The Mailbag, pres. by Art Hays of Sotheby's Int'l Realty: Edition 270
It's time for The Mailbag, presented by Art Hays of Sotheby's International Realty, Edition 270.
I asked for your questions. You delivered. So here we go…
The Mailbag is presented by Art Hays of Sotheby’s International Realty. Are you thinking of making a move? Put the power of Sotheby's International Realty to work for you. As a licensed agent with Sotheby's International Realty and a supporter of all things Ole Miss, Art can help you buy or sell in your home town, or anywhere in the world, at no charge to you (seriously). Call and ask Art how. Call 612-805-5929 or email Art at Art Hays at arthur.hays@lakesmn.com.
From North Tampa Rebel: Rank how you think these political issues will affect the presidential election:Immigration/borderAbortion/women’s rights EconomyForeign affairs/israel/ukraineCrime/homelessness
Economy
Abortion/Women's rights
Immigration/border
Crime
Israel
Ukraine
Foreign affairs
Homelessness
From chattreb: How in the world are Lindy’s, Athlon, and Phil Steele going to publish a pre-season magazine this year?
I have no idea. I mean, I get people are Jonesing for football in the summer, but those magazines aren't even going to have time to put accurate rosters in there, much less have real substantive previews. I think those outlets have been passed, but I'm sure there's a segment of the populace that will buy them this summer.
From awrebel: How does the LIV/PGA issue affect you?
I'm not a golf guy, so it doesn't. Further, I'm just never going to be the guy that judges an athlete for taking a bunch of money during his/her window of competition.
From Levi275: Who are your top 5 movie villains of all-time?
1. Ivan Drago, of course.
2. Hannibal Lecter
3. Hans Gruber
4. Rachel Phelps
5. Annie Wilkes
From coachnuke: If football breaks away from the NCAA do you think the rest of conference athletic team programs go back to more regional conferences? For example USC , UCLA volleyball teams go back to west coast.
I think so, but I just don't know how this whole "break away" thing works. I've almost hit the fatigue mark on it. When they break away, is there a players' union? How does Title IX impact the breakaway? Are the programs still associated with the schools? Do players still have to go to class? Are they on scholarship? Is it just privatized? Are fans still being asked to subsidize players' salaries? None of this is directed at you, mind you. Hell, you coached at the purest of pure levels. I just see people in my field foaming at the mouth over some of this and I'm not sure they can answer any of those questions.
From wsshanah: For NIL deals do offers made to players affect the offers made to other players for a similar/same position. For example, let’s say Ole Miss offers one of these RB’s that will be getting in the portal $750k and that player turns it down, would the next guy they go after demand the same amount since it was offered to player A? I assume all these players and players agents talk to each other.
Players talk. Players' "agents" talk. So, yes, there are some market values established, but there are also schools/collectives that don't accommodate all demands.
From hays3: I pose this question without having seen much news (as of 9:30 PM Monday evening) but by the time you write/publish I suspect things will have changed. If there are notable Ole Miss players in the portal were any of them a surprise to you? If there are notable players from other schools who do you see as a fit, or target, given what you’ve seen the last few years and hear through the grapevine?
So far, there have been no surprising portal entries for Ole Miss. At this point, you'd have a difficult time surprising me, but as of this writing, there's been nothing all that noteworthy on Ole Miss' end.
As for the grapevine talk, I'm probably the wrong person to ask. I've hit the point with portal coverage where I just kind of wait to see who visits and then go from there.
From hays3: Are you much of a traveler? If so, where is your favorite place you’ve been and one place you really want to go? If not, do you think that may change when you eventually empty nest and if so, where’s the first trip?
I'm not. When I was younger, I didn't have the time or the means to travel, really, except for work. We've taken the kids to California for a week and I've taken Carson and then the girls on trips to Washington D.C. We've gone to Chicago for a quick trip one December and made some trips to Atlanta, Houston and St. Louis, but no, I wouldn't call myself a big traveler.
Now that I have the means, I don't have the time. This job is packed from mid-July through the end of April, really. Laura works and has pretty limited vacation, so it's just not something we've really been able to do.
We'd love to take the kids to Europe, but I don't know how realistic that is. I've never left the country, sans one day when I was a little kid I went with my parents to Tijuana for a few hours. As for what we'll do once the nest is empty, I don't know. I doubt we would really want to make a lot of trips, just the two of us, that didn't involve the kids. My guess is we'll use our time off to see the kids and help them.
From awrebel: Will Israel hit back? Should they? How does this episode end?
I thought Iran really telegraphed what was coming, to the point that I felt it was doing it for domestic appearances more than to inflict death and destruction. I'm not defending the Iranians, mind you. I'm simply saying they provided so much warning that it seemed to convey a message of, "Domestically, we have to do this. Here's what's coming. Shoot it down and let's call it a day."
Some in Israel very clearly want to strike back. Others seem to share my viewpoint. I'm hopeful cooler heads prevail. We don't need to be on the precipice of World War III right now.
From jmeesha: Do the football analysts that we hire like Arnett and Judge work from their home looking at tape and such or do they come to Oxford and mingle with the other coaches? Do they need to live in or near Oxford ? Secondly, what would you estimate the average salary of a football analysts to be ? Just a rough estimate.
To my knowledge, Arnett and Judge are in the building working for the program. There are analysts working for other programs who do so remotely. Ole Miss might have some as well; I'm just not aware. As for what they make, I'd have to file a FOIA on that. My guess would be something like $100,000, but I could be way off in either direction.
From tlpierse: What is your take on Candace Owens fallout with Daily Wire? I used to like Candace Owens, but now it appears she has become more concerned about her celebrity status or clout versus political activism. After leaving DW and posting on X to her fans asking, if the fans are inclined to do so, for a gift wasn't a great look.
She and Shapiro obviously had major differences of opinion regarding Israel's response to Hamas' attacking of Israel in October. That said, I've never paid much attention to her or to Daily Wire, so their ongoing clash of narratives hasn't interested me. For better or worse, I catch myself unable to pay attention to extreme views on either side. My media consumption these days is pretty limited to the Wall Street Journal, Breaking Points, Joe Rogan and Reasonable Doubt (with attorney Mark Geragos). I'll throw in some NBA podcasts here and there and that's about the extent of what I have time for.
From BigJuice10: When the Masters coverage broke away to the CBS News report on Iran/Israel, I was pretty concerned and understood the potential ramifications of it. No one else cared in the room, why are people this dumb and out of touch with the world?
After the previous answer, I guess it would be hypocritical for me to criticize people for ignoring the news. However, like you, I'm amazed at the percentage of the populace that seems to have no idea what's happening in the world and no real concern for what ramifications those events could have. It's mind-boggling to me.
I can't decide if I'm jealous of the people whose entire existence is pop culture and/or sports or if think they're idiots. I'm truly torn.
Given what I do for a living, I know I should just ignore the outside world and dive into the intricacies of the transfer portal and focus on how Chris Beard is building a roster full of people that I'll cover for one season before 90 percent leaves and we do it all again.
I struggle with that, however, as world events seem far more consequential to my children's lives than how much money a running back or a shooting guard is worth to a school for the upcoming season.
From FlaReb69: As crazy and baffling as the NIL-portal era of college sports is, Ole Miss has been one of the big winners thus far. Is that sustainable for a program like ours (traditionally less $$ for under the table payments)? I don't know details but it seems like NIL operations are not running at peak efficiency at places like Alabama, Florida, Clemson, etc. At some point do the traditional "haves" get things sorted out and we return to something approaching the old days in terms of hierarchy? Or have Keith Carter, Lane Kiffin, and the GC "awoken a sleeping giant" and what we are building is in fact sustainable?
It's a great question. I don't know the answer. I'm not sure anyone does. I have more additional questions than I do answers.
I keep waiting for a market correction of sorts. I keep waiting for people and businesses to ask if they're really getting a ROI on this. Maybe love for alma mater and love for winning in intercollegiate sports supersedes more than I believed. I simply don't know.
Here's an anecdote: Recently, my wife and I started discussing taking our children on a big vacation next summer (our vacation this summer got canceled because both upstairs bathrooms need major work). Our children are getting older. We have two graduations next May. Etc. We came up with a budget. It's significant. It might or might not be enough to do what we talked about doing, but it's a significant sum for a family vacation, a sum that would require some sacrifice and saving over the next 15 or so months.
Others are putting sums like the one I'm referencing into NIL collectives. I suppose they're still taking vacations, and I'm guessing a lot of those vacations are being put on credit cards with very high interest rates. My point is this: I don't think it's unrealistic that people will start to look at the NIL investment and think, "We didn't take a vacation with our children and/or ran up painful credit card debt for what? To help buy a defensive end to play for one season?"
And what happens at some of these programs when the investment doesn't result in winning? Is The Grove Collective, for example, rolling if Jayden Daniels makes one more play last season and/or if Texas A&M makes the kick on the last play and wins in overtime and/or fourth-and-1 at their own 34 goes bad and Ole Miss is upset by Arkansas? Maybe. Maybe not. What happens this fall if a playoffs-or-bust season goes, well, bust? Do fans double down and give more or do they say, "This is stupid." I don't know.
I'm on record. I don't think it's sustainable, not just at Ole Miss but anywhere, to ask fans to pay for players' salaries. I'm also on record that I could be wrong. I don't know what it feels like to love a school or an alma mater enough to give it my expendable income, so I'm hardly the target audience. I have a modicum of common sense, however, so I suspect my doubts have some basis in reality.
Times change. Things shift. It's entirely possible that in this era of college sports, when what used to be under the table is now somewhat out in the open that old powers die and new ones emerge. It's certainly possible a sleeping giant or two have been awakened.
Like I said, you ask a great question. My boiled down answer is, I think, "I just don't know." But it's a damn good question and it's a question lots of people, including those you referenced, are asking as well. They probably aren't willing to say what I've said, nor should they be, but nothing I said in the paragraphs above are things they haven't thought privately. I can almost guarantee that.
From Kylethehoss: Do you think the ghost that lives upstairs was in the house when you moved in? Or followed you from Spanish Fort?
No, at the risk of sounding like a complete loon, I think it was a family member making a visit.
Yes, I know I sound insane. That's based on what Caroline told me. I believe her.
From ChargerRebel: How long do you think we have until a college athlete attempts to get the four year eligibility limit eliminated, and what does college football and basketball look like after that?
It's a matter of time, and frankly, based on legal precedent, I think the athlete will win in court. And if some of these NIL agreements remain at the current rates, I think you'll see athletes stick around longer. Sure, if you can go to the NFL or the NBA and make the big bucks, you go. But what if you're just one notch down?
From robert90: Repeat 2 on 2 basketball game question from last week with different teams.Jokic and Porzingis vs. Embiid and Giannis. Who wins and why?
Oh, wow, that would be interesting. I think I'd still go with Jokic and the Zinger because of their ability to hit from the perimeter. Porzingis is going to have a difficult time guarding Joel or Giannis, but they'll struggle to guard him too because he can pull them away from the rim.
From RebelFNP: Your thoughts on the Johnny Long bat flip? As an Ole Miss fan, obviously I think it was bush league. BUT… would I feel the same without the bias? I mean, kid’s first home run in a huge moment in the game. Emotions are a major part of baseball, and I get that. But it just didn’t seem necessary and no doubt it lit a fire State just couldn’t put out the rest of the weekend.
I hate trash talk. I hate motivating the opponent. It's just not me. I'm for hitting the home run, putting the bat down, putting my head down and getting around the bases. I don't want to get my opponent fired up. But that's just me.
I thought the bat flip was extreme. I thought his antics were extreme. More importantly, it lit a fire, as you said, under an Ole Miss team that should have been deflated in that moment. His antics, directly or indirectly, motivated Ole Miss and the Rebels dominated the rest of the weekend.
