Rippee Writes: Tuesday Scoop
More Masters thoughts, spring football notes, and an upcoming grill corner
Happy Tuesday. We’ve got a lighter newsletter in terms of Ole Miss, the baseball team and the usual content, but still, plenty to dive into nevertheless.
Let’s roll.
Masters Purse
Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention over the last two years or so, but I stumbled across an article yesterday outlining how much money each player took home from Augusta and it blew my mind, beginning with Will Zalatoris taking home a cool $1.2 million for a solo second place finish. The top 25 finishers paid out to six figures and anyone inside the top 17 got at least $200K. I felt like I was keenly aware of the insane amount of money these guys play for on a weekly basis and of how these tournament purses are on a constant rise, but I guess I never comprehended we’d eventually get to the point of $2 million and change being the prize for winning a major.
This isn’t even the largest purse, either. That title belongs to The Players. Justin Thomas raked in $2.7 for his win at Sawgrass last month and Lee Westwood got $1.6 for coming in second. Also, think about the payday for the caddies in this. Matsuyama’s looper taking home just over $210,000 for four days of work is not the worst gig in the world. Yes, I know, taxes guy, it doesn't come out to that much in the end, but the raw numbers are just staggering.
Get your kids into golf at an early age. Steroids soon after might not be a bad play, either.
Speaking of, our friends at SkyBox are looking to take their Masters momentum into this week’s stop at Harbourtown. They finished up 30 units at Augusta thanks to hitting Justin Rose as the round one leader. They’ve got a package for you and any sport you fancy. Go check them out here. You will profit. Promo code “Rippee” gets you 20 percent off any package you buy.
One of us!
Hideki is truly a man of the people. Peep this photo of him sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting on a connecting flight to Chicago. His days of doing this are probably numbered, but you have to appreciate having the green jacket casually draped over the side of the chair next to him serving as the ‘please god don’t sit next to me’ marker we all use when flying. What do you think the airport security people running the scanner thought when he dropped that green jacket into the bin to be inspected with the rest of his carry-on luggage? I doubt they figured he was going with a zany business casual look to go close a sale that morning.
And much like a decent percentage of the peasants among him in that hellscape of an airport, he was likely traveling with a slight hangover.
He may be the major champion we know the least about, but his personality is starting to flood out past his stoic on-course demeanor and I am a fan of it and him.
Incoming grill corner
I was struggling with ideas for Wednesday’s podcast, so I bumped up our grill corner session with LBs Greg up to Wednesday. You people actually started this segment on Good Friday. I did the usual mailbag show, that time with Greg as my co-host, and the grilling/smoking/cooking questions came flooding in. Not that I thought he’d be bad at it, but Greg’s answers were really fascinating and insightful. It kept someone like me, who cannot be trusted to toast a pop tart, interested in something I don’t have the skills to do. So, with that said, if you have any questions about grilling tips, cuts of meat, best types of grills or anything culinary-related, reply back to this email or hit me on social media. I will feed Greg the questions this evening when we record. I thought it was a good segment and you guys birthed it.
Special is the same this week. All subscribers can get a 16 oz prime strip for $10 bucks by showing the sign up email or the promo code I sent last month. One per person. Go buy a bunch of other stuff too and enjoy the weather. Best place in Mississippi to get meat. More specials on the horizon. Thanks for reading and enjoy.
Ole Miss is heading down the home stretch of spring football
Sixth-year cornerback Jaylon Jones is the lone member of that historic 2016 signing class that ended up being Hugh Freeze’s last accomplishment (not in Florida) as an employee of the university. He talks here about his time in Oxford, injuries and why he never gave up the game when his body broke down.
Jackson Academy alumnus (and worldwide celebrity because of it) Kinkead Dent has done his best to seize the opportunity afforded to him. With John Rhys Plumlee away playing baseball and the QB2 position seemingly up for grabs to some degree, Dent has made strides during spring ball. Here he talks about his relationship with Matt Corral, what he’s learned and his outlook on the 2021 season.
Navy transfer Jake Springer had to sit out last year after deciding to leave the Naval Academy and try his hand at playing in the SEC. With one year of eligibility left, he wants to make the most of it.
Potential baseball hosting note:
This news made its way to the college baseball internet sphere yesterday.
This is not a political newsletter, but I thought it was something worth putting on your radar regarding Ole Miss potentially being a Regional and Super Regional host this June. The release itself is incredibly vague and unclear, which is just shocking for such a punctual and efficient organization like the NCAA, and I’d direct you to the full-time beat writers (I am happy to be retired when news like this arises) as far as deciphering what this actually means. The Rebels submitted their postseason bid yesterday and the early consensus appears to be that it may not affect their chances.
Someone smarter than me who gets paid full time to get the bottom of it will eventually do just that, and I’ll happily update you when they do.
Two more quick baseball notes:
I got a couple of questions regarding injured reliever Max Cioffi and his potential return. This is when I’d again remind you I am not covering the team anymore and am not at the ballpark every day, but best I can gather is that he is throwing off the mound and is working toward a return in the next week or two. That’s a good sign for a bullpen coming off its worst weekend of the year.
Ole Miss plays Austin Peay State tonight. I doubt you’ll learn a ton, other than who pitches and who doesn’t. The Rebels have yet to release a lineup card but if Drew McDaniel throws more than an inning (as a pseudo bullpen day) in this one, I will be dumbfounded as to why. Keep an eye on that in terms of who takes the ball in game three in Starkville this weekend.
On the Horizon
Three more newsletters with baseball, golf and whatever else pops up
Magnolia State Golf update
Mailbag Friday podcast with a Mississippi State series preview
Submit your grill corner questions to this email or wherever else you folks want to contact me
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