Save the sob story.
Truth is, the Cards had an underwhelming season. Really? Yeah, really. More than a few Card fans are p.o’d. Not so much at how the season went but about how The Rick dealt with it. Truth: U of L was mediocre. The Rick had an off year coaching. No more excuses, s’il vous plait. It is sooooooooo boring. Admit it wasn’t good, shut up and move on. There are plenty of reasons: the reality that Taquan was second chair, injuries, youth (maybe), a bad system for this squad, not enough scorers, no legit slashers, no pre-conference tests. One thing rarely mentioned is the assistant coaching situation. Willard kept looking to next year. And the other trio schooled in PitinoBall — Theus, Davenport and Taylor — gone. Which is not to mention that The Rick has gone conservative compared to the old days, and his patience with prospects who don’t develop immediately is non-existent.
Danny Manning Syndrome.
It appears Huggy Bear is hiring a Charlotte assistant at K State, and — imagine our surprise — it looks like new hire will bring along Michael Beasley, a beast of a recruit previously verbaled to Bobby Lutz at Charlotte. Before you self-righteously start pointing fingers, know that everybody’s done it. Not just Calipari (Where ya be, Juanny Wagner?) and Larry Brown. Even Denzel Crum hired Reece Gaines’ whisper counsel to close that deal.
Fearless prognostications.
Now that we gotta give college hoops a rest until 10-15-06, let’s look elsewhere. So The Seedster says: It’s all Motown all the time. Here’s the Triple Play. Hockeytown’s Red Wings win the Stanley Cup. (Not that more four or five of ya give a damn.) The Pistons finish off the NBA season as they started, i.e. beating one and all. And those devastators, the Detroit Demolition, again capture the crown in women’s pro football.
National pastime.
In the NL, gimme St. Looey, the Dodgers, the Phillies and, who else, Atlanta. In the pitchers-don’t-hit league, Indians, ChiSox, BillyBeaneBallers, and — hear me now and believe me later, Yanqui fans — BoSox.
Motor sports
madness.
Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth mano a mano … fuhgettaboutit. The “Greatest Spectacle In Racing” ain’t in Indy. It’s in Jeff. True aficionados will be ovalside at the Sportsdrome on May 27 for School Bus Figure 8’s. Ya gots to see it to believe it.
Meet the new Mike, not the same as the old Mike.
A couple of sources breathlessly advised Monday that Mike Davis, formerly of IU, will replace Mike Anderson at UAB. Dreamland ribs, anybody?