I know the NBA season has started but before we pass real judgment, let it breathe a little bit. A lot of new moving parts with new faces on the court and on the bench so everyone needs time to come together.
Everyone but the Los Angeles Lakers. They will have a hard time winning 30 games as they are a mess. A new coach, new players who are marginal, injuries that sidelined the past and the future and yet Kobe will find a way to get 30 shots up a night in hopes of the Lakers not losing by 20 every night. Yes, “Showtime” as we knew it will be on hiatus for a while.
Thank you President Jim Buss for messing this thing up beyond repair. As for LeBron and the Cavaliers, this will take a while. I think it is safe to say they need work. There will be some new teams that may break through this year only to learn they will need another gear to continue their quest to be a championship caliber team. In any event, this will be an entertaining season.
College football and their playoffs
While it has gone under the radar somewhat, college football is undergoing its playoff format process. Each Tuesday, a committee unveils its ranking of the top four teams in the country to determine a final four who at season’s end will participate in a playoff to determine a national champion. While it will be tweaked a bit over time, I like it and look forward to seeing the number of teams expanded.
This process will come with questions and gripes for sure. Those will be lodged by the ones who are ranked fifth and above as they will find a flaw. “Win one more game and play a better schedule” is what I would prescribe to fix it. As for the others who are on the outside looking in, there are still games to be played as the bowl business is still lucrative financially. Who is the best team in the country remains to be seen as there is a lot of parody for a change. Oh the big boys will still rule the top but there are more teams to pay attention to now than ever before. Too bad the NFL is stuck with so many bad teams.
Nice NFL
Here is where I am supposed to say something nice about the NFL and its leadership players and coaches … (Crickets.)
College basketball
Yes, it’s around the corner as some have elected to play some exhibition games before they start to play the “blood donors” who normally come in and take a beating and leave with a pat on the head and a nice check for their services.
Locally St. Louis University and Missouri are alike. They are very young and lack experience. Mizzou even has a new coach. The Billikens saw all their seniors move so Jim Crewe will have a new, young hungry bunch. Neither team has an exciting non-conference schedule as there is no sense in taking bad looses in a rebuilding year.
It is my hope that in two years these teams will figure a way to play each other in a three-game series. It would be better for a non conference games than some of the teams that currently fit that bill. Let’s hope Mike Alden and the St. Louis U Athletic Director can come together and make it happen.
One-man band?
The St. Louis Blues have gotten off to a very good start and they have a player in Vladimir Tarasenko whom the league, if not the limited St. Louis media, is talking about. He is an exciting player but there is one problem here. If he does not score, the Blues have a problem as the annual scoring drought is now in play. This is a team that is deeper when it comes to talent and yet the “talent’ has a hard time scoring goals. It will take a while and that is fine with me as long as they play well into the spring.
Saving the Rams
I noticed that Governor Nixon has made a move in trying to save the Rams by asking reputable individuals in charge of devising a plan to make this happen. I only hope this is not a waste of time as the Rams ownership has shown very little interest in staying here. St. Louis has to try something and let’s hope they do not give away the farm like they did the last time. See you in 60 days when the proposal will be complete. I’m barely lukewarm to this.
