Rippee Writes: Thursday Scoop
Masters is here, Harambe 2.0?
Happy Thursday. We’ll have a little shorter newsletter today, but are back in full swing tomorrow with a ton of Arkansas nuggets, golf reaction and more. We have a bonus podcast out this week as I teased yesterday. Old radio pal Michael Borkey joined to talk about the state of every major program in Mississippi, sports in general over the last year and our time working together at SuperTalk. I always enjoy chatting with Borkey and think it’s well worth your time. Check it out here or anywhere you get your podcasts.
Let’s dive in.
Ole Miss is over halfway through spring
The Rebels passed the halfway point in spring football. Like many programs this time of year, injuries and absences prevents the coaching staff from getting an all-encompassing look at the state of the 2021 team, but they are getting a peek. The mindset change on the defensive side of the football seems to be legitimate. Whether that translates to better results or not remains to be seen, but there is certainly more talent on that side than there has been in the previous two seasons. Here’s Miles Battle and Lakia discussing some of that, among other things.
Here’s Lane Kiffin discussing all things spring thus far.
A potential Harambe 2.0 situation
Things are getting dicey again in Cincinnati. One of the first things I did when I lived there for the summer of 2018 was venture toward the scene of the crime where they shot that gorilla, also known as Harambe, during the summer of 2016 after a toddler fell into the exhibit at the Cincinnati. If you don’t know what I am talking about and the internet revolution that followed, I will direct you toward google and urge you to step into the 21st century. This deceased gorilla votes in the 2016 presidential election, as if we didn’t already know the world was going mad. Well, things are happening again.
The strangest part of the story is that, apparently, these things don’t belong to the Cincinnati Zoo. I am not sure how you handle five of them at once, but thoughts and prayers to the guy tasked with doing so. They better be taken alive or the internet may break.
Greg has more spicy ribeye sausage and has added it back the special. You can go to LBs now and get a $10 16 oz prime strip and a free pack of spicy ribeye sausage. How the hell can you beat that? Show him you subscribe to the newsletter and you’re all set. Thanks for being part of the team and enjoy.
Sean Miller out at Arizona
Arizona fired men’s basketball coach Sean Miller yesterday. The timing is certainly peculiar given that the school public supported him for three years in the face of an FBI investigation, a notice of allegations from the NCAA and a later leaked wiretap recording of Miller stemming from the FBI probe. Logically speaking, wouldn’t you either fire him immediately in 2017 or stick it out until the bitter end, however that ends up playing out? Miller’s teams have slipped the last couple of seasons (gee, I wonder why), but the guy did go to seven Sweet 16s in 14 years. That is remarkable consistency. Why fire him now even if you’re dissatisfied over recent performance? Odds are, the next guy is not as good of a coach and still deals with the same looming cloud of sanctions. It makes no sense.
The college basketball coaching carousel has been wild. Oklahoma, North Carolina, Arizona, Indiana and Texas all had openings. It will make for an interesting year next winter. Oh, and if you had Wiretap Will Wade outlasting Miller in terms of employment, go collect your winnings. I am guessing they were steep odds. What do you actually have to do to be fired at LSU? Set off a fire? Steal the tiger? It’s remarkable.
SkyBox has you covered for the Masters. They hit on 5 of 7 head to head match ups last year, had John Rahm as the second round leader at +4500 and pegged Cam Smith as the leading Aussie. They’re ready to do it all again this year. Go check out a package and use my promo code.
On the horizon:
Mailbag Friday. Please send me your questions
Arkansas scouting report in Friday newsletter
Masters reaction
Spring football
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