We don’t have a subway in the Lou but most big cities do have one.  Let’s hop on board for a “special” ride…

As we start down the aisle, we hear 2 men in a loud discussion. They are on different sides of the question…should there be All-Star games in the Professional sports world?  Bill says basically—“they are the best—let’s see them compete against each other”. Then Justin says, “Oh hell, Billy, we see them 3-4-5 times a week already! We’ve seen enough of them. Plus, some of the players really “dog” it during the All-Star game. Hell, the NFL has already gone to non-contact flag football event, rather than tackle football. What a joke!! Of course, I could give a DAMN less about that too!” What do you think? Billy & Justin had both said the “piece” so they both fell silent & waited for the ride to end.

…moving down the aisle, Harold had just finished his “rush read” through the newspaper when George asks, “did you see the list of the top 50 MLB players right now?  Harold shook his head “yes”. No surprise in the top 3—Ohtani, Judge & Witt! I was a bit surprised that there weren’t any Cardinals listed in the top 50! Harold chuckled, then responded, “Boy, you are a HOME Town boy! Did you see that Marcel Ozuna was rated as the 5^th best player in the MLB? But….he wasn’t good enough for the Cardinals, was he? I mean this year he batted .309, hit 39 HR, drove in 104 runs. His OPS (on base+slugging %) was .925!!  Your Cardinals were led by Brendan Donovan with a .759 OPS. That’s why the Cardinals are losing….they’ve released, failed to sign, traded away any one good players with a salary above the norm! The entire Braves team, combined, had an OPS of .724—THE ENTIRE TEAM!! George just shook his head & looked out the window! Both Harold & George knew that the discussion was over as they saw their STOP coming up.

…I moved on down the aisle….two older gentlemen were in a mild discussion that focused around soccer… specifically STL CITY soccer. The one closest to the window (Francis) turned towards his long time friend (William). They were both in agreement that StL City had started the process of improving the team. Francis says in a mild, soft tone, ”William, ya know that they’ve improved. Naming Hackworth the Coach has led them to changing their system. They’re not just running around madly chasing the ball any longer. They were 7-7-3 under Hackworth so there was some progress. William smiled,” Boy…you’re a REAL fan… rain or shine. The new guys that they brought in have generally been much better than the old guys. That attacking trio of Marcel Hartel, Simon Becher and Cedric Teuchert  have caught my eye since their mid-season arrival. This same discussion had been going down the same tracks for weeks now….sooo… each looked at each other & smiled! They each knew that they were  generally in agreement… so why not enjoy the ride!

…3 seats behind Francis & William were Jacob & Ethan. They were young adults on their way to work. Jacob, a huge Mizzou fan, started the conversation with his favorite topic—Mizzou Football. Jacob started off the conversation bubbling with enthusiasm as he started the conversation. “This season was the 1st season since 2010 that the Tigers went undefeated at home and the first season since 1979 that each home game was sold out. The Tigers also set a record for most wins at home during a season with 7 wins. Francis had heard this previously but just smiled and pretended that it was “new to him”. Finally, Francis blurts out, “it REALLY wasn’t that special” Jacob turned & stared at him in disbelief. “What do you mean?” Ethan ready for that response, “ No Playoffs” That was the hopes…and frankly the expectations for 2024! But…the Tigers got their butts blown away by 65 points against Texas A&M & Alabama and S.Carolina sank the HIGH BOWL boat with its win. Can’t make the playoffs with 3 losses! Jacob, now very animated, shouts out… “9 WINS in a season and you’re NOT happy?”  Ethan, turned towards him and says,” this isn’t a 10 game schedule any more….there are 12 games…9 wins is good…3/4 of the season are wins…but it isn’t like 10 years ago when there were 10 games! Jacob looks straight ahead and blurts out, “we’re here…let’s go”

….the sports “talk” continued to spread throughout the subway.  Owen, normally a very quiet passenger, looked straight ahead as the said to Eddie, “What do you think about Luther Burden turning pro?”  Eddie’s eyebrows turn up, he smirks, then says, “I’m not so sure that he’s going to make it in a big way”.  He can run but….heck…every wideout, def back can run like him in the NFL. I just don’t know. Owen was a bit surprised as the said,” He can really DO it once he gets the ball”. Eddie frowned and said, “Maybe so…but I’m not so sure”….as he turned to look out  the window. That ended the very brief discussion!!!

…Harold & George had “sat out” their discussion when suddenly George turns towards Harold and says, “WHAT are the Cards going to do with Arenado?” He’s hard to trade with that $74m still remaining on his contract through 2027.Harold sits up straight, this question has interested him, “ Well…..I’ve read that the Cards would like to make him part of a package with Helsley to the Red Sox. Further, the Cards would send young RHP Gordon Graceffo & $15 million to help offset Arenado’s huge contract. The Cards would receive SS Yoeilin Cespedes and RHP Richard Fitts.” These guys are said to be “in the top 2 prospects in the Red Sox system. Cespedes is ranked No. 7 and Fitts No. 13. George shakes his head….”I just can’t see Boston going for him”. Harold retorts, “WHY NOT?”  Arenado will be able to hit ‘em over the Green Monster with some frequency and Helsley is the key man that they want. He was unbelievable last year. And…you know how it works with these “top prospect”, it seems to me, that only 3 out of 10  top“prospects” actually become good MLB players. George still frowns….well… maybe….and…the Red Sox could use another “big name” to draw fans” but Arenado carries along a huge salary when considering his current “output”. They reach their stop.. and hop off in a hurry.

…sitting way in the back were Oliver & Liam as they were discussing St. Louis U mens basketball. Oliver wasn’t pleased with the early 5-3 record. He began venting, “I mean…I thought this team was going to be good. That new coach brought in all kinds of new players but…they look the same to me! Who have they beaten? Avila was an NAIA team, U-Mass Lowell-whose heard of them…and the Billikens had to fight to hang on for a 3 pt win! They  beat Jackson State & Quinnipiac who are both still looking for the 1^st win after 8 games! Loyola-Marymont isn’t at .500! Liam looked straight @ Oliver…”look, they’ve got a new coach, mostly a completely new roster, you can’t “mesh” together in practice like you can in a game. Let’s give a chance….they were picked 4^th in the pre-season Coaches poll of the A-10! Oliver scornfully looked back at this friend and said, “I’m tired of it….first they go to the Conference USA then it’s the A-10.…I’d really like to see them back in the MO Valley like they were for years! Liam shot back,” get with it….it’s about money! The A-10 has higher overall competitive level, more consistent NCAA Tournament bids. Come on…the MO valley is “small time”.  Oliver, now aggravated, folded his arms, put them on his chest, say quietly waiting his “Stop” to get off.

…sitting up in the front were Curt & Glen. They were focused on getting off the subway in a hurry. They had some HW to complete at school (like usual). But…suddenly…Curt blurts out,”How about Creighton”. Glen frowns, the shakes his head….”who? what did they do?”. Curt turns his head and looks right @ Glen & says, “All Creighton did was beat the #1 team in the country-Kansas- 76-63 last night! Burt shakes his head, “everyone gets lucky once in awhile”. Glen turns his head & looks right at his best friend, “Whatta you mean lucky?  Last year they beat # 1 Connecticut 85-66. That was UConn’s last loss before winning 13 in a row on their way to its 2nd straight national title! Glen still smirks, “ It doesn’t matter really!  You gotta beat the #1 team when it really counts…the NCAA Tourney. Curt ignores the comment with a response, “On top of it, Creighton has a Stl Louis player… Ryan Kalkbrenner. He’s a 7-1 dude! He played at some Catholic school in N. County….what was it… ohhh… It was Rosary HS. Glen says, “you’re right it WAS Rosary…it’s closed now.” Feeling like that statement ended the conversation, he looked out the window.

….Sitting in the back were Loretta & Caroline…2 avid sports fans.  Loretta,” I just don’t get it…we tolerate mistakes in EVERY sport! Caroline knew the path that Loretta was going so, she responded, “It won’t change. It’s too entrenched”. Loretta, frustrated, blurted out, “Why can’t they eliminate umpires…go to electronic play callers” Why let people change the game with bad calls? Use the electronic strike zone, the close plays on the bases, foul/fair hit balls. Why tolerate human error?  Caroline refrained from jumping on her friend verbally, she responded, “all games are played by humans so mistakes occur in every game.  Soooo….let the officials be humans and make some mistakes too. It’s a part of the game”. They stood up, got out of their seats because they knew that the route was almost over.

….Speaking of closing….the Driver, Yells out, “Everyone OUT…we’re at the end of the line”

Hope that you had a good ride…. I’d like to know which “arguments” you agree with or disagree with!  You’re not limited to 1 discussion 😊

…btw…My schedule has been “thrown off” due to circumstances beyond my control….. so don’t know exactly when the next one is coming out…Hopefully a week from Monday.