Our life is filled with HELLO & GOODBYE’s….we probably do it daily. It’s true in Sports too….especially starting this week with the NCAA-Mens Basketball Tournament. In fact, its probably the sudden departure (the Goodbye’s) that are more fascinating than the HELLO’s to a new team to the tournament or a team winning an upset.

….In this year’s bracket the sudden GOODBYE of Kentucky in the 1^st round caused havoc to many of us (including me). A shocking HELLO to #14 Oakland!! Kentucky, seeded #3 in the South Bracket, fell to Oakland 80-76. There were other rare, very rare parts to this game. Oakland missed their first 7 shots of the game! Say HELLO to the hero of the day, Jack Gohlke of Oakland who buried ten 3-pt baskets to help his team towards shooting 15 of 31 from beyond the arc. Ironically, Kentucky was the best 3-pt shooting squad in the country in the regular season! It was the 1^st win EVER for the Golden Grizzlies (Oakland) in the field of 64 teams. They’ll play the #11 seed of this South Region, NC State. NC State upended the #6 seed Texas Tech in the 1^st round! So it’s a #14 vs #11 in the 2^nd round!! That’s a SUDDEN, very rare matchup in the NCAA Tourney.

…Does that mean a GOODBYE for John Calipari? His record @ Kentucky for 15 years has to mean something!  He’s 410-122, has won 1 NCAA championship, been to the Final Four two other times, to the Elite 8- two other times, Sweet 16 once. Probably not, he is 65 years old and carries an $8.53m salary.  As a college HC, Calipari has twenty-nine 20-win seasons, eleven 30-win seasons, and five 35-win seasons. Hiring a younger, proven Coach would probably cost the school even more!!

..#11 was the lucky number this week as the #11 seeds flourished and handed  #6 seeds SUDDEN GOODBYES. #11 Duquesne upset BYU in a game that they barely trailed at any point of the game. #11 Oregon waltzed past S. Carolina as S.Carolina transfer Jermaine Couisnard dropped in 40 points! #11 NC State rallied in the 2^nd half to upend Texas Tech. 

…an immediate GOODBYE is needed for the NCAA tourney!  The 4 “play-in” games are a joke. 3 of the 4 winners were beaten easily in round 1. When these teams win the “play in” game, they become the #16 seed of one of the regionals. This year Colorado was the only “play in” team to win in the 1^st round. 64 teams is enough! The lowest seed to win the championship is a #8 seed-Villanova in 1985. Five #11 seeds(that’s the lowest seed# to reach the Final Four) have reached the Final 4 . Those teams & years were: LSU 1986; George Mason 2006; VCU 2011; Loyola Chicago 2018; UCLA 2021. With the NIT gone, just stop @ 64 teams! Who wants to watch the 65^th  best team through the #87th best team play in a 32  team tournament? That’s what the NIT tried doing for a few years.

…I think that the 3 point shot & the shot clock have significantly altered the possibility of upsets.  You no longer win automatically because you have a good “big man”.  If a player or 2 gets “hot” from beyond the arc, they can carry a team. When they DO have a “hot hand” that opens up more space for the “big men” inside to operate w/o being double teamed. In addition, it also opens up driving lanes to the basket for the other perimeter players. These aren’t “set” players….it’s movement by all the players looking for driving land or a pull-up jumper (usually from beyond the arc). Obviously, the shot clock limits holding the ball for minutes (as they once did).GOODBYE to holding the ball for long periods of time and HELLO to exciting finishes to the games.

… SLU is looking for a new HC. It’s probably NOT a destination job. It’s a transitional job for a younger coach and less-pressure job for a experienced coach. Sooo….do the Billikens look for the younger, more aggressive (most likely) who will “move on” in 3-6 years or find an experienced coach who wants less pressure as he winds down his career (similar to Ford)? With Recruiting days on the horizon, it demands a SUDDEN (and good) decision.

… Most of the names that you “hear are of the younger type coach listed above- They include Josh Schertz (Indiana State)—according to the Post-Dispatch, he’s the “hottest” right now, Darian DeVries (Drake), Mark Byington (James Madison), Bryce Drew (Grand Canyon), Mike Morrell (UNC Asheville), Bucky McMillan (Samford) and Preston Spradlin (Morehead State), to name a few. A highly regarded “top” assistant coach, known for recruiting may be a better fit for the Bills. The only drawback is that this “type” of coach will likely be moving onward if he has success in 2 or 3 years.  

…In Jupiter, Florida, the Cards are saying GOODBYE to some & HELLO to others. That’s a typical spring training routine. Some areas “pop out” to me. Of the 33 pitchers in camp, 16 are 1^st timers to the Cards  team. The Cards management realizes that they MUST win at a higher clip RIGHT NOW. Most of their signees are experienced players. You don’t see many guys with “potential” still around. You probably already realize that Kyle Gibson is 36; Sonny Gray is 34; Andrew Kittredge (obtained for Palacios) is 34; John King is 28; Riley O’Brien is 29.  Keynan Middleton is 30 years old (6 years in the MLB).The youngsters are Andre Granillo-23, 14^th round pick by Cards in ’21; Adam Kloffenstein  is a 23-year-old RHP — starter. He was one of two pitchers acquired from Toronto in the trade that sent Jordan Hicks to the Blue Jays. Tekoah Roby is 22 years old—part of the Montgomery trade to the Rangers. Nick Robertson (25 years old) came in Tyler O’Neill trade. Logan Sawyer—been bouncing around in the Minors for 10 years after his draft. Cooper Hjerpe was drafted by the Cards but missed most of last season with an arm injury! When he was drafted, it was noted by the experts that he had an “unusual” delivery. Hence, often those “unusual” deliveries often result in arm problems. These guys better perform RIGHT NOW…or they will have a SUDDEN GOODBYE!

…A different type of GOODBYE was not so SUDDEN.  Andy Russell, who prepped @ Ladue HS and then played for Mizzou followed up by a sterling NFL career passed away recently. He was a 16^th round pick in the 1963 draft by Pittsburgh. He played 12 years in his NFL career that was interrupted by a 2 year stint in the military. He was the Steeler team captain for 10 years & was named to the Pro-Bowl 7x. He was voted by his teammates as the club’s MVP in 1971. That was on a roster that included HOF’ers Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Jack Ham and Terry Bradshaw. From my point of view, he rarely received the attention & praise due him because of his “laid back” nature.

….I expected a SUDDEN HELLO with the signing of Jordan Montgomery. Well……the days, weeks, and actually months, have rolled by without a signing. He must have realized that having Scott Boras as his agent would push him close to the start of the season. It has…many of his clients have signed – but–he hasn’t!  Just recently, 3 of the 5 Boras clients have signed. But…apparently, there is interest in signing  him. Yet there is NO interest from Montgomery in resigning with the Cardinals!?! Sooo…his GOODBYE was a permanent one (but you REALLY never know). From my view, the Cards starting staff STILL needs strengthening. I think that the money being asked by Boras is out of the Cards level. Who will budge?

…Just reading the TOP 25 young players in the MLB. Well…SAY GOODBYE to all that talk from the Cards about their “up & coming” stars.  Not 1 Cardinal was listed in the top 25 of players under 25 years of age who are currently MLB players.

…..Well…it seems like I just said, “HELLO” but it’s time to say “GOODBYE”!  Your ideas & thoughts are always invited…post on my Facebook page, send back to me on Messenger, email…whatever way suits you!  Thanks for your read! Bob