Campbell's graduating class was honored at church Sunday. She and the rest of her classmates will go through commencement Friday evening at Tad Smith Coliseum. She leaves for her senior trip next Sunday.
It seems like everywhere I go, people ask me, "How are you holding up?" or some form of that question.
I'm fine. It's time. She's excited, ready for a new challenge. I think she's tired of us. She's more focused on her friends than she is her family these days, and I think that's normal. So my response is always, "Oh yeah, I'm good."
And I am. Then a song hits me while I'm running or I stumble across an article about some team I have no interest in and the waterworks begin and I start trying to negotiate deals with God on her behalf. Keep her safe on I-40, I say, and I'll do anything you want. Let her be happy and I'll serve however you call on me.
I turn 50 in January. Caroline starts her junior year in August. We'll be visiting colleges in less than 12 months. She sat on the patio with Laura and me on Friday night and we had the nicest visit. She's maturing before our eyes and she has this drive that gets me some excited for her future.
Carson's final day of elementary school is Wednesday. They have a kickball tournament at Oxford Intermediate School Monday. Laura mournfully said, "It's probably his last kickball tournament." I'm coaching his little league team this spring. We're fast running out of games, and truth be told, I'll miss this team. Mostly, I'll miss that moment after each game and each practice when he climbs into the truck and thanks me for coaching. I get a lump in my throat every time. I'm not sure what I did to deserve to be his dad.
I had a professional setback of sorts late in the week. It's no big deal; I was over it in five minutes. I'm still trying to finalize a deal with one podcast sponsor, and I need to move forward more aggressively on another podcast venture. I typically love politics and I know 23 Democrats are starting the fight to oppose Donald Trump in 2020. Normally, I'd be dialed in. Right now, I'm not. Jake Arietta and Yu Darvish face off Monday night at Wrigley. I want them both to do well.
I'm kind of talking to myself here as summer approaches. I've got to get focused, but as Don Henley once sang:
"I've been tryin' to get down
To the heart of the matter
but my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter."
So keep that in mind today as you read 10 Thoughts. Mine are scattered. I'll get better. These days, I'm just sorting through things. Thanks for listening. That was cheaper than therapy.
1. Ole Miss needed to win two games _ and probably three _ at Tennessee to even remain in the hosting conversation. After losing a midweek game at Arkansas State, the Rebels won just one of three in Knoxville.
They'll face Missouri on Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama. The game, in all likelihood, is meaningless. Ole Miss is in the NCAA Tournament, almost certainly as a No. 2 seed at some other school's regional. There's probably nothing the Rebels can do in Hoover to get a host bid. I guess five straight wins and a tourney title would turn heads, but it certainly feels like the dye has been cast in terms of the Rebels' fate.
Maybe that will loosen this team. After losing the first two games in Knoxville, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco admitted this team was feeling pressure. They responded by winning on Saturday in a game that felt perilously close to disaster a couple of times. At 16-14 in the league, the Rebels are a lock. They can relax -- that is, if they're capable of it.
2. I'm burying the lede here a bit, I realize, but all eyes are even more sharply focused on Ross Bjork now.
This isn't my story. Chase Parham covers Ole Miss baseball for RebelGrove.com and has for years. He's very good at his job. He believes, based on what he's said publicly, there will be change unless Ole Miss can win a regional and advance to the super regional round.
I've never been a bloodlust guy in this space. I don't think that's my job. However, I think Parham is right and I think that's the right call for Ole Miss. As I wrote in this space a week ago, these are complicated times for Ole Miss -- both in athletics and in terms of overall morale.
Bjork can't allow the baseball program to go stale, and he can't allow the perception of complacency or acceptance of mediocrity.
As I said a week ago, however, a change in baseball sets an interesting precedent moving forward -- one that some will (unfairly, but still) throw in Bjork's face if Ole Miss football struggles through the 2019 campaign.
3. If there is change in Oxford, there will be debate regarding what type of job it is, and while some in Oxford overvalue it, it's still a borderline elite gig.
Ole Miss baseball isn't as "easy" a job as the programs at SEC foes Vanderbilt, Arkansas, LSU or Florida. Looking down from 30,000 feet, Georgia seems to be a much easier gig than Ole Miss. The same holds for Texas A&M. The Ole Miss job is a better gig than Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn. I'd likely lump Ole Miss with Mississippi State and South Carolina in some form of a tie for seventh in the SEC.
That means it's a top-15 or top-20 job. Throw in a top-10 salary, top-five facilities, a dedicated fan base and two decades' worth of winning and it's a potential gem of a gig.
Who, hypothetically, would want it? I'll leave that to Parham and his sources. There's a chance some high-profile names would leverage it for more money or amenities from their current employers, I suppose, but it only takes one yes to make the recruiting quest successful.
Again, Bianco and Co. could render this conversation moot in two weeks or so, but if it comes to a coaching search, my anticipation is it would be successful.
4. The SEC Tournament begins Tuesday in Hoover. Ole Miss plays Missouri in the second game Tuesday. The winner faces Arkansas Wednesday afternoon. If I'm reading the bracket correctly, Georgia, Texas A&M and Florida are also on the Rebels' half of the setup.
My pick: Ole Miss beats Missouri Tuesday, loses to Arkansas Wednesday, wins Thursday and then loses Friday. That means lots of golf for our boy Parham. Remember: If Ole Miss is eliminated quickly, it's Parham's fault. I covered the tournament last year and Ole Miss won it. That was not a coincidence.
It's almost impossible to predict a tournament champ. Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Georgia have nothing to play for, though the Bulldogs' media and fans (one and the same, really) will treat it like the Universal World Series, and sometimes that carries over to the actual players. LSU has a tendency to play well in Hoover, and Texas A&M is a dangerous No. 6 seed. I just don't see Ole Miss having the pitching depth to get past Friday.
I'll pick Vanderbilt over Arkansas, but nothing would surprise me. In fact, the coaching staffs in both Nashville and Fayetteville likely have no interest in spending Sunday afternoon in Hoover.
5. Congratulations to Ole Miss' softball team, winners of the Oxford Regional and now headed to a super regional for the second time in three years.
The Rebels came out of the losers' bracket Friday night with three wins in two days to win the regional and advance to next weekend's super. regional in Tucson, Arizona.
The Rebels got there by blowing out Chattanooga on Saturday and then sweeping a doubleheader from Louisiana-Lafayette (not Louisiana, dammit!) on Sunday.
6. Ole Miss signed junior college forward/center Khadim Sy this week. It was a huge pickup for the Rebels, both on the floor and on the recruiting trail. Sy could play 30 minutes per game for the Rebels next season, and his signing is an indication that prospects are noticing the move Kermit Davis is making with the Ole Miss program.
Ole Miss isn't done. Rodney Howard is leaving the Rebels' class, likely a sign Ole Miss is at least somewhat optimistic that Jaemyn Brakefield might ultimately decide to reclassify and sign this August. Ole Miss would certainly take Brakefield, and the Rebels could use his skill set in the 2019-20 season and beyond.
It's worth watching, but know this: We likely won't know anything before August.
7. Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger had a fascinating piece on Ole Miss football this week.
It's linked here, in case you missed it:
Ole Miss coaches: Matt Luke, RichRod and Mike MacIntyre | SI.com
What interested me the most was Luke admitting on the record that he kept Wesley McGriff and Phil Longo after the 2017 season out of loyalty more than belief in their coaching ability.
As I've always said, I get it. That team overachieved and rallied within itself all season. It's my opinion Luke never thought he was getting the job. When he did, he stayed with the status quo out of loyalty. That decision backfired in 2018 and led to a lot of ill will from the fan base.
Will that decision forever haunt Luke or can he get past it? We'll begin to find out this fall.
8. Here are some leftover thoughts of mine from the sports world and beyond:
- Golden State doesn't need Kevin Durant. Think about that.
- Game 3 of Milwaukee-Toronto delivered. It also showed just how deep and talented the Bucks are. They're a legitimate title threat. Also, give credit to the Raptors. They had to win Sunday, and they did just that.
- The Los Angeles Dodgers are 31-17 after winning Sunday. They're clearly the best team in the National League just past the quarter pole.
- The Yankees-Rays series in New York over the weekend was compelling theatre, a preview, perhaps, of a wild race that could go all the way to October.
- Minnesota is the best story in baseball. The Twins are 30-16, and their analytics show the fast start is anything but a fluke.
- Houston is 31-16, looking very much like a contender to claim another title. The Astros already lead the Angels by 8 1/2 games in the American League West.
9. It's time for the drink of the week. Here's one you should try. It's the tangerine, rosemary and honey old-fashioned.
Tangerine, Honey, & Rosemary Old Fashioned – What do you crave?
Ingredients:
2 oz. Rye Whiskey
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. Tangerine Juice
1 sprig rosemary
Ice
Tangerine segments for garnish
Instructions: Combine, whiskey, bitters, honey, and tangerine juice in a tumbler or other glass.Stir until honey is dissolved. Spank rosemary to release oils and add to the glass along with ice and tangerine garnish. Enjoy!
And here's Jonathan Howard's:
Game of Thrones is a cultural phenomenon that come to its close tonight. I have followed the show from the very first episode and have very mixed feeling about how they are going to wrap it up in one more episode. But like all things, it will end, people will be angered by the outcome, others enthralled. So, to celebrate this enrapturing moment in pop culture, The White Lady is your drink of the week.
The drink was originally believed to have been created by famous bartender Harry McElhone while he was working at London’s Ciro Club in 1919. At that time, he used equal parts of white crème de menthe, triple sec and lemon juice. It was not until he had his own Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, in 1923, that he adapted the recipe by swapping the crème de menthe with gin. This change took was the stark sweetness, and thick nature of the drink and added a beautiful complexity of juniper forward gin, and bright triple sec, and lemon.
However, Harry Craddock of The American Bar at The Savoy in London also gets a fair bit of credit as well. In 1930 he published the recipe in his Savoy Cocktail Book, but he increased the volume of gin and therefore making the drink drier and bringing it to its beautifully dry and pale flavor palate we enjoy most today. It was Peter Dorelli, legendary former manager of The American Bar, who suggested adding a dash of egg white to bind the drink together and give a smooth and silky finish. This of course is an optional step but does make quite an exquisite beverage.
Start the drink with a beautiful London Dry Gin. I prefer Tanqueray No. 10. It has the same base as its legendary predecessor, but with added amount of citrus and chamomile to bring a more complex flavor to the drink. For the triple sec, I usually go for the original, Combier. It is fragrant and soft perfect for the beautiful libation. Sometimes Combier is hard to find so Cointreau will do nicely. It is a sharper brighter version of the orange liqueur, so it changes the drink slightly but is still a very warranted substitute and finally fresh squeezed lemon juice.
The egg white is optional. I go back in forth depending on what I am feeling but both are great versions and I encourage you to try both. When using egg whites in drink, you first shake the drink and egg white without ice. This emulsifies the egg and makes that velvety texture you are looking for. Then add ice and shake to make sure the drink is cold and properly diluted. A note on eggs: They are being used with high-proof alcohol so it makes more of a cold meringue. It has been done for hundred of years and is as safe as a runny egg at brunch.
Cheers!
The White Lady
2 oz. Tanqueray No. 10 Gin
3/4 oz. Combier
3/4 oz. Lemon
Egg White (optional)
Instructions: In the small end of a mixing tin, add gin, lemon, and combier. If using egg white, crack an egg into the large side of the tin set separating the white from the yolk. Shake the egg white into the rest of ingredients without ice (dry shake). Add ice and shaker vigorously. Fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of orange.
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss baseball, recruiting and whatever else may arise this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully, to you _ for your reading pleasure:
Kanell and Bell: Breaking down the top college football coaches
Inside Hunter Johnson's drama-free journey from Clemson to Northwestern - espn.com
Zion sweepstakes proves NBA isn't rigging anything
John Beilein: Michigan coach's exit a big loss for college basketball | SI.com
NBA playoffs 2019: Don Nelson's influence on Warriors, Giannis | SI.com
Samson's Underdog Pick: Marlins Over Mets
Pennsylvania Mobile Sports Betting Will Bring Wagers Inside MLB Ballparks - sporttechie.com
How an unpredictable Ron DeSantis is advancing Florida conservatism | Tampa Bay Times
