Friday, February 07, 2020

The Rich Get Richer (Or: And You Thought Tua's Last Name Was Hard to Spell)


I was busy doing my nautilus session at the gym a couple weeks ago and got caught in a common conundrum. The cardio machine I wanted to use had crap programs on the tellies in front of it, while the machines I didn't want to use had good stuff on in front of them.

(Aside: I refuse to try to change TV channels at my gym. An errant arm angle can change 6-9 TV channels at once, irritate many people and create a ruckus. I saw one guy verbally abuse another guy for absentmindedly changing all channels at once. I thought it might progress to fisticuffs. I don't want any part of that. I prefer to keep to myself, scowl and silently judge people. It's what I do.)  


Image result for 1980s mens fitness

Anyhoo, I decided to just do my stairmaster work and ignore the telly, where some high school football program was on. As I was banging out my steps, I noticed it was a show about five-star QB prospects. I slowly got drawn in. The program had a long feature on DJ Uiagalelei, the nation's #1 pro style QB prospect. And boy oh boy, I would be excited if I was a Clemson fan. Uiagalelei committed there and will be a true freshman this fall.



DJ is a 6'5", 240 lb monster who looks like the real deal. He comes from St. John Bosco High School in Cali. Unlike hefty QBs that size, like Big Ben, Byron Leftwich or JaMarcus Russell, this dude is all muscle. I know his highlights above are against high school kids, but he looks like a grown-ass man playing against these poor boys. He has speed, can throw on the run, and once (allegedly) won a long-throw contest by throwing a ball over 80 yards. The mythical narrative has already begun. And he's a very religious kid, so it's unlikely he pulls a Stephen Garcia and tries to set a South Carolina state record for most arrests while still a member of a college football program.

While it's way too premature to know how things will play out, some recent "can't miss" QB prospects that have come out (Tua and Lawrence, for example) did/may leave after three years to grab them dolla dolla bills in the NFL. It will be interesting to see how many reps Dabo gives DJ as the back-up to Lawrence this year. He may only have him on campus for three years.


41 comments:

Marls said...

Whit: As the token Long Islander here, my vote is that you go. In fact, my vote is that you have to go. All of the points made by TR and Zman are true. However, many of them are also partially true for any aging band seen in the tri state area.

Reasons for going, in no particular order:

1. He may be cliche at this point, but he puts on a hell of a show. As Z points out, you should see him at least once while he still has some fastball left.
2. NYC after the show with your lady de jour will be fun.
3. It’s a Rn’R HOF’er not named Mike Love
4. The crowd will be exactly like TR & Zman mentioned, but that will be no different than the crowd of aging boomers and Gen X’ers that we hung out with at The Meadowlands for Springsteen. As you have pointed out several times, sometimes you need to see an act in their home office - at least once.
4. It will annoy Dave

zman said...

As Maurice Rodriguez said, “Wear what you dig.”

T.J. said...

Fairbank, can we get Teel to write a GTB guest post in the future? You can let him know about the lucrative pay and benefits GTB Inc. provides

The post MUST include that epic photo of the two of you

TR said...

I made it through some of the second part of the Vick doc last night, before collapsing back into the fever/fever dream that has consumed me all week. Vick and his lead hanger-on have essentially no remorse over the dog-fighting. The remorse they have is not realizing it was so illegal. They keep hiding in the "the OGs in the projects did it when we were growing up and the cops didn't bother them, so we thought it was no big deal" argument. I can't believe they weren't coached better on how to respond to this. They killed dogs that weren't good at killing other dogs, and this they don't see that as a big deal. I wonder if this angle will get some run. A PR person should've coached up Vick on this. I didn't finish the doc, but they are so matter-of-fact on this. Blows me away.

My kids learned to hate Vick a couple years ago when we explained his dogfighting history. We then explained that he paid a big price and has worked hard to be a better person. His comments last night are hard to reconcile.

Danimal said...

Sorry to crash your party TR, but your post resonated here this morning. We have three TV's in front of the bank of cardio machines at our gym. Two of the 3 are always programmed to an ESPN channel, and the third CNBC. I was stuck with PBA, watching the pictured gent specifically, Kyle Troup! take on some other schmuck in the Jonesboro PBA something or other. Pretty riveting. Kyle can roll his ball, and grow a pretty nice 'fro to boot. Passionate, flamboyant, strikingly handsome - this guy is going to do for the PBA what Tiger did for golf. I'm hooked.

rob said...

so we've had some pretty gnarly weather in our town this morning. at about 7:30, i was eating my breakfast and my dog was in the back yard when things got dark and the wind started blowing really hard. i went out on the back porch and called the dog in, while the power started flickering on and off. couple of loose items blew around the back yard, but it dissipated fairly quickly.

turns out that there was a tornado that passed within 1/4 mile of my house that took down trees and fences all over the area. i haven't heard any reports of injuries, but there's a lot of damage in my town. feeling a little bit lucky.

zman said...

Does he roll on shabbos?

TR said...

This is tailor-made for Teej:

https://odditymall.com/beer-mug-socks

rob said...

happy international clash day

T.J. said...

they sure are

Whitney said...

I second Rob’s well-wishing, everyone. Nothing stands the pressure of the clash city rockers.

T.J. said...

28 posts in the first 38 days of 2020. Nice work, gang

Dave said...

marls is right-- it will annoy me if you go see billy joel. opportunity cost! you could be doing something else-- anything else. reading "uncle tom's cabin"-- as i am-- training your dog to catch a frisbee, learning another language, listening to "pressure"-- which is a pretty good song-- watching "the expanse", or listening to the new radiolab six part series-- which i urge everyone to try:

https://sentenceofdave.blogspot.com/2020/02/some-good-listening.html

Whitney said...

So Marls had me leaning Yea, and as he astutely pointed out to me in a text, the added element of sibling time is a big factor. And then I priced flights. $592 a pop. Welp, that was fun.

I can save up for JazzFest, perchance.

Danimal said...

28 1/2

Squeaky said...

Whit, if flights come down and you make the trip, I'll be in NYC with the family seeing Hamilton that night. So I could definitely sneak out for a few beverages after the play when they go to sleep.

TR said...

Did I mention that my wife and I’s wedding song was You’re My Home by Billy Joel?

Mark said...

Annual Dad/Daughter dance tonight. Thankfully they moved it from the school cafeteria to the local Rec center. Not nearly as hot or crowded. Still full of bad music and awkward Dad interactions.

rootsminer said...

Speaking of exorbitant concert experiences, did anyone catch the primo ticket prices for Steely Dan with Steve Winwood at wolf trap this summer? Hoo boy!

Mark said...

Few things make me angrier than Mario Hezonja making a useful play in the NBA. Shoot that guys into the sun.

rob said...

because i know you care, here's the path of the tornado that went through our town yesterday. i live just to the west of the dot that's labelled 'marshall drive ne':

https://twitter.com/NWS_BaltWash/status/1225938530116894721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1225938530116894721&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fweather%2F2020%2F02%2F07%2Fvirginia-maryland-tornadoes-confirmed%2F

zman said...

I am very, very disappointed with myself. Supreme Clientele turns 20 today and it's also my grandmother's birthday (she's 97). I can't believe I never realized the connection and that I don't have a post for the 20th anniversary.

https://www.stereogum.com/2072757/ghostface-supreme-clientele-turns-20/franchises/the-anniversary/

rob said...

baby ghitsa hit a pair of free throws late to ice gheorghetown’s 76-72 win over depaul. nhice.

TR said...

The Duke-UNC jerseys are all kinds of dumb. Blue Devils getting trucked.

TR said...

Duke-UNC just got all kinds of interesting. Fun to watch Roy Williams appears anguished.

TR said...

Oh. My. Lord. That OT ending!

rob said...

tribe lost to uncw. not great.

Mark said...

Burke Gang!

Mark said...

I do my best to never miss UNC-Duke games because they so often bring unexpected drama/excitement. I missed tonight’s game because we had a local Catholic Church fair with the kid and a downtown whiskey festival with friends afterward.

Of course, I come home to discover that I missed one of the more epic games in recent memory.

rob said...

i left to coach soccer with carolina up 12. apparently i missed some things.

Mark said...

That’s some late night soccer coaching.

This whiskey fest caught up to me. Small samples of many types of whiskey. But the whiskey is strong and the cups are plentiful.

rob said...

yeah. we had an 8:00 futsal game.

Mark said...

I had an 8:50 game this past week. But it was on a Monday. As much as I don’t like late games at any time, I’d much rather have them during the week so I can have a few over dinner on the weekend.

That said, Tuesday morning sucked.

Whitney said...

Watching the XFL. Apparently there was an impressive outing by the Washington football team yesterday. Haven’t said that in a while.

Shlara said...

I realize the Oscars subbed Adam Sandler because he makes a new goofy movie every year.
That was dumb, because he's a legit good actor.
And I love his goofy movies. America loves his goofy movies.
The Academy people are snobs.

TR said...

The wife believes the Oscars are her Super Bowl. I give her a hard time, but don’t mind most of it.

Billy Porter’s ensemble is, um, something. No fucks to give.

Whitney said...

Is Shlara lobbying for Adam Sandler to win an Oscar????

TR said...

Worth remembering that this is the guy who directed Joker:

https://youtu.be/PZtxBZ9D5sI

Dave said...

parasite won best picture!

my favorite movie since "eternal sunshine"

http://sentenceofdave.blogspot.com/2019/11/stop-reading-this-and-go-see-parasite.html

adam sandler should have won an oscar for "uncut gems," the second-best movie of the year

Donna said...

History made at the Oscars. Pretty cool! But Joaquin Phoenix speech a bit of a ramble. Unlike, the final column of David Teel, this blog's friend, Fairbank's pal. In "The VA Pilot"/The Daily Press" - I think published Friday, but I read this morning. Worth the read, y'all!

Whitney said...

as mentioned by Donna:

https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/columns/david-teel/vp-sp-david-teel-farewell-column-20200207-4tckulow4jg37avzrrnieqmxhy-story.html