Wow, what a beautiful day. A day created for Friday night under the lights, a weekend of college football greatness and the joys of Labor Day.
Personal note: My oldest turns 16 next week. Yep, "holy bleep" is what I was thinking, too. First, I will send out tweets — or are they called "Xs" now? — when he's going to be on the roads up here on Whiskey Hill.
(Side note: Rest easy, Dr. B. You are missed.)
Second, I am going to sit in the dark and cry for a moment this morning because dang, he's got one foot out the door, and I am old.
(Side note, part II: I cry now more than I ever did. When did that happen and is that transition normal? Heck, I don't think I cried emotionally from ages 19-to-49. Now, Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks makes the room dusty, and God forbid if "Field of Dreams" comes on.)
(Side note, part III: Let's set an all-time 5-at-10 side note record today. Deal? Deal.)
(Side note, part IV: A familiar name reached out this week and could be making a return sooner rather than later. Said face also wanted to express his (or her) gratitude for the kind thoughts and well-wishes from the crew. You guys rock.)
Let's handle our business. (Side note, part V: This is going to be lengthy today. Apologies editing team.)
Heck, we got too much to cover today, we'll post the Rushmores in the comments. Deal? Deal.
To the bag.
Fron Chas (yes, that Chas)
Still can't get past the gatekeeper. Please tell the peanut gallery that I'm trying to get back on, and share this:
Naturally, Saban (the best) chose the best band.
Who's Caamp?
Truthfully, this is not the first bad day Weston has had. Thus, his ratings. Most who voted for him held their noses at their choices.
Absolutely, the KY Barbie has to have a Derby topper.
And get Kathleen to look at the CBS News Sunday Morning website for a story on lightning and photographing it.
Chas,
Welcome back, kind sir. Our realm is better with you in it.
Not sure who Caamp is either, and in truth, not sure why Mr. or Mrs. Caamp needed the extra a.
That said, I was pleased that Hugh Freeze said Eric Church. I am good with that.
If we went SEC school and related artists, if the coaches were going to follow the Shane Beamer model and support the most known connection to said school (Darius Rucker and South Carolina, for example), well here are some of the opportunities missed:
Alabama — Lynyrd Skynyrd, because it's Sweet Home after all.
Arkansas — Justin Moore or maybe Glen Campbell.
Auburn — Jimmy Buffett was a student there at least for a few days; heck Lionel Richie attended AU for a short time. Hello?
Georgia — REM among a slew of other ones.
Florida — Tom Petty, and this may be the biggest dunk of them all, and the Gators playing Petty's classic before the start of the fourth quarter at the Swamp is one of college football's coolest new traditions.
Kentucky — The Judds. Yes, Ashley is the biggest fan, but keep in the family, right?
LSU — Let's go Louis Armstrong — or maybe Fats Domino — just on principle.
Mississippi State — I got nothing, although I was kind of surprised to learn that Marsha Blackburn schooled there. So there's that.
Ole Miss — Jimmy Buffett went there, too, because, yeah, Jimmy and I had fun college careers.
Tennessee — Kenny Chesney. Period. Or Dolly. Exclamation point.
A&M — Good with Strait.
Missouri — Sheryl Crow, who graduated from Mizzou.
Vandy — Deirks Bentley, who went to school there which shocked me, too.
From Alex
Why do you say Kirby is 2?
Alex,
I will keep this short because we got a slew of emails this week.
But how could you say Kirby is better than Nick Saban? And yes, I hate answering a question with a question, but two splendid years does not sway my view of 15 years of dominance.
And I am an Auburn grad for Pete's sake, so my ranking an Alabama coach 1 (Side note, part, you tell me: And a Georgia Coach 2, to be honest) pains me.
But Saban is better than Bear. He's better than Papa Bowden. He's better than Eddie Robinson and the pedophile enabler that was Joe Paterno.
He's the GOAT. So Kirby riding shotgun in the modern times is still very high praise.
(Side note: Here's example, 12 million, 246 thousand, 301 why Saban is the mack daddy. Here's a clip of him speaking to a group of industry bigwigs and part of his motivational speech is on how do you pray. Do you pray for blessings or do you pray to be a blessings? Saban is the GOAT, and even as an Auburn grad, that's a hill I will die on.)
From Jenny
What are you cooking if I am coming over?
Jenny,
First, you are going to get permission from the Mrs. 5-at-10.
But it truly depends on what the scenario is.
Your family comes to see my family, we'll live do a marinated flank steak with grill-baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, either grilled asparagus or okra and stick bread. I can offer recipes for those interested.
If you are in need, I would like make a ravioli lasagna because it's easy to transport and keeps for more multiple meals.
If I need to feed the masses, we'll do burgers. (Side note, part, well, you figure you out: The trick to truly great burgers is after the first flip, put half an ice cube on the top of the burger. When it melts, you know the burger is ready for its final flip and the water keeps the patty moist.)
(Side note on the side, yeah who's counting: I can write it in the above context, but here's betting the moderator would not let you guys and gals write "keeps the patty moist" in most references.)
That said, my best cooking realm is breakfast, if I am being honest.
From SteelerFan
Jay,
While watching the LLWS last weekend a thought occurred to me during the joyful, walk-off home run by the California team.
"If this was the NFL," I thought, "the opposing coach would have thrown a red challenge flag and after 10 minutes of debate, the officials would have ruled that the bat flip was a rule violation negating the home run. Meanwhile, the hitter — now out — would have endured another 10 minutes of shame as the camera recorded his uncontrollable weeping."
I'm an NFL fan through and through, but the constant challenges suck all the emotion out of precious moments. It's becoming so litigious that it's ruining the spontaneity of the game.
SteelerFan,
Such a great email and the only true downfall of the replay revolution.
I am in favor of replay and doing everything we can to get every call right. That's even more critical in the growing age of sports gambling, to be honest.
(Side note, part VII, or maybe more: The referees are the most exploitable in terms of fixing things in the gambling world in my opinion. Thoughts?.)
(Side note on the side note: We're going to stop the nomenclature and numeration at this point because in truth, how many Roman numerals do you know that are not I, V or X?)
The celebration and the instant review are part of the process but they do take away from the joy of the money. That's especially true juxtaposed to the LLWS moment you referenced.
Your point is valid, and the celebration of the moment is delayed until the moment is gone to make sure the moment was ruled correctly.
But that is better than the alternative, no? That's better than not seeing a fumble at the goal line in the AFC title game because we want everything to be live, right?
From (nickname to be determined)
Great picks, Jay. Phillies to win, Bryce going yard, and of course the Bravos.
Muchas gracias!
Counting on weekly college picks still coming out Thursday AM.
I can't figure out how to get a cool nickname like everybody else?
Nickname needed,
Let's put this to the group.
(Side note: You can never choose your own nickname. Period. This is, like Uncle Buck told us, "in the books." Played softball with a guy who actually sponsored the team so he played first base and he was rotten. He wore red, white and blue wrist bands and a similarly colored head bands and wanted us to call him the "Patriot Missile." We called him the Patriot Penis. So there's that.)
Tiger is a good nickname.
So is Pal.
We could use a play off your name if you like one; I never had a nickname either for the most part, although several kids on my various travel teams tried to make "Greasy" stick.
It never did.
My best friends called me "Bird," and I loved that one, especially with my love for hoops and the time in which I grew up as a basketball fan.
But I think the best "nickname" I've ever had is Dad.
(Side note, who knows: That is until my kids have kids and then I will be whatever the heck they want to call me. Paps is the leader in the clubhouse, but I am open for any and all options.)
From a slew of you about the recent hubbub with the county mayor
— Jay, I know you are friends with him, but is Weston Wamp the Trey Lance of elected officials?
As a 49ers fan and as someone who had the highest of high hopes for Weston, can you tell me if this a fair comparison or not?
Thanks and I love the 5@10 — it's the only reason I keep my subscription if you want to know.
— Per your article, Weston Wamp is developing a habit of creating self-inflicted political damage — not good for anyone.
— I don't know enough about Mr. Wamp's current tete a tete with Red Bank, but was he wrong about the stadium or the county attorney?
Gang,
To the last point, no I don't think he was wrong, per se, in any of these matters. Heck, Taylor should have been fired for cause years ago.
But Weston's inability to line up his ducks or get the back needed to make these moves — or the silliness of picking the stadium fight in a matter that was decided before he took office — is the issue at this point, no?
From Bicycle Bob
Jay,
Excellent commentary in your column today about guns and gun control. Spot on. You know, a few decades ago, we sought to emancipate the mentally ill in this country. Therefore, we closed most of the mental hospitals and turned these folks out into the street, with the naive expectation that they would visit outpatient clinics to get their regular medication. Perhaps we also closed the hospitals to save money; but in the long run, the new approach has been far costlier, and in more than just monetary terms.
(and)
From Carl
My sentiments exactly on firearms. I am not a gun owner but have no problem with folks who are, including most of my friends. If the founding fathers could have looked out the windows for a couple of days at Constitution Hall in present day Philadelphia, they might have added a few more conditions to the Second Amendment.
My friends point out that AR15s and the like get all the bad publicity because of the mass shootings, while pistols, shotguns, etc. are used in the vast majority of these crimes, so why always pounce on them? At some point and maybe it will take a senator's son being killed to get a national discussion on guns, but why can't Republicans (I'm one) make the first compromise and agree to a ban on assault rifles or make it very tough to acquire?
Other than going out in a field with your buddies and get a few kicks squeezing off several hundred rounds, they are made to shred flesh and mow down humans. I think it would go a long way to show we are serious about this epidemic even though pistols are by far the real problem.
And don't get me started on the spineless Congress members who partake in the always open faucet of cash from the NRA, when inside most of them know there is serious need for gun control.
Let's see, where were we? Oh yeah, the Braves will face a tough task ...
Bob and Carl,
Great emails. Thanks for the kind words. And you are so right Riding Robert; the cost has been extreme and it goes way beyond cash.
(Side note, part whatever: Pop had a slew of great sayings. I use a few of them frequently. But our family embraces this one above all others: It ain't a real problem if money can fix it. And yes, we are blessed not to be hungry or homeless, but in the big picture, those words have shaped my family maybe more than any others.)
As for where we were, Carl, the Braves are up to any challenge.
Now the starting pitching question is a real one, but last night was fun.
And while we here, Ronald Acuña became baseball's first 30-60 — 30 homers, 60 steals — ever.
Ever.
If he is not the NL MVP, this will be worse than Peyton getting jobbed out of the Heisman or even "Goodfellas" losing to "Dances with Wolves" for best picture.
Have a great Labor weekend friends and War College Football.