seton Hall's Kevin Willard, Brown's Mike Martin and ex-RIC/Maine head coach/PC assistant Bob Walsh) in his first head coaching position at the international level.
- Those Friar fans who annually complain about the home non-league schedule? Look at Kentucky, which opens with Michigan State and has Ohio State, Texas Tech and Louisville on the slate…but could entice only Louisville and Georgia Tech to play at Rupp Arena next season.
- Bryant's NEC hoop schedule is out, playing eight opponents' home-and-home and two teams (LIU and Robert Morris) only once with the addition this year of Merrimack. The non-conference slate includes a trip to play St. John's and will open November 5th against Brown at home.
- And ICYMI, new Bryant baseball coach Ryan Klosterman once played his minor league ball in New Hampshire, with the Fisher Cats. Klosterman comes from an assistant post at UCF and replaces Steve Owens, who moved onto Rutgers.
- URI's non-conference basketball schedule still has one game to add, but among those already on the slate…LSU, Maryland, Alabama, West Virginia and Providence are definite highlights, which includes a trip to Jamaica (LSU) and another to Maryland to play the Big 10 Terrapins.
- Bama, PC (Dec. 6) and Western Kentucky will face the Rams at the Ryan Center.
- David Cox officially announced the promotion of T.J. Buchanan to assistant coach this week. Buchanan has been on the staff for two seasons, spending last year as Director of Basketball Operations. He played for Rhody from 2011-15.
- And Rhody football seniors Kyle Murphy and Aaron Parker are among a group of 14 Colonial Athletic Association players named to the STATS Preseason FCS all-American team this past week. Murphy has started 25 straight games at left tackle for the Rams, and Parker led all CAA players in receiving yards and TD's last season.
- Preseason practice for the Rams began Friday, with their season opener at Ohio on August 31st.
- Tickets are available for the Rhode Island Interscholastic League High School Hall of Fame induction and banquet in October. The inductees include such notables as Brian Boucher, Dave Belisle, Will Blackmon and Chelsea Marandola, as well as long-time ProJo High School scribe John Gillooly. Contact the RIIL office for more info.
- A 16-year old kid from Pennsylvania actually won a $3 million prize for playing Fortnite last week. Sports biz reporter Darren Rovell says since February of 2018, Fortnite tournaments have awarded more than $71 million in prize money.
- According to ESports Earnings, 95 gamers have earned more than $100K in the past year and a half, and 10 have made at least a million bucks. Whoa.
- Speaking of Fortnite – wonder how's that going for David Price? 'Cuz not much else is going well, after he decided to attack Dennis Eckersley in the media again. He's given up 13 earned runs in his last 14.1 innings.
- Karma has a strange way of evening things out in the cosmos, doesn't it? Just sayin'.
- And if you really want to get to the crux of "what's wrong" with the Red Sox? The underachieving starting rotation has been abysmal outside of Eduardo Rodriguez, no matter the amount of offensive support.
- A telling note – Price and Chris Sale are an embarrassing 5-15 against teams better than .500.
- That, and the bullpen is specifically, decidedly woeful. Clueless and inept in most every instance. No heart, guts or soul. When Dave Dombrowski mentioned this week that other teams were actually asking about the Sox bullpen arms before the trade deadline?
- I spit out my iced coffee. Was that to rent them out as batting practice pitchers, Dave?
- But actually, I get not making a move to bring in relief help. This group is beyond help, and this season is toast. No sense in wasting trade fodder on Triple-A journeymen, anyway.
- Can we all agree that this past winter/spring off-season pitching program was a colossal, managerial brain fart? Major screw up upstairs, too, not to address the closer position after not bringing back Craig Kimbrel.
- Wanna bet the geniuses get indignant and do it all over again next year?
- You think Sox fans are upset? What about Yankee fans? The trade deadline came and went with nary a move for their rotation, either. The NY media ripped their inactivity. But the pen and their bats alone already give them a legit shot at reaching the World Series.
- Former major league catcher and pitching coach Mike Roarke, a long-time local baseball fixture, passed away this week at age 88. Roarke was always a gentleman to those he met and interacted with, including this young TV reporter in the late '80's.
- He hailed from West Warwick, schooled at Boston College (we had some GREAT conversations on Eagles' athletics over the years), won two NL crowns as a coach in St. Louis and once coached for the Pawsox (with Joe Morgan) and the Red Sox, retiring in 1994.
- Cincinnati reliever Amir Garrett – a one-time St. John's baseball and basketball player – got an 8-game suspension this week for attacking the Pittsburgh dugout by himself. Hey, that's just another night in the old Big East.
- Has anyone noticed the Revolution are unbeaten in their past 11 games, going into Saturday night against LAFC? They can set a franchise record for longest unbeaten stretch with a win or tie. Bruce Arena's arrival has not only settled the senses of the players, it has also tamed the hardcore fans and critics. For now.
- Loved this from US Soccer this week – reporting they've already been paying their women more than the men, for years. As we tried to explain a few weeks back, this is based on revenue generated by the respective organizations.
- But here are the hard, cold facts: The US Soccer Federation paid out $34.1 million in salary and game bonuses to the women between 2010 and 2018 as opposed to $26.4 million paid to the men over the same time. Boom.
- Why are so many going so nuts over LeBron James' parenting skills? Isn't LBJ an attention-seeking narcissist? From all appearances, of course he is…he loves the limelight. But those kids on his son's AAU team probably get a huge thrill having him in their layup line, dunking and chest-bumping with them.
- What does his son Bronny think about Dad's showboating? I get the whole 'act like a parent' thing. Little League/AAU/sports parents can be some of the worst to deal with when it involves YOUR kid in athletics. Let your kid be a kid and leave 'em be. You don't run out onto the floor or field without getting run from the place. But most parents can't dunk or play in the NBA.
- Look, if LBJ's son's teammates think it's cool for him to be out there, fine. There are exceptions to every rule. But LeBron James, no matter how poorly his relationship may have been with his own parents when it came to playing youth sports, should know you can't live your life – or the life you wish you had – through your child.
- @irishted sent a Tweet this week on the Red Sox calamitous flop: "DD (Dave Dombrowski) is close to his team life expectancy, anyway…ravage a team's farm system for a title & move on has been his MO for a while."
- Ted: What gets me, and I'm sure others, is his seemingly nonchalant attitude after winning it all in such historic fashion last year. It's systemic, too, right through Alex Cora's 'tude in the dugout. Have we learned nothing about repeat-contending in New England, after watching Bill Belichick run roughshod over and through the NFL? Clearly, Dombrowski and the Sox pay little attention outside of their Fenway cocoons.
- Or, they're just not that smart. We could see this coming in the spring. They couldn't, and apparently still can't.
- 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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