Is it preseason honors time already?

Good morning. Despite the, uh, let’s say tenuous situation surrounding live sports in the fall, it is that time of year when the preseason magazines begin hitting the shelves at your local grocery store. Well, I don’t really know if grocery stores still carry magazines, or if anyone still publishes magazines, but if they did, college football previews would be on said shelves right now! One of the earliest previews has always been Athlon, which recently published its very in-depth all-conference teams.

How in-depth? Well, they went clear down through a fourth team. I’m not sure if there’s anyone left over for a fifth team, but it’s still fun to see which Washington State Cougars made the list. There were three Cougs on the first team, and you can probably guess which guys made the cut. While it was obvious that Abraham Lucas and Blake Mazza would be near the top, it was cool to see that Athlon found a way to get Max Borghi in there. While it’s tough to argue against running backs Jermar Jefferson and CJ Verdell, Borghi is better than both of them IMO.

So, which other Cougars were included? The first defender, senior Jahad Woods, shows up on the second team. Related - I cannot believe Jahad Woods is a freaking senior! Five Cougs appear on the third team, in Davontavean Martin, Liam Ryan, Skyler Thomas, Travell Harris (as a kick returner) and Oscar Draguicevich III. I agree with three of those. Finally, defensive lineman Will Rodgers III rounded out WSU representation on the fourth team.

Who should have been on the list? Although I don’t know how anyone judges interior linemen, I have to think that Josh Watson merited recognition. And given the fact that there are five (!!!) receivers on the fourth team, I’ve seen enough out of both Renard Bell - ANOTHER SENIOR! WHAT HAPPENED?! - and Travell Harris to think that at least one of them should have been on there. Can’t wait to watch these guys in the fall.

Football

Pac-12 Football 2020 All-Conference Team
An important note on the all-conference teams: These are based on how players will perform in 2020.

Renard Bell's Love For Football Began at an Early Age - Washington State University Athletics
Check out the feature on Renard Bell by Allen Leister of the Murrow College.

This Week in Parenting

This week was the final week of school, even though all of the school work was completed the week prior, and even though there were no teacher video sessions or any other tasks given out. My overly-logical brain had a hard time grasping this. Anyway, the week brought another bizarre Google Chat with the eight year-old. This time, I decided to check in when mom had to go the store for a bit. I immediately regretted this decision.

Wait for it...

Moving right along.

Later in the week, Mrs. Kendall and I were watching Jeopardy while the boys were watching some sort of Beyblade something or other. Final Jeopardy was European History, and here was the clue:

Mrs. Kendall insisted that I go get the boys for this one, so I did. As the 11 year-old read the clue, I declared that he had no chance at the correct response (and yes, I knew the answer don’t @ me). He looked at it for a second and said, “I’m pretty sure it’s Prussia.” Am I a terrible person for being 1% upset that he knew this? After all, I’ve been on a Final Jeopardy tear recently, and I feel like he’s trying to push me off my corner.

This Week in the World

I don’t care if you’ve read one word written above. Please take fewer than five minutes out of your day to watch this video.

I’m probably biased toward my Air Force team, but I’ve watched that video repeatedly, and it resonates every time. General Brown epitomizes the ideals of leadership, something that we sorely lack as a country right now.

Unsolicited Podcast Recommendation

1619 came out a good while back, but I found it very informative and enlightening at the time. The final two-part episode about the Louisiana sugar cane farmer broke my heart.

Apple Podcasts

Stitcher

Spotify

Beer

Best beer I had this week: The description for Omnipollo Mads is, “No bake carrot cake. A thick stout base with our own blend of spices and seeds intended to remind you of the cake and frosting of your favorite carrot cake.” To this day, my dad’s favorite cake is carrot cake, largely because his mom made the best one the world has ever seen. It was also the flavor of my wedding cake. If only dad liked dark beer. His loss.

Get paid to drink beer and hike the Appalachian Trail next year - Lonely Planet
The successful candidate must be an experienced hiker, a beer-lover and good on social media.

Non-Sports

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge
Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere.

The Evidence Against Her - GEN
When Nikki Addimando shot her abusive partner, she thought she had enough proof it was self-defense. Why did the prosecution only see a cold-blooded killer?