Thinking out loud…while wondering what all this eSports fuss is about…
· Who ya’ got? The GOAT, or the Baby GOAT?
· And now TB12 sez he will consider playing “past” the age of 45. Honestly, who can argue with that? Not that he needs the additional wear and tear, of course.
· But the longer he plays, or the longer someone pays him to play, the better he sets up his ‘afterlife.’ And puts the record books away for a long, long time.
· The largest wager placed (so far) on this year’s Super Bowl? $3.46 million on Tampa Bay getting 3.5 points. Must be nice to have that kinda quid to play with.
· Only two players went to the SB with TB12 more than one time and never got a ring out of it. Can you name the players? Don’t cheat – answer is below.
· And while you’ve probably heard or seen that former Patriots’ assistant coach Brendan Daily is now coaching in his 5th straight Super Bowl (three with NE, two with KC) with three rings won – do you know who has the second-most rings behind TB12?
· Up to 25K fans in the stands in Tampa? That’s likely the largest crowd to witness a live sporting event since the pandemic began last spring.
· With another 25,000+ cardboard cutouts attending as well, Ray Jay Stadium might actually look like, um, a real stadium.
· Is Providence super as a football city? Doesn’t rate highly with the folks at Wallet Hub, who sent me a reminder this week how much RI stinks.
· Among all major and midsize cities and markets, Providence ranks third-to-last, #243 out of 245, in Best Cities for Football Fans.
· Behind such gridiron glorious towns as Cambridge, MA, New Haven, CT and N. Andover, MA. Behind Kingston and Smithfield, RI too…but at least they have college football in those towns.
· Guess we don’t have enough blue cheese dip for those wings, amiright? But the NFL loves us, opting for Providence as league HQ for playoff games…and most teams stay overnight in Providence when they play in Foxboro. Just sayin’.
· Boston is ranked #3, behind Pittsburgh and Dallas, FYI.
· Life imitating art? You’ve seen the State Farm TV commercials with Patrick Mahomes in the barber chair? ESPN had a story this week that Mahomes was scheduled to get a haircut this week – and the barber tested positive for Covid-19. A close shave, indeed.
· Tedy Bruschi has joined his alma mater at the University of Arizona, and ex-Pats assistant and new head coach Jedd Fisch as a consultant. Full tilt, but only part time.
· Albert Breer of the MMQB reported the Patriots offered a 2nd round pick and a player for Matt Stafford? I’d have offered the 1st rounder, as I said last week. Glad I didn’t.
· And glad the Lions moved on, too, considering Stafford’s apparent unwillingness to test himself in New England.
· Here’s a beaut – apparently, the pandemic hasn’t hurt ownership in professional sports. Since March of 2020, 64 owners across all four major league sports have seen their combined net worth increase from $325 billion to $426 billion.
· That’s about a 30% growth, so sez the Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness. Who needs fans in the stands?
· Thanks, Pedey. Dustin Pedroia’s retirement announcement this week was not unexpected, yet it still hit home plate with me. Guts, grit, glory – he had it all during his run.
· Is he Hall worthy? Certainly, seems that way to me. My subscription to Hall entrance has always been “if he’s good enough now, he’s good enough when he becomes eligible.” No matter the sport.
· Tweet of the Week, from @JoeyMacHockey: “Pedroia used only two gloves his entire big-league career. That’s 1512 games with only two mitts.”
· Fine that MLB will start the season on time, despite the States of Arizona and Florida keeping Coronavirus issues on their problematic front burners. But in their earnestness to return to the field (and earn their full paydays) did the Players Association turn a deaf ear to the very public who support them?
· Probably. Even if they also hold a massive amount of distrust with baseball ownership altogether, as a reason why they want to play on.
· And therein lies the real problem within the Sport of Baseball. No one trusts.
· Interesting that Theo Epstein is turning to ownership issues within baseball. His latest move is to join Actos Sports Partners, a private equity firm that buys up minority shares of pro teams. His job will be to advise owners of the teams his firm has invested with.
· Actos was founded in 2019…and one of their first investments? The Fenway Sports Group – and the Boston Red Sox.
· So yeah, he’s advising his former bosses, among other things. What goes around, comes around.
· Wonder if he’s p*ssed that the 2021 Sox already appear to be out of the postseason mix…like we are?
· Was never a J.J. Redick fan while he was at Duke. But he’s done well for himself as a pro. And even though the Celtics need to improve their defense over everything else, a Redick pick-up would make them that much tougher to defend.
· That might be the best defense this team can offer this year – outshoot and outscore ‘em.
· Want a real comeback story? Recall 2016, when Brazilian Serie B team Chapecoense lost its’ entire roster in a tragic plane crash in Colombia?
· Chapecoense just won this years’ Serie B title this past week…four years after the team was wiped out.
· Revs’ goalkeeper Matt Turner made his debut in the net for the US Men’s National Team this week. Not only did Sam’s Army claim a 7-0 drubbing of Trinidad & Tobago, Turner stiffed a penalty shot cold in the 66th minute.
· That’s how you keep a gig.
· ICYMI, Part I: This weekend’s Duke-UNC game is the first between the two bluebloods since 1960 where both teams are unranked. 1960? Think about that for a sec.
· ICYMI, Part II: Next November’s Empire 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden will feature Gonzaga, Louisville, Oklahoma State and Providence. Gulp.
· Can’t say the Friars don’t schedule up. PC won this tournament four years ago, beating Washington and Saint Louis in New York.
· But that’s next season. As for the current one, yikes.
· A.J. Reeves did exactly what Friar fans have long been longing for against Georgetown last weekend, scoring at-will and shooting well. Trouble is, no one else could help him out.
· The defense is a key issue. Man-to-man is a step slow and cannot keep opposing teams from penetrating and creating shots. The Friars played a solid zone against Seton Hall Wednesday…
· …but the offense went from inconsistent-to-bad. PC really misses Jared Bynum, or anyone, to run the point. Turnovers are killers. Rebounding and giving up second shots has been rough. And David Duke needs to be off the ball for Providence to turn this around.
· Nate Watson found himself on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar list as one of the Top 10 centers in the nation last week. Now, Providence could use him playing like one. Defenses are mostly side-fronting the post and the Friars are having a difficult time getting the ball inside.
· When Watson gets the ball low, double-teams usually follow. The ball should bounce back outside, but the trouble is…his teammates aren’t always open, and that’s part of the problem.
· In the Big East, another pause to play at Xavier this week with recurring Covid issues. But St. John’s and Georgetown struck a blow for the old school Big East with wins over Villanova and at Creighton.
· The Red Storm, in particular, are red hot. St. John’s has won five straight and six of seven…and guess who comes into Alumni Hall Saturday afternoon? Yup.
· TWITBE 7.5 this week features Rhody transfer and UConn guard Tyrese Martin, DePaul coach and New Bedford native Dave Leitao and the New York Post’s Zach Braziller. On the radio locally on WPRO, on Sirius Channel 134, XM 201 and online 964 preceding the Game of the Day, usually at 11:00 am ET. Plus, on your favorite podcast provider or online at westwoodonesports.com and bigeast.com.
· Connecticut senator Chris Murphy and Massachusetts senator Lori Trahan this week introduced the latest bill to allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. The “College Athlete Economic Freedom Act” would keep schools from putting a ceiling on what athletes can earn, has athletes taking part in group licensing deals and holds schools violating these terms up against the Sherman Antitrust Act.
· The NCAA is seeking an exemption from that one. This bill is, perhaps, the most radical one offered yet…giving athletes full access to the free market. The NCAA this week filed a brief with the Supreme Court, asking them to reaffirm the association’s authority over college athletics.
· URI clearly has some of the same issues PC has, starting with point guard play. With Fatts Russell struggling with injuries, there is little flow to the Rams’ game on offense. It is a grind, and it ground to a near-halt this week in losses to Dayton and VCU.
· Bryant, unfortunately, became the first local team to be hit with an internal (Tier 1 personnel) Covid pause Thursday. Games against Mount St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart are postponed for this week and next.
· The Bulldogs’ hex with Fairleigh Dickinson continued last weekend in two tough losses, knocking them out of first place in the NEC, a half-game behind LIU. They’ve now lost eight straight to the Knights.
· John Chaney was a champion of the underserved, and often the underprivileged…in addition to being a Hall of Famer. He wasn’t just a coach, but a de facto parent for many of his athletes and recruits through the 24 seasons he served as Temple’s head basketball coach.
· Always appreciated it when he said his biggest goal wasn’t to win championships – which he did. It was to give poor and less fortunate kids a chance to gain an education.
· Chaney died late last week at age 89…and who can forget his 1994 bout with ex-UMass coach John Calipari, when he threatened to kill Coach Cal? Some in Kentucky might like to do the same right about now.
· The “Saved by the Bell” generation was behind me, but Dustin Diamond’s passing away this week at age 44 following a brief struggle with cancer certainly must have hit home to 40 or 50-somethings, at least? His character in the TV show, Screech, gave “geeks” new purpose – if not life – and helped make them cool with a younger crowd.
· The University of Virginia announced it is laying off athletic department employees because of the pandemic. The University of Texas athletic department, on the other hand, earned $22 million profit during the pandemic in 2020.
· And still laid off some of its’ athletic department staff.
· Pro tennis, women’s hockey and lacrosse have all suspended, stopped or delayed their events and seasons. But baseball sez ‘play ball,’ and the NBA will try to play an all-Star game. Show me the money.
· I don’t know about you, but Elon Musk might be worth a follow. He’s tweeted recently on GameStop and other companies, and stocks have gone through the roof.
· Although, he had a SpaceX rocket crash and burn this week, so…
· What about eSports? Competitive gaming is huge these days, both playing and watching on places like Twitch. David Price wasn’t lyin’ about his love for Fortnite at one time. It has become a global billion-dollar industry.
· Not for nuthin’, but we have an eSports franchise – the Boston Uprising – playing in the Overwatch League. Or did you not know the Kraft’s made that purchase a few years ago?
· In 2019, more than 100 million viewers worldwide watched just the League of Legends, which remains most popular. There are entire streaming, cable and satellite channels dedicated to competitive gaming.
· But I’d almost rather watch paint dry than watch other people play.
· I’m not a big video gamer. But my heart skipped a beat this week with the news that EA Sports is bringing back “EA Sports College Football.” It’ll be the first college football title offered since 2014…but it’s previous heyday was in the late ‘90’s to early 2000’s.
· It was the one video game where I could whip my kids, running a wishbone offense.
· See, at least there is a gaming god. But it won’t hit the market again until 2023, it seems. I’ll wait. Hope I can still run the ‘bone.
· Trivia Answer: Logan Mankins and Wes Welker were both on the 2007 and 2011 teams that lost to the NY Giants. Welker also went to the 2013 game with Denver – and lost that one, too.
· Trivia, Part II: Charles Haley, with San Francisco and Dallas. Has five. 32 players have won four.
· My buddy “Big E” sez his grandson was told by his teacher to always use ‘big people words.’ The teacher asked the class what they did over the weekend and one kid said, ‘I went to see my Nana.’
· The teacher responded by saying, ‘use BIG PEOPLE words. You went to see your grandmother.’ So when it came time for E’s grandson to answer, he was ready. “I read a book!” is what he told his teacher.
· ‘That’s wonderful,’ she replied. ‘What book did you read?’ He answered, “Winnie the S*it!”
· Hans emailed an interesting question this past week: “Where do you think David (Duke) will go in the NBA Draft, either this year or next?”
· Hans, he’s already been projected as a potential second-rounder this year. But with his struggles of late, it’s easy to see his overall game could use a little repair work to improve some of the holes. Ball handling is one of those. Consistency and decision-making are two more. But the NBA is all about “fit.”
· David is 6-5, and already an elite-level defender. It’ll be up to him. Is what he is right now good enough for him? Maybe, but the question I’d ask – does he want a professional shelf-life longer and more lucrative than a three-year, two-way contract?
· If he decided to return for a senior season, he could be a first round pick. Could be. But a lot must happen, and nothing is guaranteed – which is part of the reason why we see so many take the plunge and leave for the professional ranks before they’re ready. You remember Ben Bentil and God Shammgod, right?
· 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? 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! Would appreciate the follow on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster…and join in on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...
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