Patriots fans have their QB-in-waiting in Mac Jones
By BUNKY McCOY
• The best part of the Patriots taking a quarterback with their first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft?
There’s finally a succession plan in place – something that’s been missing ever since Tom Brady
went down to Tampa Bay.
• Will Mac Jones work out? Time will tell, but at least there’s the novelty of having a young QB
with high upside in the fold. When is the last time you could say those words about the Pats?
• Guess we can put those Jimmy-Garoppolo-to-New-England rumors to bed once and for all.
• Congrats to Hendricken product Kwity Paye for getting drafted in the first round. The cool
part? Kwity’s mom doesn’t have to work another day in her life.
• Of course, there’s probably a segment of local fans who wished that Paye didn’t get selected
by the Colts, aka the team that dropped the dime on the Patriots regarding the Deflategate controversy.
• Just when we were ready to shovel dirt and stomp on their grave, the Yankees responded by
winning 7 of 10.
• Wondering what old friend Lamar Odom is up to? During a recent appearance on the “All The
Smoke” basketball podcast, the former URI hoopster was asked which moment in his storied
career he’d like to relive, and he didn’t hesitate to talk about his time with the Rams. His
favorite shot? That would be the buzzer-beater against Temple in the 1999 Atlantic 10
championship.
• Here’s a quote from Odom looking back at his defining moment in a Rhody uniform via the
same podcast: “All the hard times I went through as a youth, I let out. I couldn’t even stand up
after that one. I couldn’t even do the press conference. I let all that emotion out. And I was
humble, but I was the man, that was my moment. And then the aftermath of that game, [we]
get back to the hotel, I opened the door, the whole state of Rhode Island was going crazy.”
• LINE OF THE WEEK comes from noted horse trainer Bob Baffert after Medina Spirit pulled off
the upset to win Saturday’s Kentucky Derby: “To win a seventh, I think Bill Belichick gave me a
lot of good luck the other day when we did that little interview.”
• There are a lot of titles we can bestow upon Kevin McNamara but we now have a new leader in the
clubhouse: NFL Draft Expert. Last Friday on the KevinMc Sports Hour, Christian Barmore was
mentioned as a possible target for the Patriots before Day 2 of the NFL Draft. New England took the Alabama defensive player with their second-round pick. Guess we should start a petition to
have KMac sit next to Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay during next year’s draft.
• Speaking of Kiper, it’s amazing that he doesn’t have an endorsement deal for hair spray.
• There’s no truth to the rumor that the Independent Man will soon be carrying a syringe with the
COVID-19 vaccine instead of a spear.
• Sorry, Bunky. The night that former Celtics great Larry Bird put up 60 points on the Atlanta
Hawks back in 1985 is a more impressive accomplishment than Jayson Tatum’s franchise-tying
60-point effort from the other night.
• Memo to the R.I. Interscholastic League: high school golfers shouldn’t have to wear masks
while on the course.
• RIP to Olympia Dukakis, a former Hollywood leading lady who died this past Saturday. She
was 89.
• The WooSox have something called “The Four Fundamentals of Ownership.” I have a
suggestion for two of the four fundamentals: 1). Blame Nick Mattiello. 2). Blame Gina
Raimondo.
• If you were a boxing judge, you probably would have declared Tim Scott the winner by TKO
over President Joe Biden following the speeches by both last Wednesday.
• Twenty-seven years have passed since Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim was
introduced to current wife Juli at the Kentucky Derby. The person who played match maker?
None other than former Friars head coach Rick Pitino.
• Yes, the Red Sox are a better club than they were last season. Still, it’s hard to take them
seriously when one-third of the lineup features hitters who are hitting below .200.
• Think baseball doesn’t have a problem on its hands? Per Baseball-Reference, MLB teams
through Sunday are averaging 4.33 runs per game (down from 4.65 a year ago) and hitting .234
(down from .245 in 2020). What is up is strikeouts per game (9.05 in 2021 compared to 8.68 in
2020).
• Ah, springtime in Rhode Island where you must battle two things: pollen and potholes.
