Goat Post: Issue 07

Issue 07: Caddyshack turns 45, CC and Wagner take Cooperstown, and Claressa Shields keeps swinging.

July 26, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Forty five years ago this weekend, Caddyshack opened in theaters. Inspired by caddying memories of Brian Doyle-Murray, his brothers Bill and John and director Harold Ramis, the movie earned $60 million at the box office.

It was made for $6 million, and Brian’s SNL-star sibling, who played Carl Spackler, improvised practically all of his forever quotable lines. Bill’s brilliance — “so I got that going for me, which is nice” — puts him among the all-time favorites to basically anybody with a sense of humor.

Last week, we had a teen at a USGA golf event in Georgia say Caddyshack is one of her favorite movies. Just two days earlier, one of the greatest college football coaches in history shared his appreciation for Bill.

Dr. Tom Osborne, 88, and the founder of a fantastic mentoring organization called Teammates, raved about Bill for his comedy, kindness and relatability. Osborne won 255 games and two national championships, and he enthusiastically gave Goatnet an hour of his time to support “Evergreen,” the story of Ahman Green, and in turn offered an avenue for us to amplify the coach’s Big Red backstory and philanthropic impact.

And speaking of iconic American settings, it doesn’t get much better anywhere than a home game Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska. It’s rivaled only by a short list of times and places, and among those are this afternoon (morning if you include breakfast at the superb small diner on Main Street) and Sunday in Cooperstown, NY.

So we turn from Bill Murray eating a Baby Ruth bar - in a hazmat suit after sterilizing a swimming pool - to a shrine fit for the perpetual glory of Babe Ruth, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Our next two items in this week’s Goat Post are about two of the Baseball greats who’ll ride in the parade today and give speeches on Sunday, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

We onboarded CC and Amber Sabathia at the Rise 2 Greatness gala, and what was immediately clear is that their’s is a love story and one that features two goats trending in their success and a family of goats under construction. Amber is a top tier agent at CAA, and CC is a man who’s persevered his way to the top, exemplary on the field and in sobriety.

Billy Wagner welcomed sharing his story with Goatnet when we visited the high school program he’s coaching in Virginia.

Accompanied by Goatnet ally and former BBWAA President Jesus Ortiz of Our Esquina, we got the kind of honest, emotional openness from Billy that sticks with you.

Coach Billy Wagner has every single one of his baseball players write his or her — yes, he welcomed a girl on his Miller School roster — keyword on the wall in preparation for the season. What is written is the kid’s why, the thing that serves as personal motivation.

What would little Billy Wagner have written on the wall if his coach asked back in the day?

“Hunger.” Literal hunger. Billy grew up below the poverty line. Billy Wagner was picked on, dismissed, counted out and given no shot by big-time recruiters.

How’d that work out for them? You may have already known that Billy learned to pitch left-handed when his right arm was broken. But did you know he was broke? Billy dreads the day one of his players scribbles that “Food” is the goal.

Although, he’ll get it.

And there’s no one better than HALL OF FAMER BILLY WAGNER to teach any kid with that kind of appetite to absolutely COOK.

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Let’s pretend nobody’s crying. But consider yourselves warned: When the Hall of Fame speeches do their thing, have some tissues handy.

Tonight, a different form of hurt is in the forecast.

Lani Daniels is stepping into the ring against Claressa Shields, The GWOAT.

We won’t argue if she someday pronounces it GWOATNET. Whatever you say, Greatest Woman Of All Time.

Claressa doesn’t just attract the spotlight. She powers it. At 29 years old, she is a a three-division world champion and the first boxer in the four-belt era to be undisputed in three different weight classes. In tonight’s bout, Claressa puts her undisputed women's heavyweight title on the line against Lani.

We don’t recommend betting against Claressa. At age 13, she learned that women’s boxing was added to the Olympics and told herself, “I’m going to win gold.” She has done that twice.

Claressa also told us, “The little girl inside me? She’s saying, ‘Good job. Keep doing it your way.’”

All of this circles us back to Bill Murray, this time in What About Bob? Played by Bill, Bob famously sparred with the psychiatrist he stalked on summer vacation.

Leo Marvin tried to put Bob away, but Bob kept escaping the traps. CC did that. Billy did that. Claressa rose up out of Flint, Michigan.

We love their stories. We love what Coach Osborne’s legacy endeavor is doing for current and future generations.

There’s only one place where heat is permanently unbeatable.

It isn’t one to laugh about, usually, but today let’s agree to make an exception. It’s very hot where I live. I catch myself quoting Seinfeld in probably too many situations. But whatever.

Today, getting into my parked car, the line was this: “The heat! My God, the heat!”

A goat of sitcoms, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, said it so much better. Watch for yourself.

In closing and until next time, choose greatness … or “it’s gonna be rough.”

Goat Big!

Dinn Mann