McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts presented by Harry Alexander
1. So, I've spent the weekend being a dad.
I'm not complaining; I love nothing more. However, a Saturday spent at Mike Rose Soccer Complex followed by an early-morning return to the same soccer fields and then three hours of a dance recital at the Ford Center in Oxford prevented me from getting a start on this content item.
I'll resist, at least for another week, giving you my dissertation on the modern state of youth sports. I could go on for hours on the topic, as I've seen the best and worst of them over the course of the last year. I'll spare you for now, but I can't promise I'll never weigh in using this space as my vehicle.
I begin 10 Thoughts at 7 p.m., just as the Cubs and Cardinals are getting started on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. This very likely won't be one of my better efforts, but it's that time of the year where there's not a ton to talk about.
2. So Willson Contreras led off with a single off Michael Wacha in St. Louis as I turn my attention to things you actually care about.
Ole Miss baseball picked up a huge win on Sunday in Columbia, S.C., to salvage the third and final game of a Southeastern Conference series at South Carolina. The Rebels are now 13-11 in the SEC after losing Friday and Saturday and winning in 10 innings on Sunday. My colleague, Chase.Parham, wrote about what Sunday's win means going forward.
I don't have a ton to add to that, but Chase is right: Ole Miss has to just focus on game by game, series by series, here in the last two weeks. Four wins in the next six games would take some pressure off in terms of hosting a regional at Swayze Field. Ole Miss would likely need five wins in those six games to head to Hoover feeling secure regarding a national top-8 seed.
Here's the thing: It's really hard to win on the road in the SEC. Few do it. We joked _ sort of _ on the Oxford Exxon Podcast about Ole Miss' hideous gray uniforms being the reason for their struggles. The reality is it's hard to win on Friday night on the road in this league. Programs like South Carolina are proud programs that simply aren't going to roll over in May. The Gamecocks have been hot, and they played well against the Rebels.
Sunday could have been a disaster for the Rebels. Instead, Ole Miss got one and kept their hopes alive. There's very little margin for error moving forward.
3. The Cubs got one in the top of the first, but the game is now in a rain delay in the middle of the inning. Why start if you know there's a chance you're going to have to stop quickly? Sometimes I'm amazed at the lack of logic people suffer from.
Speaking of difficult Friday nights, Ole Miss will have its hands full on Thursday night when Auburn and Casey Mize head to Oxford.
Mize struck out 15 in a complete-game, 4-1 win over Vanderbilt on Friday. He's an absolute horse, and he'll be a major challenge for Ole Miss on Thursday. On the flip side, if Ole Miss could find a way to beat Mize or extend the game long enough to beat someone else, the weekend could change shape quickly.
A reminder: If you're in or around Jackson, and you can't make it to Oxford on Thursday, come to Cathead Distillery in downtown Jackson on Thursday afternoon around 5 p.m., watch Jay Tate and I tape a Greatest Pod in the South podcast and then hang around for a watch party there at the distillery to see the Rebels and Tigers square off.
4. The Cubs and Cardinals are headed to the bottom of the second inning with the Cubs protecting a precarious 1-0 lead.
Ole Miss is sitting, like I said earlier, at 13-11 in the SEC. Florida is 18-6. Georgia is 15-9. Arkansas is 14-10. South Carolina is also 13-11, meaning if the season ended today _ it doesn't, it should be noted _ Ole Miss would have to play on Tuesday in Hoover, Ala., later this month.
Does that matter? Yes and no.
In and of itself, it doesn't matter if Ole Miss plays on Tuesday in Hoover or not. However, keeping this real, if Ole Miss were to play and lose on Tuesday and other SEC teams were to make deep runs in the Birmingham suburb, it could be a little tense in Oxford during Memorial Day weekend. If Ole Miss is a top-four SEC seed, it's guaranteed to play through at least Thursday. It's just basic psychology, as ridiculous as it sounds.
5. Jedd Gyorko just went deep off Jon Lester, so it's 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning with more bad weather on the way to St. Louis. It's funny; I used to get really, really upset about the Cubs losing to the Cardinals. A World Series title two years ago has taken away most of that edge.
Ole Miss entertained Albany, Ga., center Carlos Curry over the weekend, and I was told by sources the visit went very well.
Forward Mike Wynn and forward Parker Braun were scheduled to come in over the weekend but both visits were postponed. Braun will visit Ole Miss May 14-16. He spent this weekend at LSU.
6. The Cubs and Cardinals are in a rain delay in the bottom of the third inning. In other words, neither team is helping me get through this exercise. So, here comes my first hot take of the night:
Michael Jordan had a better career than LeBron James has had to date, but James is better than Jordan.
Yes, I said it; LeBron James is a better player than Michael Jordan was. Yes, Jordan had six titles, three more than James has to this point. However, it's impossible for me to overlook what James is doing in Cleveland this year, leading a group of no-ones to the cusp of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Think about it; who is Cleveland's second-best player? Kevin Love? Who is the third best player? Tristan Thompson? Jordan never had those questions. He had Scottie Pippen. He had Horace Grant and then Dennis Rodman. He had Toni Kukoc, Bill Cartwright, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, B.J. Armstrong, etc. He had Phil Jackson. James doesn't.
It's a silly debate. Jordan was a 6-foot-6 guard. James is a 6-9 forward. Different eras, too. However, the difference between the two can't simply be defined by championships. At 33, James is dominating the NBA, carrying a weak team to the cusp of a fourth straight NBA Finals appearance. He holds the keys to the upcoming offseason as well.
Does James go west to the Lakers? Does he stay in Cleveland? Does he return to Miami? His decisions, even in the supposed twilight of his career, literally shape the league. No one has impacted the NBA in this manner since Jordan, with the possible exceptions of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.
As the playoffs march on, it's James, not James Harden or the Warriors, who is the single most fascinating person/team in the NBA. It's remarkable.
7. I'm now forced to watch Worst Cooks in America, Celebrity Edition, with a tarp still on the field in St. Louis.
I could be watching Game 4 of the Houston Rockets-Utah Jazz series (the Rockets lead by 14 after three quarters), but I'm not quite emotionally over the Thunder's disastrous showing in the first round.
What has been amazing to watch is Boston's first three games against Philadelphia, all Celtics' wins that have served as evidence for those of us (hand raised) who believe Brad Stevens is the best coach in all of basketball (or all of sports). Gordon Hayward is gone. So is Kyrie Irving. Marcus Smart has missed considerable time. So Stevens has inserted Terry Rozier at point guard, run his offense through Al Horford and positioned the Celtics one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
It's amazing stuff, really. It has to be disappointing for Philadelphia, but the Sixers' future couldn't be brighter. Ben Simmons will grow from this experience. So will Joel Embiid. The Sixers have plenty of cap room (Paul George, anyone?) in July, and they're set to be a force in the East for years to come, especially if James heads west after this season.
Boston, meanwhile, will have Hayward and Irving back in the mix next season, presumably after going through an offseason ripe with options. Most importantly, the Celtics will still have Stevens on the bench, and no one has seen his stock grow more during the playoffs than Stevens.
8. A year ago, Ole Miss softball captured the fan base's heart with an unlikely SEC tournament title. Thanks to a strong finish and some outside help, the Rebels will have a chance to repeat.
Ole Miss (30-22, 7-17 SEC) clinched a spot in the upcoming SEC Tournament Sunday despite a loss to Georgia. The Rebels earned the No. 12 seed and will play fifth-seeded LSU on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Columbia, Missouri.
Despite being 10 games below .500 in the league, Ole Miss is all but a lock for an NCAA tournament bid, and the Rebels' strong finish likely means they'll be a pesky opponent for some team hosting a regional.
9. The Cubs and Cardinals are headed to the fourth inning. It's about time for my fourth drink of the night (kidding, maybe), so here's Jonathan Howard with the drink of the week:
A couple days ago I called out Jeffrey about his distaste for champagne. Yesterday there was a horse race in Kentucky, and today I leave to compete in the last competition I will ever enter in. So, what drink would encompass all of those things? How about a Champagne Julep, which is your drink of the week?
The Champagne Julep shows up as early as the 1940s as a low-proof option to the often very boozy bourbon variety. The drink calls for a base of champagne with a hint of cognac, a dash of angostura bitters and the usually amount of sugar and mint leaves. The champagne makes the drink lighter and dryer but not fizzy, as the crushed ice is going to almost completely kill the effervescence. Cognac is a brandy distilled in the Cognac region of France to a few higher and more strict standards. They almost use exclusively Saint-Emilion grapes that are distilled twice in copper pot stills. Cognac is to brandy as bourbon is to American whiskey, if that makes sense. I’m a huge fan of the Pierre Ferrand label of Cognac and if you can find it, Lustau Grand Reserva Spanish Brandy is also incredible for the price.
For the champagne, which is the star of this particular beverage, my favorite of all cocktail champagnes is Laurent Perrier Brut Champagne. It has the perfect blend of dry and sweet, really delicate bubbles and a long finish. I do not recommend Prosecco or Cava for this cocktail. Both are going to make the drink fat, sweet, and nowhere close to the dynamic version of the drink served in the 1940s.
The drink is polarizing in its distinct taste -- dry and bright, with a subtle sweetness and fresh aromatics. It is a drink that certainly doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves due to the extreme popularity of its older brother, the Mint Julep. Give this one a try this summer, you will not be disappointed.
Cheers!
Champagne Julep
3 ounces Laurent Perrier Champagne
½ ounce Peirre Ferrand Cognac
½ ounce simple syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
8 mint leaves
Directions: In a julep cup, add mint and simple syrup. Lightly press with a muddler or end of a spoon. Add Cognac and crushed ice. Then pour in champagne, top with more ice. Add in a straw and garnish with a large plume of mint and the twist of a lemon.
10. Kris Bryant homered to lead off the fourth, but Jason Heyward flew out to strand two runners at the end of the half-inning. As I hit the publish button, it's 2-1 Cubs with the Cardinals hitting in the bottom of the fifth inning. I'm too tired to stay up for the end. I fully anticipate waking up to disappointment.
Anyway, I made it to the end of this weekly exercise. I'll try to do better in seven days.
We'll have coverage of Ole Miss baseball, basketball recruiting and whatever else may come up during the week. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully, to you _ for your reading pleasure. Have a great week:
Russell Westbrook can't be OKC's entire system anymore
Inside the tension between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs
A Look at the Possible Consequences of Brad Marchand's Tactic of Licking Opponents
No longer Team Launch Angle, are Cubs overcorrecting or about to take offense to the next level?
‘If you don’t like it then leave,’ Mississippians say. That’s why we’re down $1.5 billion.
A career writing about Cleveland sports: The blessings far outweighed The Curse -- Bud Shaw
Asmussen | The Marvelous 'Illini Marv' | News-Gazette.com
“I’ll rebuild you”: How Kris Medlen worked his way back to the big leagues
Cool as ever: Bronson Arroyo is living life after baseball to the fullest
Kerry Wood and ‘the greatest game ever pitched’: The oral history of May 6, 1998 at Wrigley Field
A big NBA money crunch is coming
Phils’ Jake Arrieta ‘not playing around’ after betting on himself in slow winter
Running from a Ghost | By Keyon Dooling
'Into eternity': She did not survive the Holocaust, but her words did