We live in a society where we repeatedly do the same job, same tasks, with the same friends, etc, etc. So, MORE OF THE SAME, is a part of our life. Take a look..

…It was MORE OF THE SAME at the Ball Park on opening day. The traditional opening day ceremony was very well received by the huge crowd (47,000+). The traditional car rides of each of the players around the field & reaching home plate as its final destination of home plate brought warm reactions from the crowd. The ownership also was on hand, several former players (many of them “favorites” of yesteryear). The crowd was very responsive & energetic as they welcomed each car delivering them up to home plate. It was a terrific ceremony!! Despite all the rumors & refusals over the winter, Arenado received warm “welcomes” from the crowd. John Mozeliak seemed particularly engaged with the players & former players in his final opening day. Then…the Cardinals won the game 5-3. CF Victor Scott made a dazzling catch in CF as he showcased his speed & coverage in the OF. Another parade of 6 pitchers on the mound included the “closing act” of  Ryan Helsley who closed out the win.  It’s a loooonnnnnggggg season but it was a terrific day to open up the 2025 season for the Cardinals.

…Looking around the MLB, I was struck by the article on Tommy Edman (former Cardinal). He just signed a 4 year, $64.5m contract with the Dodgers! His post-season numbers  of 2024 “sold” the Dodgers. He was the NLCS MVP batting .407/.393/.630 with 1 HR, 3 doubles & 11 Rbi’s. Then a .988 OPS in the World Series. Big hits in playoff time often leads a player to larger salary scales down the road. The Cards traded him just before his free agency year arrived for Eric Fedde & Tommy Pham.

…In case you’re wondering, Tommy Pham is now on this 10^th different MLB team! He’s been around since 2015 (skipping his 2 At bats in 2014). He plays hard & expects all of his teammates to do the same every day. Apparently, from what I can determine, his comments  to his teammates, is a factor in his continual movement.

….It’s really NOT MORE OF THE SAME for the St. Louis Blues, As I write this part of the Buzz on Wednesday, the Blues won their 8th straight game over  the Nashville Predators 3-2 last night. This “run” has really been unbelievable! The Blues moved five points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks for the 2nd wild card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs race in the Western Conference.  Dylan Holloway scored 2 goals, Robert Thomas had 2 assists while GK Joel Hofer made 16 saves for the Blues (39-28-7) in the win. Who would have thought that the Blues would ever win 8 in a row and move solidly into a playoff spot. Not only do the playoffs excite the fanbase, it also provides ownership with additional income.

…We all want MORE OF THE SAME for the Blues!! The Blues are playing with young, fast-flying forwards who can shoot & check. The Goalkeeping rotation has worked very well for the Blues. Jordan Bennington & Joel Hofer have found a rotation that isn’t always 1 in, 1 out but has been very solid. The defense is becoming more “offensive” oriented and they are checking aggressively. The last few games, the Blues have continued their win streak without, arguably, their best player-Colton Parayko.

…  The Blues are 14-2-2 since the season resumed after the 4 Nations Face-Off break.  Since that break, the Blues have outscored their opponents 73-40. No team in the NHL has more points or goals in that same time frame. Coach Jim Montgomery put it this way, “Everyone’s playing well: Our top line, our top six are scoring and playing defense,” Montgomery continued, “Our bottom six are scoring and hanging on to pucks and protecting pucks. Our defense has been really solid. The little details have been there throughout the lineup. Everybody’s doing it.” 

…One hockey moment was FAR from being MORE OF THE SAME—the emotional sendoff for St. Louisan, Pat Maroon was really special. Before the game, Maroon announced his retirement from the NHL after 14 seasons in a pregame interview.  In the 2nd period, at a break in the action, Blues fans stood up and cheered for Maroon who saluted the crowd. Both Blackhawks and Blues benches tapped their sticks on the boards. (a show of agreement). It was a  really emotional, very special moment, as the fans gave him a standing ovation again for several minutes. He was named as the Player of the Game (no matter what he did in this game he was going to receive this award!!). Maroon wore his strong emotions on his sleeve in the post-game interview. It really was a special moment.

…Of course, he had to have his mandatory fight in the game. The “Big Rig” just had to have his square off with Walker of the Blues. Maroon won’t remember who he fought against in his final scuffle. On the other hand, Walker will be telling his kids for years that he fought with one of the toughest fighters in the NHL in his final “brawl” in the NHL. It wasn’t really much of a fight. I think it was more for the fans than any “bad feelings” toward each other.

…His post-game interview on the Blues network was pure emotion. Saying goodbye is always tough  but … while playing in the highest hockey level in the world in front of his home town fans….it was pure emotion!! Btw…acting as a true StL native, he mentioned his HS, Oakville HS, in his talk.

…In the heat of the NCAA Tournament, we see many of the SAME teams from the SAME Conference. Take a look…  The 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Sweet 16 saw many of the SAME ol’ teams that we see annually. The most conference with the  most teams in the NCAA– 7 teams is the SEC. Further, 4 of the  SEC teams are either the #1 or #2 seed of their bracket. The Big Ten and Big 12 each have 4 teams in the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, the ACC, and the Big 12 have just a single team left.  

…It’s really not surprising that the SAME teams that brought in huge NIL money for football (SEC teams) have the table set for the donors for huge donations for basketball also.

…It’s MORE OF THE SAME that has taken severe turns in procuring college players at the highest levels in the past year or 2. The door has been knocked down for college players getting paid by the NIL approach—through the alumni. The approach of “reaching” prospects for football/basketball with NIL money will sooner or later (probably sooner) move to other sports. It’s my wish that these “contracts” become public. Why are these donors & players afraid to publish it.  Well….we really DO know why….the amount of money is overwhelming! The players at the highest levels of Football & Basketball are making several millions of dollars before playing 1 second or taking 1 class!! (If they still do that?)

…I’m wondering if all these transfers, changing schools to get more money, are fulfilling their academic requirements. The last I heard the minimum expected was 2.3 GPA with 12 hours a semester.  Further, these NCAA students must have completed the 16 NCAA-approved core courses for HS. Further they are to be registered in 8 academic semesters for 4 consecutive academic years from the start of the 9th grade

…St Louis U Basketball won their first game in the A-10 Tournament with an 83-75 win over Davidson.

Isaiah Swope scored 23 points to lead Saint Louis and Robbie Avila made a game-winning layup with 4.3 seconds/The Billikens fell in the next round to Loyola Chicago 72-64. That loss pushed the Billikens into the NIT Tournament. In the 1^st round game of the NIT, the Bills fell badly, 103-78, to Arkansas State. Despite the last game, the Billikens have set the table for us to expect MORE OF THE SAME GOOD PLAY (AND MORE) in the 2025-26  season.  HC Josh Schertz has already turned the ship around and should have the Billikens moving upward in the near future. His coaching style seems better equipped to “work with” the current players of today.

….Staying with basketball…but on a different level….Tyree Collins of St. Marys was named the 2024-25 Class 5 MO State Player of the Year &  2025 Class 5, 1st Team All State Player. He averaged over 32 ppg and scored over 2600 points in his career. Congrats to him & best of Luck in the future. I’m hoping that there are more “Collins” players coming to St. Marys 😊 BTW…Yuri Collins has made his debut (2 games) in the NBA!  As far as I know, Collins is the 1^st SM grad to reach the NBA. 

…Have a great week!  Thanks for your time & read!  I hope that you’ll return next week for MORE OF THE SAME!   YOUR thoughts are always invited—pro or con!! Email to me or post directly on my Facebook page (Bob Ryan) beneath the article. Thanks for your time/read!!  Bob