Let's handle our business.
First, we're going to update the bowls contest on Monday. Deal? Deal. We are going to grade all the entries and share what we learned. If you want to know your standing, ask. I will post the top 10 or 15. Deal? Yep, deal.
Second, this is the last mailbag of 2024, and there were a slew of great questions to wrap the year and to cover the bowl games. We have a lot of ground to cover, so we are going to do our best to be brief.
Third, I hope each of you had a great Christmas and have enjoyed the year and look forward to the next one. I am grateful for each of you and can't express how much I appreciate your willingness to share your time here in this family-oriented, interweb-based conversation.
Let's Rushmore.
Rushmore of athletes named Smith -- Dean, Bruce, Emmitt and Bubba. I think Ozzie Smith may be the most overrated MLB Hall of Famer of my lifetime. Either Ozzie or any of the clowns the modern version of the Veterans Committee have granted passes to.
Rushmore of kids in Christmas movies -- Kevin McAllister, of course. Ralphie from "Christmas Story," Charlie Brown, yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. With all apologies to ZuZu and her petals from "It's a Wonderful Life" as well as John McClane's two tots in "Die Hard."
Rushmore of the all-time classic Christmas tunes. "Silent Night," "White Christmas," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and of course "Little Drummer Boy," which narrowly edged "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." Side note: Did you know Walker Hayes recorded "Fancy Like Christmas," which includes a refrain in the chorus of "Go Jesus, it's Your birthday." Giddy up.
Rushmore of Christmas desserts. I am far from an expert since it's been going on a year since I had a dessert. But hey, I'm down close to 60 pounds and wearing the same size jeans I did in high school. Pine bark. Pecan pie, although I'm not a fan. Fruit cake, although I am not a fan and, as Cousin Eddie told us, the jelly of the month club is the gift that give the whole year long.
You know the rules. Here's Paschall on the Vols' challenge of rebuilding its lines heading into the offseason.
To the bag.
(But before we get there, we watched the "Last Days of Knight" 30-for-30 this morning. It was highly enjoyable. What's your favorite 30-for-30? Go.)
From Justin
What was your favorite sports moment of 2024?
Thanks for the 5-at-10 -- I look forward to it every morning!
Justin,
Thanks for the kind words.
My best of 2024 is layered and too deep to give in a single answer. So let's break it down in a top-10 list, shall we? Yes, we shall. I will include No. 1 here, but add 2-10 in the comments. We got wicked wordy this morning
1 Best of 2024 -- Caitlin Clark did more for women's basketball -- and maybe women's sports in general -- than any person has done for their sport in terms of interest since Tiger Woods.
From Chas
Jay, we're a few days from marking the Y2K non-event. Did you do anything crazy in preparation?
Chas,
I've made a slew of terrible decisions in my life. Drank too much at times. Fought too much too many times. Bet my future more than once on risky propositions.
But there may be nothing I nailed more than Y2K.
I told everyone who would listen, "This is a joke. Nothing is going to happen."
Like they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Just waiting on my next one, I guess.
From Jeff
Jay, as a proud UNC alumnus, I'm fired up that Belichick will donning a Carolina Blue hoodie! Look, it's blah, off the radar Tar Heel football and now we'll get a ton of attention and guaranteed a Game Day next season (hopefully without Lee Corso). I don't expect us to be in the 12 next year and more, but this gives us relevancy and hopefully don't have to pencil in Clemson (and maybe newbie SMU) as ACC champ every year. And as far as his ability to recruit young college talent, have you seen his girlfriend?
College football has just about become pro football except college players still have to register for classes (not necessarily attend). So get a pro coach if you can afford it and turn out better prepared players for the next level. While we're at it, and I think Hubert Davis is doing a great job following a legend Roy Williams, but maybe we'll be the first university to honestly admit amateur sports are totally kaput and hire Steve Kerr to take over Carolina basketball. I'm upping my annual gift to $50!
GO HEELS!
Jeff,
I agree that college football has become pro football, and the hiring at UNC is a testament of that. Not the hiring of Bill Belichick as much as his first hire was making Mike Lombardi as the UNC GM of football.
Alabama did that earlier this year and paid its GM almost $1 million per.
The next big hire will be fund-raisers for these power programs so the coaches and coach and then the GMs can NIL the players.
Your 50 bucks will assuredly help.
And side question, and I ask this an Auburn grad where we know that NCAA rules are more suggestions than anything else, but didn't UNC hoops admit long ago that amateur sports are kaput? You telling me J.R. was in your Pscyh 200 class and attended regularly? Kidding. Mostly.
But what's the ceiling for Coach Hoodie? Moreover, what's considered a success? Is it already a success since UNC football is the talk of the non-playoff college football world.
Side question: While we covered the '24 sports items of interest above, the early sports story line in 2025 has to be what adjustments/tweaks/overhauls will be made to the expanded college football playoff, right?
From J-Mac
Jay, We have seen a 5 and 6 overtime bowl game in the last three days. OT needs to be revamped. What are your thoughts on what the NCAA should do with overtime?
I think a similar version of the NFL would work, except, if a team went down the field and scored, the other team would have the opportunity.
In playoff games, if there is not a winner after the designated period, the next team to score would win.
J-Mac,
Yes, the college overtime rules need to be revamped. Why is overtime/extra innings so hard? Is it because of our limited attention spans these days.
Hate the MLB ghost runner rule from the 10th inning on. A home-run derby would be better than that.
Hate the two-point conversion rules after two overtimes in college. Why not a FG kicking competition? (That said, having a team and more than two points in gambling after the second overtime is sitting in the catbird seat.)
Seriously the two-point conversion rule deciding a playoff game would be akin to getting to the Final Four getting past the first OT and then deciding the outcome on consecutive in-bounds plays under the basket.
I like the format of the college OT rule more than the NFL version for the first two stanzas, but I would move the ball to the 50.
That way a defense can stop its opponent and not automatically be in field goal range.
From a slew of you
Damn it, Jay! Where were the Fab 4 picks?
Gang,
My bad. But you know I make picks every afternoon, right? You can sign top above.
But let's head into the weekend with some college football picking goodness, shall we? I think we shall.
First, we have made a lot of picks over the last 26 months. More details in the Plays of course -- again, if you are not signed up go here -- but these are the official Fab 4 picks we've done for about as long as we can remember on Thursdays. And we're riding a pretty hot -- wait, never mind. Rule 1 of Fight Club and all.
Navy plus-3 over Oklahoma. Seven of OU's best players -- including an All-America LB -- have opted out. If you opt-out at Annapolis, they call that AWOL, right? Man, is there any team you are less worried about portalling or motivation than Army or Navy? Nope, me neither.
Army minus-16.5 over La. Tech. I'm not sure there is any number under, say 24, I would not lay with Army right here. Not only does the above apply, but the Cadets are an offensive machine and La. Tech is La. Bad.
Syracuse minus-9.5 (or best price available) over Washington State in the first half. OK, few teams have been as portal/defection devastated as Washington State. Coaches, QBs, stars and starters. Gone, like Andy Dufresne and Meryl Streep in that side-splitting comedy "Kramer vs. Kramer." And that's not even counting the fact that Syracuse has arguably the best QB1 you have not heard of (Kyle McCord led the nation in passing yards this season ) and would have whipped WSU at full strength. Lay the number
Colorado-BYU over 54. Am I the only one who thinks Deion Sanders is going to let it fly in the last game he gets to coach with his QB1 son Shedeur and Travis Hunter?
Last week: 2-1 against the spread (66.7%)
This season: 49–37-2 against the spread (57.0%)
Last season: 67-46-2 against the spread (59.3%)
Happy New Year, everyone.