Notes, quotes and anecdotes in the sports world
The Cleveland Browns’ 32-year-old offensive lineman, Joe Thomas, says he’s experiencing memory loss due to football. … Maybe not such a good idea. When a Red Sox fan proposed to his girlfriend during a Boston game in Fenway Park, she turned him down before a packed crowd and television audience. … Unbelievably, after the racial taunts directed toward Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles when his team played the Red Sox, the team management and the Mayor of Baltimore apologized to Jones. … Lonzo Ball, the star of the UCLA basketball team, has decided to skip the NBA draft combine.
A little football
The SEC once again led the NFL draft with 53 players chosen while the ACC finished second with 43. Others were the Pac-12 with 36 and the Big Ten with 35. Michigan led all schools with 11 selected, followed by Alabama with 10 and Miami with nine. … An uproar followed both Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey and LSU’s Leonard Fournette when they decided to forgo their teams’ bowl games to protect themselves for the NFL draft. Obviously it didn’t cost them as both players went in the top 10. Now I wonder if this will become a trend for other players in the future. Of course the way to stop that for the schools would be to write it into the Letter of Intent. … A great home-and-away series has been signed between Ohio State and the University
of Washington. Only problem is it doesn’t happen until 2024 and 2025. … Even the University of Alabama players were shocked when Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson went so low in the first round of the NFL draft. … Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh says he plans to take his team to either Brazil or South Africa next year after they returned from Italy this week.
UGA running back Elijah Holyfield was charged with marijuana possession Sunday night. … “There isn’t” a quarterback controversy at Alabama says Nick Saban after spring practice where true freshman Tua Tagovailoa shined along with incumbent QB Jalen Hurt.
And more
LSU may not miss Leonard Fournette as many anticipated after he joined the NFL as a first-round draft choice. Running back Darrius Guice is a name to remember. He’s gonna be great. … Duke University wisely extended the contract of head football coach David Cutcliffe through 2021. … I’m picking Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen to be next year’s Mitch Trubisky. … No shocker here that Alabama extended the contract of football coach Nick Saban through 2024, and he gets a $4 million signing bonus, which puts his salary average at $8.2 million per year. … Perhaps
Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois will become this year’s Deshaun Watson.… Georgia Tech running back Dedrick Mills was a gravedigger in high school to make extra money.
Out & about
Running back Ezekiel Elliott and fellow Dallas Cowboy quarterback Dak Prescott finished first and second in NFL merchandise sold. It was the first time two rookies finished first and second. Yes, New England quarterback Tom Brady came in third. Brady was on top of the list last year. … The Chicago Bears, who drafted UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky with the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft, say they don’t want their new QB to take a snap in 2017. Mike Glennon is their starter and Trubisky will sit and learn. … Florida kicker Eddy Pineiro hit an 81-yard field goal during practice. … The University of Michigan has already sold 93,000 season football tickets. … Now this is just weird. Alabama outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi has an annual salary of $950,000. The Crimson Tide’s athletics director, Greg Byrne, makes $900,000. … LarryBrownSports.com says the 10 truly elite college football coaches are at Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, Texas Christian, Washington, Florida State, Oklahoma, Michigan State and Texas. Interesting that three are from the Big Ten and only one from the SEC. Even the ACC has two in the top ten.
Kiffin goes deep
Lane Kiffin, head football coach at Florida Atlantic, tweeted his deepest philosophical thoughts: “Is sand called sand because it’s between the sea and the land?”
Norman Arey is an award-winning journalist and a columnist for the Rome News-Tribune. He can be reached at NArey@RN-T.com.