It's time for The Mailbag, presented by Art Hays of Sotheby's International Realty, Edition 284.
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 BigJuice10: For the same salary, would you rather work for Kamala Harris or work on the Miss St beat?
I fundamentally disagree with Harris on most everything, so I couldn't, in good conscience, work for her, regardless of the salary.
As for the Mississippi State, I view it the way I view every beat. In other words, I think you could drop me into that beat and I'd hold my own quickly. I think all beats are essentially the same. I suspect I would be met with consternation, but I dealt with that when I started at Auburn in 1998 and at Ole Miss in 2008.
So I'd be fine. I would have no trouble at all covering Mississippi State objectively and fairly.
From jchmcl09: Do you think the NBA teams are headed toward 15 man rosters that have 5 or 6 International players as opposed to the 2 or 3 that are on most rosters now?I just saw a 2025 Mock Draft that listed 10 International Players out of the Top 20. Cooper Flagg headed to Duke is considered the Top Pick in the Draft but Nolan Traore a 6-4 Point Guard from France is being talked about as the next Doncic. There is also a Russian 6-9 SG at BYU this season who will probably go in the top 3 or 4.These Immigrants are taking these jobs away from Americans!
Yes, as the international game continues to improve, I think you'll see more of an influx of foreign players to the NBA. To your point, notice the international flavor in this recent 2025 NBA Mock Draft.
From chattreb: I am not a conspiracy nut, but I have to admit that something about this Trump assassination attempt just stinks. First of all, how a troubled intelligent kid could have pulled it off is bad enough, but the response is quite troubling. The Secret Service never really offered any explanation. There has been little (at least I have not seen it) reporting about his parents. Google supposedly accidentally blocked searches for a while, and most importantly it has been reported that there are some things on the kids phone that they can not get into which I find very hard to believe. I have seen several assassinations and attempts during my life but none as cavalier and almost forgotten with a lot of unanswered questions like this one. Now as I see it, there seems to be a concerted effort by members of the press and our government to hide something whether it is a plot or, more likely, the Secret Services incompetence. What say you?
On one hand, I think if it were an inside job, they'd have picked a more competent assassin to pull it off. That said, if Trump doesn't turn his head, Crooks would've been successful in his endeavor.
On the other hand, I'm with you. There are so many questions, and the government doesn't want us to know answers. My field isn't even curious and anyone who trusts the government right now is absurdly naive.
I mean, think about it. A former president was shot at one month ago and 99 percent of the media has no interest in the story.
From Sipmade: Kiffins tone/demeanor seems the complete opposite when talking about his team compared to past years. Does that have any affect on good or bad you think this team could be?
I mean, not really. He likes this team, but if I'm honest, I don't remember in vivid detail how he sounded about his team last August or the August before. I think he's confident. I think he feels they have improved areas of concern. I think it's a really good team -- 10-2 and a CFP participant. I've not seen or heard anything to change that opinion so far.
From North Tampa Rebel: What do you think happens at Florida this year? What's your guess on their record, how they react to it and if they do make a change, who they go after?
I've got the Gators going 5-7. That schedule is just brutal, especially down the stretch. I suspect they'll have a very difficult decision to make, based on economic realities. My gut is they'll give Napier another year. If you told me they make a change, I'd have to believe they'd really stepped up financially. Enough to entice Lane Kiffin or Rhett Lashlee from really strong gigs? I just don't know. My guess is Napier gets more time while Florida -- like everyone else -- waits to see how the NIL/House settlement/future conference realignment plays out.
From DeuceMccluster22: I always enjoy fan theories regarding movies, a lot of times they are over the top and ridiculous but there is one that I find myself asking , well what if?There is a theory that in “ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” the entire movie is a day dream of a mentally unstable Cameron just dreaming up a cooler friend and his girlfriend ( Ferris and Sloane) and what it be like just to just live carefree for a day. I saw the movie on recent and couldn’t help but notice how much Ferris and his GF look very much alike in the face, he looks just like her but w longer hair… which if it plays to the theory could be accurate bc it be hard for Cameron to be too creative to imagine many females bc his character was so sheltered. I think we can all agree a young Matthew Broderick did have very femenime facial featuresStudios are very cautious of how ppl look similar when casting, esp couples, and what not but what if that was on purpose to hire a female who look like Matthew Broderick to play to the fact the theory maybe accurate. I guess my question, and to give u a break from same ol’ boring football questions… do u see the resemblance to Ferris and Sloane? The link maynot provide the best comparison pic but if u ever see the movie on again once I bring it to your attention you may not ever Unsee it.
I had never thought about that but now that I've studied some photos and gone down that rabbit hole, I have to admit it's difficult to unsee now. Ferris and Sloane do very much favor one another in terms of features. Broderick did certainly have a young, somewhat feminine face at that age and hair color, eyes, etc. do very much resemble Mia Sara at that age.
From Visorthrows33: Got a lil pudgy the last couple months. I’ve typically went strict regiment diets and heavy weights to get back in shape, but this time I’m going with a one meal a day fasting run and heavy running. Any tips on avoiding burnout because I’d genuinely like to become a life long runner and create long lasting habits. I tend to yo-yo 60ish pounds and I’m pushing 30 now so I feel like it’s time I need to just drop the weight and keep it off not just take it off for the summer and put it back and repeat the cycle.
Different things work for different people. For me, weight loss comes from skipping meals and running, but it's easy to get into a bit of a vicious cycle that way. As for tips, some people like music. Some like podcasts. I actually do best with guided runs using an app (I prefer Peloton). For some reason, I like the coaching in my ear, even though I'm not necessarily following it. I'd recommend mixing weight lifting into the equation. Walking, also. With running, start slow and build slowly. I would recommend doing some guided walk/run programs to ease into it and try to avoid injury.
The biggest thing -- and no one, self included, likes hearing this: It's all about diet, and that becomes more and more true as you get older.
From SaladThunder: A lot of my pledge brothers turned out to be homosexuals. They are great dudes and i had a normal college experience with them. Just threw me for a loop in my mid twenties. I remember chasing tail with them and drinking beer - normal college things. Do you think Mississippi is the hardest state to come out as gay? It seemed as soon as they left eh state they came out. Gotta be some deep rooted Mississippi guilt. I know it’s prob changed in Oxford since I last lived there but just wanted to read your thoughts.
I have absolutely no idea. I've never thought about it, and I don't plan to spend another waking second thinking about it. I doubt it's any different coming out in Mississippi than it is in Nevada or New Hampshire or South Carolina, but I could be wrong. I don't know, and to be totally honest, couldn't care less.
From Rebel5890: Was watching news this evening and they were mentioning going back to old times where the folks in the cigar filled rooms picked the candidates with the recent quick, short run campaign Harris is doing now. I’ve always agreed with you that there should be a common sense party. This would be a complete re write of the constitution, but hear me out. We all vote for congress members that could basically prop up the candidate for each party. I think it’s a way to get back to the center for both parties and rid ourselves of the far side of each. Any center members now get wiped out in primaries it seems. I’m sure I’m dead wrong on this cause congress are a bunch of crooks but since most are generally moderate, that a moderate on both sides would be candidate and we can get back to sanity. Thoughts?
I think we've jumped the shark. I harbor very little optimism for our country's future. The lion's share of the candidates on both sides of the aisle are horrible. Congress is clearly corrupted by lobbyists and special interest groups. But you're right; moderates can't get close to claiming either nomination, so they don't win.
From awrebel: What do you think will happen in Ukraine and Israel? What do you hope will happen? If you wanna break it down by who wins the election assuming both conflicts are still going at the time that's fine
I asked my friend and podcast co-host, Josh Hendrickson, for his thoughts on this question. His answer is better than anything I could've put together.
From Josh:
The late Angelo Codevilla wrote the following, which sounds somewhat paradoxical: “We fight wars so we have our version of peace. That is why any peace is what one side earns for itself by defeating the other side’s attempt to get the peace it wants…approaching war as anything other than the pursuit of peace is naturally self-defeating.”
With that as a backdrop, it seems that Israel’s path is the clearest. The never-ending conflict in the Middle East and Israel in particular, is not going to be solved by a signed document. Peace deals are not worth the paper that they are written on unless both parties are committed to peace. But when parties have different conceptions of peace, war is inevitable and peace must be achieved through victory. The recent behavior of the Israelis is indicative of the fact that they now believe that they have the ability to bring about their peace through victory. That conflict will likely continue until they have defeated and destroyed Hamas and Hezbollah. The only caveat to this would be if the U.S. forcefully intervened or if there was a significant threat of escalation against Israel by its collective enemies in the region.
While Codevilla’s quote provides clarity to the Israeli conflict, it also highlights the difficulty of assessing the war in Ukraine. For Russia, it would seem that their peace is one in which Ukraine is not allowed to enter NATO. It is less clear what peace for Ukraine looks like. This is mostly due to the fact that it is not clear the extent to which the U.S. and Europe are driving the outcome of the conflict. But that is part of the problem. Even if you believe that the U.S. and Europe are simply fighting a proxy war with Russia, what is their conception of peace? What does victory look like? Codevilla’s statement that one must only approach war if one has a conception of peace is particularly useful here. Without clearly defined goals to bring about peace and an idea of what victory would look like, war cannot be won. How can you have victory if victory is undefined? Battles can be won, but the result won’t feel like victory.
What should one hope for? If we confine hopes to realistic outcomes, our best hope is that these conflicts remain contained and do not spillover into larger conflicts.
From sadkins11: Questions that begin with “talk about”, or “how does it feel” drive me a little crazy. They seem to be asked more and more. As a journalist, what are your thoughts on those types of questions?
I hate them. I've accidentally done it a couple of times and punished myself the next day on runs. They're one of many reasons I've grown to really despise group press conferences. I much prefer one-on-ones or podcast interviews. I don't hate "How does it feel" anywhere near as much as "Talk about..." The talk about... thing is really bad. It makes me want to scream out loud.
From dawsonreb: The polls for the 2024 election are all over the place. Rasmussen swears they have not changed their model one bit and still have Trump with a substantial lead. Other polls obviously show Kamala in the lead. Rasmussen says that the other polls were polling Democrats +2 when Biden was in the race and now +5 with Kamala in the race. I have no idea what to believe. My pessimistic self sides with the polls showing Kamala leading, however, I keep thinking who the hell would vote for someone who is that dumb. So to my question, has Trump completely thrown this election or is media drumming up a false narrative about the election?
I hope I'm wrong, but I think Trump is running a bad campaign. He's undisciplined and he keeps talking about Biden as if he remains his opponent. He's not found his footing vis-a-vis Harris. His favorability numbers remain poor and I suspect he's on his way to a loss in November.
Now, that said, the media is against him and some of the polling data is suspect. And there's time, and at some point, Harris is going to have to talk about something substantial. But I'm not sure the American populace is smart enough to listen to substance, and I'm not sure much of it cares. They just hate Trump and like the idea of voting for her. My guess, as of today, is she wins a fairly close election.
From Fabius: The 2009 team was mentioned during Tuesday’s podcast. Why exactly did they underachieve the first half of the season? And Neal, I think we have to give Houston credit for keeping the team motivated after the pitiful loss to Alabama shut us out of championship contention in the middle of October. Do you agree?
I mean, they very nearly blew that LSU game and did lose to Mississippi State, so I'm not sure how much credit I'm willing to give Nutt there.
They just weren't very explosive on offense. I thought they under-utilized McCluster some, and if I recall correctly, Snead was having some personal issues that spilled over into his game. I always liked and respected Jevan, by the way, and I hope I don't come across as disparaging his memory. At the end of the day, that team just wasn't good enough to be as nationally competitive as some thought it would be.
From Kylethehoss: What SEC school has the greatest range from floor to ceiling this year?
I'm doing a quick scan in alphabetical order.
I could see Arkansas being as bad as 3-9. But I could get them to 7-5 with a break here and there. That's a bit of variance.
I could see Kentucky being as bad as 5-7 and as good as 9-3.
I could see Mississippi State being as bad as 3-9. That said, I could get them to six or seven wins without being crazy.
It's not inconceivable Oklahoma wins only five or six games. That said, it's not a crazy idea that the Sooners win nine or 10.
But I think my answer is Texas A&M. I could get the Aggies to 11-1 with a few breaks. That said, I think they have eight losable games on their schedule.
