McCready: 10 Weekend Thoughts presented by Harry Alexander
1. Ole Miss wrapped up a disastrous week with an 11-point loss at South Carolina Saturday night.
The loss to the Gamecocks came three days after a lopsided home loss to Georgia, one that saw the Rebels lose leading scorer Deandre Burnett to a high ankle sprain.
Burnett didn’t play Saturday in Columbia, and without him, the Rebels looked devoid of athleticism and inept on the offensive end.
Full disclosure: My daughter, Campbell, had her first formal on Saturday, and I missed the majority of the Ole Miss-South Carolina game. I did see most of the second half, however, and what I saw was more than enough to draw some conclusions.
First, there’s no point in talking about RPI, strength of schedule or tournament bubbles, nor will there be unless there’s a significant turn-around in the coming weeks. Ole Miss entertains Tennessee Tuesday at 8 p.m. before heading to Missouri on Saturday and then entertaining Texas A&M on Jan. 25. Those three teams are a combined 23-26 overall, 3-11 in the Southeastern Conference. If Ole Miss is going to get well, the Rebels (10-7, 1-4) can’t afford a loss in the next 11 days.
There will be a lot of talk in the coming days about Andy Kennedy, his job performance and his security _ more from me on that in a bit _ but I think for now it’s premature. The Rebels have a path to respectability in front of them. It’s clean. It’s well-lit. They just have to follow it. If they can’t, things could get ugly fast.
Coaches always talk about one practice at a time, one game at a time. It’s cliche, sure, but for Andy Kennedy and Ole Miss, it rings incredibly true. Tuesday is the most important game on the Rebels’ schedule. After that, Saturday’s trip to Mizzou takes that title. After that, the date with the Aggies becomes paramount. Maybe by then, Burnett will be back, the Rebels will have some confidence and they can rewrite the current narrative.
As it stands, Ole Miss can still get healthy. The Rebels’ RPI is 46. They’ve lost to to teams with RPIs of 3, 6, 9, 24, 26, 43 and 50. They have three top-100 wins. Don’t get me wrong; this team isn’t passing the look test at all lately, and I’m certainly not making the case that it’s a tournament team. I’m simply saying it might be a bit premature to write the obituary on Jan. 15.
2. Of course, message boards are not places for measured opinions. They’re places for instant reaction, and that instant reaction over the past week has been very anti-Kennedy.
I’m not blaming fans for that, mind you. I get it. Fans want wins, and Ole Miss’ $95 million investment into basketball has raised expectations for the program. Higher expectations are a good thing. When those expectations aren’t met, however, difficult decisions have to be made.
Many will talk about Kennedy “deserving” another year, no matter what happens this season. I hate that word. One typically deserves what one earns.
I tend to think it would be prudent to give Kennedy another season before making a major decision. Further, I don’t think the timing this spring is particularly good, considering the likelihood of an amended notice of allegations arriving from the NCAA in the not too distant future. Ross Bjork can multi-task, sure, but conducting a coaching search while fighting for the future of one’s football program makes for a loaded plate.
What will be interesting to monitor, especially if things go south in the final two months of the season, is fan attendance. The Pavilion at Ole Miss was built to serve as an incentive for fans to attend. However, no one supports a losing program, so if the beautiful new arena stands half-empty for league games, it will be difficult not to notice.
Again, it’s mid-January, and at least for now, it’s far too early, at least in my opinion, to have this discussion. Just know that if the time comes to legitimately have it, this is a complex issue, and the answer isn’t an easy one.
3. Ole Miss did not host any official visitors over the weekend. The Rebels will have some guests due in next weekend, including Spanish Fort, Alabama, linebacker Thomas Johnston and Plano, Texas, linebacker Mohamed Sanogo. Among other visitors expected are Lancaster, Texas, wide receiver Omar Manning; Newberry, Florida, teammates Cory Durden and Ja’len Parks; Turner County, Georgia, wide receiver Tamorrion Terry; junior college linebacker Carson Lyndon; and possibly junior college wide receiver Stephen Guidry.
That list will likely expand and change over the next week, but the last two weeks are going to be critical for the Rebels’ recruiting efforts. The coaching staff was on the road over the weekend, shaking proverbial trees to see what falls. They’re also looking ahead to the 2018 and 2019 classes, knowing there likely won’t be a lot of margin for error due to the likelihood of scholarship limitations.
4. Speaking of the NCAA, there isn’t much to update this week, at least not to my knowledge. Travis Haney of 247Sports made some waves last week when he wrote about the buzz surrounding Ole Miss and the NCAA at the annual coaches’ convention in Nashville.
Haney’s offering, in my opinion, was balanced and fair. It also matches what we’ve heard over the past few weeks. Still, and I suspect I’ll repeat this a few times between now and the end of this saga, Ole Miss is going to get its chance to answer any new allegations, interview any new accusers and give its side of the story to the committee on infractions when it gets its proverbial day in court.
5. From Chase Parham:
Ole Miss baseball started individual work today and will start full-team practices Jan. 27 in anticipation of the Feb. 17 season opener against East Carolina.
As you all know, Ole Miss signed the top recruiting class nationally and was ranked No. 8 in the preseason by Perfect Game. I talked to Patrick Ebert, Perfect Game national writer, about the lofty spot in the top 25. He mentioned the bullpen and overall roster depth, saying the Rebels should be elite in those areas by the end of the season.
That's the point of this post and words of caution. Ebert said end of season. I believe that's possible, as well, but this is a team that may have to grow into itself. A lot of freshmen are going to contribute immediately. There will be a new Friday night starter and maybe a Saturday one, too.
The Rebels are without three big bats from last season with the departures of Errol Robinson, Henri Lartigue and JB Woodman, and some role players have to become everyday performers.
I think it's going to work out. The pieces and the athleticism are there, but do me a favor and keep your head on straight if things get off a tough start. East Carolina, coached by Cliff Godwin, is No. 10 nationally, and No. 1 TCU awaits in Houston during Week 3. UNC-Wilmington was in a regional final last year, and Vanderbilt is Ole Miss' SEC opener.
Ole Miss will be a tough out by the end of the season and should give fans some great moments before being very, very highly regarded in 2018. The Rebels may even be special this season. But it's a young team that will need an identity. Don't bail on them or freak out before it gets one.
6. The NBA season has hit its midpoint. Here are my half-season NBA awards:
Rookie of the Year: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Utah
Comeback Player of the Year: Marc Gasol, Memphis
Sixth Man of the Year: Eric Gordon, Houston
Coach of the Year: David Fizdale, Memphis
Most Improved Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee
Most Valuable Player: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City
All-NBA Team:
G Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City
G James Harden, Houston
C Marc Gasol, Memphis
F Kevin Durant, Golden State
F LeBron James, Cleveland
7. The NFL is down to its final four. For the record, I was 3-1 on the divisional playoff games, so perhaps I’m on a roll. Here are my predictions for championship Sunday:
Pittsburgh 24, New England 20
Green Bay 31, Atlanta 28
8. Donald Trump will become the nation’s 45th president on Friday. No matter your political persuasion, the peaceful transfer of power, one laid out in our Constitution more than 200 hundred years ago, should make you proud to be an American.
The fit some are throwing over Trump’s election should irritate you beyond description.
I made it clear here repeatedly: I wasn’t for Trump or his opponent, Hillary Clinton. I thought both were overly flawed candidates who ran a race that turned me off. However, Trump won, beating an arrogant candidate who took the Rust Belt states for granted and paid for it dearly.
Unless evidence _ evidence, not innuendo, but evidence _ is presented that the Russians impacted the election under Trump’s direction, that opinion isn’t going to change.
I’m not crazy about Trump’s behavior, the way he holds press conferences or the way he uses (abuses?) Twitter, but I’ll support Trump until he gives me reason not to. His success is good for my family, your family and all American families. If he fails, I’ll support his opponent in four years and once again admire the majesty of the peaceful transfer of power.
I never voted for Barack Obama, but I have always admired his eloquence, his charisma and his stateliness. Though I agreed with him on many of his social views, I wasn’t crazy about some of his economic policies. However, I respect the man and the office he holds.
There will be a lot of talk in the coming days about Obama’s legacy as well as some of the changes Trump will make upon taking office. Obama’s election was historic. He provided tangible proof, in case they needed it, to young African-Americans that they can be anything they dream of. He has, in my opinion, represented our country with dignity and compassion. However, his health care package, ObamaCare, has negatively impacted millions of Americans, and my industry refuses to tell that story.
My family is a prime example. Our health insurance has deteriorated since the ACA was instituted. Rates skyrocketed. Coverages lagged. Obama sold the ACA, in my opinion, as “free insurance,” and many Americans actually believed it would come at no cost. No offense, but those people were idiots. The ACA is forcing young people to buy health insurance they don’t need and is forcing older Americans to decide whether they are willing to pay for expensive treatments and sacrifice their financial stability. In short, there has to be a better way.
Here’s hoping Trump can figure that out, all the while learning to carry himself in the dignified manner that has made Obama so popular.
9. Jonathan Howard is a 12-year bar and restaurant veteran who recently relocated from New York City to Nashville. He was crowned the “Master of the Manhattan” at the 2016 Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience besting over 600 other bartenders from across the country, which is the first win by a Nashville bartender at that level of competition.
Jonathan has also been honored as a 2016 Chivas Masters National Finalist, 2015 Bacardi Legacy Regional Finalist, 2015 Merlet Sidecar North American Finalist, a 2013 World Class NE Regional Finalist, and the 2012 Winner of the Drambuie Tales on Tap Competition winning the largest cash prize in Tales of the Cocktail history.
Here’s Jonathan with this week’s Drink of the Week:
Ross Bjork came out and proven he wants to throw out some green given the level of investment in our assistants' pool. So, for this weeks drink I wanted to give everyone here on RG a little something green as well, The Last Word.
The Last Word was first introduced in Ted Saucier's classic cocktail book Bottoms Up! in 1951. In the book Saucier attributes the drink to barman Frank Fogarty of the Detroit Athletic Club, who was serving the drink there 30 years earlier before introducing it to New York as well. John Frizell later researched the archives of the DAA and found the drink was actually a pre-prohibition libation and was the most expensive cocktail on their menu at 35 cents a serving.
The drink is an rather potent, herbaceous, and refreshing gin cocktail. For the gin I would use a London Dry, Beefater or Tanqueray specifically, as the other ingredients are rather complex in flavor so the dryer and simpler the flavor profile of the gin the better. A couple of the ingredients might be a bit strange to find in a neighborhood liquor store but are easily available online.
Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur is distilled from ripe marasca cherries, their crushed pits, sprigs and leaves, honey, and other ingredients that remain a secret. It is the only known European liqueur that is developed through distillation.
Green Chartreuse is a 110 proof liqueur made from 127 alpine herbs by 3 Parisian monks. Each monk knows only one third of the recipe, therefore asking it impossible to replicate.
The Last Word
3/4 oz. London Dry Gin
3/4 oz.Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
3/4 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
3/4 oz. Green Chartreuse
Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker tin, add ice to tin and shake HARD for 12 seconds. Strain the cocktail through a tea strainer into a preferably chilled cocktail glass.
NEXT LEVEL TIP: Place your cocktail glass in the freezer for 10 minutes before use, you will notice your drink will stay remarkably colder longer.
10. We’ll have coverage of Ole Miss’ game against Tennessee on Tuesday and we’ll follow recruiting closely as National Signing Day gets closer and closer. Until then, here are some links of interest to me _ and hopefully to you _ for your reading pleasure.
Race is an integral part of Obama’s story, and he embraced its complexity.
Inauguration protesters plan to disrupt ball, destroy property
Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Holliday back out of inauguration due to threats.
Maness a trailblazer? New surgery for elbow repair cuts recovery time.
The Cubs’ Theo Epstein reflects on making history, looks forward to another run
In New York, gyms are the new nightclubs
Jason Heyward is working overtime to recapture his swing
Al Horford was surprised to hear so many boos in his return to Atlanta.
Kris Bryant is working on one of his few flaws this winter.
Buddy Hield has found his rhythm with the Pelicans.
The Bush sisters wrote the Obama girls a touching letter.
How Marty Schottenheimer is dealing with Alzheimer’s.
How Russell Westbrook is making the toughest part of averaging a triple-double look easy.
Dabo Swinney gave his former boss his due.
