rhagolf

Repairing the spot welds that separated on the New York Turnpike overpasses recently.

SLU's future depends upon being admitted to the Big East. Trying to sell tickets in the watered-down A-10 will be nigh-on impossible, if the "drawing cards" are VCU and George Mason. Adding those to Duquesne, Fordham, the Bonnies, Rhode Island, etc. brings very little to the table, for anyone other than the diehard fan. Compare the appeal of a SLU/Georgetown matchup, to one of SLU/St. Joseph. It's not even in the same area code.

Does anyone really believe that the Big East will really select SLU as #11 or #12, after this PR debacle? I, for one, do not, unless Fox Sports is calling the shots, completely, and feels that the St. Louis TV market is so necessary that they cannot bypass it. My fear is that Dayton and Richmond are in, with SLU standing on the outside, looking in.

If the Bills are not invited to the Big East prom, the new A-10 would be a bad fit, with the closest opponent being in Pittsburgh. Another conference membership would be required. I know that this board generally despises the Missouri Valley, as something beneath SLU in stature. But, how much stature has been lost if it is passed up by Richmond? Maybe, the unrest on campus is having an effect on being asked to the "big dance?" We'll never know. All I know is that if Fordham becomes the arch-rival, I'm outta here.

Message to all the "holier than thou's" on this site: The only solution is to evict the Missouri Valley Conference HQ from St. Louis, and make sure that they take their "hayseed attitudes" and conference tournament with them to Kansas City. As we all know, there is an overabundance of corporate headquarters in St. Louis. And, scheduling things in March at ScottTrade will be so much easier (tractor pulls and WWE extravaganzas). Fr. Biondi will soon be moving the SLU campus to somewhere in Pennsylvania (or, anywhere else in his beloved Eastern Time Zone); this will make it easier to recruit the best and brightest (only those living in the East), and reduce travel expenses to other A-10 cities. Attitudes like yours are what gave Martin Luther a reason to live. Then again, we know that this is the "only true religion." Just ask Cardinal Rigali how well it's going for him in Philly, now. One thing is for sure - there is an equal hate here for anything about the local media's treatment of SLU, and the MVC.

You can forget about ever getting a call from an A-10 referee. As far as they are concerned, with the distances that they must travel from their homes (all in the East), SLU is still the "road team," even at home. This is the rule - SLU fans just need to be able to defeat the other team, plus the three A-10 officials assigned to the game, who wish they hadn't drawn the "short straw." 5 on 8 isn't fair, but it's the real deal.

The problems at SLU are higher up than the basketball coach or, even the AD (who really is just the go-between for Fr. Biondi and RM). Bernie Miklasz made an interesting point on his daily radio show, last week. He stated that SLU is a "coach-killer." He likened it to pushing a boulder up a hill, and when the stone reaches the summit, the "man at the top" shoves it back down the hill, rolling over everyone in its way. He complimented Fr. Biondi for greatly improving SLU academically, but the support for the athletic department just wasn't a priority. Dr. Chaifetz came along, but the newness of the building is surely wearing off; anyone who wanted to see it, has now done so. SLU is at a crossroads; relevance in the St. Louis sports community is certainly at stake. Marketing next year's season tickets to the casual fan will be a daunting challenge. And, the hard-core fans just are getting older...and older...and older. Eventually, they will need to be replaced by those who are two generations younger. Right now, this program is viewed as border-line Division I; that has to change, or the future isn't bright.

Seems like a long time ago, when there was a sellout @ Kiel for Larry vs. Ryan Robertson and Kansas, isn't it? No comparison, I know, but 3,500 is a long way from 22,000. Maybe, Spoon wasn't so bad after all? Just wondering.

And, you are surprised with a questionable call by an A-10 official? Where have you been all season?

Even though I am a fan of the MVC, I would NOT like SLU to enter the conference, for one, overriding reason - St. Louis would probably lose Arch Madness, because of not being a "neutral site." And, this would be a major economic blow to the region. I am sure that you could realize the money that flowed into the hotels and restaurants this past weekend, from the fans of Wichita and Northern Iowa. While the long distance may have affected the turnstile count, the impact to the community was greater than if the SIU fans had commuted to-and-from St. Louis - in greater numbers. The tournament is up for bid in the near future, with the competition being Kansas City, Chicago, and Indianapolis. If you care at all about attracting visitors to St. Louis, you might want to hope that Arch Madness remains here for at least 20 more years! It's not like the Convention and Visitors' Bureau is having to allocate space in the hotels, is it?

There are two things which are like the sun rising in the east in the morning, when one reads this board: 1. Mizzou is the worst program in the history of college basketball, because they won't schedule SLU (among other gripes). 2. The MVC is a collection of hick schools, and is certainly beneath the level of THE SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY - since when have you become Buckeye Junior? I happen to be interested in all three programs, because I happen to like college basketball, overall. And, by the way, the NCAA Regionals are in St. Louis because of The Valley, not anything that might have occurred on Laclede. So, if you happen to appreciate the money that is going to flow into St. Louis because of being the tournament site, you might at least show some appreciation towards Mr. Elgin and his staff. Lord knows, if it weren't for Frank Viverito and the MVC, the Dome would be dark, once more.

Maybe the crowd was too quiet, maybe it wasn't. But, why were there only 7.900 fans at a game against a top-20 opponent? Is it because, once Cardinal Spring Training starts, all other sports become inconsequential? Are St. Louis-area fans just not that interested in college basketball? No knock against the hardcore fans, but you cannot get closer to a sellout than less than 80% of capacity? I'm guessing it's the Cardinal factor, with the entire St. Louis media on spring break in Jupiter. Party on, boys!!

Part of Coach's frustration may come from the abysmal state of air travel in St. Louis today. Not that long ago, St. Louis was a "hub city," meaning that direct flights to Philadelphia, Rochester, New York, etc. were available to the traveler. Now, unless one is going on Southwest, that isn't the case. So, in many cases, travel is - fly to O'Hare, change planes, and go on to the East Coast. The worst example is St. Bonaventure - fly to Chicago, then change planes to Rochester, and take a bus ride for 1-1/2 hours. It wasn't good before, because you could fly US Air to Rochester, direct, but that isn't possible any more. Whether we are experiencing a blizzard of Biblical proportions, or not, that doesn't have an impact on the availability of direct flights.

When your program is predicted to be a rebuilding program, it makes it incumbent on the head coach to promote his team in the media. Instead, Coach Majerus shows utter disdain for the media - closing practice, talking down to the reporters, and basically, ignoring them. What do you expect in return? By the way, these are not my opinions - ask any of the media members, and they will openly state these opinions. The only ones on the SLU side are Frank Cusamano and Bob Ramsey. The rest are turned off by the haughtiness of the face of the program. And, his personality isn't going to change, so don't expect that to happen.

I fully expect these 5 to be given tryouts by Bill Self in Lawrence.

Two observations from watching the game on TV last night - 1. Don't expect to get foul calls from A-10 referees, especially on the road. SLU is the outsider of the conference; it's like being a non-conference opponent on the road - this won't change until the Bills get into a conference with some geographical sanity. 2. TLIII had an Academy-Award-Winning performance as a fire hydrant on the alley-oop on the final points. We all know that we only have two seniors on the team, to provide leadership. You can kiss that idea good-bye.

Does anyone know whether the attendance is for tickets distributed or turnstile count? Last night was shown as 6,152. Just wondering. Thanks for the answer (if there is one).

I hope that this turns out to be true. Intimidation only occurs when students, especially, and rabid fans make opposing players and officials realize that "you're in our house, now." Witness Cameron Indoor, LSU's Tiger Stadium, etc. By playing hard, this atmosphere can be heightened by the players. But, really, it's all about the fans, this time.

Anyone noticing how similar the Dr. Chaifetz situation is to the Bill Laurie one? Booster builds new building, fires old coach, and hires new one. Wonder if he has any daughters he might want to rename the building after? It's apparent how much hatred there is on this board for Mizzou, but as our friend, Pogo, said - We have met the enemy and they is us!

As an ex-SLU fan, who is getting sick and tired of the "holier than thou" attitude of the SLU posters on this board, I consider myself a real MVC fan. When SLU figures out whether it wants to be Division I or Division II, please let the rest of the community in on your decision. Until then, you might want to crawl back into your holes with the rest of the Abysmal 10 Conference.

This is the same mistake made in Columbia. The student section, especially the Antlers, were moved from courtside to the ends. In addition to the damage done by the Snyder debacle, look at the attendance for the MU games - pretty bad. Courtside seats for the older folk (I'm one of them), makes for a library-like atmosphere. Put the students on the side, like Cameron, Maples Pavilion, etc. There is your atmosphere!

However, the fact remains he didn't, and we didn't. A winnable game morphed into another road loss.

And, people wonder why Ian has lost his motivation this year? Great strategy, Brad. Have an injured guard as your only option, when Ian has owned the UMass inside guys all night? Way to convert a road win to another loss. You were Minuteman Man of the Game!

And, you wonder why SIU recruits so well in St. Louis? Linda Bruno (AKA, Roseanne Roseannadanna) was recently interviewed at halftime on an A-10 broadcast, and it wasn't too tough to see why the conference has such an awful TV contract. You really need to work to find an A-10 game, but props to Doug Elgin of the MVC for negotiating a good ESPN package for the Valley. At least, there's one college basketball organization in St. Louis that knows what it is doing!

Roy - I agree that the upside on the MVC probably isn't much better than the A-10. I am only looking at it from an expense standpoint. The budget for sports @ SLU is only so much, and, if you're spending it on travel and lodging, than cannot help but take away from recruiting. The Billikens should not be in business to keep Lambert Field in operation, or the Hyatt-Regency Whatever. I appreciate your well-founded opinions that you express. It's a pleasure to follow your logic. Thanks!