Thinking out loud…while wondering what in the wide, wide world of sports broadcastin' is goin' on around here…
· My man, Rookestradamus.
· He told me prior to a radio show back in December to not be surprised if Cam Newton returned to New England. And lo and behold…
· …Dude is on fire.
· But do not despair, Cam-Haters and those who think you know football. This should signal the Patriots have a young QB in mind for the draft, where he can potentially learn under Super Cam for a year…at least…before potentially acquiring the keys to the franchise.
· I mean, the signs have been there. BB has said 'no one works harder' than Cam. There's a definite mutual admiration society between the two.
· And maybe Jimmy G (or other options) are too rich for Patriot blood? Those options are not off the table. You just haven't been paying attention, and you don't want to admit it because you think Cam coming back is ludicrous – the guy can't throw!
· But he can do enough. This move allows you the flexibility to, ironically, take your best shot downfield…something that was hard for Newton to do last year. And this saga is nowhere near completed.
· This is just the latest chapter. Read on, we've got a few months to get through before OTA's.
· But the story just got juicier, didn't it?
This nugget from the Sports Business Journal this week: Sports venues are opening back up, but fans are still trepidatious. Only 22% of adults and 27% of sports fans would feel comfortable attending a game right now, per a Morning Consult poll.Trepidatious? Good word. Wish I'd thought of it first.If bringing back Trent Brown in this week's trade with the Raiders wasn't an indicator of the type of QB the Patriots might be looking for, beyond Cam, perhaps…you aren't paying attention here, either. Or you're just trepidatious.· Too much, too soon?
· Brown not only protects the blind side, he IS the blind side. He certainly looks as if he could give Cam more time in the pocket, which we know he had trouble with last season. Having the ability to gain yards on the ground is a bonus here, perhaps, but not necessary.
· No tag on Joe Thuney this season, as was expected. Only nine franchise tags were applied around the NFL. There are going to be plenty of solid veteran players available soon as free agents with the salary cap crunch coming.
· Speaking of which, the cap ceiling was set at about 8% below last season's number, after increases over the past 10 years. The players agreed to it, but the owners are also hoping to stop hemorrhaging money…especially with the number of fans allowed to return still uncertain.
· The NFL lost 25% of its' revenue over 2019 this past year. That's about a $4 billion drop. The players are lucky the salary cap floor didn't bottom out and drop further than it did.
· But the Patriots? They've got room to work with. A lot of it. They can shop Neiman Marcus, even though they've started at Filene's Basement…while much of the league is cart-pushing around Walmart.
· March Madness is here – and who isn't happy to have it back? Even if it is a little strange, maybe a bit surreal and a lot different from previous years.
· 'Cuz the alternative of what we've gone through over the past 12 months, in our sports world, isn't worth a repeat performance. No do-overs needed, wanted or allowed. Last year will be with us longer than we'd like.
· Bryant came oh-so-close, didn't they? Would have been – should have been – a marvelous Cinderella story for the entire country to stumble upon. Alas, 'twas not meant to be in the Northeast Conference championship Tuesday night in Smithfield.
· The Bulldogs' first dance invitation will have to wait. Charles Pride's career high 33-point performance almost singlehandedly carried his team to a personal slipper-fitting session.
· 10-1 at home during the pandemic? Two all-tourney team selections (with Peter Kiss)? A first-ever title game appearance?
· You've arrived, Bulldogs. Now, do it again. Such is life in Division I, for contending programs. You asked for that 14 years ago, didn't you?
· And…can you keep your coach? Jared Grasso is a leading candidate to take over at Fordham in the Atlantic-10 – where he once served as the interim head coach. Welcome to the dark side, too.
· And while we're at it – kudos to all who played, and all who kept things safe for those who played. Incredible, really, that we had a season to begin with. Appreciative of the 'can do' attitude carried by so many, despite the few taking the easy view and packing it in.
· There's a reason why first-team talents David Duke and Nate Watson were merely 2nd team all-Big East, and why Fatts Russell was named 3rd team all-Atlantic 10. Their teams didn't win enough during the regular season. 'Nuff said.
· That being said, the coaches vote on the all-Big East selections, and we had an unprecedented three-way tie for Player of the Year between Nova's Collin Gillespie, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Seton Hall's Sandro Mamukelashvili.
· The coaches couldn't make a call. So, they didn't. Although all three were worthy.
· Not sure the Friars' flop this past week can be deconstructed in a few, simple sentences. So, let's go this route with a few, simple sentences:
· No, Ed Cooley won't be fired, no matter how much you might think he deserves it. Crazy talk.
· Yes, the Friars need help on the floor. A basketball mindset from any eligible player would be welcomed, freshman or transfer.
· The transfer route will be explored. Thoroughly. Movement on that end has already occurred.
· And what should happen: Defense preached first. Or you won't be on the floor. The Friar defense was easily the worst in Cooley's 10 seasons. No matter your talent or ability, or your ranking – no 'D' = no 'PT.'
· In this week's "No matter how bad you have it, someone else has it worse" department: Take Villanova. No Gillespie, and even with Justin Moore's return, Georgetown popped the champs in the quarters and gets two tourney wins for the first time in 12 years, and their first semifinal appearance in 17 years.
· That qualifies as a 'wow.' The Hoyas also went 23-for-23 from the free throw line. Also a 'wow.' Perhaps, if the Friars could have done similarly against DePaul, they'd still be playing today.
· I mean, free throws are 'free,' amiright?
· St. John's also felt the long arm of Covid protocols this week, losing 6-10 forward Isaih Moore to contact tracing from another member within the Red Storm's travel party and Tier I personnel. A big loss, literally and figuratively.
· Hottest rumor of the week: New Bedford's Dave Leitao will be dismissed from his job at DePaul, and Loyola's Porter Moser is a prime candidate to move across greater Chicagoland into that spot.
· First five BE Tournament games, five upsets with higher seeds all winning. Two Thursday games went into OT. Too bad the Friars couldn't join that Garden party. It looked fun.
· And UConn is ballin'. Five straight games won by double-digits for the first time in nine seasons. Old school Huskies. Lovin' life in the Big East. But James Bouknight isn't quite Kemba Walker…and the Huskies need him healthy for success to occur this month.
· But what lame-brained MSG security guard was stopping Patrick Ewing for not having proper credentials? Ewing complained about that, jokingly (we think), after his Hoyas beat Nova. Yeah, his number is up in the rafters of that building.
· Great to see a Rhody alum step up with a $3 million donation toward the building of a basketball practice facility in Kingston. Bill Koch of the ProJo reported the donation came from Stefan Soloviev of New York…and the Soloviev Family Basketball Practice Facility is a step closer to reality.
· Also cool to see the Rams step up and extend women's coach Tammi Reiss after their 11-win conference season.
· See, this commitment thing? It's catchy. Better late than never.
· Big ups to Cumberland, RI native and George Mason guard Tyler Kolek, who took the Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year award…leading all A-10 freshmen in scoring.
· In my best Bob Lobel, "why can't we get players like that?"
· An ex-Rhody assistant under Al Skinner, Bill Coen, recently won his 251st career game as head coach at Northeastern, passing Hall-of-Famer Jim Calhoun on the school list.
· Skinner's legacy with his assistants (Coen, Ed Cooley, Tim O'Shea, Pat Duquette) makes me wonder how, once-upon-a-time, URI (and later BC) decided he wasn't worth the trouble any longer. Stupid is as stupid does.
· Duke's sudden Covid-pause at the ACC Tournament, effectively ending the Blue Devils' season, was a bit surprising. But all things being equal here, and considering the amount of grousing Coach K did about having to play in a pandemic with a less-than-Duke-caliber team this year…who else thought this might be orchestrated?
· I mean, a walk-on tested positive? Sure, blame it on the walk-on. Didn't make the NCAA tournament? Blame it on the walk-on. Everybody's off the hook. Accountability intact, even if integrity isn't.
· Of course, if they hadn't had the positive test and had beaten Florida State instead of cancelling the game…the Devils might have been dancing for the umpteenth (actually 25th) straight season.
· Top-seed Virginia, too? Wanna bet the Cavaliers find a way to play next week? And Kansas in the Big 12? Are our protocols superior in the northeast, or are we just smahtah?
· I love a good conspiracy. And controversy.
· The grumbling about uneven schedules and games played also factored in this week when Illinois' athletic director penned an open letter on the school's website – saying his Illini deserved a co-championship with Michigan even though the Wolverines had the highest winning percentage.
· The Illini had the most league wins. But the winning percentage factor, as in the Big East, was pre-determined before the season began. Just goes to show you, even in a pandemic it isn't just about playing the game. Winning is still everything.
· Arizona self-imposed a postseason ban because they knew the hammer was coming from the NCAA and the FBI bribery scandal. Five level I violations, three on former assistants, is a pretty large nail for that hammer to hit.
· The Wildcats would likely be a bubble team this year if not for their transgressions. They'll also likely miss out on a yet-to-be-determined upcoming number of postseasons or scholarships.
· Not for nuthin', but Kentucky's #1-rated recruiting class from last year, that were freshmen this year? Scored a grand total of eight points and shot 3-14 from the floor in a Thursday SEC Tournament loss to Mississippi State. Frosh gonna frosh, even at a true blueblood.
· Familiar names dot the lineup of this years' Basketball Hall of Fame finalists – but Bill Russell? Yes, he's long ago been enshrined. But not as a coach, just as a player…a fact many people most certainly never knew.
· How about just as a person for what he's meant to the sport? The Truth, Paul Pierce, is most deserving, as is Villanova head coach Jay Wright. Both undervalued, perhaps, for their talent and abilities.
· The Celtics' Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker are named as part of a group of 57 finalists (yes, 57) for inclusion on the US Olympic team this summer in Tokyo. The roster number will (eventually) be whittled down to 12.
· Wut? It's football season? Remember some colleges (like URI and Bryant) talking about playing in the springtime? Here we are. Rhody opens this weekend at 5th ranked Villanova…which is already 1-0 in this re-scheduled season.
· They lost in the Hockey East title game, but the NCAA hockey tournament is next on the agenda for PC's women's team…their first bid since 2005. 7th seeded Providence will face 2-seed Wisconsin next Tuesday in Erie, PA.
· Sunday, the men's hockey team at PC travels back to UConn for the opening game of the men's Hockey East tournament. The Friars lost the regular season finale in Storrs, CT 5-3 last week.
· Whoa. This week was the 50th anniversary of Ali-Frazier I, aka "The Fight of the Century." I remember as a kid…pulling like crazy for Smokin' Joe to pummel Muhammad Ali, largely because I didn't understand Ali's brashness or comprehend his cockiness.
· Or get the social message he was trying to portray. He was way ahead of his time, wasn't he?
· You can make the argument – and if you've never seen the fight, you should – Frazier was never again the same after finally beating Ali into submission with a unanimous 15-round decision in that heavyweight clash. Rightly billed as the most-anticipated bout – and perhaps most-anticipated and hyped sporting event – of all time.
· The sport of boxing, with only a few exceptions, has rarely been the same since that era.
· No truth to the rumor that "duck and cover" aren't part of military training, but the new slogan among the denizens of Buckingham Palace in London.
· Honestly, I can understand Prince Harry and Meghan covering for and protecting the Queen and Prince Philip. It's quite likely they're oblivious to most palace shenanigans, whether legal, moral or otherwise.
· But after centuries of authority, the monarchy appears to be on its way to experiencing 21st century 'cancel culture' like the rest of us have.
· Wish I could simply enjoy baseball – but a big backstory to this season bugs me. The Athletic reported this week that revenue sharing will be suspended again, just like it was last year. Normally, as a Red Sox fan (or as a Yankee fan) that shouldn't bother you.
· But here's why it should: The league is tapping a credit line to pay its' bills, because fans will be few to start the year. Once we return to some sort of normalcy, who do you think will get stuck with paying back those loans?
· You will. We all will. Just sayin'.
· And invariably, this will create further tension between owners and players for the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations. Hope I'm wrong, but I don't see this going well. For anyone.
· So…let's play ball, I guess. While we can.
· The NHL to ESPN? Good because it's better exposure than what they've had recently, or bad because ESPN will undoubtedly push (Some. Or a lot.) of the content off on a streaming service instead of the primary channel? Discuss.
· Hope you didn't have tickets for the Tokyo Olympics. They're still happening late this summer, but no foreign spectators will be allowed because of the pandemic.
· The hit to the Japanese economy will be substantial – around a million foreign fans were expected…and the year delay cost the country an extra $15 billion in expenses.
· A final note here on the departures of Danielle Murr and Dale Arnold from the WEEI airwaves, announced this week. For Danielle, her voice on The Greg Hill Show has been unique, succinct and much welcomed. She has been a perfect fit and welcome presence inside the mostly 'Boys Only' clubhouse.
· Mr. Arnold? He's one of the few I'm comfortable calling "Mister," out of respect for more than just his age. You wanna talk about someone who has been around the block? He has. Worked with just about everyone on that block too, including Attila the Hun.
· He'll still be around, I'm glad to hear, with an occasional Red Sox radio appearance and on NESN during Bruins' coverage. But Dale, golly geewhilikers, you've been a voice of reason, perspective and humility in a sports radio sea that churns with sharks and killer whales.
· Thank you for 30 years of great radio. Even when the results weren't good, you've always been there to help listeners work through the issues. Ever thought about psychology?
· Our friend, longtime acquaintance, and one-time Friar radio producer Andy Gresh, as has been rumored, will be stepping into Dale's midday slot.
· 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 ...
Don't forget to tune into Providence's 103.7 FM, every Saturday from 7:00-9:00 am for Cordischi and Coit! Call in at 401-737-1287 or text at 37937.
