1 - So ... if Gordon Hayward's shot goes in, is it the greatest shot/hit/play/goal in sports history? That sounds like crazy hyperbole, but ... is it?
2 - Our first Rafters class was "inducted" (or whatever you call it when someone gets into a blog's hall of fame) last week. Its members were Willie Smith, Steve Stipanovich, Doug Smith, Kareem Rush and DeMarre Carroll. Which player did voters most egregiously overlook?
3 - Be honest: when the NCAA finals were over Monday night, did you say to yourself, "Well, I guess that means it's baseball season now," or "Well, I guess that means it's football season now"?
4 - I haven't asked a TV question in a while, so ... season finales are a month or so away -- about which show's finale are you most excited?
Doug: 1 - I have a hard time thinking of one other singular moment that it would not top, just in terms of a very-last-second basket to win a championship on the biggest stage, etc, etc. I know there would be arguments about where the game itself ranked, compared to the Miracle on Ice, any number of Super Bowls, World Series game sevens, but just taken as the one shot, Gordon Hayward's name would live on forever and not just in NCAA promos.
2 - Cole Aldrich. In all seriousness, I'm a little surprised Sundvold wasn't apart of the inaugural class.
3 - I thought, "Oh, good, the Master's App will finally become more than a course map on my phone." Live video streaming of the Tiger Woods' press conference. Live video coverage Thursday through Sunday. Live radio coverage during the four days. Extra stuff. After Sunday, I'll think about baseball a bit more.
4 - Well, Chuck had it's original 13 "finale" on Monday night, and I thought it was pretty good, so I'm interested to see what they do with the extra six episodes NBC ordered, especially if they get some assurance from NBC that the show will be back in the fall. Other true finales... hmmm, probably NCIS and Big Bang Theory. But, I'm really excited for the return of the summer series on USA: Burn Notice, White Collar and Royal Pains. That's some good TV. You know what else has been good? Justified on FX. I don't know how many more episodes there are for the first season, but I'm very happy with that show.
ZouDave: 1 - Probably not sports history, but probably NCAA Tournament history. I know you're now probably going to want me to name specifically some shots/hits/plays/goals in sports history that are actually better.....but you didn't ask so I'm not going to. In YO face.
2 - Clarence Gilbert. Next question.
3 - Well, I guess that means it's almost time for the World Cup.
4 - None. I have completely lost track of TV shows this year. The only one I watch with absolute regularity is The Office, and it's been bad this year. "Community" has been good, but I'm not hooked. I really like "House", but I haven't watched the last 2 or 3 episodes yet. And other than those shows, I barely watch any regular network shows. I watch mainly History Channel stuff, syndicated stuff, and movies.
I am now my own "rafters" nominee for "worst roundtable contributor ever". Good God, I have nothing to offer this week.
Michael Atchison: 1 - First off, you’ve been reading Seth Davis’s tweets. Second, if something that didn’t happen had happened, would it be at the top of a subjective list that it would take me an hour to compile in my head? Too many people are requiring real effort from me today for me to do this the right way. But after five seconds of contemplation, I can’t think of anything that would top it.
2 - I think the choices of Stipo, Doug and DeMarre are absolutely right, and I think Willie is a coin flip with John Brown, so no objections there. And while Kareem was a tremendous player, I think the choice from that era ought to be Arthur Johnson. So much production over a full four years. Points, boards, blocks – his name is all over Missouri’s record book. He’s the one with the biggest complaint.
3 - I thought "I’ve got five months to get a lot of stuff done." Baseball season ended in the bottom of the first inning on opening day, when after David DeJesus led off with a single, the Royals bunted. I surrendered at that moment.
4 - I bet it has been a month since I saw a prime time series. Is Diff’rent Strokes any good this year?
RPT: 1 - No. But it would be pretty damn awesome.
2. Trick question. The Rafters are infallible.
3. You know the answer to this question. My freaking bracket was titled "RPT Wants Football."
4. Can't decide how I feel about the way Chuck is progressing. Interested to hear Bill's thoughts on this.
ghtd36: Good morning, starshine. Let's rock this bitch.
1- It definitely would have been in the conversation. For me, the list has always started with Joe Carter's homer to win the 1993 World Series. I mean...the dude walked off the World Series. And lost in all of that is that if Mitch Williams closes that out, they go to Game 7. And while it's true that the game would have been at the SkyDome, Philly would have been riding a hot hand and likely would have sent Curt Schilling out there on three days rest. I'm sure Pat Hentgen would have had something to say about all of this, but in a way, if Carter doesn't hit that homer, I'm of the impression that Philly wins that thing. So there's that.
You also have to consider Tiger Woods' epic chip-in at the Masters a few years ago, NC State's dunk at the buzzer to win, the Vince Young fourth-down touchdown run, The Catch and, of course, the birth of Sod Reesing.
But, to answer your question, maybe.
2- I'm a little upset that Brian Dailey didn't make it in on the first ballot.
But probably Arthur Johnson or Clarence Gilbert, though I'm not necessarily complaining about who DID get in.
3- Baseball season, boy! My Monday consisted of working out, drinking, booing Adam Lind, conceding defeat to the Blue Jays, praying the Rangers didn't get no-hit on Opening Day (or, as I call it, getting Bob Feller'd), watching Nelson Cruz's beautiful, jet-stream-driven homer tie the game, wondering what world I live in that allows Neftali Feliz to possibly get a loss on Opening Day, then throwing peanuts up in the air when Jarrod Saltalamacchia made all my pain go away. So, yes, I'm excited about baseball.
4- 24. I know the show is campy and cheesy and doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but damn it, it's so entertaining. That or the underrated star of the season, Parenthood.
Bill C.: 1 - First things first: Mazeroski > Carter. Not only because I'm a Pirates fan, but because he won it in Game 7, not Game 6. That said ... I mean, dude making a half-court shot at the buzzer to lead a Horizon League team over Duke for the national title? Is a World Series-winning homer really better than that? Guess it depends on how you feel about pro sports versus college sports in the end.
2 - It was pretty clear that there were "you can't go wrong" candidates within each tier. Couldn't really have complained if Norm Stewart or George Williams (who was criminally underrepresented in the voting) won over Willie ... couldn't complain (much) if Sundvold or Chievous beat Stipo ... couldn't complain (much) if Booker or Peeler beat Doug ... couldn't complain at all if Clarence or AJ beat Kareem ... and okay, DeMarre was very clearly head-and-shoulders above everybody else there.
3 - As evidenced by the fact that my attention went straight to the creation of a football preview mag, I think the answer's obvious. I mean ... happy the Pirates looked so good on Opening Day and all, but ... FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL.
4 - I've really enjoyed the last few Chuck episodes ... I mean, there have been a few plot holes at times, but ... it's Chuck. There are going to be a few plot holes. It's been thoroughly enjoyable. That said ... (SPOILER ALERT) when the "will they won't they" couple gets together, it makes me nervous because most shows COMPLETELY botch what to do after the couple gets together. They worry that keeping them together will make the show boring, so almost nobody takes the Office route and keeps the couple together. And the break-up circumstances are almost always ridiculous. So yes ... am very very curious what they do now with Chuck.
Otherwise, my shows are basically the NBC Thursday night shows and Modern Family ... all of which are mostly entertaining on a week-to-week basis, but none of which have plots that I'm just extremely sucked into at the moment ...
ZouDave: on the FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL subject:
who is going to the Black & Gold game on 4/17, and what are your tailgate plans?
Bill C.: I AM I AM. Tailgating will completely depend on whether my parents are in town or not. If not, I'm open to suggestion. If they are, I'm just going to the "game" itself.
ghtd36: Wait, Black & Gold is April 17? I'll be in St. Louis that weekend...
/engage convincing the girlfriend to go to Columbia
ZouDave: Well I will definitely be there, and my friend Joe is coming down with me. Merlin, of Tigerboard and PowerMizzou fame, is hosting a huge tailgate in Lot G and has invited me, Joe and any of the Rock M crowd to be there. Should be quite a few people there, including Gabe D from PowerMizzou. I know they had tons of food and stuff last year, but I don't know if you had to pay into the pot to gain access to the food or whatever. I'd love to stop by there, but if any of you are going to be around and if Beef's going to somehow make it into town for the game then we could just as easily do our own thing.
And yes, Greg, B&G is 4/17. If you're going to be in St. Louis and you don't make the trip over, you're a bag of douche.
RPT: Don't listen to him, Greg. You're a bag of douche even if you do make it to the game.
ghtd36: I can't disagree with anything that's been said.
ZouDave:
ghtd36: On a much more important note, will anybody's siblings be attending the Black and Gold game?
And by "anybody", I mean ZouDave.
And by "siblings", I mean sisters.
To be clear, I'm asking if ZouDave's sister is going to the Black and Gold game.
Because she's hot.
Doug: It's that kind of smoothness that shows you've got a real chance with Dave's Sister.
ghtd36: Doug, please. Everyone has a real chance with Dave's Sister.
ZouDave: geez, when you've got nothing else you just resort to that? Weak.
My sister will be in KC in a month, but I'm not going to tell you that. Wait.
Oh, and:
ghtd36: That sound you hear is the entire RMN community scribbling down "Dave's Sister, KC, in a month."
RPT: Not to change the course of the conversation away from ZOUDAVE'S TOTALLY HOT SISTER, but I have a matter of extreme RMN importance to discuss with you good sirs. It's a topic that may permanently change the course of your lives. A topic that was so important that I withheld from putting it in a FanShot sooner so we could give it the importance it deserves.
That topic, gentlemen, is the KFC Double Down sandwich:
Reactions. Go.
ghtd36: I want to preface this by saying that I like KFC, and I like bacon, and it looks delicious.
That said: I'm growing very weary of all of these fast food restaurants doing cutesy bits. "Hey, we're Sonic, wouldn't it be awesome if we served jalepeno poppers?!? You know, to go along with THE THINGS WE'RE GOOD AT?!?"
Everyone's trying to do everything. Jack In The Box has panini sandwiches. Think about that. JACK IN THE BOX. PANINIS. WUT?!?
And KFC might be the worst offender of all. Hey, you know what? We're a business that has built ourselves on having great fried chicken. So SCREW ALL THAT, let's make grilled chicken! And then let's come up with a cutesy sandwich with bacon and swiss cheese! Because bits are fun!
Do what you're good at. McDonald's, stop trying to sell me a freakin' salad. Burger King, stop trying to sell me chicken fries. And no, Sonic, I have no interest in anything you do besides burgers and fries. Know why? Because you're a burger joint. Stop doing bits.
/end pent-up rant I've had saved up for a while
RPT: I feel like you've missed the point. Tracy Jordan was right: MEAT IS THE NEW BREAD!
Bill C.: While I agree for the most part, Sonic is also excellent at a) footlong cheese coneys and b) ice.
RPT: So, with the launch of the new and improved RMN store, which shirt should we go with next?
"ghtd36 is a douche" or "I came for ZouDave's Sister and all I got were stupid sabermetrics."
I vote for the former, if only so we can all wear those shirts to a tailgate and have Greg show up in a shirt that says "I'm NOT a douche!"
ghtd36: That would definitely lead to the quickest screen name change in SB Nation history.
RPT: Yeah, but think of the cross-promotional opportunities with Lone Star Ball. GOLD MINE, FOLKS.
ghtd36: One of my big regrets is how much I've fallen off over at LSB. And with a blog that size -- and it is a MONSTER -- if you drop off a little bit, you're old news.
ghtd36: I think this would be a moneymaker, but only if it were produced solely in Tall Tees.
RPT: Next question: Can we brand a line of Bill C. calculators to the public?
Doug: I can't imagine the public is crying out for anything that's branded "Bill C."
Now, something that's branded "Dave's Sister"? They'll eat that up.
RPT: Isn't that what truck mudflaps are?
ghtd36: Wow. Even I think that's a little ruthless, RPT.
RPT: I think Dave would be proud if that silhouette was the closest thing to a look at his sister RMN ever got.
ghtd36: Touche', salesman.
ZouDave: Christ, I go to a 2-hour lunch-&-learn with Intel and Dell and this thing just got out of control!
ghtd36: So, I've got to ask: who's brainchild is the RMN Magazine? More details. Go.
RPT: Well, as one of the acting editors for this still-nascent venture, I'd like to point out that it should be "whose brainchild" and not "who's brainchild."
Boom. Grammar'd.
ZouDave:
Doug: Well no matter "whose brainchild" it is, I think we can all agree on the first cover model.
ZouDave:
Doug: Now you're just being melodramatic.
ghtd36: I make one grammatical error, and the know-it-all college kid smacks me down.
Enjoy McNabb, and last place.
ZouDave:
RPT: The Cowboys win one playoff game, and now Mr. "I don't care about the Cowboys, I just make smartass remarks about them to piss off everyone around me in Dallas" comes back with a Redskins diss? And what happened to your adopted Chiefs fandom?
You're losing your edge, old man. The workforce has made you soft.
ghtd36: I don't care about the Cowboys! That's the beauty in all of this.
ghtd36: And as for my adopted Chiefs fandom, all that told me is that I'm simply not built to care all that much about the NFL. It's entertaining, and I'll follow it, but...yeah, I guess that's just about it.
RPT: Ghtd36: Afraid of commitment to NFL team. Be scared, future Mrs. ghtd36.
(Although to be fair, if his Rangers' devotion is any indication, she'll do about 47 things worthy of divorce and he'll still love her. Unless she's Tom Hicks.)
ghtd36: My girlfriend is awesome until she tries to sign Chan Ho Park to a five-year, $65 million contract. Then we're breaking up.
ZouDave: this pretty much goes for all KC sports:
you cheer for KC teams for one of two reasons:
1 - You were born here
2 - You're on a dare
That's it.
Doug: Or, 3. You're related to Trey Hillman.
(But that one is very tenuous.)
ghtd36: Also, what's with ghtd36 pile-on today? Turnabout's fair play and all, but holy crap. I feel like I just got Farokhmanesh'd.
ZouDave: part of it is preemptively assuming you're going to skip the B&G while a mere 120 miles away.
ghtd36: That's tough but fair.
Doug: To be fair, I'll be 120 miles away from the B&G game as well, and I'll be skipping it.
ZouDave: yes, but nobody disputes your bag of doucheness either.
Doug: Wow... that was unexpected.
But then, it's hard to dispute what isn't there.
ghtd36: Don't mind him, Doug. He's clearly got something stuck in his craw.
ZouDave: yeah, well, you're the....one....that....something
Doug: Well put.
ghtd36: I'm sorry, you're trailing off. And did I catch a "niner" in there? What, were you calling from a walkie-talkie?
/loves ZouDave
/says that with an unblemished record of staunch heterosexuality
Bill C.: Shoulda known ... I have four hours of meetings, and the roundtable explodes for the first time in approximately 17 years ...
ZouDave: kinda like your sex life...
BOOYAH!
ghtd36: BILL, THEY WERE PICKING ON ME. DO SOMETHING.
Bill C.: Seriously? You adopted the Chiefs?
Doug: We're thinking it's a cry for help.
ghtd36: I'll admit, it was one of those "I immediately regret this decision" moments.
Bill C.: TWSS?
ghtd36: And that seems like a pretty strong way to end it. GOODNIGHT, EVERYONE!
ZouDave: I keep telling my dad he needs to be reading RMN regularly, and then every Wednesday I'm reminded why that may not be the best idea...