Thinking out loud…while wondering where that Ronco pasta maker is hiding in my basement…
• I simply don’t know if I can take it for another month. Every day – who played better? Cam or Mac?
• Sometimes, I really believe some of the media covering this team – not all, but some – do so through their own fandom…and not because it’s their job to report, you know, what really happens.
• The crowds at Gillette for practices are lower, you say? I say 1) the opening practice was rainy, and 2) no autographs are allowed. Having been around a few of these rodeos, the ‘no autograph’ thing is big.
• TB12’s absence might be a contributing factor. But there’s also this thing called Covid, which some in our looney tune world believe is a hoax, or that it won’t hurt them, or the shot is too risky and they refuse to get vax’d.
• As a result, sensible people – and in this case, the NFL also qualifies – are simply taking every precaution they should.
• So if you won’t ‘do your job’ and get the shot, it’s your fault there’s no autographs at training camp.
• How you like them apples? Or that logic? Better than what you got.
• Three storylines for opening week: 1) Cam vs. Mac; 2) Mac vs. Cam; 3) Newton vs. Jones.
• Please, for the love of all things pigskin that we’ve been waiting for, can we get a little insight on a position battle OTHER than at quarterback?
• The preseason has been shortened this year, amiright? It already seems longer.
• A very classy move by the Kraft’s to include the late Patriots’ cheerleader and cheer coach Tracy Sormanti as a contributor for induction into the team Hall of Fame. No one in that building, through the past 30+ years, worked harder or was more responsible for their duties than Tracy was.
• With NFL teams now underway, the midweek Covid update has every NFL team at a minimum of 50% vax’d…with 14 teams at or above the 85% mark. Peer pressure is a wonderful thing sometimes.
• And so is the threat of not winning games, reaching bonuses or getting paid.
• How are the Indianapolis Colts – one of the least vax’d teams to this point by most accounts – handling the news of head coach Frank Reich’s positive test for Covid? And he’s vaccinated.
• If anything, it should show that the vaccine works. Wonder if any of the anti-vaxxers in that locker room get it? Or, get the shot?
• How the mighty have fallen. Deshaun Watson’s fall from grace and NFL superstardom is his own fault, of course…seeing as he may certainly have a massage habit he should have curtailed long ago.
• Twenty-two (at last count) active civil lawsuits have been filed against him for sexual assault. And the Houston Texans are serious about asking for THREE #1’s to trade him?
• That’s laughable. They ain’t that serious. Watson has denied the claims, of course. Houston opened camp this week with Business As Usual. GM Nick Caserio, in true Belichickian style, sez he hasn’t been a distraction.
• But what team, in their right minds, would take him right now?
• He’s at least as toxic as Britney Spears’ current daughter/father/protecting you for your own good relationship, no?
• And if Watson poses topless on Instagram in defiance of his mistreatment, I’m out.
• ICYMI…BC football has been slotted for 3rd in the ACC Atlantic Division, behind obvious favorite Clemson and North Carolina State. But it is the Eagles’ highest preseason pick in 11 years, as they return 20 starters.
• That rumbling you hear in the distance isn’t thunder. Conference realignment has bubbled up from underneath the earth’s surface again, as Texas and Oklahoma have announced they’ll depart the Big 12 for the SEC in 2025 – when their current media grant of rights agreement expires.
• But anyone who thinks this will happen at that time – it will happen MUCH sooner (pardon the pun) than that – has never gone through a divorce before. Can you imagine living with your divorced spouse for four more years?
• Nope. Not gonna happen.
• The Big 12 filed a ‘cease and desist’ order on ESPN this week, claiming the TV network is driving remaining members away from the conference to other leagues for their survival – including the AAC.
• ESPN, naturally, denies such a thing. Sounds to me like the WWL is at it again, as they did with Pitt and Syracuse two decades ago when they bolted the Big East. And remember when then-BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo let it slip that “ESPN is the one who told us what to do?”
• How’s that working out – besides a slightly fatter wallet? Competitively, they’ve all been castrated.
• It’s become all about counting dollar bills instead of counting victories at those three schools…since that time not long ago.
• They’ll probably be doing that at many of the 16 schools in the SEC when Texas and OU join up…USA Today estimates the league could generate $1.3 billion in 2024-25, which is the same as the entire NCAA haul estimated for that year.
• Not for nuthin’, but the exit fees UT and OU will be paying to leave the Big 12 will probably amount to about $80 million – per school. Mere chump change in today’s landscape.
• When UConn’s James Bouknight was selected in the NBA Draft’s first round by Charlotte, how long did it take for you to remember, “didn’t Kemba Walker play there, too?”
• Congratulations to Providence’s own (and Classical High School’s) David Duke, who signed a free agent contract with Brooklyn and will now begin his professional tenure in the upcoming NBA Summer League.
• But it’s only semi-sweet…can’t help but wonder what another year with the Friars (or even elsewhere) would have done for his chances to become a draftee – with a guaranteed-money contract in tow.
• Everyone’s sitch is different, I know. But how does that saying go? Those who forget (or ignore) history, are doomed to repeat it?
• The transfer portal’s revolving door has barely slowed to a spin, and rosters are still in flux. Time for another edition of the “Still Way Too Early Big East Projection” for 2021-22:
• 1) Villanova is the only easy pick to make. 2) Xavier, largely because Paul Scruggs returns for what seems like his 10th season. 3) UConn, but this is shaky since there’s no James Bouknight to steady the ship. 4) St. John’s makes the biggest leap forward, from 8th or 9th, thanks in large part to Julian Champagnie’s return.
• 5) Providence – but the Friars would be higher if David Duke had returned. 6) Marquette – call me crazy, but Shaka Smart’s team could finish anywhere from 2nd to 9th. 7) Butler – and the Bulldogs return nearly everyone (plus the injured Scooby Johnson) from last season. 8) Seton Hall – I don’t think the Pirates are the 8th best team in the league, but where else do they belong?
• 9) Creighton – see Seton Hall. And the Blue Jays have finished higher than predicted every year they’ve been in the Big East. 10) Georgetown – didn’t the Hoyas just win a Big East tourney title? 11) DePaul – the Blue Demons have a new coach. But what else?
• How many NCAA teams? It sez here six or seven. Unless they all beat the stuffing out of each other, which could also happen. Buckle up for a crazy ride.
• St. John’s is building a statue of Louie Carnesecca to stand in the lobby of the building named after him on their campus. The Friars, of course, have statues of Dave Gavitt and Joe Mullaney in front of their Ruane Friar Development Center on campus.
• If college basketball could use any improvement, former Friar assistant, St. John’s head coach and TV analyst Fran Fraschilla suggests a move to a 24 second shot clock. And he’s 100% right.
• Speed and pace of the game would pick up dramatically and pull the college game clock even with the NBA and the international world.
• But this is something that’s been debated, and largely ignored, for most of the past 20 years. Time for the coaches and the rules committee to pull their heads out of the sand and coordinate the game, instead of playing with different rules at different levels.
• Maybe, just maybe…if our younger, less experienced players are playing the same game as the pros here and amateurs and pros do overseas…maybe they’re more competitive and Team USA doesn’t get whacked by France?
• Or maybe that was just Gregg Popovich’s fault. Or Kevin Durant’s.
• Not for nuthin’, but let these Olympic games be an example for what USA Basketball should do in future years against a world that has caught up to them…leave NBA head coaches out of coaching the Olympic team.
• They’re more built for the ‘grind’ of a long pro season. They’ve got little more to prove, already performing at the highest level on the planet. Playing for the red, white and blue is just another game.
• College coaches can rev it up on short notice. They coach with chips on their shoulders. They have players who have something to prove. And that’s precisely what this team needs.
• No more Gregg Popovich’s, with all due respect. Give me Coach K…or better yet, Jay Wright or Ed Cooley any day. It’s gold Jerry – gold, I tell you.
• At the risk of being a complete cad (I’m generally an incomplete cad)…Simone Biles’ legacy – if such a thing matters anymore – has had its’ shine dulled by her Olympics’ withdrawal from team competition. How can it not be?
• Totally get the mental health thing. She appears to have the gymnastic ‘yips,’ like when golfers miss two-foot putts, and basketball players clank free throws.
• There is a lot of pressure, a lot of weight to carry on your shoulders…being the best at something and living up to ‘standards,’ especially those that aren’t your own. But you can’t tell me she hasn’t faced this sort of pressure previously. Not with her record of success in competition.
• She’s been doing this most of her life. This was a moment of weakness, of mortality – and even the great ones have them.
• But in leaving the “team” competition,” if she returns for individuals, this won’t be looked at positively…as a ‘singularly minded’ competitor. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it ain’t the best look.
• Yes, individual sports do require an individualistic focus for ultimate success. It’s all on you. And that could be part of the issue here.
• Perhaps she should have a talk with TB12? Or Michael Phelps, perhaps? Simone Biles may certainly rank as a gymnastics’ GOAT, but she may also have cost herself a little extra lettuce along the way.
• Hope she figures it out, but with a clear understanding of her road ahead. It will be bumpier.
• On the plus side, the feel-good story behind Suni Lee’s ascension to the all-around gymnastics gold medal likely would never have happened if Biles had not withdrawn.
• Naomi Osaka is in a similar place. Talented athlete and tennis player. Lit the cauldron in her home country. But she has her own issues and was eliminated earlier than expected in Tokyo. The pressure of the spotlight and responsibility to answer those demands come with the territory of being talented.
• It’s what helps make the great ones great…being able to handle it all.
• And the spotlight ain’t for ever’body, even the ultra-athletically inclined. Just sayin’.
• Big ups to the Boston Renegades for their championship win in the Women’s Football Alliance. And bigger ups to the Patriots for allowing the ladies to take their team plane to the game…with a catch.
• They had to win to get the flight home. Mr. Kraft was just kidding about that, right?
• Seriously, if you didn’t know – the women footballers are NOT paid to play. Instead, they pay around $1K per season to play and fundraise to make up the difference.
• I have one question about Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran. What the hell took the Sox so long to call him up?
• His running style can best be described as like a ‘whirling dervish,’ someone with a boundless amount of energy. Go ahead, Google that.
• Kyle Schwarber. 25 taters. Ok. But he’s on the IL. Who’s on first?
• The Cleveland Guardians? They changed, what, the I-N and replaced those two letters with G-U-A-R? Hope no one broke any brain cells figuring that one out.
• There’s also a roller derby team in Cleveland called the Guardians, so…the copyright court is liable to get a workout on the shores of Lake Erie.
• The days of Brian Lawton and Bryan Berard are long gone, but Woonsocket, RI’s Mount Saint Charles hockey program is back leaving its’ impression upon the NHL.
• Five players in the Mount program – which includes the high school team in the RIIL but also several travel teams at the juniors’ level – were drafted this week, including Zachary Bolduc in the first round to St. Louis.
• Maybe the days of Bill Belisle’s dominance are long gone, but this was a feat that sings a familiar refrain through the echoes of time within Ocean State sports.
• Will we recognize the Boston (or Providence) Bruins by the time camp starts? Free agency has done a dance on that spoked “B” logo this year.
• Massachusetts finally has a sports betting bill on the floor of the state Senate. The hang up, it appears, has to do with allowing college sports betting in the state. Only the House version of the bill allows for it.
• To this, Twin River in Lincoln and Tiverton, RI undoubtedly say “fight on!”
• My buddy “Big E” sez he heard a dietitian claim they didn’t understand why some people wouldn’t be vax’d, if only because of the food they put into their bodies every day.
• “None of us realize the chemicals we put into our bodies by simply drinking water or even eating some vegetables,” the dietitian said. “But there’s one thing that’s more lethal than anything else, and we all eat it.”
• “Big E” offered up his theory, even with Mrs. E standing nearby. “Wedding cake?”
• “But wait, there’s more!” If you’re of a certain age, there’s little doubt you remember Ron Popeil and many of his “Ronco” products invented and sold through TV infomercials that often became our best friends during late night viewing.
• Popeil passed away this week at age 86. The man could sell, yes…literally hundreds of products. But he had a flair within his eccentric, slightly daffy showmanship that simply drew you to the screen. Saturday Night Live famously spoofed him, and he willingly took part in those comedic acts through the years.
• Popeil was on American TV for more hours than any other celebrity of his era…and the Smithsonian Institution has his innovations archived.
• Guess that means they can always “just set it and forget it!”
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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