Avoid the Christmas rush and send your question for Friday's mailbag now. Don't cost nothing.
From the "Talks too much" studios, let's drop some logic...
ESPN draft analyst Mel KiperDraft discussion
The 5-at-10 loves our family and Christmas and following sports for a living. We also love the draft. You know this.
We have also discussed at length how men over the age of 14 should avoid wearing jerseys unless they are handed to you by someone you call coach. That said, if there was a Mel Kiper replica wig out there, we'd be interested.
Kiper held another of his periodical conference calls on Tuesday and here is what our UT ace Downtown Patrick Brown gleaned about Tyler Bray. Here is what our SEC ace David Paschall learned about Aaron Murray.
Bray and Murray each have tall decisions looming, and each is complicated by the fact that no quarterback has emerged as the next big thing. In fact, Kiper said that N.C. State's Mike Glennon may be the best QB prospect out there in this draft cycle. That speaks volumes about the drop of Matt Barkley and Logan Thomas and Geno Smith.
It also makes you wonder about a Murray or even an A.J. McCarron. With the ability to put an impressive body of work on your resume against the SEC, which features the closest thing to NFL defenses, Murray and McCarron would be quarterbacks of interest.
As for Bray, we'd be stunned if he returned. KIper said he's a second-to-third round type of player right now and that his stock could increase. Well, that is if new coach Butch Jones reworks his offense around Bray as opposed to overhauling it toward the spread Jones prefers.
Plus, Kiper said Cordarrelle Patterson is the top WR on his board and is ranked 11th overall and Justin Hunter was projected as a second-rounder too, If those cats leave - Patterson has to as a mid-first-round guy and Hunter's injury would make that jump likely - that makes Bray's decision even easier.
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Filling out staffs
Speaking of new Tennessee football coach Butch Jones, there has been some grumbling this week about his staff. It reached a fevered pitch Tuesday when former UT quarterback and current USC receivers coach Tee Martin declined an offer to join Jones' staff.
Would Martin been a nice addition to this staff? Of course. He's a good coach that will be coveted on a yearly basis, and his decision to stay at USC with Lane Kiffin is just abother reason why Tennessee fans say Kiffin like Jerry Seinfeld says Newman. "Hello, Kiffff-IN."
But Martin's decision was just that - his decision. And for a guy like Jones, who received an overflowing lovefest because "he really wants to be at Tennessee" and this is his "dream job," assembling a staff for success is as much about feel as it is feelings. As obvious as it may sound, Jones must be comfortable with his assistants and the best way to make sure of that is hire the coaches with whom he's comfortable.
Sure, some of the hires may appear to be head-scratchers - new UT defensive backs coach Willie Martinez had the same job at Auburn last year, and as someone who followed the Auburn implosion closely, well let us note that AU's secondary had one, One, ONE interception in 12 games, and that let's just say the numbers didn't lie.
Hey, we're in complete wait-and-see on the newly hired head coaches so by default we're in wait-and-see mode on his staff. And in truth, even in Martinez's case, it's hard to know the scenes and settings of assistants at previous stops. Remember, Sal Sunseri - SAAALLLLL!!! - came to UT last year with an impressive resume.
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This Sept. 23, 2009 file photo shows Rappers Flavor Flav, left, and Chuck D of the music group Public Enemy, perform at the 2009 VH1 Hip Hop Honors at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in New York. The eclectic group of rockers Rush and Heart, rappers Public Enemy, songwriter Randy Newman, "Queen of Disco" Donna Summer and bluesman Albert King will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next April in Los Angeles. The inductees were announced Tuesday by 2012 inductee Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers at a news conference in Los Angeles.Hall of Fame snub
Rush, Donna Summer and Randy Newman were among the eight musical greats inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall fo Fame on Tuesday.
They were joined by Heart, guitarist Albert King (not the former Maryland hoops star), Lou Adler, Quincy Jones and Public Enemy. Great group all around.
That said, as a fan of 1980s and 90s rap, the fact that Public Enemy was inducted and N.W.A. was not is a disservice to music in general and could be considered criminal to some.
Truth - there is no Public Enemy without N.W.A. Period and without reservation. N.W.A. Was ground-breaking in almost every sense. They took the 2 Live Crew nastiness and added the anger. It was over the top, in both a good and a bad way.
And if that's not enough, look at the pieces of each group: Public Enemy was Chuck D and Flavor Flav, which in sports terms is LeBron with the Cavs looking for sidekicks. N.W.A. was Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy E, which is the 1980s Lakers for crying out loud.
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This and that
- An Indiana girls' high school basketball team beat an opponent 107-2 on Tuesday. Really? That coach should be suspended. Hey, nine times out of 10, we buy into the "It's their job to stop us" theory, especially in football, where there are play clocks and in truth, it's almost as humiliating to take a second- or third-quarter knee as it is to run off tackle. But in high school hoops, where there's no shot clock and not reason to push the tempo? And let's be really clear, to average 27 points a quarter, you have to push the tempo. And this is not like the Iowa dude who set the record within the frame work of that offense. Poorly played indeed.
- Remember the bowl contest. We've received a slew of entries that we'll update later today.
- Looks loike Kevin Youkilis is heading to the Yankees. Someone check on Jefe and Spy and the rest of Red Sox nation - this one will be tough to handle. Who gets more of the blame here: Youk for signing with the Yankees, Booby Valentine for being Booby Valentine or the Red Sox front office for letting this happen?
- It looks like the man you know better as Joe the Police from the What's Going Down episode of That's My Momma, Mr. Tommy Watson will be the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain. Here's our advice: Study closely exactly what Davis Love did... and do the exact opposite. Deal? Deal.
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Today's question(s)
OK, we're still filling out our Christmas movie bracket, and we're looking for more detail.
We decided to have two four-movie brackets. Here's what we have as the top four seeds:
In the St. Nick bracket
It's a Womderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
Die Hard
Love Actually
In the St. Nippy bracket
Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
Home Alone
Scrooged
Thoughts?
Also, here are three quick fill-in-the blank questions:
Best UT assistant coach ever?
Will Tyler Bray declare for the draft and how do you feel about that decision?
If you were an NFL GM and needed a QB, would you draft Bray, Aaron Murray or (blank) out of this class?