huzzah

Billikens will be on Ch 11 @ 7PM

I think this is an embarrassment in recruiting. Berry is ranked 11-15 @ pf. SLU is listed as an also ran regarding interest. Berry's father and "Easy Ed" both attended SLU. Berry played summer ball on the campus of SLU. The reason for not picking SLU: I did not feel I fit in with the coaching staff or with the system. To have Mizery listed ahead of us is also tough to stomach. The coach there is new, controversial and has a losing record at his last place, Miami + a tarnished background there. Therefore we have a local prospect w/ bloodlines to SLU, w/ a chance to compare C-Arena to Hinkle, a chance to compare campuses, a chance to go to a school where he can be watched by family & friends conveniently choosing to go to a place overshadowed usually by the Big 10 and not as easy for friends and family. This is in light of us projected to be a top 50 program this year, being in a better conference, ranked in the top 100 academically, w/ a coach sporting a national reputation, a new arena to play in and we only come in as an also ran. It hurts. However, the final result will come in 6 years from now. Berry is too young to sign a letter of commitment at this time. He decided to declare early to end the recruiting process. He did not wait to see how we will do this year. Good bye and good luck Mr. Berry.

Bernie has improved as a writer since his marriage. He is vocalizing for Rickma. Whether we played this year in the NIT or where we are is not all that important. However, Rick is concentrating on next year and has already begun his campaign. He is using Bernie as his vocal point. On Bernie's radio show Rick indicated his displeasure with the A10. Bernie has since written on the subject, the last time being today. The A10 is being blamed for the SLU snub by the A10, not the NCAA and Bernie has mentioned valid reasons. Bernie has some national stature, so his comments are likely to be noticed outside of St. Louis. Next year Rick thinks he will be in the thick of things and he has started the campaign to be noticed, supported, and reckoned with. Next year if we have a chance at the NCAA the A10 better be supporting us.

This appears to be a battle for control by two egos. The timing is unfortunate. The program seems ready to take off and it may even happen this year. The Pac 10 is doing poorly. Various teams in the Pac 10 have lost on home court to Oral Roberts, Seattle, and Brigham Young. Attendance at UCLA, with a losing record, is down to 2,000. It is expected only the winner of the Pac 10 will go to the tournament. This opens up possibilities for the Atlantic 10 and for the Bills. The win against Richmond was impressive. So was the over time loss to Charlotte on their home court. I think we have a chance for post season play. The Temple game here may shape up as one of the great games ever. Prior to the Fordham game I was at Humphrey's and the talk was about the tremendous up scale potential for the Bills. So here we are at the door of success and we encounter bickering and in fighting. It is tough to be a Billiken Fan.

On the road we take a good team to overtime. Unbelievable just a short time ago. Coach Rick is a bargain @ 1 mil. Charlotte played better defense then us. Lutz is a good coach. Cory Ellis tried flopping on the floor, but never got that call. Cory's strength is he is a big man that can score. Weakness is defense. Coach Rick needs to get a couple of golf balls and put them in Cory's pockets. Everytime we are on offense and Willie is in the game, he needs to touch the ball. The offense has to go through him. He seems that good. This was a tough loss, but we are making great progress. Great recruiting is starting to produce results.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...erus/index.html Pretty good article. Refers to MO. Valley as a better fit, but not, as I read, a proposal to move there.

If you go to stltoday.com there is a front page story about the ACLU reporting widespread abuses in city jails. The person reporting the abuses, on behalf of the ACLU, is Ridditt Hudson. I am wondering if this is the Redditt Hudson who played center for SLU under Rich Grawer. He graduated from U City and as I recall went to law school @ Mizzery after graduating from SLU. If the allegations prove true, investigation to confirm may be started, this will represent an act of public service. At this point city officials are denying the allegations.

I beg to differ. I saw Lisch running track during the summer, while I was on the track, so I got to see him close up. He was in great shape and had good muscle definition.

Roy, my guess is that Rick does utilize game to game specific tactics. I base this on the UMass game. I watched KU play UMass and KU used zone. KU ended up losing the game, but it was because of poor play and poor shooting. The zone was effective. When we played UMass we used zone. Rick gave credit for this tactic to Moser. Rick said it was the first time in his life he had utilized zone. Therefore, I think the coaching staff looked at the KU vs UMass game and then decided on using the zone and this was a specific game tactic based on scouting either by watching film or seeing the game in person.

Here is my proposal. Have a holiday tournament in St. Louis. Invite SIU-Edwardswille, SIU, SE Missouri, Missouri State, UMKC, Missouri, and SLU. Have it at Scott. I think it will sell out. The tournament will sell out and it gives SLU a chance to pick up some Div 1 victories. Compare participating in this tournament to our being in the Las Vegas tournament that we just completed. According to T. Timmerman, the audience there was about 200 regardless of who played. The court was on top of ice, like Scott, but there was not any heat and TT froze. Scott is more confortable.

I don't know if Kansas is ranked top 100 RPI, but I think they will win the north. I watched on ESPN and they indicated Illinois had won the last 8 match ups in a row. The announcer laughed about this so call rivalry and seemed to suggest it should be ended. Lack of fan support confirms the obvious.

Use the on line Post. This is where the papers nationwide are trending. Christian Science Monitor and the Detroit papers are ceasing daily print editions. These papers will only print part of the week. Lee Enterprises is a likely candidate for merger according to the Wall Street Journal. Because of the recession these types of changes are likely to occur more quickly than if the economy was healthy. I would like to see Timmerman get player interviews and statements more often and post them on line.

To increase attendance I think we should build a tunnel from the C Arena to the garage.

Two St. Louis players for class 2011 were at the Kansas "midnite madness". They were Christian Kirk 6'7" from St. Charles West. Bradly Beal 6'3" from Chaninade Kansas holds a mid night madness type of event and invites people they are recruiting to come and watch.

The student newspaper reported 8 car thefts in and around campus for the month of August. There were complaints regarding security and it appears to have been beefed up. The area is patrolled by the SLU security team, the St. Louis Police, and to the immediate north by a St. Louis Arts Center security team. The paper also reported an armed happening @ Laclede Lofts. However, many people visit the Fox and STL orchestra. The area seems relatively safe, but you should be cautious especially if you are alone. One of the car thefts was from the SLU garage on Laclede.

Joe I liked the article and I like your reviews. You are a big improvement over Patricia C. I also agree with your aversion to outside dining. I ate today at Little Saigon and it was a good experience. However, in getting there I passed several other outdoor venues that had dogs resting at the table, some quite large, think St. Bernard size, so there are added risks with outside dining.

Additional information: Both Busch3 and 4 are adamantly opposed to a take over by In Bev. However, the two companies are considered a good combination. In Bev is strong is Europe and Brazil. AB is strong in the US and China, two places where In Bev is weak. AB is weak in Europe and Brazil. 4 does not want the company taken over while he is in charge. However, the family owns less than 4% of the stock. Buying Corona is one option. However, it sounds like there is negotiation taking place regarding relative strengths of the two after a merger. AB vulnerability to merger is blamed on 3 as he had opportunity to expand thru mergers, but declined to do so when he was in charge. In Bev persued mergers and this is how they came to be larger than AB. What is prompting further mergers is the joining of Millers with Coors. AB will still be the leading brewer in the US and Bud Light will still be the #1 brew in the world, but the competition will be more formidable. The above was gathered from the WSJ today. It is of interest to Billiken fans because of AB's contributions to the school. The merger has the potential of putting contributions at risk.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting both Bush's against the merger. With the dollar weak against the Euro how can the merger be prevented? According to the WSJ the defensive strategy is for AB to buy Corolla for 10 Billion. This will then make them to expensive to be purchased in In Bev. The loss of SWB to San Antonia is not so much jobs, but contributions to the local community.

I don't understand what is happening. With the player dump we have only 4 players coming back. That may mean we could have a team next year with 9 freshman. Who do we sign the following year behind 9 southmrs and the following year behind 9 jrs? I can't see how this can work. No balance. Maybe we are going for jucos and transfers. Hansboroughs brother @ Mississippi State is transferring. He mentioned only Mizzou, but has not committed. He is good. Remember this was Memphis States closes game until the final. Gillispie is not going to OKstate. I wonder if OKstate will chose Travis Ford?

I think Calipari, for what ever reason, is coaching well. His team is playing good defense. This will be an interesting match up because of Calipari's Kansas background. Calipari was an assistant coach under Ted Owens at Kansas. Bill Self came out of OK State and joined Larry Brown as a graduate assistant. Brown retained Calipari from the Ted Owens era. Self was promoted to an assistant coach by Larry Brown. Self and Calipari then became friends, and as for as I know still are. Both Calipari and Self were assistant coaches under Larry Brown in 1988, the last year Kansas won the NCAA. Calipari met his wife in Lawrence. Calipari loved Allen Field House because it never has been renovated and it is where the legendary Phog Allen worked. Calipari loved being in the very same building that Allen had been in. I expect a low scoring game Monday because both teams are playing great defense. By low scoring I mean in the 70's. I don't know who will win, but because of the background of the two coaches I am looking forward to watching the game. There was talk on this board about Boon Pickens hiring Self away from KU. The OK State board is excited, but the KU board does not seem worried. Kansas has the history and the tradition. Self has just recruited well. He has an excellent assistant coach in Danny Manning. Watch the baby hooks the KU centers will take. This is Manning's shot. He has done excellent work with the KU big men. My feeling is Self will not move.

Roy, you are right on here. The Wall Street Journal ran a story on Duke about 2 years ago and I posted a synopsis at that time. Generally, the basketball players do not inter-relate with the Duke student body. The players have a SAT score of approx 800 on average, while the average Duke has a SAT score of approx 1300. This gap is significant and reflects major differences in the two groups. The players have separate housing and take separate studies. The WSJ indicated the program is upheld as ideal by the NCAA, but falls short. As you recall Coach K wrote a book on management and the development of such. This is the same guy that produced Quinn Synder. Coach Irons indicates what he did was to help his players gain a college diploma. He therefore feels the end justifies the means. However, Vashon's graduation rate, while Irons was in charge,was 47%. So much for that stance. What both coaches may share in common is a certain amount of duplicity. One has been exposed, one has not. On a separate, but somewhat related topic, it sounds as if Sampson will be fired. Indiana brought this mess to the attention of the NCAA and they have never had a major violation before. Indiana is now trying to figure the best way out. Sampson was hired by Greenspan. The alumni is mad and he will also go. Sampson will probably lay low for a while then re-surface at a lower level Div 1 program that is desperate.

I refer people to the Wall Street Journal, Jan 18, the Week-end Journal Section and an article "Banned From Church" by Alexandra Alter. First what is written as cannon law and what is practiced are not always the same. However, religion at this point in time is reviving an ancient practice, churches are exposing sinners and shunning those who won't change. There is a growing movement among conservative Protestants to bring back church disciplines, but I think Burke is also in concert with this movement. This is part of a broader movement to restore churches to their traditional role as moral enforcers per the article. The violator of morals is named, the illicit deed is spelled out and the offending person is shunned. This is what Burke is doing, so he is not alone in his stance on moral enforcement, but rather part of a movement in that direction. These actions can result in clashes in the community, causing splits in congregations, and splits even occurring on the Billiken Board. There may even be a clash present. According to the article, today excommunication raely occurs in the U.S. Catholic Church and shunning is largely unheard of in mainline Protestant Churches. Therefore, since RM was speaking as a private citizen and not as a school spokesman, I suspect this issue will blow away. Yahoo Sports is carrying the story and Burke appears in unfavorable light, especially the Crowe incident. Remember he also was trying to get people to boycott a play in south St. Louis, until the play was explained to him. His stance here on stem cell research seems similar in that science has come up with a new way to create stem cells which should now be acceptable to Catholics and Bush conservatives according to a prior WSJ article. My point here is that Burke is capable of making a-priory judgments. As we recall from Philosophy 101 such judgments can be prone to error.

This is interesting from several points. First the Jesuits historically only answer to Rome, so that is a factor. Second when the school took over land formerly called Laclede Towne, there was a legal challenge from the Masons. At that time the school argued, and successfully, that it is controlled by the Board, which is secular, so securing the Laclede Towne property did not violate separation of church and state. Third, I am uncertain how much influence Burke has with Biondi. As you recall Thomas Eagleton was laid out at the College Church, not St. Louis Cathedral, and Rev. Biondi presided at the mass. The Eagleton family may have been at odds with some of Burke's views, but Fr. Biondi stepped in quite readily. My guess is that St. Louis U will hold firm.

Roy I think you may be drawing too close a comparison between RM and Knight. In the games I have seen RM does not berate his players during the game as Knight does or as Rich Grawer did. RM has not thrown chairs. In the game against Dayton RM protested some calls, but kept within acceptable emotional bounds. In practice, poking a player in the chest is not the same as hitting a player, as Knight has been accused of. The SI article shows a different RM than we see during the game, so it may come as a shock, but it still seems different than Knight. Nudity in the locker room comes with the territory, so I doubt that is a big deal. Winning and successful coaches have to be different as they win at the expense of other coaches.