Baseball is finally coming back! After some miserable back-and-forth “negotiating” that angered many fans, including me, the MLB players and owners have finally reached an agreement, it seems.

Plenty of people won’t watch any games this summer after the whining from both sides about money while we were in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I don’t blame those fans.

I, on the other hand, will watch as much baseball as possible. If it can successfully return, that’s a positive step for college football, too!

Anyway, as we approach the return of live major U.S. team sports, here’s a look at your questions for this week’s Mailbag:

Robert:

Which SEC coach/player/personality has the most babies named after them?

That’s an interesting question. You have to factor in time, too, so while I’m sure there are about to be a ton of new Joe and Jeaux babies in Louisiana, Joe Burrow isn’t a good candidate for this question. I think you have to go back even past names like Cam (Cam Newton) and Tim (Tim Tebow) to find the answer.

A few candidates that come to mind for me:

  • Bear Bryant — With him, you get to count babies named “Paul” and “Bear.” Heck, probably even a few babies named “Bryant.”
  • Pat Summitt — Summitt was a great coach, and “Pat” works for boys and girls.
  • Bo Jackson — “Bo” is another name that can work for boys and girls.
  • Shaquille O’Neal — Awful lot of Shaqs becoming pro and college athletes here lately, I’ve noticed. Kudos to The Diesel.

But, if I had to go with my No. 1 candidate, it would be Peyton Manning. As with Pat and Bo, “Peyton” works for boys and girls. And, Manning was a larger-than-life personality and continued to have success at the NFL level. Plus, Tennessee fans are super-loyal to their team (and that’s putting it mildly). Manning probably accounted for thousands of “Peytons” in the past 30 years.

If this question involved dog names, I’d go with Tua Tagovailoa as the answer. Even he seems surprised by all the people telling him they’ve named dogs after him:

https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/1273660946880139264

@SChinni12:

If every SEC coach was a cut of meat, what would they be?

Of course this is a question I get just before lunch, when I’m the hungriest. OK, let’s break this down, shall we?

  • Nick Saban: Kobe beef — Kobe beef is a wagyu beef from Japan and is often considered some of the best meat in the world. Seems fitting for a 6-time national champion.
  • Sam Pittman: Pig roast — Just like a classic, apple-in-the-mouth whole pig roasting over a fire.
  • Gus Malzahn: Deli ham — Nothing too fancy, but sometimes, a ham sandwich really hits the spot.
  • Dan Mullen: Gator on a Stick — I’ve had gator meat. Really tasty!
  • Kirby Smart: Tri-tip steak — Tri-tip is a great, versatile steak. There was a spot I used to eat at that made tri-tip nachos. So delicious. I really shouldn’t have written this before lunch.
  • Mark Stoops: Pork belly — It’s basically fancy bacon. Very underrated, just like Stoops.
  • Ed Orgeron: Crawfish — I mean, this one is pretty self-explanatory.
  • Mike Leach: Turkey leg — Can’t you imagine Leach sitting at a table, dressed like a king, eating a giant turkey leg? I can.
  • Eliah Drinkwitz: Turkey burger — Is it going to be your first choice? Probably not. But is it a good, healthy choice? Absolutely. I wasn’t thrilled with the Drinkwitz hire right away, especially after Ole Miss and Mississippi State made splashier hires. But now, I absolutely love the work Drinkwitz has been doing in Columbia.
  • Lane Kiffin: Swordfish steak — Kiffin loves his boat. Might as well put it to use catching big fish.
  • Will Muschamp: Hot chicken sandwich — No one gets hotter on the sidelines than Muschamp. And with the whole Gamecocks connection, this makes sense to me.
  • Jeremy Pruitt: Oscar Mayer hot dog — Pruitt is a simple guy who doesn’t like fancy things. It’s tough to get less fancy than an Oscar Mayer hot dog. But, man, those things can really hit the spot at a summer cookout.
  • Jimbo Fisher: 72 oz. Porterhouse — Everything’s bigger in Texas, I hear.
  • Derek Mason: Grilled salmon — Salmon is good brain food, and Mason has made stops at Stanford and Vanderbilt, so he must be eating plenty of Omega-3s and such.

Now I’m trying to decide which of those things I want for lunch. And I’m thinking I might make some salmon for dinner.

@Dobbe8:

If you had to bet your entire paycheck on an SEC champion this year, who would you pick?

Since it’s my entire paycheck, I’d have to play it safe and go with Alabama. Right now, most places you can find it listed have Alabama as close to even odds to win the conference title.

Yes, the Tide have to replace a lot of talent, but that’s the case every year for Nick Saban and his staff. They’ll be motivated in 2020, though, after missing out on the College Football Playoff last year.

Plus, I think they have a favorable schedule. They should be able to handle USC in Week 1. Then, I think it benefits the Tide to have Georgia in Week 3. The games I’m worried about are Week 5 at Ole Miss against Lane Kiffin and Week 8 at Tennessee against Jeremy Pruitt. Those could end up as surprise losses.

Saban hasn’t lost back-to-back Iron Bowls since he took over in Tuscaloosa, so I think the Tide get some revenge in that rivalry this year. I don’t think a 12-0 regular season is crazy, but I’d add that 11-1 and a trip to Atlanta puts Alabama in good position to win me some money.

Rachel:

If you had to eliminate 1 of these 4 characters — Michael, Jim, Dwight or Pam — from “The Office,” who would you choose and why?

Oh, man, that’s a tough question. My initial thought would be Pam, but Jim doesn’t really make sense without Pam, and vice versa. They’re kind of a package deal. The show is nothing without Michael Scott, so by process of elimination, the answer has to be Dwight.

That’s a really tough call to make, though. Dwight is the perfect sidekick for Michael and Rainn Wilson is such a good comedic actor.

But, if you think about it, the U.S. version of the show really relies on Jim and Pam to do a lot of the heavy lifting plot-wise. Michael is the driving force comedically, so in terms of this question, Dwight has to go.

That would definitely make the show 15% less funny, at least.

Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.