Taj79

Offensive j-u-g-g-e-r-n-a-u-t.

Seems simple to me ..... guys outside the Top 50 are going to places where they can get better money, and more playing time. Then, in a year, jump into the transfer portal and portal up to the big boys for more cash. And thisidea plays into the big boys now mining the transfer portal more so than taking marginal high school players (marginal as in below top 50). Sancomb won't finish at Liberty just like Jackson won't finish at VCU.

Believe it is a subscription stream.

The schedule is a dead topic. It is what it is. Now awaiting the conference schedule and East Coast road trips.

Proof will be in the play on the court.

Scott Brand is not very exciting but the 30 minutes are well worth listening to in terms of understanding the VCU mindset. The piece doesn't answer my question of just who is going to handle the ball for VCU. They lost significant guard play in Russell, Bamisile, Jackson and Shulga. They seem content to rely on the talents of freshmen Lewis and Jackson. Martelli is bringing two big guys from Bryant but Barry Evans didn't do too, too much when at Bonaventure. Neither did Tracey when at St. Joes. VCU aims to be in the Big East but the Big East says VCU doesn't fit their profile. Not a single mention made of Saint Louis U. Top A10 picks are VCU (of course), Geedubya, Loyola and Mason. I don't get Mason. Anyway a good 30-minute listen.

According to Verbal Commits, Brutus has offers from Houston, Gonzaga, Penn State, Maryland, Ol Miss, LSU, Texas A&M and Dayton among others. That's some rarified recruiting air.

Offensive juggernaut .... again.

It is my understanding, recognizing how off-base it might be, that the success of the Blues rubbed off in a way that created the Hockey Billikens with Saloman's backing. I understand crowds were large in those first few years but waned as the novelty of the Blues faded. The largest crowd I did (I was the PA announcer at the Arena 1977-79) was the day after they announced the disbanding of the program. The Bills played and beat #1 Bowling Green in front of about 13,000. I thought there were a lot of similarities between the hockey program and the basketball program. No on-campus home arena. No on-campus practice facility. Rental units with other entities. A weak in-house following. Bus rides to home games. No local connections between the team and potential fans. Sidney Salomon was in failing health and failing finances when, in 1977, he sold the Blues and The Arena plus $8.8 million worth of debt to Ralston Purina. Ralston Purina saw it as a "civic responsibility" to buy the team. Then, in 1983, RP sold the team a Saskatoon group. The NHL rejected the bid and took ownership of the team until a buyer was found. The Blues dodged Saskatoon and contraction. Harry Ornest became owner of the Blues and the Checkerdome in 1983. Read all about it: The Saskatoon Blues: The Story - St. Louis Game Time St. Louis has a long and storied history of losing pro sports franchises. The Hawks. The Spirit. The Steamers. The Browns. The Rams. The football Cardinals. I guess, technically, the lost the Blues in 1983.

Who was the first St. Louis university to join the D1 ranks? Us? A program that went defunct in the late 70's/early 80's? No offense but if St. Louis is such a great hockey community, how did we fail? And didn't the Blues try to move to Saskatoon in 1983? I hope they make it and are good; getting a ticket to a 2,000 seat arena will be quite a chore.

Looks a lot like TJ Hargrove.

That is interesting. And the A10 women’s juggernaut gets thumped again by Penn State.

Another offensive juggernaut.

Lists like these are just internet fodder, open for discussion. They mean very little. As I look at the A10, I have to hedge my bets across the whole league. Every team has chemistry issues. Every team has role issues. How will the new pieces mesh? You just don’t know. As for first glances, Loyola only returns Rubin and Hyinsou (sp?). Dayton lost its entire roster save Bennett and L’Etang. VCU doesn’t return a single starter and adds a new coach. Mason lost everyone save O’Connor. Right now, I like Geedubya with who they return. We can only wait and see.

@ACE --- I am not suggesting those replacement teams as buy games. I'd have no problem with home-and-homes. I'd prefer home-and-homes with Bradley, Northern Iowa, Missouri State, etc as opposed to some of the crap on the home schedule now. But then you have problems (likely) getting these so-called needed home dates for season ticket holders. I'd hate to use damn Dayton as an example but they do schedule well.