Carrie Underwood Vegas Show Debut, Flair Meets Jerry & Manziel Autographs 'Rehab' T-Shirt
Should we be surprised Brian Kelly unleashed a fake Southern accent for LSU fans? No.
New LSU football coach Brian Kelly is 60 years old and has never lived a day of his life south of the Ohio River. He's coached in Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. He grew up in Massachusetts. Of course, the guy feels like he's been transported to a different planet now that he's the highest-paid public employee in Louisiana where he most likely hasn't spent much of his life (in 2009 he was supposed to coach Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, but left the Bearcats for Notre Dame.)
And that led to what we heard Thursday night when Kelly unleashed a fake Southern accent as he spoke to fans at his welcoming party. He started talking like he was in a recruit's house in Birmingham, AL trying to fit in so the recruit's mama would feel comfortable sending her son to play for this guy.
Take a listen...especially when he really leans into "family."
Brian Kelly is either going to win a national championship at LSU or it's going to be one of the most glorious implosions of a football coach in sports history. There won't be a middle ground. Any of you who've spent multiple football weekends in Baton Rouge understand what he's about to face.
You have to give Kelly credit for having the balls to slow down his speech to make it seem like he's one of them. The biggest mistake fans make is thinking their coaches are supposed to be loyal and players care about the fans.
Brian's speech is that first step in making fans think he really cares about them. Win over the fans. Win over the recruits. Win games. Build a statue. This isn't about the money. This is about the ego of a man who is willing to work a crowd with a fake accent.
Snake-oil salesmen. Never forget that.
• Gerard W. in northern Illinois wasn't messing around for Thursday Night Grilling League:
Thanks for embedding the deer pictures. Would love to see some hunting content in Caps! Today is the start of the second shotgun season in Illinois and I should be sitting in a tree stand instead typing this e-mail to you from my office…..
Sending in an early submission for Thursday Night Grilling league. Made these Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs stuffed with pork sausage and Red Pepper flavored Cream Cheese. Made these for poker night on Tuesday. The guys loved them. (You aren’t making these on a Blackstone …..)
Also wanted to comment on the guy talking about getting off all Social Media. I was on Facebook years ago and gave it up for lent one year. This was the best thing I ever did. Thank you for taking one for the team and posting only the pertinent things from them! Keep it up!
• Patrick C. writes on the MLB lockout:
When the calendar turned to December, the Winter Meetings followed by the Hot Stove League, and then the ultimate cry that “pitchers and catchers were reporting” in February, used to warm the baseball soul during the off season. The news that suddenly baseball is in a lockout didn’t move the needle for me one way or the other.
Baseball is bleeding a slow death and really doesn’t seem concerned about the old time fan base, like me, who recalls sitting through countless games at Tiger Stadium that often finished in less than 2 ½ hours, mind you. The game I recall witnessing as kid has changed and not necessarily for the better. Who knows if my Opening Day tickets will be worth anything when April rolls around next spring, but the game didn’t recover very well back in ’95 when they went on strike. The question now will be, does anyone really care anymore?
• John S. in Nashville writes:
I love Todd Z’s idea about the Christmas picture montage/collage. We have been doing something similar since our 17-year-old son was born.
Each December, we create a wall calendar using pictures from the current year. The pictures can be anything you want, but we try to use a variety of shots that include mom and dad, as well as grandparents and friends. Vacations and sporting activities are also included. We make an effort to ensure the pics we use for January were actually taken in January, and so on, but obviously one can choose any pictures he or she wants.
Many photo-related websites have custom wall calendars. In the past, we have used Snapfish, Walgreens, and Apple. The cost is usually $20 - $25 per calendar, but if you look around, you can usually find a sale or promotion. They make excellent gifts for the grandparents, and we always keep one for ourselves. It’s awesome to look at the calendar each month and see pics from last year.
Keep up the good work. Merry Christmas!
• Brent in Indy has a suggestion for the 'VID vaccine commercials:
Thought of the day. While watching TV last night a commercial for a pharmaceutical played. During the video of all the happiness that the drug provided, there was narration of all the side effects and reasons why you shouldn’t take the drug. So I am just wondering what it would sound like if, and when a politician or mainstream media pundit pushed the covid vaccine, the narration of all the covid vaccine side effects played in the background.
• Beau in Toledo is one of the most loyal TNML members out there:
Sun's out and it's 52° right now in the 419 and I've already pulled the batteries out of the mowers.
But wait! I went to FIC in Maumee for parts for the snowthrower and took pics of this beauty! Gonna have to fire up the Pit for #TNGL and put some brats on, or, and I'll need a ruling on this, hit a bar with a grill for a burger.
And let's all hope the skies stay clear for this. Say Hi to Comet Leonard, cuz it's out of the solar system after this pass by Earth
• And finally, Indy Daryl keeps it simple for TNGL:
I have and can grill better, but sometimes the family just gotta eat! Trader Joe’s pre-cooked chicken sausages; one pack of jalapeño and another of apple smoked and by golly are they delicious. Beautiful evening here in Indy
• And finally, Lucas O. has a question that's probably better for OutKick Media Big J Blue Checkmark Watchdog® Bobby Burack, but I'll take a stab at it:
Hello Joe. Do you think that Chris Cuomo won't return from his "indefinite suspension" from CNN, or do you believe he'll eventually come back like Jeffery Toobin?
Didn't I just read there are rumblings that CNN could be going back to more of a news organization and less host-based at night? I don't believe it for a second. It's expensive to have reporters around the world and as things stand right now, CNN doesn't have a war to cover, so it has to play the Google algorithm game and fire up the base with the big story of the day.
The problem is that they don't have a storyline that matches up with CNN's politics. Are they going to bang the drum in support of Biden? No. They know what his approval ratings are. The COVID stuff works for a couple of days like when Omicron showed up and CNN could go wall-to-wall with coverage, but it gets old and the lib libs find other things to watch.
I believe Cuomo will disappear for 3-4 months and reappear in the spring when the midterm races start to fire up. I'll also predict CNN will ratchet up more BLM nonsense in 2022 to coincide with the midterms. The playbook will include Cuomo preaching about what will happen if the MAGAs get control of government.
• Anyway, let's go have a great Friday. I have been dealing with a sinus infection cold all week that is just about cleared up, so I'm planning to blow leaves this afternoon -- if it's not snowing. I'm also going to dig back into the Screencaps suggestion box for pajamas and do some shopping for Mrs. Screencaps.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com