Thinking out loud…while wondering if the days of hearing “Get in the hole!” at golf tournaments are gone…
• The Boston Herald front page on Wednesday: “Wham! Bam! Thank You Cam!” Couldn’t have said it any better than that.
• His departure, in the way it came about, was a surprise. But based on personal observation, it boiled down to three things.
• 1) The competition between the two was tight throughout the preseason. Usually, however, for an incumbent to lose his spot in a tight fight the challenger needs to deliver a knockout punch.
• 2) Mac Jones’ KO came during Newton’s five-day Covid pause…with Jones getting meaningful, impactful reps against the Giants in practices. BB has said previously those moments are more important than most preseason games played.
• 3) Something happened to sour that Coach-to-QB relationship. Maybe it was the Covid pause. Maybe it was Newton asking to be released if he wasn’t Top Gun. But both have been strangely silent toward each other in the aftermath, after previously showering each other with praise.
• Bottom line – Mac stepped up, Cam got stepped on – even if it wasn’t entirely “his fault.” But it was, ultimately.
• A shot to the arm might have kept his job here…regardless of what you hear. What if he had been able to practice last week? What if he had picked the Giants apart in practice instead of Mac?
• We’ll never know. It is ultimately Cam’s fault…as we described here last week. Performance aside, reliability is also a determining factor.
• Coaches will never admit to vaccination ‘discrimination,’ but the vax/unvaxxed issue is real. And it should be, considering what’s at stake.
• All things being equal as they appeared to be, the younger, lesser-expensive gun won the shootout. Jones is most definitely qualified, without a doubt, based on his performance.
• Moving on in life happens a lot, to many different people in many different occupations. The older you get, the more you see it.
• Rookestradamus recalls the other time BB opted for youth over experience at QB…new guy TB12 won out over an incumbent (Drew Bledsoe) who really didn’t ‘lose’ the job in 2001. The Jets’ Mo Lewis took it from him.
• You can make the argument Covid – or at least Covid protocol – took it from Newton.
• Welcome to the Mac Jones Era, circa 2021.
• ESPN’s Bart Scott said this week he doesn’t believe the “ceiling is that high” for Jones, that by Week 5 – “about the time he plays Tampa” – defenses are going to break him down.
• Can’t wait – to see how this plays out.
• Tweet of the Week, from @CharlesPPierce: “I’d like to congratulate Brian Hoyer for his very impressive roster survival skills.”
• Within three hours of the news, Jones’ jerseys were gone at the Patriots Pro Shop. Fans love a front-runner.
• Meanwhile, there’s a clearance sale on Cam Newton’s Number One.
• It’s a young man’s game. The age of the AFC East starting QB’s, today? Josh Allen, 25. Tua Tagovailoa, 23. Zach Wilson, 22. Mac Jones, 22.
• I’ve got socks and t-shirts in my drawer older than these guys. But my socks and shirts didn’t cost me millions, either.
• The other semi-surprise on the Patriots’ roster came at kicker, with rookie free agent Quinn Nordin getting the nod over Nick Folk. The streak of 17 straight seasons with at least one UDFA reaching the final roster stays intact, and now moves to 18.
• But I wouldn’t go so far to say ‘thanks for the memories,’ Nick. Best guess here is they’ll keep his number handy. Nordin has a cannon for a leg as we’ve seen…but his accuracy is more akin to that of a one-armed, one-eyed skeet shooter.
• Stephon Gilmore’s start on the PUP gives him six more weeks to shore up any lingering injury issues. And work on his contact, and maybe his future. Did the Patriots “win” the negotiation with him? Perhaps.
• But it sez here they really win if the pass rush can make up for his absence on the field in those first six games. Otherwise, the leverage reverts to Gilmore.
• Have we seen the last of Malcolm Butler? Arizona placed the ex-Patriot Super Bowl hero on the reserved/retired list this week, after appearing to be in position to become a starter at cornerback for the Cardinals. A personal issue has apparently halted his seven-year career.
• Stunning news to hear former Patriot WR David Patten, a part of three Super Bowl championship teams, was killed in a motorcycle accident Thursday night. He was 47.
• An NIL update for you – Quinn Ewers, a freshman QB at Ohio State, signed a three-year, $1.4 million deal with GT Sports Marketing. Not only has he NOT played a down of college football yet, he left high school a year early to sign with the Buckeyes.
• Anybody else think that some of these extraordinarily exorbitant college deals will create a ton of extra pressure for these athletes to shoulder? I mean, forget cramming for that psych exam. There are sponsors to take care of…
• Providence released its’ non-league basketball schedule this week – six grinders, five cupcakes?
• Hard for me these days to call out anyone as a cupcake, with the playing field so level. But I know that’s how fans will feel. There’s enough challenge in those grinders to merit NCAA consideration at the end (at Wisconsin, Northwestern, Georgia or Virginia, Texas Tech, URI) – but you gotta win a few.
• And don’t forget to eat those cupcakes, too.
• Creighton hired its’ new athletic director this week, Marcus Blossom, who takes over for the recently retired Bruce Rasmussen. Blossom was hired away from Holy Cross and began his trek to Omaha with assistant AD positions at both BC and PC.
• So he definitely has the private school-Catholic thing going for him, amiright?
• It did not go unnoticed, however, that Blossom’s hiring (he is black) comes in the aftermath of Greg McDermott’s infamous “plantation” plea (and subsequent suspension) to his basketball team last season.
• McDermott is 15 years older than his new boss, but they certainly have hoop in common. Blossom was also a basketball star himself, you might recall, at Northeastern…and he grew up in the Midwest near Chicago.
• Georgetown was named the first winner of the John Thompson, Jr. Award, recognizing significant efforts to fight prejudice and discrimination and advance positive societal change. The announcement from the league came on Sept. 2, which would have been the former Friar’s 80th birthday.
• St. John’s will undoubtedly have a spotlight on its’ program next season, as Julian Champagnie will not only be a favorite for Big East Player of the Year, he’s also been named a preseason all-American by Athlon…as has Villanova’s Collin Gillespie.
• Something for your Holiday Wish List? Dana O’Neil’s new Big East book – “The Big East: Inside the Most Entertaining and Influential Conference in College Basketball History” – will be ‘must have, must read’ for hoop historians and fans.
• Published by Ballantine, it is available for pre-order and due out on bookshelves in November. More than 60 of the league’s key players were interviewed, charting the history and the rise/fall of Dave Gavitt’s creation.
• UConn Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun describes the time as “Camelot. Camelot with bad language.” Can’t wait to read it.
• Ex-Friar Alpha Diallo is moving onto Europe, signing with AS Monaco after playing in Greece last season, and after getting a summer gig with the Phoenix Suns.
• Cool to hear that the URI-Bryant football opener is expected to be a sellout, or a near sellout, at Meade Stadium Saturday night. This year is the start of a 10-year series on the gridiron between the two, which will alternate home-and-away every year.
• The Rams are one of seven Colonial teams receiving votes in the STATS preseason FCS Top 25. Five all-conference players are also back, including freshman RB Kevin Brown – the CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year.
• Bryant alum Tom Kennedy made the final 53-man roster for the Detroit Lions, as did ex-Brown Bear Michael Hoecht with the Los Angeles Rams. And ex-URI receiver Aaron Parker has signed onto the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad.
• Fans will be in the stands for the first time in nearly two years with Boston College’s opener against Colgate Saturday. 99% of students and faculty are vaxxed. Fans 12 and younger will need to wear masks, everyone else will need to show proof of vax or a negative Covid test.
• But the students on campus aren’t required to mask, and the professors at BC aren’t happy. It’s the world we now live in.
• Psyched to hear EA Sports Madden ‘22 is going to have “Classic Legends,” college football teams included in its’ mix of playing options. Anyone want to loan out their game console? My kids took theirs with them when they moved out years ago.
• Other campus sports – soccer and field hockey, to name two - are already underway at the local schools. So is volleyball, and PC this week knocked off URI in five sets to move to 3-1 on the young season.
• Providence soccer is off to a fast start with a win over 23rd ranked Fordham, and a chance for another ranked win this weekend at UNH. The grudge match on the pitch with URI looms for next week.
• CBS’ Jon Rothstein reported this week Bryant’s Jared Grasso hired ex-Duke star Chris Duhon as the team’s player development coach. Duhon played for four NBA teams and had previously been a college assistant at Marshall and Illinois State before having legal and health issues.
• Perhaps further college realignment could be coming sooner than we think? Reports this week have the Big 12 nearing a decision on inviting BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston to join the league – which would raid the American Athletic Conference of three of its’ current members.
• Enough to keep the Big 12 viable as a “power” conference? You’re up next, AAC.
• We first talked about this a few weeks ago – but I can’t imagine going into the Dunk this fall without a mask…unless state guidelines somehow change. The Ryan Center in Kingston is following up on that premise – and regardless of vaccination status, all fans will be asked to mask up at URI games.
• Don’t want to wear a mask? I don’t blame you. I don’t either, so get the shot. Maybe, then…you and I will both have a shot at ‘normalcy.’ Just sayin’.
• My buddy “Big E” sez light travels faster than speed. That’s why some people appear bright until they speak.
• Not for nuthin’, but the Red Sox stunk in August. They were 12-18. 13 of those losses were to AL East rivals.
• Conversely, the Yankees were hit hard by Covid after the All-Star break, and have managed to go 30-13 since, including a 13-game winning streak…their longest in 60 years.
• There’s nothing normal about the Sox these days, with their battle against Covid becoming more of a pain than figuring out how to throw strikes or play decent defense.
• The bottom line: 4-14 in the last 18 against teams with winning records, despite winning the last two in Tampa. But, give credit where it’s due. It’s a start.
• As we’ve opined previously, they’ve played over their heads. But with Covid creeping up like a night stalker in that dugout, there may be little-to-no shot (pardon the pun) to get back in the hunt in the AL East.
• We’ll see, of course. If they can manage to stay in the current hunt for a wild card.
• 11 players and coaches this week – quarantined and spread out from Cleveland, to Tampa, to Boston. This “team,” if you can call it that, never gave themselves a fighting chance by being one of six MLB teams not reaching the baseball vax threshold of 85%.
• Sure, that’s on the selfishness of the individual players. It’s also on the lack of leadership in the dugout and above for not demanding more. Alex Cora has done well with his overall resume, outside of the scandal he was part of in Houston.
• The players love him and respect him. Which is why this failure in his leadership with this team is so disappointing. It’s not about individual choice, skip.
• It’s about all of us. It’s a public health issue. Common Good > Individual Good.
• I mean, even TB12 is vaccinated. C’mon.
• On the flip side, consider the Tampa Bay Rays. 21-6 in August, blowing past Boston and New York. 20-year-old SS Wander Franco had a 31-game on base streak at midweek – second-longest in AL history for a player 20-and-under (behind Mickey Mantle).
• Also the longest streak for a player 21-under in 65 years, since Frank Robinson reached base 43 straight games in 1956. He’s playing for all of $570K this season. Whoa.
• And the Sox just beat the Rays two straight. False hope? Mirage? Tend to believe so, but hey, that’s just me.
• Ed Asner will always be Lou Grant to me. He died at age 91 this week, leaving Betty White as the sole surviving cast member of the “Mary Tyler Moore” TV comedy that portrayed a Minneapolis TV newsroom.
• Comedy or drama (portraying himself as Lou Grant on a later CBS series), Asner was always a curmudgeonly figure who seemed to have a heart. A tough guy with a soft heart. He won seven Emmys and is one of only two actors to win a comedy and drama Emmy for the same role on different shows.
• Congrats to the one and only Bill Reynolds on his upcoming induction into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. Nobody covered and wrote about sports around here with more style, flair, creativity and common sense than did Bunky.
• Did you see the high school football team play on ESPN…that wasn’t a real school? Bishop Sycamore is based in Ohio, but after its’ 58-0 pummeling by IMG Academy on ESPN, it has faced a ton of criticism for being an online (only) school that appeared to focus solely on football.
• That sounds like most of the high school programs in Texas if you ask me.
• The PGA is going to kick out fans for yelling “Brooksie!” (for rival Brooks Koepka) at Bryson DeChambeau? Can you imagine if the NFL, NBA or MLB did that for fans taunting players?
• We’d have no one in the stands.
• C’mon PGA. You’re begging the wise guys to do just that. I understand having class and good sportsmanship, especially in golf…but tell your golfers to suck it up. They earn exorbitant amounts of money for playing a game with a stick and a ball…and fans pay an exorbitant amount of money to watch them play.
• No, you can’t yell during a backswing or a putt – we get that. But this isn’t a good look for a sport that appeared to be making a comeback with the masses during the pandemic.
• Not a good look for DeChambeau, either.
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