Let's handle our business.
Rushmore of potato chips — We decided to stay with potato chips and leave corn chips for a future conversation. Ruffles, Lay's Sour Cream and Onion, Golden Flake BBQ and Kettle Chips sea salt and vinegar.
Rushmore of Red Sox — Williams, Yaz, Big Papi and Jim Rice.
Best movies with teenage stars — Caveat here: This is teenage (or younger) stars, as in like the characters and the top four or five folks were school-aged. So "Bad News Bears" is out because Buttermaker is the clear headliner. So I go here: "Stand By Me," "Breakfast Club" (And yes, the five in the club may have been 40, who knows, but they were supposed to be high schoolers.), "Grease," "Rebel Without a Cause."
Best sports-applicable names for sports stars — Usian Bolt, Bronko Nagurski, World B Free and Moonlight Graham.
Here's Paschall with some UT football news. Rules and all.
Here's Hargis with a great read on an East Hamilton assistant making his way back to the field. Again, rules are rules.
To the a stuffed bag this week. Well done, folks.
From John
Some questions please: How might Koepka affect team chemistry? Do all the the other Ryder Cuppers get along with him? Do they care if he's on the team?
Why is UGA TE Brock Bowers still playing college football? He's won two NCAA titles and he's not NFL ready?
John,
Second part first.
This is a bigger injustice that folks should be looking to fix compared to NIL and portal freedom.
Brock Bowers is the best college tight end of my lifetime. He is coming into the league when the positional value of tight end has never been higher.
If he gets seriously hurt this year, it will cost him eight figures.
And by a fairness comp, if Val Kilmer's character from "Real Genius" wanted to declare for the NASA draft as a freshman — and he was clearly ready, like Brock — no one would have batted an eye.
As Enos Cabell and Bob Watson chanted at the Astrodome all those many years ago, "Let them play." And let them get paid.
As for the Ryder Cup, I truly hope Brooks is picked. Heck, if we are being honest, DJ is still one of the 10 best players in the world.
Ask yourself right now: If you were betting all of your net income on an 18-hole Ryder Cup match, would you pick Brooks Koepka or Keegan Flippin Bradley? DJ or Lucas Glover?
At least U.S. captain Zach Johnson is not drinking the urine-soaked Kool-Aid from Brandel Chamblee. Here's some positive words — and some refreshingly clear insight — about Koepka.
Side question: Is Brandel Chamblee the most bitter and punchable face in all of sports media? Which is saying something since, you know, Skip Bayless is still in sports media.
From Pat
Man, does the torn UCL affect Ohtani's value as a free agent?
Pat,
Great question.
I hate this news and the very real thought that Shohei Ohtani will have a second Tommy John surgery on his pitching arm.
It has to affect his value. But I hope he does not give up being the dual-threat unicorn. I understand if he does. One more TJ surgery — if it was his third — would force him to anyway. And dude mashes, but as great as a one-way Shohei would be — and he'd still get $400 million on the free agent market just as a hitter — I love the 12-year-old All-Star Shohei who pitches and bats third.
From Bicycle Bob
Jay, this political correctness thing has gotten out of hand with the song banning. First, "Fat Bottomed Girls." What's next? Are they going to ban that great Eric Clapton ballad 'Bell Bottom Blues'? Hey, a bottom is mentioned. Just sayin'.
BB,
Insightful point, and yes, Clapton's tune has "Bottom" in the title.
And to be fair, Vader mentioned earlier this week that there are some 1980s hair metal songs that cross the line in terms of statutory issues and whatnot.
But did anyone else listen to 1980s rap? Dear Lord, if we're going to come calling for "Fat Bottomed Girls" is 2 Live Crew even allowed to reprint some of those mid-1980s albums?
The would make Andrew Dice Clay say, "Now that's some profanity right there."
From Mark
Can you tell me where totals would be for someone who started with $100 when you launched Plays please?
Mark,
Great question.
Jay's Plays is heading into our first full football season. You can sign up for the weekday email of my best sports betting picks at the top of this story.
We started in late October of last year. We went 0-1 Thursday, and we are hanging in the balance on Rory this weekend at East Lake.
We also listed our best college football picks of Week Zero in Thursday's 5-at-10.
To your exact question Mark, we are now plus-53.95 units through all the picks we have made — and documented — every Monday thru Friday since we started.
That means, if you started with $100 and did the traditional approach of treating every bet we suggested as 1 unit, you would have $639.50 in your betting account.
From Drew
Me and the guys at work talked about the movies with teens as the stars all day. We love the 5@10. Thanks, Jay.
Our biggest argument was on "The Sandlot." Did that make the Rushmore? Some of us think it is on the Rushmore of best baseball movies.
Drew,
Such a great question, and one that has had me thinking all week.
Thinking that "The Sandlot" has a better chance to make the kid-driven Rushmore than the baseball-movie Rushmore.
Thinking that baseball movies — and maybe boxing movies — are the best, Jerry. The best. Think how tough the baseball movie Rushmore is because "Bull Durham," "Major League" and the original "Bad News Bears" are no-doubters. So every other baseball movie ever made is fighting for one spot. And that includes "The Natural."
Side note: This brings us to a point that must be made and is not nearly made often enough. "Field of Dreams" is not a baseball movie, people. Period. It's a father-son movie. It's a dramatic movie. It's a great movie.
But it is not a baseball movie.
As for "The Sandlot," it's close, but I lean nope.
From Danny
What happened to the SEC West predictions Jay?
Man, you need to tighten up.
Danny,
Fair point. And we'll move quickly on our SEC west over/under win total projections, with odds courtesy of FanDuel.
Alabama (over/under 10.5) — Under at minus-184.
Arkansas (6.5) — Maybe my favorite bet across all of the SEC futures. Over. Bigly, at minus-160.
Auburn (6.5) — Call me a homer if you must but the non-conference is laughable and they get Vandy as one of their games from the East. So if Hugh Freeze and Co. can go 2-5 over the other seven, that gets us over. Over at minus-130.
LSU (.9.5) — Over. In a big way. If the Tigers can toppled FSU in the opener — and that's a sizable if — LSU could get to 12 Ws. Over at minus-112
Mississippi State (6.5) — Under at minus-120.
Ole Miss (7.5) — Under at minus-106, but this one is a complete coin flip.
Texas A&M (8.5) — Is there a team in the SEC that has more of a swing than Jimbo's Aggies? Could they be 5-7 and Fisher be on the hottest seat in the country? Yep. Could they be 11-1 and wondering about a playoff invite come that first week of December? Again, yep. But I think Jimbo is a clown, so I am going under 8.5, and it appears most of the betting folks agree since it's now at minus-180.
From a slew of you
Are you ever going to discuss fantasy football?
Gang,
Yes. Yes, I am. We will cover it at length next week. Deal? Deal.
Know this: I am 100% on team Trevor Lawrence this year, especially with a motivated Calvin Ridley running around as a WR1 in Jacksonville. Heck, I am likely going to put a taste on T-Law being NFL MVP (plus-1800, BetMGM) this week.
Have a great weekend, friends.