Regardless of which player from the 2019 NBA Draft has the best career, it will be remembered as the “One with Zion Williamson.” Williamson will live up to the hype or get overshadowed by another player. Either way, he will be in the center of the discussion as the certain #1 overall pick. The next two picks of Ja Morant and RJ Barrett seem almost as certain. After that, the draft should open up with five picks battling for the next five spots. I considered six players for the final two spots in my top 10.
NOT TOP10 BUST: HANK HANEY
Political correctness regarding the LPGA officially has jumped the shark. Earlier this week, Hank Haney mockingly predicted that a Korean with the last name of Lee would win the U.S. Women’s Open. To be honest, the only reason we know of Haney is because he served as the swing coach for six out of Tiger Woods’ fifteen majors. Largely based on this historical relationship, Haney has a show on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. Due to the negative reaction to his arguably racist and sexist remarks, the station suspended him and preempted his show. I argue that Haney’s comments were neither racist nor sexist, but rather stereotypically accurate.
2019 T10B MOCK NFL DRAFT
In the T10B 2018 Mock NFL Draft, I boldly predicted that four quarterbacks would go with the first four picks. I missed the mark with my prediction, but QBs still dominated the early part of the draft. Of note, teams selected four quarterbacks with top 10 picks for the first time in history. I believe that defensive players similarly will dominate the early part of the 2019 NFL Draft with at least five defensive linemen going in the top 10. At the same time, I predict that the draft will be remembered for a quarterback (i.e. Kyler Murray) who doesn’t live up to expectations.
Top 10 Busted: The Match (Tiger vs. Phil)
Synopsis: In full disclosure, I didn’t watch “The Match” between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson over Thanksgiving Weekend 2018. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to though. After having difficulty ordering the made-for-TV event, I decided that getting a Christmas tree with my family would be a much better use of time. I certainly made the right call based on its scathing reviews. Still, I bet there will be a rematch based on the close competition that ended after Lefty sunk a 4′ birdie putt on the 22nd hole. The following post focuses more on my failed experiences with pay-per-view TV, but ends with the conclusion that “The Match” deserves Top 10 Bust status for various reasons.
Michael Jordan – Top 10 MLB Bust
Michael Jordan categorically is one of the top three players to ever play in the NBA. There’s even a very compelling argument that he’s the greatest NBA player of all-time. On the other hand, MJ doesn’t deserve consideration as an accomplished dual-sport athlete because he failed in his attempt to play professional baseball. I never imaged having to expose Jordan’s lack of baseball skills because I assumed it was incontrovertible. However, it appears that revisionist history may being confusing the matter. The truth is that Michael Jordan was a complete bust as an MLB prospect.