In our daily lives, all kinds of interactions, exchanges & ideas pass us. Some Seem to FLY RIGHT PAST US!  Take a peek at some that may have FLOWN RIGHT PAST US!

…the MLB is in the playoffs right now—the League Championship series. I think that the MLB will have to modify their post-season schedule. Either start it earlier or shorten each of the series. It’ll be darn close to Halloween before we have a MLB champion this year. Too LATE!

….Some of the post-season things that may have FLOWN RIGHT PAST US is the number of ex-Cardinals in the post-season (with other teams)… Marcell Ozuna  & John Brebbia (Atl Braves), Matt Bowman (Balt Orioles),Lane Thomas (Clev Guardians), Jason Heyward (Hou Astros); Paul DeJong- Tommy Pham – Michael Wacha ( all on KC Royals); Tommy Edman, Jack Flaherty & Joe Kelly (all LA Dodgers); On NY Mets–Harrison Bader , Adam Ottavino and Jose Quintana;  Luke Weaver (NY Yankees); Edmundo Sosa (Phil Phillies) & Donovan Solano (SD Padres. Now many of them were NOT the stars of the team but Edman is starting for LA almost daily (while the Cards couldn’t seem to find an “every-day” place for him. Flaherty is close to becoming the ace in LA Dodger off-season. Meanwhile, Quintana is still starting post-season games.

…. It seemed like he pitched for us decades ago. You remember that night, it was Quintana’s game of his life and he was yanked out by our rookie manager(at the time)-Mr Marmol with a  quick hook. Then the Cardinals blew the lead & lost. The ex-Cards listed above could field a competitive team. Clearly, it seems to me, they would beat the current Cardinals lineup. And….that’s not ALL of the Ex-Cards still playing MLB ball. It’s only the ones in the playoffs!!

…Maybe you were busy and the MU Game FLEW RIGHT BY YOU yesterday.…The unbelievable return by Brady Cook to lead the Tigers past Auburn 21-17 will become part of Tiger folklore. Removed from the game due to an ankle injury, designated by medical staff as “unlikely to return” at 12:50pm. The Mizzou Tigers fell behind the 2-4 Auburn Tigers. Cook was being carted around the campus by the medical staff-finally ending up in a hospital room waiting for x-rays. Meanwhile, a 47 yd TD pass by Auburn & a muffed punt by Luther Burden recovered in the end zone, saw MU fall behind 17-3.Cook & the training staff were frantically trying to find a way to make him “good” again. Finally…it came down to the trainers finding a way. He hurried back to Faurot field passing several surprised, confused fans along the way. After a brief warm up, he returned to “live” action. Mookie Cooper, after dropping an easy short pass, Cooper caught a ball that Cook threw on a “line”, who caught it, broke a tackle and went 78 yds down to the 2 yard line. MU punched it across as the 4^th quarter began—and Cook ran for the 2 pt conversion. Tigers back in it now!! The “key” play on the 95 yd drive was a 4^th/5 yd to go, Cook eluded a blitz and converted with Burden for a 1^st down. A sharp pass to Theo Wease got the ball deep into Auburn territory. Then 2 short, hard runs by running back, Jamal Roberts (yes..the Jamal Roberts from St Marys HS) took the ball deep. Roberts crossed the goal line on the next running play a – 4yd run with only 46 seconds left! A great win for Mizzou! It was a terrific come-back win but keep in mind, Auburn is 0-4 in the SEC and 2-5 overall. MU has Alabama & Oklahoma for their next 2 opponents. Let’s enjoy this one .. and worry about the next 2 weeks as the arrive.

…It’d be easy to see this one could easily have FLOWN RIGHT PAST US!  The KC Royals unbelievable turnaround in the AL Central. The Royals finished in last place in 2023…now, they sit in 1^st place in ‘24! They have used strong pitching and very good defense to win in 2024. One of their key pitchers has been Michael Wacha! Wacha was written off by the Cards after the 2019 season when he posted a 6-7 record & a bloated 4.67 ERA. In the last 4 years, he’s dotted the rosters of  NY Mets-2020; Tampa Bay Rays-2021; Boston-2022; San Diego-2023 and now this year landed on the KC Royals roster. Why? How? Did he change….1) he made a “change up” his primary “out” pitch; 2) with his years of experience, he now is comfortable adjusting to each batter in each situation. 3) Finally, but not to be overlooked, his confidence & skills in different situations and different strategic uses of his wide range of pitches have been extended & boasted by the Royals staff. Manager Matt Quatraro has been the manager who has ignited this “turnaround”. He gained experience as an Ast Coach for the TB Rays last year. Remember his name—he’ll be moving “up” in the MLB circles to a team with a larger pay chest.

…FLYING RIGHT PAST US In College Football… the military football teams aren’t expected to excel. After all, many star players don’t want to commit to “time” in the military after completing college. Thus far, this has been a special year…it’s PROBABLY FLIES RIGHT PAST US!  As I write this on Thursday, both Army (7-0) & Navy (6-0)are undefeated on the football field!  The last time that Army held 7-0 was 1996. Not only have they won all 7 games… they’re ranked in the Top 25 (a rare treat for Army) and they own the current longest winning streak in the USA with 11 consecutive wins! Showing their preparedness, Army has scored TD on each of its 1^st possessions of every game this year! Army has only appeared in the national rankings just four times in the last 30 years: 1996, 2018, 2020, and 2024

 ….Jeff Monken is in his 11th season at the helm of Army West Point football. He took the job, being named the 37th individual head coach in program history on Dec. 24, 2013. Monken holds a 108-71 career record as a HC and a 70-55 mark @ Army. Coaching football is clearly in his blood. A dozen of Monken’s family members, including his father, Mike, and brother, Tom, have coached football at the high school, college, or professional level!

…I suspect that most of college football FLIES RIGHT PAST US.  Take Indiana, known for its basketball for decades, is shining on the gridiron this fall.  1^st year HC Curt Cignetti has led the Hoosiers to a 7-0 mark. That’s good…but when you realize the Indiana had only 9 wins in the last 3 seasons combined, it takes on a different tilt. BTW…currently Indiana is ranked #16 . Further, Indiana is tied for 1^st place in the Big 10. The last time that the “Hoosiers” won or tied for 1^st place in the Big 10 football conference was 1967. Indy Football has only finished over .500 only ONE TIME since 1994!   Cignetti is the first-year Hoosiers head coach that you will want to follow  now and probably in the  future as he’ll climb the coaching ladder.

….THE NFL  USUALLY FLIES RIGHT PAST US. Most StL sports fans have waved goodbye with the 1 finger salute to them. But….there’s an interesting development in the NFL this year. The only unbeaten team is the Minnesota Vikings with a 5-0 record in the NFC North Division. But…maybe even more astonishing is that all 4 teams in the NFC-North hold winning records!! The Detroit Lions are 4-1 while Chicago Bears & Green Bay Packers are tied for 3^rd place with 4-2 records! Now if those 2 teams (Bears & Packers) were in ANY other division, it’d look like this…in the NFC South, they’d be tied for 1^st place; in the NFC West, they’d be in 1^st place; in the NFC East, they’d be tied for 1^st place! This is ironical because for much of the last 20ish years, the NFL North was viewed as the “weak sister” of the league!!

….IT DID JUST FLEW RIGHT PAST US is the weekly view of the KC Chiefs. Clearly, they have been adopted by the Lou as “their team”. I mean they are in 1^st place & unbeaten….so we’re just jumping on the wagon. According to Nielsen, which measures viewership, the KC Chiefs were involved in the 7 most-watched programs shown on St. Louis TV in the year that runs from last year’s Super Bowl through the one this past Sunday.

…But….with all that being said….Patrick Mahomes doesn’t appear to be playing, passing at the same incredible rate as past years.  According to NFL statistics, Mahomes is ranked 13^th in NFL in passing yards, has thrown the 2nd most interceptions( some them really, really bad). He’s ranked 17th in QB Rating even behind Gardner Minshew.( who’s he?). He also had “only” 40 or so rushing yards thus far which is low for him. Some KC day-day observers note that “He just doesn’t pass the eye test like last year when his stats were hurt by bad WR play.” To me his timing appears “off kilter” on the medium range passes and deep passes are being used very judicially. Each game, it seems HC Andy Reid dials up a “special” play to a very speedy receiver that Mahomes “hits” for a TD. Several times, they are short passes that the receiver turns into a gigantic gain due to his tremendous speed. Despite his flashy behind the back passes, sidearm passes, etc, I hate to say it but Mahomes just doesn’t look to have the same high quality passes in ’24 as he did in ’23!

….It’s easy for NCAA basketball news to FLY RIGHT BY US at this time of the year (as practice begins). Virginia’s Men Head Basketball Coach, Tony Bennett, announced his retirement just a few days ago only 3 weeks before the 24-25 season begins. Don’t know this guy? Most of us probably don’t. He coaches M-Basketball in the ACC and is & was overshadowed by other well-known ACC coaches—Dean Smith, Coach K (Duke), Jim Larranaga(Miami)- 38 years and yet he’s posted 712 wins.  From 2014 to 2023, in addition to winning the 2019 national title, Virginia won the ACC 6 times. Duke and UNC combined to win 4 regular season titles in that same time frame. Virginia won on its highly developed team & individual defense—Bennet demanded it! Apparently, more than 1 “super star” walked away from him because “defense wasn’t their thing”!!

….Apparently, this last recruiting season was too much for Bennett. According to an ACC source, Bennett isn’t alone in his distaste of the recruiting process. Reportedly, one high-major coach called a reporter last week. The same one who asked last winter if I’d heard the rumor of Bennett’s retirement and said he wasn’t that surprised. “This last recruiting cycle was awful,” he said. So much lying from players and agents — both transfers and high schoolers. So much posturing for more & more money.”  Ugh….that sounds like a very, very  ugly scene for the NCAA basketball scene!

…As Always, Thank YOU for your time, read & response!  Put your response on my Facebook page or send directly to me & I’ll post it. I do include your name (just so you know). Have a SUPER week…don’t let it FLY RIGHT BY YOU!!  Bob