Gang, hope this finds you well. Remember the mailbag for this Friday and we are less than a week from SEC media days. Wow.
From the "Talks too much" studios, pass the Dr Pepper... wait a second.
As Austin Powers father once said, "There are only two things I hate in this world - people who are intolerant of other cultures and the Dutch," let's explore the most recent and arguably the most ridiculous law suit filed in a sea of ridiculous law suits.
And the crazy thing is this one could have ridiculously huge aftershocks.
Apparently, according to Yahoo! Sports, Andrew Rector, a 26-year-old Yankee fan who has not missed many meals unless they were serving salad, is suing, ESPN, its announcers, MLB and the Yankees for $10 million because they showed him on camera snoozing in the stands of a Yankees-Red Sox game in April.
Rector's contention is that he has suffered great angst after the "unending verbal crusade" caused by the video on the telecast and on mlb.com the next day.
In truth, Rector's biggest beef - other than his tummy - is against the comments on various websites that make fun of him, so if this stupid lawsuit is not dismissed quickly, we could be looking at a game-changer for the future of interactive website chat places.
C'mon Andrew, be more man than this. And to go ol' school Dr. Suess-like, "If you don't want to feel the zap, don't get caught taking a nap."
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Braves fall
New York Mets Ruben Tejada (11) smiles as he looks back at his teammates after hitting an 11th inning, game-winning, walk-off, RBI single in the Mets 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in a baseball game in New York, on Monday, July 7, 2014.Your Braves lost 4-3 in 11 innings in New York against the Mets. It happens.
The good: Mike Minor looked like a guy that should be in the top three of a rotation. That's a very good thing, and something that has not been the case for the crafty left-hander who the Braves need to be better than he has been.
The bad: The offense had success with 12 hits - a very lofty number for a Braves team that is 21st in the majors in average at .244 - and for walks in 47 plate-appearances. But the Braves continued to be terrible with runners on base - going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 runners stranded. Wasted chances that ultimately led to the loss.
The Uggla: Man, those splinters from the bench have to be bothersome. Today is July 8, and our man Danny Uggla has all of 11 at-bats in the last month dating back to June 8. It's time Braves. It's time. And we know he will not be the starter for this time any time soon, and he's not a defensive upgrade or has the ability to play multiple positions, so he's on the roster for one of two reasons - to be a right-handed pinch-hitter or because the Braves brass do not want to admit this debacle. Side note: The only thing worse than Uggla as an everday player this year (21-for-120 for a .175 average) is Uggla as a pinch-hitter. He's bagel-for-9 as a pinch-hitter. It's time.
Also of note, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez got tossed for arguing a replay overturn of the classic "neighborhood play" at second base. The umps went to the replay and called a Mets runner safe at second because it was ruled Andrelton Simmons did not touch second as he tried to turn a double play, the famous "neighborhood play" at second that MLB has ruled is not reviewable. Interesting debate on a lot of fronts, but we were actually glad to see Fredi G get his spirits twisted.
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Is that enough?
Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger (33) goes up for a layup against Chicago Bulls forwards Luol Deng (9) and Carlos Boozer (5) during the first quarter in Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series, Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)The Miami Heat reportedly reached deals and added Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger.
Is that enough to sway the Big Three back to South Beach?
Hard to know. And while we wait on King James, we know the dominos will fall quickly.
We also know that it's important to remember that the NBA salary cap is a soft-cap and that teams can exceed it and pay luxury taxes.
Will the Heat do that? Almost certainly. But as a repeat offender - that's a bone-headed name alright - the luxury tax could be as much as $2.50 for every dollar over the tax. Ouch-standing.
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This and that
- Nice scoop for all-around TFP ace David Uchiyama in today's sports section about UTC bagging the Dr Pepper Classic. Quick question, especially for you Johnny Mocs Fans among us: Will the Dr Pepper be missed? Discuss.
- One more NBA free agency tidbit: We all know the Big Three have some sort of secret pact in place, otherwise Dwyane Wade would not have opted out, right? Right. But what does Chris Bosh do now that the Rockets have offered max money? How could Bosh take $12-15 million a year from Miami and leave $7-10 million on the table from the Houston offer?
- The NFL and the more than 6,000 plantiffs in the monster class-action lawsuit revolving around concussions have reached a new agreement that the judge has supported. After the court ruled that a close to $700 million cap was too low, the league and the players in the suit have settled on a ceiling around $850 million and a pool of resources slated to be there for at least 65 years. Here's more from the AP, but our biggest question is how will Roger Goodell try to distract NFL fans today? He may make Johnny Football leak some photos of his appearance at a Vegas benefit to raise money for a children's hospital and homeless strippers.
Actor Kevin Bacon, left, and executive producer/creator Kevin Williamson of "The Following" attend the Fox Winter TCA Tourin Pasadena, Calif.- Happy Birthday Kevin Bacon. And yes, we're pretty good at the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game, and know that a lot branches from A Few Good Men, JFK, Animal House, Sleepers and Apollo 13. And who doesn't love Bacon.
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Today's question
We had some fun with numbers here yesterday and carried that over to a Rushmore of numbers on Press Row on 105.1 FM.
We settled on 42 for Jackie Robinson, 23 for Jordan, 99 for Gretzky and 10 for Pele. Good times. Good list.
We debated 3 a bunch but the divide between the Babe and Dale Sr. was too great for either to be truly iconic.
With that - and the reports that Ghostbusters 3 will continue despite the recent death of Harold "Egon" Ramis - we'll stay with the number.
Today's Rushmore is about the worst third movies in a series. You have to have at least had some success to consider making more than two, so which three-quels were the worst? And yes, Major League III: Back in the Minors looks like the Jordan of this category.