Deion Sanders, who needs no introduction, is a stone cold killer. He also played his college ball at Florida State University, where he’s wanted to coach for years. For whatever reason, this seemingly perfect match never (or has yet to) came to fruition. In 2020, Sanders finally got his first college coach gig at Jackson State, a HBCU is Mississippi.
Not that anyone expected it to, but it didn’t take long for Coach Prime to make a splash. His introductory press conference aside, he won the SWAC and was the 2021 SWAC Coach of the Year.
On Wednesday, the splash came in the recruiting game.
The 2022 number one overall recruit Travis Hunter de-committed from Florida State, Deion’s alma mater, to Jackson State:
There it is
Nation’s No. 1 recruit Travis Hunter is officially headed to Jackson State to play for Coach Prime
We are in full blown holiday season, and the gift of sports keeps on giving. We recap the past seven days of presents in this week’s SSM.
NFL afternoon slate, full of overtime Bucs and Bills, Niners and Bengals, teams all in their prime San Francisco, Tampa Bay, both teams with the dubs All four teams might make the playoffs, none of them are scrubs
Another great week in Jacksonville For Urban Meyer, dude is not chill He called his staff losers, things not going well Looking to move to Florida? Urban may be ready to sell
Big COVID outbreak for the Chicago Bulls Nine players in quarantine, protocol list is full Hard to keep momentum going with a thing like this Hopefully all get well soon or Bulls fans will be pissed
A sad day for Lakers, Clippers, Sparks, and Kings fans.
On Monday, pictures surfaced of the famous red blocked “Staples Center” signage being removed from the arena in Los Angeles. The de-signing took place after it was announced the venue would undergo a name change to Crypto.com Arena, with an official name change marked for Christmas Day.
We’re talking Hollywood here, land of entertainment and retreads. So, there has to be some kind of creative venture for these now-homeless letters to stick around LA, right?
What kind of next life could be in store for our old friends S-T-A-P-L-E-S-C-E-N-T-E-R?
Escapees
Escape rooms have really come on in popularity in the past few years. If you’re looking to get into the industry, what better way to get some foot traffic through your doors than naming your business “Escapees,” all while flaunting the caveat that the letters came from Staples Center?
Etcetera
Can we be done with the phrase “Thrift Shop?” For what is indeed a great business, it sounds so degrading. Donators always have more in their closets than they need…some would go as far as to call unmentioned, extra items “Etcetera,” correct? What if those looking for some cheap second hand clothes walked into “Etcetera,” the hottest new co-op downtown?
Pacesetters
Lot of runners out there. Those psychopaths who knock out marathons like it’s their jobs. Doesn’t “Pacesetters” sound like a bar that these physically-gifted freaks could gather and talk about shin splints, nipple chafing, and whatever else happens when you run for extended periods of time?
Caprese
Upscale salad bar, enough said.
Actress
I’m no big time Hollywood agent, but I do know that our entertainers in the TV and movie industries do these things calls “head shots.” If I’m an aspiring actress trying to stand out from the crowd at an audition, I’m buying the Staples Center sign, posing right in front of “Actress,” and watch the bank account overflow.
Teen Crap
Zodiac rings, BTS posters, Tik Tok ideas. Everything you need for your favorite youth all in one place. Come on in to “Teen Crap” and let your favorite 13-19 year old max out your credit card on totally worthwhile stuff!
Relapse
This absolutely sounds like an insensitive name to call a bar in LA. We wouldn’t make that joke though, totally tasteless.
Los Angeles, there you go. Your homework is done for you, you’re welcome. It’s up to you now to make sure the letters of “Staples Center” do not fade into memory as a worthless and out of date member of society…kind of like the actual store Staples.
Why isn’t the weekend five days, and the work week two days? Who knows, but we know this week’s SSM is now live.
Conference championship weekend in college football Some teams show up, and others just fall Utah, Bama, and Michigan were among the winners The amount of football left keeps getting thinner and thinner
Our long national nightmare has ended, my friends The Detroit Lions losing streak ends A squeak out win over Minnesota The Lions have now met their season win quota
Minshew mania, back and better than ever Taking over Philly, Gardner’s new endeavor A good start for him, but maybe hedge your bets His first start and win was against the Jets
We’ve got a lockout in the MLB Owners and players could not agree On a new CBA, no baseball for now Between the two sides, who will kowtow?
Best game of the season, in our opinion OKC versus Memphis, and the Grizz went in A record setting blowout, 73 point win When you watch that game tape, where to even begin?
What a long, strange journey it’s been. We started all the way at 99, and have now arrived at our final edition of “Who Wore It Best?” Single digits can be tough, but we’re up for the challenge.
I mean, “Mr. Hockey” has to make the list, right? Howe’s career spanned nearly 40 years, in which he won four Stanley Cups, six Hart Trophies, and appeared in the All-Star game 23 times.
Honorable Mentions: Ted Williams, Drew Brees, Bobby Hull, Mike Modano
Maybe the closest we’ll ever get to MJ. We all know Kobe ended his career rocking 24, but he was great enough to take the eight cake. He spent his entire 20 year career with the Lakers, in which he won five NBA Championships, the 2008 MVP, and made 11 All-NBA First Teams.
Honorable Mentions: Joe Morgan, Carl Yastrzemski, Cal Ripken Jr., Yogi Berra, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Alexander Ovechkin
The greatest player who was a doppelgänger of their team mascot. But that’s not the only reason Elway makes our list. He held the “couldn’t win the big one” tag his entire career, until he shut everyone up and won back-to-back Super Bowls his last two seasons in the NFL. Even if he wouldn’t have won the two Lombardis, Elway racked up an MVP, nine Pro Bowl selections, and passing title in 1993.
The man who ran out of fingers for all of his championship rings. Russell won five MVPs, was a four time rebounding champion, and a member of the NBA’s 25th, 35th, and 50th Anniversary Teams.
We’ve shown our appreciation for The Machine on this blog before. Pujols’ first 11 years in St. Louis were enough to get the guy in the Hall of Fame. His time with the Angels and Dodgers, while not as great, hasn’t done anything to diminish that. His approximate career numbers have him as a .300 hitter, closing in on 700 home runs, and well over 3,000 hits.
Honorable Mentions: Joe DiMaggio, George Brett, Johnny Bench, Kevin Garnett, Donovan McNabb
Next to Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig was the best player on the Yankees during their incredible run in the 20’s and 30’s. Gherig was a part of six World Series championships, was a two time MVP, and won the Triple Crown in 1934.
Honorable Mentions: Brett Favre, Adam Vinatieri, Bobby Orr
Keeping it young and fresh with back to back 1920’s Yankees. This one’s a no doubter though; Shohei Ohtaini before Shohei Ohtani. At the plate, The Great Bambino hit 714 home runs, slugged .690, and ended his career with an 1.164 OPS. On the mound, The Colossus of Clout went 94-46, with a 2.28 ERA, and threw 107 complete games.
Christ, enough with the Yankees already. Jeets is an easy choice in a not extremely tough field. The recent Hall of Fame inductee wrapped up an illustrious career with a very succinct five World Series rings, Gold Gloves, and Silver Slugger Awards, as well as 14 All-Star appearances.
The best defensive shortstop of all time, and possibly best overall defender ever. Smith won 13 Gold Gloves in 19 seasons. Along the way, he was a part of the 1982 World Series Championship Cardinal team, made 15 All-Star games, and was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2002.
A nice, easy choice to get us to the finish line; not a whole lot of competition at the zero spot. The 2017 MVP is a nine time All-Star, two time All-NBA First Teamer, and is essentially a walking triple double.
Honorable Mention: N/A
We made it, friends. All the way from 99 down to 0. We laughed, we cried, and made some friends along the way. This was a fun project to complete and remember some names that haven’t been brought up in a while. Hopefully this was as interesting to read as it was to write. Who knows what our next series will be…stay tuned.
Did you start to hear the bass drum when you read the title? How about the guitar? Dmmm, dm DM dm d dmmmm dmmmm…Dmmm, dm DM dm d dmmmm dmmmm. So great.
In today’s edition of AHN, we’re looking back on The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army.” It’s one of the band’s most commercially popular songs and even has a few different connections to sports. The song came from the “Elephant” album in 2003, and was a huge hit in the early aughts.
Music Video (Photosensitive Warning)
The great thing about this music video, and you could have said the same thing about the White Stripes before they broke up, is that that there’s not too much going on, while at the same time there’s a bunch of shit happening.
The main character in the video is a repetitive triangular shape that keeps regenerating and coming at you throughout the entire song. Just before the one minute mark, and as we get to the first iteration of the popular guitar riff the song is known for, strobe lights kick in and things start to get weird. The video does a great job of pairing the visuals with the pacing of the song itself, (ex: strobes at the high points, fades to black when things slow down).
Other worthwhile developments in the video come around the 1:25 mark, we get waves of skeleton soldiers marching to the beat. A nod to the title of the song, one would presume. At the 3:10 mark, we get our one and only elephant to come through the continued heap of depictions spewed at us. This of course appears due to the aforementioned album title named above.
The video is a perfect mess of bland and hectic. It give you more than enough to keep your eyes entertained throughout the duration.
Best Lyric
I’m going to Wichita Far from this opera forevermore I’m gonna work the straw Make the sweat drip out of every pore And I’m bleeding, and I’m bleeding, and I’m bleeding Right before the Lord All the words are gonna bleed from me And I will sing no more
I think these lyrics hit the best in “Seven Nation Army” because of the messenger. Jack White seems like the rockstar who you’re not 100% sure wants to be a rockstar. He seems like a guy who could just quit the music scene (far from this opera) without notice, for a simpler life (work the straw in Wichita).
It’s almost like he’s threatening us that he can do without the life his celebrity has brought, and can go do whatever he wants without needing any of us…and to have that power is pretty great, I would imagine.
Worst Lyric
And I’m talking to myself at night Because I can’t forget Back and forth through my mind Behind a cigarette
Cigarettes are bad, don’t smoke them.
Rating
This was a very strong effort by a band that many of us wish were still making music together. This song was not only stand alone great, it made it’s way into sports as an extremely popular stadium chant. That has to count for something in my ratings.
We are on the brink of Thanksgiving break. Thanksgiving football is one of our greatest traditions. But we’re not here to look forward, but back on the week that was in this week’s SSM.
Jonathan Taylor, leading the way For the winning Colts, five tuddy Sunday The losses are piling up for the Bills A bit of a shocker, team usually kills
A real strange league, this NFL Often leaves us wondering, “what the hell?” After winning six straight, and facing Houston The Titans lost, and their win streak is done
We’ve got new MVPs in the MLB Bryce and Shohei, unanimously Neither of these studs made it to the postseason Baseball’s a weird game, for many strange reasons
It took 17 games to get our first ax Of the NBA season, Luke Walton’s been sacked The chronically bad Sacramento Kings Seem so far away from competing for rings
The sports weeks come, the sports weeks go. When the latter occurs, Sunday State of Mind shows up to remind you of the former.
Cam Newton is back in the blue black and gray Signed earlier this week, scored twice on Sunday A quick turnaround for the big quarterback Announced to the league “I’m back, I’m back”
More NFL moves, Rams did it again Signed Odell Beckham, they’re still all in OBJ in LA, it just sounds right Rams O has no reds, only green lights
The Detroit Lions did not lose! They didn’t win either, don’t get confused A tie with the Steelers, score was 16-16 No victory or loss, something in between
This week we tipped off college basketball Really getting into the sports schedule of fall Field seems wide open, blue bloods and mid majors Plenty of action out there for some wagers
After what can now be defined as a disastrous two seasons in Cleveland, Odell Bechkham Jr. has officially moved on.
It only took not talking to his quarterback, having his Dad and LeBron James both eviscerate the Browns organization, and a waiver period in which zero out of the 32 teams claimed him for OBJ to land in Hollywood.
Sean McVay and his perfect hair, Matthew Stafford and his rocket arm, and Aaron Donald and his 0.0% body fat were waiting in the wings, and were the lucky winners of the “Free Odell” movement.
Plenty of reasons OBJ picked LA. Beautiful weather, ability to go boating year round, and a pretty good football team. Who could blame him? One would assume he still has a good amount left in the tank to give to the all in Rams in their Super Bowl run.
The only question left is, will he shack up at LeBron’s crib now that he helped his buddy get out to LA? Only time will tell.
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