Every Day, Troy, Owen, & Glen walked to school together. Sometimes 3 across but usually Troy walked 1 (or more) steps behind the leader, Owen. Being  4 years younger, it made Troy’s strides shorter. Sports was usually the topic…as it was in this day.

…Owen started the talking after just as few short strides with, “They gotta fire Marmol. Glen shook his head forward & backward in acknowledgment. Troy, in his usual role, disagreed. “The Cards used most of the 2^nd half bringing up their prospects and evaluating them. In July alone, they made 44 player personnel moves. August was about the same!  44 personnel moves in a month is a LOT! It was the “official” try out for those Cardinals on the fringe. Marmol had a minor league team in 4-5 positions on the field on many days. How could he win? Owen walked a little faster so he wouldn’t have to answer Troy!

…after a couple dozen paces, Glen, wanting to change the topic, said,”Can’t figure it….Mizzou AD, Desiree Reed-Francois  basically quit to go to Arizona!  Moving from a SEC school to a …heck…I don’t even know their conference…I think they’re moving to the Big 12. Troy giggled….calling those schools the “BIG” 12 or BIG anything is like saying that cartoons are real 😊 Owen always wanted to stay in “charge” sooo..he responded with a “strong” voice. Well….she did take a pay-cut I guess it’s fair to say that she thought they was a “movement” to fire her. Glen piped in,” she could see it coming…there were “rumors” about some of her “moves”… then the possibility of returning closer to home @ Arizona became a factor. He continued, “ Hey man….this isn’t anything new… @ Mizzou AD’s come & go…remember Mack Rhoades jumped to Bayler about 8 years ago…then less than 3 years later Jim Sterk was pushed out. Maybe MU doesn’t REALLY seem to know what they want! Maybe she saw it happening…in the past year, clear signals were sent by the curators who wanted more influence, involvement & power! Maybe..just maybe… she saw the writing on the wall and beat them to the punch by moving out when SHE wanted! Owen, who rarely agreed with his younger siblings, HAD to agree!!

…..Troy wanted to change the topic again, he didn’t like this “off the field/court” stuff. Hey man….how could Mizzou basketball be so good last year and so crappy this year? Glen, increased his walking speed to get closer then said, “ I know why”. Both of his older brothers shook their head & laughed…sure you do… Sooo what is it “Big  Boy?” Troy, took a deep breath, he was “ON THE SPOT”, he knew that he’d better be good or that he’d hear about it all week long! He took a deep breath and started, “Well…last year, he shocked everyone!  With all new players, Coach Gates adopted the run & shoot philosophy with 3 pointers being not only accepted but expected! The 23-8 record last year was FAR beyond the expectations. Owen jumped in,” yea…yea…but what about this year”? Troy took a deep breath, it was “make or break” time for him on this walk. Well, this years team has been bit by the injury bug. Look at it..Caleb Grill has been out for 10 games or more….he had a deadly 3-pt shot, was very aggressive on defense & caused turnovers. Man…he just had that “toughness” that most players don’t have. After just 2 games, Tigers lost Jr guard Kaleb Brown. Gates had called him the Most Improved Player from the previous year. Owen knew that there were 3-4 other guys but he couldn’t remember them either! Suddenly, the thought ran through his mind….if he couldn’t remember them—how good were they? The guys marched faster on towards school for a momentary break as their talking had slowed them down.

…Owen wanted more Cardinal talk. He starts saying, over & over again…”we’re not good enough”, “we’re not good enough…….yada-yada-yada”…Finally, he says…”OK,OK…the Cards just got 3 ol’ guys to pitch in ’24 but will the really make a difference?  The Cards pitching stinks….we were 29^th (30 teams) in Hits/9 inn; 27^th in WHIP & last in our division; and 24^th in team ERA (4^th in our Division). Those Cards…

….Glen suddenly took charge of the conversation, he loudly said (almost shouting),”Forget about Card baseball for 1 second! What about something right now like… Creighton basketball? They just Kicked  #1 UConn’s butt….85-66. This wasn’t a “sneak by you” win, Creighton led from the opening tip and held 14 pt halftime advantage. After a UConn rally, Creighton held the Huskies to 1 FG in the last 8  possessions as they stretched their lead with an 11-2 run. Glen had to agree…an upset of any kind, was always exciting. He continued,” the NCAA-M basketball is wide open this year! Just last week, 4 of the top 7 teams — #2 Purdue, #4 Marquette, #6 Kansas and #7 North Carolina, all suffered defeats! I can’t wait until March Madness!!feeling left out, Glen added, “The Billikens defense stinks!” The Bills have allowed more than 80 points for the 12th time in the last 20 games. They don’t have that kind of offensive players to score 80 points themselves. Owen smiled, his little bro was “getting it”.

…the march to school continued! Troy always seemed to fall behind at this point of the walk. Glen sensed that was happening so he changed the topic,”

….Glen suddenly blurts out, “Hey Guys…did you see that Arch Manning probably WON”T be starting this year @ Texas!”  That made the other 3 guys stare at him with incredulous looks!! What do you mean they said collectively?  Glen, sensing the spotlight—savored the moment as he hesitated before saying,”The Mannings expected the ’23 QB Quinn Ewers to apply for the NFL draft (eliminating his college play). He shocked the college football world when he announced in January that he would return to Texas for the 2024 season. Sooooo(Glen really stretched out the word for emphasis), Arch Manning won’t be the #1 QB @ Texas…at least until he “beat out” Ewers to earn #1.  Troy suddenly blurted out,” Hey man…..do you REALLY think that the Mannings are going to let Arch sit around for a year?” Come on man…..get real. There will be some reason that he earns the #1 spot…just watch!!

…Suddenly the school building was on the horizon…Owen had just seen this in the morning paper,” I guess you guys already know that the NCAA-Football playoffs for 2024 that had a new format that is being changed before it’s even used!  A collective, “what?” came from the other 3 walkers. Owen, who like the spotlight, continued. “Well, due to all the conference changes, the NCAA Football committee has modified how the 12 teams will be chosen. Originally , the 12-team format was to have the six highest-ranked conference champions, with the top four teams receiving first-round byes, and six at-large selections would have the other 2 conference champions compete in the first round. But… with all the conference changes in size, the NCAA has gone to a 5-7 format. Those five slots will go to the highest-ranked conference champs as determined by the CFP selection committee, ensuring at least one team from outside the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12 and Southeastern Conference will make the 12-team field. Talk about being an “Outsider”!! Owen scoffed at the idea.

….It was now about 50 paces from the school yard, as usual, all the guys now tried remembering what was “due” from yesterday’s assignments!! They’d have 10 minutes in the cafeteria to get it done before moving to their classroom.  Editors note—Some things don’t Change!!!

….Thanks for your time & read! Your thoughts/comments are ALWAYS invited. Send to me or post on Facebook or my website—bobryansportsblog.com. Bob