Pistol

ESPN2 at 9:00 EST, 8:00 CST

Great article, thanks for posting. Ian was one of the most well-liked and entertaining guys I knew from SLU. He was a lot of fun to hang out with and knew pretty much everyone. He's also probably the best story teller I met there. I remember how inspirational his taking his brother's old high school number was on his family - his freshman walk-on year at SLU was that 9-21 season, and that was a rare bright point that year. I'm happy to see him get such a good experience back home in Austin; I never like to see good people transfer from SLU, but he couldn't pass up that opportunity.

Actually, yes, UC and XU get more coverage than OSU in the Cincinnati Enquirer. OSU football still gets a decent amount of coverage, but UC got the lion's share this year (though I've been told it hasn't always been that way). As far as basketball, the paper covers UC most, followed by XU, and also devotes coverage to Kentucky, Ohio State, and Miami. No one seems to complain because UK and OSU aren't 'local' teams. The main complaint I hear is that UC has always gotten more press than XU, while XU's program has been very strong for a long time now. I think they have a fair argument, and can sympathize (but at least UC is in the same city).

His IP address is blocked, I believe. And none of these current guys remotely resemble Metz in their writing style or comments. Anyway, I'm also very curious about this hire. Instead of the guy from the Catholic school that has built a very good basketball program to complement that other sport it's known for, we go with a guy from one of the most controversy-heavy athletic departments in recent history. He also oversaw the basketball programs, which aren't very good there. He's been in that athletic department for over 20 years, but has spent only a few in leadership roles. I wouldn't mind bringing him in to head the marketing department, but is he Athletic Director material? Just looking from the 10,000-foot level, I don't see why we went with him over the ND guy. If anyone knows more about this, I'm curious to know. I obviously haven't met or worked with either guy, it just doesn't seem logical on paper.

Unless Wright and Little heal up way faster than they're supposed to, I don't see Dayton winning enough conference games to get an at-large bid.

1:00 CST. Isn't it also on CW 11, too?

From downtown Cincinnati to UD Arena is like 50 minutes, but will probably take a little longer with rush hour traffic out of the city. It's more like a half hour to Edwardsville from St. Louis, so it's longer than that, even if you're coming from a little bit outside of Cincinnati. The 7:00 tip doesn't give me much time to do anything else before the game, so I have to go straight from the office.

True- it seems like almost every game between SLU and Dayton or SLU and XU has been a weeknight since we joined the A10 (although I did go to one XU game in STL a couple years ago). That's why I won't be there for the XU matchup next week and am extra-frustrated that the A10 screwed us out of the home-and-home with XU.

The cheap seats aren't great- normally still more than $10, though. They leave a little to be desired. Like I said, you can't see straight across because the ceiling dips into a U-shape rather than having a normal dome-shape. They also could be a bit steeper so the sight lines are clearer. The lower portion of UD Arena is great, though, and the whole place gets very loud. The students are a huge factor on the north end. Their seats are about as close as you could be to the court and they come out in full force. So no one else will be attending? Come on, it's only 5 1/2 hours from St. Louis, the second closest road trip in the A10! When we moved to the A10, so many people on this board commented that UD and XU were the easy, no-brainer road trips. And we don't even play at XU this year.

Okay, maybe not a total beanpole (pic is a year old), but he's not exactly huge either. The point still stands- he has to prove his toughness but he fits the profile of the kind of player Majerus has turned into NBA-caliber players.

Not to mention with Majerus as the head coach. A beanpole like Thompson is going to have to prove he's not soft, show he's not afraid of contact, and commit himself to a strength program. That said, I have high hopes for him and with his skills, starting his freshman year isn't out of the question (just not a given).

So is anyone else going to be at the Dayton game Wednesday night in good ol' UD Arena? I got tickets through the SLU Alumni Club's Cincinnati chapter for $10 each. I saw it advertised in a little alumni booklet that got mailed out about a month ago (still to my parents' address, of course, because no one there is capable of updating an address after multiple requests). Anyway, the tickets are in the upper deck (section 4-something, they're at home right now), but I assume they put the alums in a group. This will be the first time I'll get to see SLU play in person this year, so I'm pretty excited. I'll unfortunately be in a suit because I have to come straight from work in downtown Cincinnati. After getting to see a couple games at UD Arena in college and the awful 46-44 loss there last year, I admit that I like their place a lot. The first level is right on the court, particularly the students on the end. The upper deck is odd becuase the arena's U-shaped ceiling prevents you from being able to see straight across at the other side of the upper deck, but it can get extremely loud in there.

Everyone keeps saying its 5 incidents because that's what the Post-Dispatch reported (2nd to last paragraph): http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/st...A0?OpenDocument And Gordon printed a list of Anderson-era incidents as well: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/co...7F?OpenDocument

I didn't take it as "outperform expectations," but rather as whether my impression of him as an individual and coach was more or less favorable than my impression of him heading into the job. On those grounds, I said 'more favorable' because I've learned more about the kind of guy he is. My general impression of him before he was here was just that he was a character and a guy who's had a lot of success. Now I see what a complex, intelligent, hard-working guy he is, albeit a man extremely rough around the edges. I knew he'd bring some recognition to SLU, but never saw this amount of media attention coming. I'm impressed with his recruiting so far, and though we haven't won a ton of games, I didn't expect that this year anyway. We brought him in as a program-changer, and I think we're a program that is changing rapidly with him on board.

They have more than one team.

The Globetrotters used to always play NCAA D1 teams in exhibition, but the new rule prevents that (same as with EA Sports, Athletes in Action, etc.). SLU now can only play NCAA teams for exhibition, thus the D2 and D3 competition like Truman State or UMSL.

Good poll question- I like that it's framed "since his hiring" rather than just based on recent events. I'm kind of surprised to see more than half in the 'more favorable' camp, even though that's where I put my vote. I voted that way for a number of reasons, but in general just because I've learned so much more about the guy and he's one of the most interesting sports figures out there.

You won't hear me complaining! Let's face it, when it comes to scheduling, Larry's people just can't "Git R Done." Catch phrase humor is the lowest form of comedy- how is that line not spent yet?

Mariotti makes no sense in this article. He's part of the idealistic, 'purist' way of thinking that sports figures need to trade in all other aspects of their humanity because they are public figures here for our athletic entertainment only. If he had any respect for all the people that make his job possible, he would respect the fact that they have the right to express opinions on issues other than their own performance, team, or sport. Upon taking his job at the tabloid trash Sun-Times, was he forced to surrender his own beliefs for those of the newspaper and the company that owns it? No, so to suggest that Majerus has to do the same is completely hypocritical. Saluting silence over voicing one's beliefs (and as acting as an individual, not on behalf of the employer) is a real shame. I suppose he wished Jim Brown had always kept his mouth shut in an era of dramatic social change. Lumping Dana Jacobson's and Kelly Tilghman's embarrassing remarks in with Majerus' opinion is asinine. Majerus actually has a very political background, and years of thought going into his comments, while Jacobson and Tilghman just went too far and made mistakes. Mariotti values Brown's athletic performance more than issues that are way bigger than sports, and that's a real shame. Jordan and Woods have the rare ability to be the voice for multiple generations and work to shatter stereotypes. Both are smart enough to do it, Jordan has made it clear that he values the money over anything else, and Woods does a little with his foundation but won't make any public comments that people like Mariotti would call controversial. No one's forcing them to do anything, and what they choose to do is fine, but applauding their silence is counterproductive and reactionary. I propose a simple solution for guys like Mariotti who want nothing more than cookie cutter statements from sports figures. Instead of teams and schools having to pay or give scholarships to athletes, coaches, and staffs, they can instead invest in android-athletes that play the games instead. These androids will never make mistakes, controversial statements, take steroids, get injured, or show a trace of individuality. They will be programmed to play the games and give straightforward answers to the same questions (i.e. "One game at a time," "I have to thank my teammates," "Hard work paid off," etc.). Once current athletes' contracts expire or scholarships run out, the androids can be introduced into all sports. They won't even need coaches or trainers, just some initial programming and routine maintenance. Pro teams and schools will save money in the long run after the initial investment. Pair the savings with the lack of controversy- and thus only 'sports as we know it' - and everyone wins.

Actually, a round table discussion with all three (and Biondi for good measure) is one of the only ways I would actually see Larry the Cable Guy perform.

Uzbekistan is kind of small. Kazakhstan is much, much larger- and a more appropriate metaphor for Torquemada's, I mean, Burke's ego.

Does anyone know when Little or Wright will return for Dayton? Will either be available for the SLU game next Wednesday in Dayton?

I was being semi-sarcastic. I don't think there's a conspiracy at KMOV- CBS and its affiliates are too boring for that. But at the same time, I think it's valid that the reporter crossed the line in calling Majerus' Catholicism into question just for being at a Clinton rally. The questions that Majerus answered to reveal himself as pro-choice and for stem cell research never would have arisen if the reporter hadn't made that nonsensical connection (Democrat = bad Catholic). A sensible reporter would uphold the fact that in the US, politics are supposed to operate in a separate sphere from religion. People can vote one way or another and still disagree on a lot of issues. He presupposes that Catholics are one-issue voters; some are, most aren't. And hey, Billikan isn't a fair comparison. I would never come up with a conspiracy that the P-D is anti-Catholic; being anti-Catholic in St. Louis is just plain bad business.

Good points, Skip. Also, no one has mentioned this yet, but another A10 coach up in Philly has a radio show (I think he still has it, but at least had it for years)- Phil Martelli. He is a wear-it-on-his-sleeve liberal in pretty much every single issue that could be debated in politics. His show is nearly as much a political talk show as it is basketball, and last I heard it had a pretty good following. There's another coach at a Catholic school who has some viewpoints that might not fit into the Church's doctrine. No one seemed to raise any eyebrows about it, either. Which brings me to a key point: why did the KMOV reporter insist on linking Majerus' support of Clinton to being negative to his Catholic faith? Are there not political issues on both sides of the fence that go against Catholic teaching? Does the Church support the death penalty and war (as Republicans do)? It just seems fishy to me, and someone had an agenda. KMOV and its goofy moustachioed reporter are at fault here, not Majerus, not Archbishop Burke (until he goes off the deep end and cries out for discipline and denial of Communion).

SLU doesn't care. He wasn't acting on behalf of the University. If the school didn't allow its staff to have different viewpoints, it would be a lonely little island. If it really wants to be a top-ranked school, it can't make itself 'Catholic-only' and has to demonstrate that it allows people of all walks of life to learn and work there. Even if it's rooted in Jesuit tradition, I think it was Skip who said before that the Jesuit way of teaching encourages you to make your own decisions and think about things from all angles, not to allow your views to be dictated by someone else's dogma (oh yeah, Rick said that too). The school has already said that Rick's not in trouble and as long as he isn't pretending that the school sent him there, SLU respects his freedom of speech. Why do you keep hammering Church doctrine? That is by no means SLU's only mission. It doesn't matter if faculty or students share those beliefs or not. I had multiple theology professors with relatively liberal standpoints on social issues, and would have been much closer to Rick's side than the archbishop's. It sounds like you would rather have the school turn into some reactionary theocratic institution like Liberty or Oral Roberts in the evangelical world, but Catholic. Schools like that don't garner much respect outside of their bubbles (without even taking into account the widespread accounting fraud going on there). SLU has to not only allow, but welcome all viewpoints in order to stay academically (and athletically) competitive.