The Mailbag, pres. by Art Hays of Sotheby's Int'l Realty: Edition 271
It's time for The Mailbag, presented by Art Hays of Sotheby's International Realty, Edition 271.
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 cctrey5: Where would you rank Lane in terms of current CFB coaches without a national championship as a HC?
At the risk of sounding like a homer, I'd rank him No. 1. He has led Ole Miss to two 10-win seasons in the last three years. The only programs in the SEC that have been more successful since Kiffin's arrival have been Georgia and Alabama, and those two have been historically elite during that period.
From REBNUT: am I wrong that believing that the transfer portal is harder in basketball and baseball because of the smaller size of rosters for those sports?
Harder? I don't know. I'm not sure how one could measure that. I do think the current basketball model -- turn over the whole damn roster and hope what you put together makes sense on the floor -- is brutally difficult to navigate.
From GolfReb83: Asking for a friend: How does someone create a new account and harass long time users of RG, get banned, then pop right back up?
Apparently it requires a tremendous amount of mental illness and a total lack of, well, a life.
From chattreb: You know a lot of MLB teams have learned the hard way not to break the bank and offer long term contracts to pitchers because they can throw their arms out and you have to eat a lot of capital. Instead they try to spend money on pitching depth. Is the running back position becoming the same way in College Football (apparently the NFL has decided this a while ago). It appears that is what Lane is thinking. Your thoughts?
I think that's an astute observations. Running backs get hurt. Sucks, but it's the truth. And in most modern offenses, the quarterback, wide receivers and offensive tackles are more valuable. So accumulating a handful of guys who can play the running back position and provide some value makes sense.
From coachnuke: What do you think of MLB City Connect alternate uniforms? I think they are awful, especially the Mets (and I am a NYM fan).
I'm fine with them. The Cubs wear one that has grown on me. I mean, it's fine. Whatever. I'm trying not to be the old man yelling at clouds on this stuff, as I'm a bit of a uniform snob. Most of the city connect uniforms look like they are trying too hard.
From Levi275: The NFL Draft looms this week and appears to be a QB-heavy R1. Who will be the most successful QB, the biggest pleasant surprise and the biggest disappointment out of the following: Williams, Maye, Daniels, McCarthy, Nix, Penix
I'm a big Jayden Daniels fan. I think he's a terrific kid and a fabulously talented player. Williams is the one who could really disappoint but I can't fault Chicago for taking him 1/1. Physically, he's elite, head and shoulders better than the others. I don't know that I know quarterback play well enough to evaluate the rest. Penix, I will say, has a chance to be a very pleasant surprise for some team.
From capitolcityreb18: The White Sox atttendance looks worse than the Rachel Phelps’ Indians games. Do you think they relocate in the next few years?
I doubt they do, but they should. People aren't going to flock to the south side of Chicago to go to baseball games. They should move to Nashville or Charlotte or Salt Lake City and enjoy a fresh start.
From LRReb: So far, the football, spring portal has proven to be less active than expected. Is that an indication of teams being near salary cap?
I think it's two-fold:
1. Most, as you said, have sort of hit the cap. They can't keep spending what they don't have, and trading on credit is dangerous.
2. Bringing guys in this late could really screw up team culture/chemistry going into the summer, and that might not give a staff enough time to rectify the situation before the season begins.
From RebsBagman: Portal has been kinda slow in general. Do you think teams are waiting to take portal guys later in the period so current players don’t get upset? Or even better, tamper with players on other rosters advising not to get in the portal until later in the cycle to screw over rivals?
See the above answer.
Look, I could be wrong. I think more activity will happen closer to the 30th, letting guys bolt with less time left in the semester. But when you bring in guys this late in the process, with spring done and with the portal closed where suddenly disgruntled guys can't jump, you're playing with fire from a culture/chemistry standpoint.
From jksreb: What is a reasonable expectation for Beard’s second team at ole Miss?
Given the current nature of the sport, Beard's contract and Ole Miss' apparent/reported commitment to players' salaries (let's call it what it is), Ole Miss should be an NCAA Tournament team. Period. It might should make the second weekend.
From tlpierse: MFK: Pizza, Wings, Burritos
So let's work our way through this. Wings are going to survive. I just never get tired of them. I love pizza, but pizza after a couple of days gets really old. Burritos are kind of underrated. You can shake up a burrito and give it versatility. Pizza, meanwhile, is pizza, no matter the toppings.
So, think I'm going:
M -- Burritos
F -- Wings
K -- Pizza
From TupeloReb99: 2 questions.1. What is your favorite food to grill and on what type of grill? 2. Was journalism always the plan for you? Did you change majors in college or ever thought about a career change? If so, what were some other options you were looking at?
I like grilling everything. I just enjoy it. I have a Big Green Egg and a Blackstone griddle. If I had room, I'd add a more conventional gas grill and a Traeger. I really think about the Traeger. I like to smoke meats on the BGE, but it's laborious. Sometimes, when you can just sit outside and have a few beers, that's great, but if you're busy, it's not. My family says I smoke/grill chicken, especially wings, well. I smoked a very good pork shoulder the other day, but the brisket ended up too dry.
As for my career, yeah, I always wanted to write. I started in broadcast journalism, but I have a face for print, so I pivoted after my first TV job offer was for less than $12,000 a year. I thought about law and often wish I'd gone that route.
In the end, I probably found the right thing for me -- radio/podcasting combined with writing. Sometimes I'm not sure I'm in the right genre at this point in my life, but I'm generally content.
From Loblolly7: In an alternate reality, the investigation around the Shohei Ohtani betting scandal reveals that he is 100% guilty of betting on baseball, including his own games. Robert Manfred bans him from MLB for life. What would the fallout look like?
It would be total chaos, but baseball seems to be so regional that the only impacted market might just be Los Angeles. People talk about NBA regular-season TV ratings but I bet national ratings on MLB are awful. The game has become incredibly regional.
From robert90: Ok one more two on two basketball game who wins questions (I promise this will be the last one).All the players in their prime. Who wins and why,Jordan and Barkley vs. Kobe and Lebron
This will be an unpopular opinion, but I think Kobe and Lebron would wipe the floor with them. At their primes, Kobe and Lebron were unstoppable drivers and both were very underrated defenders. They'd have a size advantage as well. I'm not sure it would be close.
From jchmcl09: I presume you and all of us will agree that the calling of balls and strikes is the most difficult responsibility of an umpire. I would contend that what would fall into second place would be the application of the Buster Posey rule which requires a catcher (with the ball) to provide a clear lane to the sliding baserunner at home plate. This one seems to be applied so inconsistently that even Replay can't get it right.
It's a difficult play to legislate. Sometimes, the throw takes the catcher into the path and he fails to provide a lane to the runner, but it's a natural result of the physics of the throw. That happens quickly. It's a very difficult judgment call.
From rpflynt13: This blew my mind. Why does anyone draft a QB high ever vs going o-line d-line? Also, I see these VShred ads everywhere? Have you? Is this guy legit? Seems ridiculous.
It's pretty simple. It's the idea that one of these guys is the next Manning, the next Mahomes, the next ticket to be a franchise quarterback who completely changes a franchise. Without a quarterback, you can't win. With one, a franchise skyrockets. They're just crazy hard to find.
As for V-shred, no, I've never done it. There's a guy at my gym who does and he looks incredible and he only spends about 45 minutes in the gym when he's in there. I'm not sure how strict the diet aspect is. That said, I suspect it's a bit of a con.
