The Mailbag, Edition 1

We've played with the idea of a mailbag on this site from time to time, whether it be in written form or on the Oxford Exxon Podcast.

Russell Johnson often uses a mailbag as a method of delivering content on the Soft Verbal Podcast presented by Billie's Pecans.

Frankly, analytics say you, the reader, consume these, and after talking to publishers at several like-minded Rivals.com team sites, I thought I'd give it a go.

I believe we have secured a sponsor for this content item, and hopefully, we'll have more on that as early as next week.

The plan is to take your questions from The Grove message board, Twitter and _ occasionally _ my email account and provide what I hope is an entertaining mid-week read. Some are about Ole Miss. Some aren't. I like it that way. Analytics say you will too. So I suppose we'll see together whether this works or whether it's a giant failure.

With all of that out of the way, here we go...

From williamfaulkbear:

who would be your top four names for lsu’s hot board?

If it goes bad quickly, one has to believe Dave Aranda stayed for a reason, sort of similar to why Matt Luke turned down Will Muschamp back in December 2016. So my LSU hot board would read:

1. Dave Aranda

2. Lane Kiffin

3. A big splashy hire, someone such as Penn State's James Franklin

4. Neal Brown

From golfreb83:

Gun to your head, gotta answer yes or no..... does Kermit take this team dancing in year one?

No.

From Chess2899:

If you can have dinner with one Cubs player, current or retired, who would you choose?

This is a good one. If I had to choose a retired player, I'd be so tempted to choose Sammy Sosa and try to get the real scoop on his steroid abuse and his feelings about whether, all these years later, it was worth it.

Among current players, I'd enjoy hearing Willson Contreras' story of growing up in Venezuela or Javy Baez's story of moving to the U.S. in an attempt to save his sister. I think Kyle Hendricks would be fascinating, as would Ben Zobrist. I have a mutual friend with Jon Lester who believes he and I would hit it off.

However, the one guy I'd pick is Anthony Rizzo. He's overcome cancer, does so much in the community and serves as such an inspiration for so many. It'd be risky, as he's also my wife's hall pass.

From fbelliot:

What’s your opinion on how OM’s appeal will turn out?

I don't anticipate relief on the bowl sanction, but for some reason, I think the visitation limitation gets thrown out.

From MarvMerchants:

What’s your daily routine on most days during the summer and during football season?

I'm very boring. I wake up around 5, grab some coffee, feed the dogs and unload the dishwasher. Then I go upstairs, do some sort of weightlifting or push-ups or ab work and then do a 6 a.m. Peloton class. After that, I shower quickly, do my hair and take Carson to school.

I come home, podcast with Chase until about 10 and then do work or other podcasts until 2. I go get Carson from school and then usually do more work or other podcasts. I cover football practice on Tuesday, take him to soccer on Wednesday and tape the Friday podcast at Funky's on Thursday late afternoon.

If the Cubs are on, I'm usually watching, at least passively. I'm usually in bed by 10.

As I read this, I'm bored. My God, I'm a boring human being.

I've thought a lot about that one this month. I'm going to take an Occam's razor approach here. It likely means Jordan Ta'amu progressed as a quarterback in his first full season as the starter and someone like Mohamed Sanogo stabilized the linebacker position.

It could also mean Scottie Phillips emerged as a true SEC running back or Kevontae' Ruggs was a star as a freshman, but Ta'amu and Sanogo feel like more rational answers.

No, John, I didn't, and yes, John, there's not enough fire. Set the whole damn thing ablaze and just let it burn.

Well, Jim, that's a question I ask myself a lot -- if only because I find the hypotheticals amusing. First, I think some background is required.

Houston Nutt never liked me. That was clear from the beginning. He rarely referred to me by name, told boosters I was "bad for the program," fed scoops to competing media outlets, etc. Those weren't fun times. His high school liaison person, Clifton Ealy, once asked why I didn't wear Ole Miss gear to practice. Had it not been for a couple of assistants, primarily Chris Vaughn, I essentially would've been exiled.

I had people advise me not to do a picks column, but I thought it'd be successful and funny. Nutt hated it. People on his staff told me as much.

As that 2011 season unfolded, a perfect storm formed. I picked Ole Miss to beat Vanderbilt that September. The Rebels didn't quite win, losing 31-7. Near the end of that game, I approached Pete Boone and asked about the performance. I thought I'd get a no-comment. Instead, he said it was unacceptable.

Nutt hated Boone more than he hated me. I had to ask Nutt about Boone's comment. You know the rest. Nutt was finished that Saturday in Nashville. The rest was elementary. He said nothing when I picked Alabama to win in a blowout, but when the Rebels' last stand resulted in a decent showing in a loss to Arkansas, Nutt took his frustrations out on me.

Nutt surrounded himself with yes-men, but by the middle of that season, he knew it was over. Looking back, that postgame was premeditated. It was also dumb on his part because he opened himself up to a shot. By saying, "It wudn't no 49-10, was it, Neal?" he set up an easy comeback.

I could've easily said, "Houston, are you, in your fourth year here, claiming a moral victory?" It would've been perfect, and I thought about it, but I let discretion be the better part of valor. Most tell me I did the right thing. Personally, I think I blew it.

I just wasn't popular enough here to pull that off. I think I would've gotten some headlines and such (hell, I did, anyway), but it would've gotten ugly. As it was, ironically, I firmly believe that incident solidified the decision to move away from Nutt quickly. It was a very bad look for him.

He actually softened towards me after that. We never discussed it, but he treated me more civilly in the final weeks of his tenure in Oxford. I'd love to have him on the podcast and talk about it sometime, but I suspect that's not in the cards.

From larryjoe1979:

where are we going as a society, Neal? Will we make it? Are we some cosmic debt for people long since gone? Are we as a specie never to be forgiven for our forefather’s mistakes? Are we doomed to a nihilistic existence always asking why but never being told the answer? Also, best ice cream flavor, I vote rocky road.

I've pondered this question so many times. My mom loves pralines and cream, so I've always had a soft spot for it. However, chocolate and peanut butter from Baskin Robbins was always my jam. I like Rocky Road; I do, but it's sort of like salmon for me. I can eat it, and I like it, but I never wake up thinking, "I want salmon today."

Duh...

From roccoreb:

1. which SEC football team that is most likely to have the biggest letdown based on expectations and why....2. which SEC team is most likely to do better than expected and why....thx.....i'll hang up and listen...

1. Auburn -- The Tigers are preseason top-10 but that schedule is brutal, starting Saturday in Atlanta versus Washington. Auburn has to go to Georgia and to Alabama. Heck, the trip to Oxford could get tricky. They get LSU early, possibly before the Tigers are derailed by drama. Mississippi State could be a handful.

2. It sounds crazy, but if you're looking for a candidate to massively overachieve, it's LSU. What if Joe Burrow plays well? That defense is salty, and if they could beat Miami and then somehow upset Auburn, they could be playing over their heads come October. Make no mistake; I expect an implosion in Baton Rouge, but that team is capable of winning. They've very volatile.

From rebels57:

I know you talk about Bryce to the Cubs sometimes, I think 4 or 5 teams will be heavy bidders. What would be your top 5 be to sign Harper in order? And also a sleeper team. Mine would be: 1) Dodgers 2) Nats 3) Phillies 4) Cubs 5) Giants. Sleeper would be White Sox.

1. Phillies (unless they land Machado)

2. Cubs (unless they opt to go for Patrick Corbin, which I don't really expect)

3. Nationals

4. Braves (makes sense, but I wonder if Atlanta wants to spend like that yet)

5. Giants (makes no sense for Harper, but the Giants have the cash and will spend it)

From Ole Landshark:

If ole miss were to make coordinator changes end of this year (due to poor performance or bigger opportunities), who do you think is on Matt’s short list for offensive and defensive coordinators?

Good question. He might have to promote from within to keep hot assistants such as Jon Sumrall and Jacob Peeler. I know Kane Wommack was approached about a job prior to the Sumrall hire. It's too early to really know, but Luke is sharp. I guarantee you he has lists formulating in his mind if changes have to or need to be made.

From Patrick C. Timony:

If you could go back in time and stop one assassination which one would you prevent?

It almost has to be John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King Jr., right? I mean, if you stop the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, World War I possibly doesn't happen. If you stop the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, perhaps there's a smoother reuniting of the states. I know I'm missing other candidates.

Every time I go to Washington D.C., I'm struck by the power of the simplicity of the Vietnam War Memorial. All. The. Names. With that in mind, I guess I'd say Kennedy, as I would say it's likely Vietnam doesn't escalate if he's reelected in 1964 and in the White House through 1968.

As for King, one can't help but wonder where race relations are in our country today had he not been gunned down in Memphis in 1968. I can't help but think _ and I openly admit this could be nothing but hope _ they would be better.

From J-Reezy23:

Would you openly cheer for the the cardinals for the rest of your life to have the body of Stallone in Rocky 4?

My initial answer was yes, and not just yes, but hell yes. Then I asked my wife, Laura, and she said Stallone in Rocky IV looked, "Too hard," and "not touchable." So now I'm lost.

Breaking: Women are confusing.

From NorthMS_23:

You, @Jay G. Tate, & Gabe DeArmond are stuck on an island. Who dies first and why?

Oh, that's easy. Jay dies. Quickly. I can't say why, but let's just say Jay wants none of that island.

From seminole817:

Do you think KD and/or Klay leave GS after the season? I desperately want to believe the Mavs could sign a big free agent next summer. Not counting on it, though.

Durant is leaving after this season. I'm not sure where he's going _ Knicks, Lakers, Thunder, Sixers, I just don't know _ but he's leaving the Warriors.

From kinsley1m:

Where is MPW Digital in 5 years? 24 hour webcam in your kitchen?

I wish I knew. I think podcasts are here to stay. I suspect there's some video platform that takes off. Jay Tate is working on a project of that sort, so assuming he doesn't die on the island, I'll watch that with interest and possibly steal the idea. But I just don't know where it goes. I don't think any of our lives are interesting enough for a webcam in the kitchen (or anywhere else, for that matter). Well, Jay Tate's might be, but that's another story.

From jenlauren:

Will Rivals or whoever the hell is in charge ever add more emojis?

You want a depth chart AND more emojis? For $9.95 a month? Are you insane?