It's been a full _ and somewhat imbibed weekend _ so there's no telling what 10 Weekend Thoughts will look like when it's done, but I'll do my best. Here we go...
1. On Tuesday night, Ole Miss baseball appeared to be in a modicum of trouble.
The Rebels had lost two of three at Auburn and then followed that with a blowout loss against Mississippi State in the Governor's Cup game in Pearl.
Five days later, the Rebels are in much better shape. Ole Miss swept Texas A&M over the weekend, winning in extra innings on Thursday, in blowout fashion on Friday and then with some final at-bat dramatics on Saturday.
Suddenly, Ole Miss is 13-8 in the Southeastern Conference and very much back in the hosting conversation for the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss travels to LSU this weekend, entertains Mississippi State next weekend and then finishes the regular season at Tennessee in three weeks.
Realistically, the Rebels need five wins in those nine games to have a real shot at hosting a regional at Swayze Field.
Predicting what this team might do is basically impossible. However, the series at LSU is a good matchup, history notwithstanding. The rivalry series with the Bulldogs could have major implications and Tennessee still has plenty to play for.
As of today, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi State are basically locks to host. LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and possibly Tennessee are in the conversation. A week ago, it looked like Ole Miss would need help in that category. A week later, the Rebels appear to control their own postseason destiny, at least to a degree.
2. DK Metcalf and A.J. Brown didn't hear their names called Thursday night.
Friday night, however, the two wide receivers became pros. Their teammate, offensive tackle Greg Little, went first, going to Carolina in the second round. Brown was drafted by Tennessee in the second round as well, and Metcalf made it three Rebels in the second round when Seattle selected him.
Buffalo drafted Dawson Knox in the third round. Two Rebels, defensive back Ken Webster and offensive lineman Javon Patterson, were taken in the late rounds, with Webster going to New England and Patterson going to Indianapolis.
I'm sure there was some disappointment for Little, Metcalf and Brown, but I think they all went to franchises where they can succeed. Little was a victim, in my opinion, of meatheadedness, a syndrome that can impact football people who don't believe there's life outside football. Little will do well at the NFL level. Metcalf is a perfect fit in Seattle, where Russell Wilson thrives throwing the deep ball. Brown will be a favorite of Marcus Mariota in Nashville.
Other former Rebels have and will sign free agent deals now that the draft is over.
The draft should serve as a reminder to fans -- a lot of veterans are gone, meaning the 2019 Ole Miss team is going to be a young, often inexperienced lot. That's a lot of talent to replace in Oxford.
3. Ole Miss softball took two of three from Tennessee over the weekend, dropping a 2-1 game in extra innings Sunday to prevent a sweep.
The Rebels go to Georgia next weekend to finish the regular season, and they'll do so apparently in very good shape to land a host site in the NCAA Tournament.
Huge crowds flowed into the Ole Miss softball complex throughout the weekend, a precursor, perhaps, of the environment headed to Oxford next month when the tournament begins.
4. Ole Miss got a commitment from Terrell, Texas, linebacker Jaqwondis Burns over the weekend, one of the highlights from a big recruiting weekend for the Rebels.
Janari Dean, Eli Acker, Terrell Gordon, Keitheon Alexander, Mecose Todd, McKinnley Jackson and a handful of others made visits to Ole Miss, touring facilities and spending time with coaching staff.
RebelGrove.com will have stories and tidbits from the weekend as the week unfolds.
5. Blue Delta Jeans celebrated its five-year anniversary on The Square in Oxford with a party at The Lyric Sunday.
The Oxford-based company unveiled their new spring and summer line of denim and Holland and Sherry. The guys at Blue Delta won't tell you this, but I will: Their brand is about to absolutely blow up, and I mean that in a good way. Their product has become a mainstay in Major League Baseball clubhouses as well as Hollywood and the music industry.
I won't steal their thunder here, but I suspect you'll see Blue Delta Jeans at some prominent events in the coming months as well.
They're a success story, one Oxford and Mississippi should be proud of. They're a testament to hard work, the grind, passion, vision, guts, perseverance and, of course, an amazing product.
I know Blue Delta conversations always spark message board threads with people saying they'll never pay that price for a pair of jeans. People will say they love their Wranglers/Levis/whatevers and they could buy several pairs of those for one pair of BDJs.
My response is always the same. No one is making you buy a pair of jeans. No one. As someone who wears jeans or some variation thereof more than 200 days a year and only wears a suit to weddings and funerals, I view them as an investment. I love the product, the fit, the look, all of it.
I also love this: Years (or less) from now, when Blue Delta Jeans have just exploded, I'll be able to say I knew Josh and Nick and Blake and Tyler and all of the awesome people at Blue Delta before they became stars.
6.Former Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy was in Oxford over the weekend for Blue Delta's five-year anniversary party. Kennedy, now a college basketball analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network, was kind enough to spend some time with Chase Parham and me Sunday morning.
We talked about the ongoing federal case that is threatening to rock college basketball, Ole Miss' NCAA Tournament season under Kermit Davis, the state of SEC hoops, Kennedy's career, the NBA Playoffs and more. It was a fantastic interview. You can see a clip above and hear the entire thing on Monday's Oxford Exxon Podcast.
7. The NBA Playoffs entered the conference semifinal round Saturday. Here are my predictions for the eight remaining teams vying for the NBA title:
Eastern Conference:
Toronto over Philadelphia in 6
Boston over Milwaukee in 6
Western Conference:
Golden State over Houston in 7
Denver over Portland in 7
8. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made his major league debut on Friday night, sparking excitement all over the game. His smile is infectious. His swing is must-see. Baseball needs more stars like him.
Here are some other thoughts from around the majors as the calendar prepares to turn to May:
- St. Louis is looking the part of a contender early, winning 17 of its first 27 games and doing it with a little bit of everything. The depth of their arms is what really stands out, and it's a testament to the Cardinals' scouting and development. Paul Goldschmidt has been a big presence in the lineup as well.
- The Mets-Phillies rivalry is going to be crazy this season. The two teams don't like each other, and it looks like they're going to be playing meaningful baseball games against one another this summer.
- The Dodgers salvaged the final game of a three-game set in Chicago on Thursday and then swept Pittsburgh. They're a National League-best 19-11 after their first 30 games, and they really have no major weakness.
- The Yankees have won nine of their last 10 games and pulled to within 1.5 games of Tampa Bay. Boston, meanwhile, has lost two in a row and already trail the Rays by 7.5 games.
- Detroit, the White Sox and Kansas City are all awful. Look for those three teams to trade pieces close to the deadline. That's the only foreseeable way they'll impact postseason chases.
- The Angels have the league's best player, Mike Trout, but they're 12-17 so far, already five games behind co-leaders Seattle and Houston in the American League West.
9. After my weekend, the last thing I need tonight is a drink. However, in the event that you were more responsible than I over the past 48 hours and you need something to end your weekend the right way, here's Jonathan Howard with the drink of the week.
Draft weekend is over. We saw our Rebs fall into the second round but I feel that is more out of teams' desires to draft defensive talent to combat the high-flying offenses currently wrecking the NFL than it was a reflection on talent. So some stiff drinks were in order as they waited to hear their names on Day 2.
So with that in mind a classic drink from the Manhattan family of drinks, the La Louisiane, is your drink of the week.
Like most of the older beverages we discuss, the history of the drink is rather hazy. It is known to be created at the La Louisiane Hotel and Creole restaurant that opened in 1881. Assuming the drink was created shortly thereafter, the beverage would have shown up a full 50 years before the iconic Vieux Carre cocktail.
Apparently, one of the few places that one can find the original recipe is in the classic, Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em written in 1937. Why then has this particular tipple faded away while other New Orleans greats like the Ramos Gin Fizz, Sazarac, and Veiux Carre have thrived? Location. All these drinks were created in hotel bars. And the aforementioned drinks all came from more prominent and popular hotels, thus spreading the drinks across the globe via its many visitors.
Now, the drink is a common-place item among fine bars in New Orleans and is slowly coming around to the rest of the country as well. And that a great thing because this is in fact my favorite of all the drinks to come out of this great city.
The La Louisiana is a simple rye-based cocktail with layers upon layers of flavor, all the while staying true to its Creole roots. The drink includes a range of ingredients most people find familiar and welcoming. It is like a Manhattan but not quite. It is very Sazarac-like but still not exactly. And the drink was created at roughly the same time so it basically falls in line with the way drinks were being made at the time.
So chances are if you like either of those drinks you are going to love this one. I highly recommend making this one at home or taking the recipe to a bartender you trust. You will thank me for it later.
Cheers!
La Louisiane
2 oz. Sazarac 6yr Rye
1/2 oz. Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz. Benedictine
3 Dashes Peychauds Bitters
2 Dashes Pernod Absinthe
Directions: In a mixing glass filled with ice, add absinthe and bitters first. Then follow with whiskey, vermouth and Benedictine. Stir roughly 30 rotations until the drink is cold and diluted. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.
10. It's a big week at my house, as we'll celebrate Campbell's 18th birthday this week. She turns 18 on Wednesday but we'll celebrate her Friday. She shares her birthday with the oldest of our Labradors, Gus, who turns four on Wednesday. I suspect the big boy will get a bone or three this week.
We'll have coverage of Ole Miss baseball, softball, recruiting and whatever else may come up this week. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully, to you _ for your reading pleasure:
In search of the NBA Sasquatch: Thunder fans in Seattle
How baseball’s unwritten rules helped awaken a Mets-Phillies rivalry – The Athletic
Forever’s first-base coach: The remarkable longevity of Dave McKay – The Athletic
Notice a change with José Quintana? You can credit his changeup – The Athletic
The Natural: Rising TV star Patrick Sharp finds a new grind to embrace in retirement – The Athletic
