JUST MY TYPE
GOLDEN TATE III
THIRD WORLD
At 28, the Lions' leading receiver wants to enjoy life more before he has children—Golden Tate IV, anyone?—which is fine by his fiancée, who also happens to be his agent.
DAN PATRICK:Do a lot of people ask you about your name?
GOLDEN TATE: Here and there. I often joke that someone was drunk when they named me. [Laughs.] But I'm actually a III. There are two others before me.
DP:Do you have brothers or sisters?
GT: I have a set of twin sisters [Breanna and Deanna] who [run track] at Ole Miss and a younger brother [Wesley] who played running back at Vanderbilt [from 2009 to '13]. None of them are named Silver, Copper or Platinum.
DP:Will you have a Golden Tate IV?
GT: I'm so far away from having kids right now I haven't really thought about it. I can't imagine I'll have a IV. We'll talk about it once I get married.
DP:Is Matthew Stafford funny in the huddle?
GT: Um....
DP:I guess that's a no.
GT: Not in the huddle. But on the sideline, if we're up, he'll crack a joke. In the huddle, everything happens so quickly.
DP:There are bro quarterbacks, and there are nerd quarterbacks. Stafford is the ultimate bro quarterback, right? Hat backward, cargo shorts and a draft beer.
GT: Oh, yeah. He's definitely a bro quarterback. That's what I love about him. He's also got a lot of swag when it comes to dressing. You should see what he wears on the plane. A lot of these quarterbacks dress like they're running for president.
DP:Are you saying he dresses as well as Brady?
GT: I don't really pay attention to what Tom Brady wears. Where are you going with that?
DP:I'm saying he's clean.
GT: Yeah? Well, Stafford does not wear Ugg boots [like Brady], I'll tell you that.
DP:Did you know that through your first 44 games with the Lions you have more catches [254] than any player in franchise history?
GT: No way.
DP:Yep. Tell your agent.
GT:[Laughs.] My new agent is my fiancée [Elise Pollard]. I came home yesterday and she was taking notes on how many times I touch the ball and how many times I'm thrown the ball.
DP:She's getting more than 10%?
GT: Absolutely. Keep it in the family.
DP:Does she know you don't want to have kids for a while?
GT: Yeah. We want to enjoy life before we have kids.
DP:I'm thinking Stafford Tate if you have a boy. You'll probably get a lot of throws coming your way then.
GT:[Laughs.] No promises, but it is catchy.
GUEST SHOTS
SAY WHAT?
Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson told me that after nine years together, he has earned the right to give quarterback Aaron Rodgers a hard time. "I don't know if he gets mad mad," Nelson said. "He's the one who has to throw me the ball so we still have to be on good terms. But I can razz him a little bit." ... Bucks coach Jason Kidd often tells his players about how much the NBA has changed: "We talk about the old rules—the days when you had to go meet [Michael] Jordan at the rim because you couldn't play zone. A lot more players got dunked on." ... TNT's Reggie Miller said Warriors coach Steve Kerr was right to sit Klay Thompson for the fourth quarter of a 142--106 win over the Pacers on Dec. 5, even though he had 60 points. "Golden State was already up by 30," said Miller. "You don't want to piss off the basketball gods."