Reads Listens Views – The No.1 Weekly Series from the Twitter Awards by a committee of one. Respect Miller . . . respect.

Listens – Rest In Peace Jim Hall, You Were a Stud

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Thanks

If you’re new to RLV, the RSP, or you looked at my new design and thought for a moment someone slipped LSD or PCP into your morning Joe, welcome. This is my weekly series at the Rookie Scouting Portfolio where I list photos, performances, lectures, and links to Internet content I read (or I’m saving to read soon). You may not like everything here, but you’re bound to like something.

It’s also my chance to thank you for visiting the Rookie Scouting Portfolio and purchasing my annual publication on rookie prospects at the offensive skill positions.

For those of you new to the Rookie Scouting Portfolio, the publication is available every April 1. You can learn more about the RSP here. If you want to see samples of the play-by-play notes I take to write the analysis, you can find them here. And to download past versions of the publication (2006-2012), go here.

Remember, 10 percent of each sale is donated to Darkness to Light, a non-profit devoted to preventing and addressing sexual abuse through community training in schools, religious groups, and a variety of civic groups across the U.S. I’ll have an announcement before the year is over about what the RSP donated to D2L as well as a plans for the 2014 RSP.

Listens

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This Week’s RSP Posts

Haven’t had a chance to see what’s new at the RSP this week? Here’s a quick run-down:

• RSP Rorschach: Fitzgerald Toussaint – There is at least a play in every game I watch where there’s no definitive answer for what happened and why it did. This new series explores the possibilities.
• RSP Flashback: Overrated/Underrated – See portions of my pre-draft takes on Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, Mike Hart, Matt Forte, and Kevin Smith.
• RSP Flashback: Alshon Jeffery’s Pre-Draft Analysis – I thought he had top-five-in-class potential but wasn’t sold on his on-field behavior to give him that ranking. See why.
• Futures: Jared Abbrederis vs. Bradley Roby – Pay particular attention to the touchdown catch. If I were a wide receiver, I’d be practice what Abbrederis does here on a daily basis.

Ahead: Tomorrow’s Futures delves into the relationship between Intuition and Process when it comes to player evaluation, using one player for 2015’s class who I have a feeling could be special.

Views – Worth Sharing Again . . .

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Here’s a bit longer Cliff Notes version about plot of the movie.

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Go see it. It’s a downer, but it’s important to see.

Reads (Football)

• Ben Tate: No Pain, No Gain – Enjoyable profile on the Texans runner who reveals how Gary Kubiak once threw Tate under the bus.
• RGIII – A Victim of His Own Swagger? – H/T to FBG staffer Mark Wimer for sharing this one.
• Film Room: Russell Wilson – Cian Fahey shows you why Wilson deserves to be in the MVP conversation.
• The Rise of ACL Tears – Grantland’s piece on the ligament. I’m not usually interested in this topic at this level of depth, but it’s a well-done piece worth a read.
• Why I Believe Jameis Winston’s Accuser – Quality read regardless of whether you believe the accuser or not. Don’t send your daughter to college without making sure she understands the dynamics of drinking culture and how to navigate it. Of course, I live in a city where the local government’s answer to rising teen age pregnancies was to build a daycare in the high school rather than allow the schools to educate on birth control. Yes, Athens has more in common with leaders of Third World nations they look down on than it realizes.

Views -David Simon at Festival of Dangerous Ideas

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Reads (Life Outside The Lines)

• ‘Affluenza’: is it real? – I’m beginning to think Sigmund Bloom, “Bloomed” his home state of Texas when he kept writing “Avoid Florida” with his Facebook posts of news stories.
• 21 Racial Microaggressions You Hear On A Daily Basis – Often rooted in ignorance more than hate, but the impact ain’t all that cool.
• Half a Life in Solitary: How Colorado Made a Young Man Insane
• David Simon:  ‘There are now two Americas. My country is a horror show’ – Always consider the frame of reference of what you read. Simon was a homicide reporter in Baltimore. He’s seen an America that many try to avoid every day. And it is America. The sooner we embrace it, the sooner we help and heal our country.

Listens – Hit Me Again, Jim . . .

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