It’s ALWAYS terrific to REACH THE SUMMIT! You’ve reached the highest point of your profession/job/hobby/personal goals. Let’s take a look at some players, teams, coaches who have & have not REACHED THE SUMMIT.

….One group of athletes that are easy to identify as REACHING THE SUMMIT are the Olympians. Most of them have worked for several years to claw their way to the top of the amateur sports world. Hours & Hours of practice, working of refining skills, weight room work, etc are required. Take a look at a couple (this is NOT a complete list….just those that caught my eye!) of surprising  athletes who have REACHED THE SUMMIT!

… I guess you’d call him the Golden Olympian who has REACHED THE SUMMIT most often! It is swimmer Michael Phelps has won 28 Olympic medals (23 Gold medals), becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time.

….Clearly at her prime during this ’24 games is Simone Biles. She has clearly REACHED HER SUMMIT. After leading Team USA to first place in the women’s gymnastics team final on July 30, Biles secured her fifth Olympic gold medal and eighth Olympic medal overall. The fresh win makes her the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history, breaking her previous tie with Shannon Miller. At 27 years old, Biles is also the oldest woman to win the gold for Olympics artistic gymnastics since 1964, when the Soviet Union’s Polina Astakhova took home the gold.

…. Jimmer Fredette has taken a very round-about route to REACH THE SUMMIT. Over the past 15 years, Fredette has been the unanimous college basketball player of the year, an NBA lottery pick, a borderline NBA player/bust, a Chinese Basketball Association basketball legend − and, most recently and perhaps finally, a 2024 Olympian! He’s found himself as a 3 on3 basketball player for the USA! His trip there wasn’t short or easy.. He’s played bball on 5 continents! Tournaments took him to way-out-of-the-way places like the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Mongolia and Santiago, Chile. His 3-on-3 career travels included stops in China and Greece!  What a trail that leads him to Paris to REACH HIS SUMMIT.

….By the end of competition on Day 4, the  USA had won 26 medals. Congratulations to all of them for their terrific accomplishments against world-wide competition. Beyond the medals, all of them deserve tons of praise for their relentless training over many, many years and their tremendous skills. Thanks to all for REACHING THE SUMMIT of their sport.

…I must add that while I really admire all the skill, time, effort & sacrifices of most of the Olympian athletes, some of my admiration has faded. With the entrance of professional athletes or in paying athletes in the Olympics, my naïve idea that amateur athletes would be the most dominant in the Olympics is fading away. As I check into it, it was different than I expected. All USA Gold Medalists receive $37,500, Silver $22,500 and Bronze $15,000. I do realize that for all the hours, skill, sacrifices, etc, etc, that isn’t a great deal of money. But, nonetheless, they are getting paid. I’m sure that in each of the future Olympics, the payments will increase. I don’t know if other countries do it also. I suspect that they do.

…The St Louis Area should be proud!  One of their own has REACHED THE SUMMIT! Napheesa Collier, who played @ Incarnate Word Academy under the tremendous coaching of Dan Rolfes. Then she played 4 years @ U.Conn and the accolades just kept coming. Collier has some real “hardware” to display…@ IWA, she was the 2013 and 2015 Gatorade Missouri Player of the Year! She also was one of five finalists for the 2015 Naismith Award as national Player of the Year and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association High School All-American. She was a “star” She was a member of the 2016 Connecticut Huskies National Champion team and reached the Final Four in each of her 4 years at UConn. She received the Katrina McClain Award for Power Forward of the Year from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in her senior season. Then she moved into Pro Basketball. She’s played her entire pro career for the Minnesota Lynx (2019–present). Her awards just keep rolling in–2019 season: She was named to the All-Rookie Team and had her 1st All-Star appearance. She was chosen ESPNW, Associated Press, and WNBA Rookie of the Year. The 2024 Olympic appearance is her 2^nd appearance in the Olympics! She helped the USA win the 2020 Gold medal!

…There are still more Olympic competitors from the Lou…Jayden Ulrich–discus throw Friday;

Freddie Crittenden III-110 hurdle (McClure North); Tyler Downs-diving team-home school; Brandon Miller (800m run)—John Burroughs HS; DeAnna Price(Hammer Throw)-Troy Buchanon HS; Patrick Schulte(3 years @ StL U); Aaron Shackell & Alex Shackell (Mens & Womens swimming) spent childhood in StL area; Emily Sisson-Marathon-Pk Central HS. She was also in the 2020 Olympics as a distance runner. Jayson Tatum-Mens Basketball- Chaminade, 1 year @ Duke- then to the Celtics. Jayden Ulrich-Women Discus attend East Alton-Wood River HS. I don’t know about any of you but I didn’t have a clue about any of these super athletes (except Tatum) in HS. Congrats to them, their coaches as they were growing up, their parents for their support & their specialized coaches along the way!!

…Just had a chance to watch some of the extended Olympics. In a tremendous 10,000m race,

Grant Fisher (USA) finished 3^rd. He stayed in the top 5 or 6 throughout much of the race. In the final 2 laps, the outstanding teams of Uganda & Ethiopa had the best runners sprinting! Ethiopan runners had led the race for the vast majority of the race (like 95%). The last lap was thrilling as everyone was sprinting! Fisher was passed up quickly, then he went into “high gear”! He was barely beaten by a ½ stride for 2^nd place so he took home the 3^rd place medal. He REACHED THE SUMMIT! Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda was the winner and set a new Olympic record. Cheptegei, the world record holder in the event, shaved more than 18 seconds of the world record. Soooo, In fact Fisher broke the previous record also…it just turns out that someone else was quicker! Clearly Fisher REACHED THE SUMMIT for the USA also!

…The invincible swimming of Katie Ledecky who has won 9 gold medals in her career! WOW!

…At this moment (Sunday morning), the USA has won the most medals-61, France has 42, China-37. China has won the most gold medals—16 while USA has 14.

…I do wonder why Caitlin Clark wasn’t on the Women’s Basketball Team. She’s already demonstrated that her skill level fit right into pro Womens’ Basketball. Amazingly, the USA Olympic Committee snubbed her. What are they looking for in a women’s basketball player?

….Sometimes in sports, teams show their “hand” regarding their true intentions of competing trying to REACH THE SUMMIT. The trading deadline in the MLB provides a barometer to measure their “true” intentions for this year. The Cardinals dealt 2 of their “own” products (Carlson & Edman) who seemed to “level off” in performance and were going to become free-agents shortly. For Carlson it would be next year & Edman in ’26. The Cards like to steer clear of negotiating with their own players who are becoming free-agents at the end of that 6 years when a player becomes eligible for free agency. In this case, both players had versatility but both had seemed to level off as a batter.  They were, or were becoming, “average” MLB players as their salaries escalated. That’s not a good combo!!

…The Cards obtained 33 year old George Armstrong-relief pitcher. He’s been on 5 different teams (2 different times with Tampa Bay). He has a career ERA of 4.18 with 8 saves, 27 holds and 13 blown saves. I guess the Cards feel like they need another arm for a bullpen that has not shown signs of weariness (overuse) of late. He’ll fit the spot of Giovanny Gallegos, who was “designated for assignment” (which means he was released! It makes the release sound better 😊)Gallegos’ arm just didn’t have it any longer—it was, as they say, a “dead arm”.

….The San Diego Padres demonstrated their goal of REACHING THE SUMMIT (once you get into the Playoffs, it’s a crap shoot). The  Padres GM AJ. Preller, dealt away prospects like it was a “fire sale”. He as not going to let the “potential” of the prospects hinder their drive to win in 2024. (as many teams do….and often those prospects NEVER reach the level expected of them) The Padres grabbed the best available reliever at the deadline by acquiring Miami Marlins All-Star closer Tanner Scott (1.18 ERA) and right-handed reliever Bryan Hoening. By adding that duo to an already strong bullpen, it’s clear that Preller realizes that his starting rotation isn’t going to carry them. They did acquire a small piece for the rotation in Martin Perez (from the Pirates). Stalwarts Joe Musgrove & Yu Darvish do have question marks for their return.

….the Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski made it clear that he was REACHING FOR THE SUMMIT this year. Although the Phillies currently are in the midst of a 3-9 slump since the All-Star break, Dombrowski is “going all in”. He dealt 5^th & 7^th rated prospects to procure LA Angels closer Carlos Estevez (who hasn’t given up a run since May 28!! Then he sent his 10^th rated prospect to the White Sox for reliever Tanner Banks. Presto, 2 strong relief hurlers changes your team!!

…Seemingly limited to a very, very tiny pocket-book, the Tampa Bay Rays (who had made the playoffs 5 years in succession) never seem to REACH FOR THE SUMMIT!! This week they traded off 9 players for 14 prospects and 3 position players. Those moves saved them $15m this year and about $40m in 2025. Just think if this management group was in a market that actually supported them financially. How GOOD could they be? As strong as their farm system is the Rays, with their acquisitions and farm system ,will likely be a .500+ team without trying to REACH THE SUMMIT.

…I’m still puzzled by StL City SC actions regarding the size of the stadium. Currently, StL City has sold out its 22,423-seat stadium for almost each home game (I think that the last home game was it’s 1^st non-sellout). I was told that the MLS wanted the stadium that size. Well…I’ve checked, Atlanta has a stadium (Mercedes Benz Stadium) that seats 67,727 spectators!  The average attendance per game is 47,137(about twice the size of CitySC’s stadium). It’s tough to REACH THE SUMMIT of your league if another team is drawing almost 2-3x as many fans to their games. That allows Atlanta to spend 2x,3x , maybe 5x as much on player personnel as City is able to do. Maybe, City had constraints from other parties and they didn’t want to “rock the boat” in their very 1^st year. Hopefully, they’ll be able to “level the playing field” shortly. If they can’t, it’ll really be  a DIFFICULT TASK TO REACH THE SUMMIT. Btw…that wasn’t the highest attendance for a game. KC Sporting has the all-time highest attendance at a game in the MLS—72,610. Atlanta United has the 2^nd highest attendance for a game—67,727. City’s best is 22,500 in attendance – that’s 12^th  best in the MLS.

…Talk about St Louis U Mens Basketball REACHNG THE SUMMIT OF THE LEAGUE hasn’t been heard for a long, long time. In the A-10 pre-season poll distributed in July, the Billikens were picked as the #2 team of the league!!! WOW!  The rest of the top 5 in the A-10 were: #1-Dayton; #3-VCU; #4—Richmond  #5-St. Joe’s!  btw… the A-10 is a prime candidate for conference realignment.

… Does St Louis U belong in an Atlantic Conference(A-10)? Not really….but.. it served its purpose. Now it’s time to “move on”. My personal choice would be the Missouri Valley Conference. Already, the MO Valley Headquarters are in St LOUIS!!! Teams include—(in no particular order)—MO State Univ, So. Illinois Univ, Indiana State, Illinois State, Murray State, N. Dakota Univ, N.Dakota St Univ; S. Dakota Univ; S.Dakota St Univ; Northern Iowa, Youngstown State Univ. 11 schools…heck Add SLU.. make it 2 divisions! Yes…the 4 Dakota teams are a trip….but … they’ve been traveling all the way to the East Coast in the A-10 for most of the games in the past few years so they are accustom to travel. With the Dakota schools so close, it could work out to be a 2-game trip to that area. Further you’d only have 1 long trip/year up North! One year to N.Dakota to play those 2 teams( N.Dakota & N.Dakota St), next year go to S.Dakota(similar 2 team trip). Climbing to REACH THE SUMMIT in that league might be more attainable. Wins & championships may draw more high level players to play for SLU.

…Well…I’ve reached the end(you’re probably thinking—finally!!)….you’ll have to determine if I REACHED THE SUMMIT in your interest level 😊  Thanks for taking your time to read it! YOUR thoughts on any of the topics are ALWAYS invited. Send it to my email..rjryansr@charter.net or through Messenger on Facebook. Or…just post it on my Facebook page (Bob Ryan) If you enjoyed it, pass the word to friends, family, co-workers!