Bay Area Billiken

That's right. I had the flashback of memory when I saw the notice that you had replied to my post, and thank you. I had temporarily/transiently forgotten my up and down drive to LA for that LMU game. SLU blew a lead and lost that one too. LMU's Gertsten Pavilion would fit right in the A10 (absent geography) with the walls at both ends.

I've seen the Billikens at the following road venues: In the Midwest: UMSL's Mark Twain Building (SLU won there in a 45-42 double overtime (as I recall) struggle during the early Rich Grawer Era), Western Hall in Macomb, IL (SLU also won there with Anthony Bonner, Monroe Douglass, Roland Gray in a game much closer than it should have been. A SLU fan wearing a Columbia Blue SLU letter jacket, who had it with the officiating, bellowed at the refs: "This is not Springfield vs. Peoria!"), Sprint Center in Kansas City (Win over Texas A&M, Loss to Kansas). On the East Coast: Fordham's Rose Hill Gym (with Taj79, a debacle but great center court seats), Barclays Center (2 A10 Tournaments), DC's Capitol One Arena (A10 Tournament); Out here on the Left Coast: UCLA's Pauley Pavilion (close Cali Cuisine road loss in the Larry Hughes year, with the then retired Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, in attendance), USF's then War Memorial Gym (now War Memorial at the Sobrato Center- SLU blew an 8 point halftime lead and lost to an inferior USF team), Santa Clara's then Toso Pavilion, now Leavey Center (Loss in Melvin Robinson's last game for SLU), Cal's Haas Pavilion (more big time California cuisine in a blowout loss), and the one SLU Win in California I've seen in person at UOP's Spanos Center in Stockton (a Win under Brad Soderberg with Ian Voyoukas at Center. I was introduced to a former Billiken whose job was to guard Oscar Robertson). I've been to road SLU Soccer games at SIUe, Quincy, USF-CA, Santa Clara, Stanford, and Cal. I saw SLU Baseball play in a Tourney at Santa Clara, that included a loss to Michigan and a win over Santa Clara.

https://247sports.com/college/ucla/Article/Conference-realignment-UCLA-must-clearly-explain-Big-Ten-decision-California-Gov-Gavin-Newsom-demands-190359261/?fbclid=IwAR2G5MhlZvbWRZVqpDP5gwchQcm_Mc4ypiTJlgPZmp0esaiDFR7b27y9yWs&fs=e&s=cl

If USC and UCLA both leave, I think San Diego State would be first in line to at least keep some Pac-12 presence in Southern California. San Diego State has an enrollment of over 35,000 and an alumni base above 300,000. UNLV has been lousy in sports, especially in football, but UNLV Football now shares the state of the art Allegiant Stadium with the Raiders, and also would bring the Las Vegas TV market. Boise State, which was once a junior college, is a rising star in sports in the West, in a growing region and state. I doubt the Pac-12 and Gonzaga would be a match, especially with the Pac-12 having 2 members in Washington, one nearby Washington State, and four members in the Great Northwest. However, i had the same thought as another poster, namely if the Gonzaga-Big East flirtation might be coaxed into bearing fruit.

With USC and UCLA to the Big Ten leaking today, expect major pushback up and down the West Coast from powerful forces. However, whether they are able to stop these moves remains to be seen. Cal and UCLA are both part of the University of California system, public schools, with the Regents of the University of California being the governing board, with 26 voting members, the majority of whom are appointed by the Governor of the State of California. I would highly doubt Cal is going to accept this move hands down. I also could see political pushback within California, all over the Golden State, in Sacramento, in LA, and in the Bay Area. Old Money LA backs USC. It was once said that USC alumni arrive at the City Championship football game in their BMW's (Basic Marin Wheels), while UCLA alumni arrive in their Honda's. (This is not intended to be a slight against well performing, long lasting Honda's.) Oregon is bankrolled by Phil Knight/Nike. Washington is in Seattle, home of Microsoft, Starbucks. We'll see how this all shakes down.

What great work, Torch, and thank you. I was not aware of the Dayton angle re the Metro.

https://twitter.com/jonrothstein/status/1525102278939512832?s=21&t=6YEahFMDKjW1VB1uxMDGVA As Hawk Harrelson would say, “He gone.”

The Golden State Warriors, aka The Dubs, will show us the Way.

https://bustingbrackets.com/2022/05/02/ncaa-basketball-updated-wte-2022-23-power-rankings-transfer-deadline/ Look who’s #16 ...

Dubs eliminate the team owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.

SLU is on the march.

Projection?

WAR-riors !

Sign at a souvenir stand at the old (remodeled version) Yankee Stadium read, in response to no other teams' apparel being sold there: "A Yankee fan has no second team."

Welcome Back, Yuri️