In the World of Sports…like the real World…change is constant. It’s the way that it’s always been…and I guess… the way it always will be.  THE QUESTION IS…pops up frequently with theses changes.

…What a phenomenal semifinal football game between Notre Dame & Penn State! It really lived up to the high expectations of a National Semi-Final. If you missed, ND kicked the winning FG as the clock expired! It was Penn St in 1^st half, ND in the 2^nd half. The stats tell the story of the competitive nature of the game—Total yards: ND 383, PSU 343; Rushing yards: ND 116, PSU 204; Passing yards: ND 267, PSU 139 First downs: ND 23, PSU 20  Time of possession: ND 30:04, PSU 29:49  Penalties: ND 4-31, PSU 5-44. The play of ND QB Riely Leonard ( 15 of 23 passing, 223 yards, along with some key gains on running plays in the 4^th quarter) was especially good in the 4^th quarter.   Penn St took the lead 24-17 with 7:55 left in the game. Soph cornerback Christian Gray set up Notre Dame’s game-winning drive when he intercepted a pass from Penn State’s Drew Allar with 33 seconds remaining on the Penn State 42-yard line. ND drove down to the Penn State 24-yard line to set up the game-winning field goal as the buzzer sounded. It was REALLY A SUPER GAME!!

…the 2^nd semifinal game between Texas & Ohio State was another SUPER game. Both teams saw their offenses move the ball in spurts against the opponents strong defenses. The passing game for each team was almost identical.  Ohio State(Will Howard-QB) passed was 24 for 33, 289 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT. Texas QB  Quinn Ewers  was 23 for 39, 283 yard, 2 TD, 1 INT. But…some key plays made the difference. On the very 1^st possession, Ohio State ran & passed their way down the field for a TD. Then there was a stretch (a long stretch) where the Buckeyes halted Texas’ offense and Ohio State moved the ball but stopped themselves with penalties.  Texas scored late in 2^nd period but Ohio State’s star running back Treyvon Henderson turned an innocent looking screen pass into a 75 yard TD with some sharp cuts, following his blocking & speed! It was 14-7 Buckeyes @ half. The Longhorns tied it in the 3rd quarter with a 26 yd TD pass from Quinn Ewers to Jayden Blue. But, the Buckeyes controlled the 4^th quarter, scored 2 TD’s and set themselves up for the national championship game against Notre Dame. The two semifinal contests were exactly what the NCAA had hoped to see. The QUESTION IS….why did it take them so long to establish a “true” champion in football?  They’ve had a  champion in every other sports for decades.

….the Biggest change, from my perspective, in college sports is the introduction of NIL donations. NIL is an acronym for Name, Image, Likeness. In theory, donors can donate to the NIL Collaborative who in turn distributes it to the players of their choice. Donors may include– Individuals, alumni, and businesses who donate money to the collective. I realize that for decades donors have used their donations to influence College Sports….maybe hiring a coach, firing a coach, rewarding players, etc.

…The players agree to  the deals established for them in possible endorsements, appearance &/or social media posts. Occasionally, the player is compensated for posting on social media or attending promotional events. The university may NOT pay the player directly. So…the Collective operates independently in the payment process while still be affiliated with the school.  The collective then identifies potential NIL opportunities for athletes and negotiates deals with businesses. While often closely connected to the school, the collective operates independently from the university to comply with NCAA regulations. The top 15 NIL collectives listed below are estimated to spend over $200 million combined in 2024 according to calculations Yet…you can bet that the school athletic department is well aware of the decisions of the Collaborative.

…we’re not talking “chump change” here. About a year ago, news spread on the MU campus about a $62 million donation to the Missouri athletic department from an anonymous donor. The record-setting donation doubled the previous largest donation to the university’s athletic department. $50 million of the gift is to be spent on the renovations to Memorial Stadium; the other $12 million is to go to the Tiger Fund, an entity that is the NIL arm of the University of Missouri.

….The most extreme example of NIL is the Oregon University Collaborative. Oregon, at 1 time, had $969m in their Collaborative, now they have $10.6m in the fund. I can’t say for sure with accuracy that it all went to athletics.  But… you can bet that a “good chunk” did.  Nike founder Phil Knight is the primary reason that the Ducks have one of the nicest football facilities in the country and are lapping others in NIL resources. Knight, a university alumnus, has given more than $1 billion back to Oregon over the past two decades! (Not all of it was NIL money). That played a big role in Oregon ending up in the NCAA Football Playoffs.

…now …with all that money flowing to the player to play for such & such University, THE QUESTION IS …just how are these athletes called amateurs?   They are being paid to play!!

…along the same NCAA road, some say that REVENUE SHARING is the next step for the college athletes. Again…I say in an even  stronger way….NCAA D-1 players in football & basketball (probably more) are NOT amateur athletes. D-2 & D-3 athletes are still the only true “amateurs”.

…Moving on… The Cardinals are in a predicament with Nolan Arenado.  Arenado has clearly stated that he wants to be traded…but not just traded…traded to a “good” team. Since the Cards are trying to unload this salary as they “reset”.  Arenado still has 3 year remaining on his 9 year $275m deal that he signed with the Rockies (who are still covering $10m of the deal). At this point, he’s still owed $74m on the last 3 seasons of his contract.  Excluding the strike year 2020 in all these stats…Arenado had the fewest HR in 2024 (16) since his rookie year (10); in the 4 years with the Cards, Arenado posted 3 of his lowest 4 batting average years. btw.. Colorado traded him after his 2020 lowest batting mark  of his career — .253. In 2024, Arenado posted the LOWEST SLUG % OF HIS CAREER–.394! Arenado, who is owed $74 million over the next three seasons, has a full no-trade clause in a contract originally signed with the Rockies.   Sooo…  the decline  is obvious—it began in Colorado ….and  yet we traded for him!! ….THE QUESTION IS..how do the Cardinals refute the feeling across the MLB that Arenado is ALREADY declining and has been for a few years.  Take a look at the difference between 2021 (his 1^st year as a Cardinal vs last year-2024)…In 2021- Arenado had 34 HR, in 2024-it was 16;  in 2021- it was 105 RBI vs 2024- it was 71 RBI; in 2021 his OPS was .807; in 2024 it was .719. In his 2 post-season years with the Cards, Arenado has suffered… he’s 1 for 12 at the plate; no extra base hits;  OPS-.385

When the Cardinals decided to “reset”, they knew Arenado would be challenging to unload due to his contract.

…. To get it “done”… the Cardinals will have to a) either reduce the level of the  player(s) that they accept  or b) send along money…plenty of money, or both!! The Cards new “reset” looks very wobbly to me right now. Arenado, who is owed $74 million over the next three seasons, has a full no-trade clause in a contract originally signed with the Rockies. As this “possible trade” evolves, the Cardinals will have to swallow more of the salary than they anticipated. THE QUESTION IS for the Cards, why are they surprised that other MLB teams aren’t interested in an aging, over-paid player, declining player? What did they expect?

…. you thought the crowds in 2024 were practically nonexistent…just wait to what you’ll see in 2025. The “reset” may get us to .500 (like last year) but I don’t see the Redbirds contending for a playoff spot. I still feel like the DeWitts are positioning themselves to sell the team (as I said about 18 months ago). Strip the team of their assets so that you can lower the asking price of the team.

…St Louis U’s basketball Coach, Josh Schertz has left an early positive impression. He left Indiana State where he had a tremendous record. He led the Sycamores to a 32-7 record last year and a 66-40 record over his 3 years as head coach. It was the Best record @ Ind State in 44 years! He owns a career record of 407–112 (.784).  Schertz was named the 2024 MVC Coach of the Year and was recently tabbed the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year, which is presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball. His team finished 2^nd in the Missouri Valley Conf and 2^nd in the MVC post-season tournament losing 84-80 to Drake in Championship game. Having watched a game on TV some observations….SLU uses a motion offense (which is most popular these days) with the only oddity being that his tallest man 6-10, Robby Avila, often plays on the top of the key.  Schertz also brought in a talented perimeter shooter,  Isiah Swope. I haven’t seen Schertz yelling AT the players, he’s constantly teaching, modifying the strategy, looking for better match-ups offensively & defensively. The Billikens got a good one!!!  It seems to me that SLU made a good, probably…very good choice  to have Schertz lead the Billikens. THE QUESTION IS….. how will teams adjust to his style, personnel and how long can the Billikens keep Schertz? ANOTHER QUESTION IS….  He’s good…can the Billikens hold onto this valuable Coach for more than a 2-3 year stint. He moved on from Indiana State after 3 years.

… This weekend, SLU upended a solid team, St Bonaventure, in an impressive 73-68 victory . The best Outside shooter on the Billikens,  Gibson Jimerson scored a game-high 28 points(including six 3-pointers). It was a very good win since the Bonnies carried a 14-1 record into the game! MY QUESTION IS….is there no limit to how many years a player can compete or how old they may be to compete in college basketball? Jimerson is in his 6^th season of playing college basketball! He’s 25 years old….Many incoming Frosh are 18 years old….I guess that he IS better—he’s 6 or 7 years older than most college students! He’s now played in 148 collegiate basketball games with about 20 more left on the schedule.

….the SEC is always, or so it seems, telling us about the strength of their football program.  I think that they’re missing the boat. The SEC is a powerhouse in Men’s Basketball! As I write this, here are the top 10 rankings of SEC teans… @#1 Tennessee   #2 Auburn   #5 Alabama   #6 Kentucky #8 Florida  #10 Texas A&M. There are 6 SEC teams in the Top 10!! THE QUESTION MIGHT BE…why isn’t SEC basketball “played up”.  My thought is that the South is just Football Crazy. Hence, the success of the Football team means more to the Southerners than basketball does. Your thought?

…Further, the SEC has 4 teams in the top 10 of Women Basketball—S.Carolina is #2, Texas #5, LSU is #6, Oklahoma is #10.

…ya know, I often hear Blues fans talk about our 1 & only Stanley Cup Win. My QUESTION IS…how many NHL teams have NEVER won the Cup?  Here goes… Buffalo Sabres-Total playoff appearances: 29;

Vancouver Canucks-Total playoff appearances: 29;  San Jose Sharks-Total playoff appearances: 21;

Arizona Coyotes-Total playoff appearances: 20; Ottawa Senators-Total playoff appearances: 16;

Nashville Predators-Total playoff appearances: 16; Minnesota Wild-Total playoff appearances: 13;

Winnipeg Jets-Total playoff appearances: 8; Columbus Blue Jackets-Total playoff appearances: 6;

Brooklyn Americans-Total NHL appearances: 5  Both of the following had a total of 2 playoff appearances– Cleveland Barons & Philadelphia Quakers.  Seattle Kraken has 1 playoff appearances. I guess that we should really feel lucky about our 2019 Stanley Cup. MY QUESTION IS….why is it so hard to “spread around” the Stanley Cup? The weakest teams get the best draft picks soooo…they should be getting best young players. Maybe the development of those players takes varied amounts of time to “mature” as a player and the team doesn’t “mesh” simultaneously. With a tight financial cap, it should really spread around the Stanley Cup. The NHL & the NFL not only has an upper cap but a lower cap (which the MLB does NOT have) For the 2024-25 season, the upper limit is $88 million and the lower limit is $65 million. That’s a fairly narrow amount of money in professional sports. Maybe that’s why the NHL teams seem closer in ability to each other.

…Thanks for your read!  Any of your thoughts are invited….either a) post directly on my Facebook page-Bob Ryan or b) send to me & I’ll post it for you on my Facebook page.