Your “Is ‘Friends’ On? Thursday Evening Open Thread

Of course not. Anyone with parents over the age of 60 knows Thursday are the domain of “The Big Bang Theory”,

and “Little Sheldon”.

NFL News:

• The Jets have done the Jetsiest thing they could do and hired a coach who could only beat them when in his previous gig. Jets fans: Adam Gase is now the Jets head coach.
  • He’ll be doing for Sam Darnold what he successfully did for Ryan Tannehill.
    • Darnold is on-board with Gase, adding “I’m really excited to work with him because of all the good things he’s done.”

• Based on the Gase decision, Mike McCarthy has removed himself from contention for all other openings.
  • He said it was New York or nothing for him in 2019.
    • So he’ll sit at home and collect the $8 million the Packers owe him for the one remaining year.
  • That works for the Bengals, since McCarthy’s previous salary of above minimum wage meant Mike Brown was never considering him in the first place.
    • Who apparently have their eye on current Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy.
      • Which should assuage the Fritz Pollard Alliance, an organization comprised of scouts, coaches, and front office personnel in the NFL as well as other sports professionals committed to equal opportunity in the industry.
        • They lament the current 0-fer in available openings for minority hires.
          • Especially with the Jets hiring Adam Gase, because “look at the fact Brian Flores coming out of New England. New England has dominated the AFC East over there. And Brian Flores would probably know about the Jets more than anybody.”

• According to ESPN, here’s who the Packers also talked to and/or interviewed before settling on Matt LaFleur:
  • Patriots offensive and defensive coordinators Josh McDaniels and Brian Flores (pictured);
  • Saints offensive assistants Dan Campbell and Pete Carmichael;
  • Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken;
  • former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase;
  • Chuck Pagano;
  • Jim Caldwell (pictured); and
  • Packers interim coach Joe Philbin.

It looks like A-A-Ron dodged a few bullets with the LaFleur hiring.

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL: Winnipeg, Toronto, Edmonton & Vancouver are all regional broadcasts in Canada
  • Capitals at Bruins – 7:00PM | Sportsnet
  • Jets at Wild – 8:00PM | NBCSN
• NBA:
  • Celtics at Heat – 7:00PM | TNT / TSN
  • Thunder at Spurs – 9:30PM | TNT / TSN
• NCAA:
  • Mens:
    • Cincinnati at Tulsa – 7:00PM | ESPN2
    • Michigan at Illinois – 8:00PM | FS1
    • East Carolina at Memphis – 9:00PM | ESPNU
    • Penn State at Nebraska – 9:00PM | ESPN2
    • UCLA at Oregon – 9:00PM | ESPN
    • Washington at Utah – 10:00PM | FS1
  • Women’s:
    • Louisville at Notre Dame – 7:00PM | ESPN

There are only two official coaching openings left – Bengals & Dolphins. Honest to God, I don’t know which one is more attractive. SUCKERS BETS!