We jump into 2026 quickly!! New Year’s often makes us reflect on the “big” picture. We have to TURN THE PAGE to different options in our life. Same in the sports world. As We look back on 2025, the good & bad, and hope for more of the good & less of the bad for 2026. So, let’s TURN THE PAGE to 2026!!

….the PAGE HAS BEEN TURNED …..Wilson Contreras is gone. A player who was “gushing” all over the press about how thrilled he was to be wearing the Redbird uniform upon his arrival a couple years ago. But the table has turned quickly as the Cardinals have changed course and now travel down the “reset” path.   It now seems that any player with 8 digits in their salary number is/or will be gone from the Cardinal roster. This is the “reset” approach. Cut as much money as possible in expenses. What’s the biggest expense? Player Salaries! Of course, when you cut expenses, you are removing your “star” players. Wondering if they’ll cut the prices of the tickets for the fans also?

…Last year’s 78 wins (which will be higher than the 2026 total) was the fewest wins since 2007 (also 78 wins). So, the Cardinals have fielded competitive teams for almost 20 straight years. The “reset” currently getting started will no doubt take us down a road of 2-3 (maybe 4 or 5 ) years of noncompetitive baseball in frankly the weakest division(by far) of the National League.

… Sure…the expenditures will sink….but so will fans interest. I still shudder when I think back to watching Card games on TV in 2025 and, seemingly, seeing just a couple thousand fans there. For the owners, it’s a business. For fans, it’s entertainment. If the team has doesn’t have any skill players that bring excitement to the game, and the team doesn’t win a good percentage of the times. Fans are not willing to spend their hard-earned money at attend. They will find other entertainment as they demonstrated last year. I think 2026 will be even worse, maybe, even much worse.

…SOME WANT TO TURN THE PAGE …Pittsburgh Steeler fans don’t know how good that have it. The Steelers just won their 9^th game and sit with a 9-6 record for 2025.  Mike Tomlin has coached the Pittsburgh Steelers for 19 seasons, starting in 2007, he holds the NFL record for the most consecutive non-losing seasons to start a coaching career, having never had a losing record in Pittsburgh. Despite that, some Steeler fans are chanting “Fire Tomlin” at Steeler home games. Are they spoiled or what?  Some day…they’ll be wishing that they still had Mike Tomlin on the sidelines!!!

….TURNED THE PAGE…college sports has completely shed its “amateur” status completely. I just read today that Mizzou had signed(Payed) one of their running backs to return for next year. When is the public going to learn the “salary” of these players or their academic status? (hours taken each semester, grades) Is it our business to know, one might ask?  Well, who’ paying them…..it’s the taxpayers.

…. CAN’T TURN THE PAGE….It appears that the former college academic standards have been completely wiped out. Like musical bands of decades ago, football & basketball players are paid simply for their performance. They are brought in to win. The claim is made publicly that the NIL money is being provided by boosters. If so…who are they? If it’s all so “legit” why don’t they make it public?  If it is legal (as it probably is), it appears now that taxpayers money is being spent to “keep players” from transferring. It’s a new world in collegiate sports…some of my readers & friends have told me to just accept it. It just seems so wrong to me that the public (who keep Mizzou open with taxpayer money) are exiled out of the decision-making sports world.

…TURNING THE PAGE to NATIONAL RECOGNITION… the Ohio St-Miami game shocked many fans (including me) yesterday. The #1 ranked Buckeyes faced the #10 ranked Miami team they were 10 point favorites. That’s a very high total for a post-season game. Miami had fought hard in a titanic defense battle to edge past Texas A&M 10-3. Boy…when is the last time you heard a winning team having scored just 10 points

,,, It was a miserable first quarter for Miami—they  looked overmatched. A big turnover in the 1^st quarter — when Buckeyes linebacker Payton Pierce forced running back Mark Fletcher Jr. to fumble in the red zone. After that— it was all Miami as they romped to a 24-14 win. The Hurricanes controlled the tempo, and after punting and fumbling on their first and second possessions. The game changed dramatically when Buckeye QB Sayin was intercepted by Miami defensive back Keionte Scott, who returned it for a 72-yard touchdown. Scott read the play perfectly and picked off Sayin’s screen pass to give his team a 14-0 edge. That play seemed to flip the game on its head. Ohio State had a chance to get points on the board just before halftime, but kicker Jayden Fielding missed a 49-yard field goal attempt. That was the 1st time the Buckeyes were held scoreless in the first half since the 2016 Fiesta Bowl against Clemson. Miami appeared to have more speed up & down the lineup on both sides of the ball. Don’t know when the last time was that Ohio State wrapped up their season with 2 straight losses!!

…TURNING THE PLAYOFF PAGE….A question that could come up ahead of the 2026 season: Is it worth it to get a first-round bye in the CFP? The first year of the 12-team playoff, all four teams that earned first-round byes LOST in the quarterfinals. I’m sure that we’ll see a 16 team football championship tournament sometime soon, probably before 2030 (that sounds a long way away doesn’t it? but it isn’t).

…CAN THEY TURN THE PAGE?  What IS wrong with the Blues? Now that the football season is close to winding down (..oh yea, I guess the Super Bowl is still on the horizon), we turn towards our Blues. It seems to be getting worse!! First of all, it’s NOT the coach! Our top players are not performing. Especially our “key” players (i.e. Jordan Kyrou & Pavel Buchnevich). Early in the season, the goal tending seemed wobbly but lately, the defense is giving up far too many “quality shots”.  I mean.. the NHL players are good, you just can’t give up quality shots the most NHL players and not expect a goal. I don’t watch every game but hockey experts, who do watch every game, seem to think that the effort just isn’t there every night!  There is absolutely NO excuse for lack of effort by any professional in ANY sport! In hockey, power plays have to be capitalized on frequently. The Blues “power play” doesn’t provide the percentage of powerplay goals expected of good teams. It’s already had an impact… with reports indicating they were that the Blues were among the worst in the league in attendance percentage despite being a traditional strong market. Most hockey experts (that surely doesn’t include me) felt that it was  largely due to the team’s  poor team performance. I sure hope so!!!!

….THEY STILL DO HAVE TO TURN THE PAGE…Most of us were satisfied with Mizzou football. They made a Bowl, albeit one of the earliest bowls.  Was does that mean?  Well… the current bowl system “builds up” as the bowl season unfolds. The weakest bowls start off the bowl season…and it builds to the final championship game. Playing in a very “early” bowl doesn’t say a great deal. Further, the Tigers NEVER beat ANY D-1 team that was over .500 for the entire season! Sooo… if we’re beating the sub-.500  or .500 teams only, how good are we?

….FINAL TURNING OF THE PAGE… Thanks for your read!  I really appreciate your thoughts (don’t worry about being “wrong”)….it’s YOUR thoughts, so YOU can’t be wrong. When possible, please spread the word to your sports friends & family. You can always find the current REWIND on www.bobryansportsblog.com. If you want older ones, go to my FACEBOOK(Bob Ryan) page! Have a great week!!  Bob