Do yourself a favor and ignore the dreadful NFL Scouting Combine this week

Do something else this week. Anything else!

This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning WinSubscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

We’ve hit that time of the NFL calendar where I have to give my yearly piece of advice that should be followed by anyone and everyone who is into self care and also making the most of their brief time here on Earth.

Yes, it’s that time again for me to tell you to do the right thing and ignore the annual NFL Scouting Combine that sadly starts today in Indianapolis.

Don’t watch a minute of it. Don’t hit your group texts up with any details about a 40-yard dash or whatever. Don’t miss out on anything important in your life to watch a bunch of guys working out on TV.

Do something else.

Do anything else!

I know what you’re saying out loud right now to your phone or computer or watch or whatever you read this Morning Win on each day – “But Andy, you make a living writing about sports and now you’re telling us not to watch sports!? What in the heck is wrong with you, buddy!? You’re usually so right with everything you write about but now we are confused and saddened and need a gosh darn explanation here!”

Ok, here’s the simple explanation – the combine is not sports, it’s a big group physical that tracks things like hand size, bench press reps, and 3-cone drill speeds.

And you know what? None of that should matter to any of us. Leave that to the scouts and teams to digest and then use some of that info to select players in the draft.

The combine should mean nothing to you and I. We shouldn’t care about who jumps the highest or who shuffles their feet the fastest or which QBs hit the most uncovered wide receivers with passes that look sweet for practice but don’t really mean anything to the overall picture of professional football.

This year’s NFL playoffs were fantastic, weren’t they? Do you know which QB in the playoffs ran the fastest 40-yard dash at the combine?

Of course you don’t!

Do you know which wide receiver in the playoffs had the farthest broad jump at the combine?

In what world would you know that info!?

Do you know which offensive lineman ran the fastest short shuttle at the combine?

You didn’t even know the short shuttle was a thing until a minute ago!

Just look at the photo at the top of this story of some guys measuring Justin Herbert’s arm against a wall. Why are they doing that and why should any of us care about their findings!?

We all love football and football knows that and so it tries to make us want to watch every little thing that has to do with the game. But while we love the players and have all the respect in the world for them and all that they do to play this game, we don’t need to peek in on this glorified physical.

Life is short! Go enjoy it!

Quick hits: Ja Morant’s two incredible plays… Bryce Harper’s frustrations with lockout… Bucs bringing back sweet throwbacks… And more. 

– You need to see Ja Morant’s poster dunk and ridiculous buzzer beater from last night.

– Bryce Harper is so frustrated with the MLB lockout that it appears that he’d like the Yomiuri Giants to give him a chance to play.

– The Buccaneers are bringing back their creamsicle throwbacks and NFL fans are rightfully very happy about that.

– Derek Jeter no longer works for the Marlins and here are 7 of the biggest moves during his tenure as the team’s CEO.

[mm-video type=video id=01fwppe03tccsnmge0aq playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fwppe03tccsnmge0aq/01fwppe03tccsnmge0aq-1d7ad793318daebf9a18d8e5ae2240ff.jpg]