And then that happened. Dang, and FSU's defensive coordinator done R-U-N-N-O-F-T.
From the "Talks too much" studios, everyone wants to be a part of the SEC except those who say no thanks. (And they are not really invited any way.)
Georgia's home run hire
Jeremy PruittAfter an entire season of hearing the Georgia fan base complain about defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, Mark Richt made the bold and loyal move of saying he was not going to make a change.
Then, Grantham up and leaves for Louisville to work for the anti-Richt known as Bobby Petrino.
Then, after a relative eye-blink in terms of coach searches, Richt delivers a grand slam hire by swiping FSU DC Jeremy Pruitt. Wow. Just wow. It was like a gift from the Heavens. Maybe all that missionary work is paying off after all.
There are not enough words to describe this home run. This is on the short list of best trade-ups in sports history. We even said on the Twitter (@jgreesontfp) that swapping Grantham for Pruitt was like the Braves dealing Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz.
Let's look at the all-time Rushmore of upgrades:
1) The Orioles dealing outfielder Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson
2) The Indy Colts going from Jim Harbaugh/Paul Justin/Kelly Holcomb to Peyton Manning
3) The Alabama Crimson Tide going from Mile Shula to Nick Saban
4) Caddie Joe LaCava going from Dustin Johnson to Tiger Woods
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LeBron JamesNBA science
LeBron James says he's "jealous" of Kevin Durant. King James is mostly kidding of course talking about Durant's role as the shoot-first, shoot-last option for the OKC Thunder.
That said, if James was playing for, say, the Hawks, and he was given free reign over an offense of a merely average NBA team rather than the most high-profile NBA team James could score 30-35 a night easily.
Let's examine the numbers:
For the season, King James is averaging 26.0 on a mere 16 shots per game. Dude is hitting almost 60 percent of his shots form the field (and better than 40 percent of his 3s).
His per-game scoring average ranks third in the league behind Durant, who is at 29.6 points per game, and Carmelo Anthony, who is clocking 26.2 a night.
But to compare apples to opportunities, Durant is just under 20 shots agame and is shooting worse from the field (48.8 percent) and from 3 (39.6 percent) than King James. As for Anthony, well, he takes 21 shots a game and shots less than 45 percent from the floor and 39.6 from 3.
Any questions?
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Alex RodriguezAnd the spiral continues
Alex Rodriguez, the disgraced former slugger, has become the butt of jokes and the laughingstock face of the PED era. And considering what Lance Armstrong put us through, that's really saying something.
And just when you thought it could not get any worse for A-Fraud, his lawyer goes on ESPN radio and tells Colin Cowherd that while he did not want to name names of PED users, some of them are treated like Gods in Boston.
You stay classy, A-Rod lawyer. So, let's get this straight, A-Rod went from denying, to appealing, to pounding his fist in the arbitration, to taking his case to Federal Court, to denying '60 Minutes' an interview, to now using the old "Yeah, but everyone is doing it, why are they picking on me defense." Real nice, Clark.
A-Rod is suspended for 2014, a ruling he is appealing. If the fans got to decide, A-Rod would be suspended through 2114.
This and that
- The Cubs introduced a new 'mascot' this week and are surprised by the fan backlash. Hey, Cubs, your fans do not want a teddy bear, they want a pennant. And if you want to appease them with some cartoon buffoon, at least name him Harry and give him Coke-bottle glasses. "Here's a guy, Sammy SO-SA, that's A-sos backwards."
- Here's one request for Peyton Manning to work Chattanooga into his presnap cadence.
Catherine Neely- Congrats to legendary coach Catherine Neely, who retired Tuesday, as TFP prep sports ace Stephen Hargis tells us here.
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Today's question
What are the most lopsided trades in sports?
Or who are with Coach Neely on the Rushmore of Legendary High School coaches in the Tri-State area?
Go. (And don't forget the mailbag.)