cgeldmacher

I got blasted for suggesting that there was something to this, and now it seems like most are at least admitting that there's enough noise in the media that there must be something to the rumors. Go ahead and give your obligatory the media are liars speeches again if you want, but I'm going to face the facts. Several sources are saying that Ford is "expressing interest" in other jobs. That means one of two things. Either it's a ploy to try to get SLU to fulfill the promises it made to him (i.e. refurbishing locker rooms and creating player lounge) or he really is interested in leaving and is using Gordon and Thatch as incentive for any interested school. I don't care what tier people think he is on as a coach, those two players are game changers for a program, obviously more Gordon than Thatch, and Ford's recruiting abilities in general are enticing. Let's suppose for a second that he doesn't intend to leave, but that it is a ploy to get SLU's attention. Does that not bother anyone on this board?! We appear to have a great situation going here with Coach Ford. If he's pissed that he was promised a locker room and lounge, you should all be pissed that he doesn't have those things already like he was promised. Why does nobody here seem to care about that? We shouldn't have to put up with getting excited about the future only to, once again, have the carpet pulled out from underneath our feet because of BS like Pestello not coming through on a promise. Also, someone questioned my previous post about why I blame Pestello. Simple answer: He buried his head in the sand for several years while the finances went to s#*t. Now we have something like a $16 million dollar deficit. He knew when he came in that Biondi was out because he was "the bad guy" and Pestello decided he needed to be liked by everyone instead of making hard decisions about finances. Now its biting him in the ass. Also, if this is the reason Ford hasn't got his locker room and lounge, then it's also biting the athletic department in the ass. That would not be May's fault. That would be Pestello's fault if non-athletic budget problems are affecting money for athletics.

Dave Matter was just on with Bernie. He said that Mizzou does have interest in Ford. They talked about several other candidates also. Matter said that the interest in Ford is do to the success that Ford has had in recruiting area kids while at SLU and that it should be viewed as a compliment to Ford's success in that area. Bernie followed up by saying that he didn't think that Ford was a big enough hire for Mizzou. He actually said that Ford was a good hire for SLU, but not a big enough splash for Mizzou.

Here is why I'm concerned about this using the arguments against it as references: * He wouldn't move his family two years in a row - His family could stay right in the house they are in now and go to the schools they are going to right now while he coaches and commutes from Columbia. I assume, given his recruiting schedule, that they don't see him a ton as it is. A two hour drive isn't going to hold this back. * He wouldn't leave the recruits he has coming in - The prize recruit he has a commitment from, Gordon, absolutely could go with him and Tate to Mizzou. So could Thatch. * No one would respect a coach that leaves after one year - The guy many consider the best coach going right now, Calipari, doesn't have much respect among a lot of people. Respect, unfortunately, doesn't matter much. Recruiting and winning matters. This is why Calipari gets paid millions to do what he does. Does anyone really think that Mizzou would shy away from Ford because of this issue. If they think he's the right guy, because of his recruiting skills, they won't hesitate. * Ford might be pissed that he didn't get things he was promised by SLU - If it is true that Ford was promised a swanky players locker room and Pestello is telling him he can't have it because Pestello crapped his pants with regard to the school's finances, then Ford might be saying to himself that he needs to get out of here before it's too late. * Ford hasn't proved himself, yet, during his one year at SLU - Mizzou doesn't care. Look at Illinois. Groce continues to fail to prove himself every year, but the fans and administration get hypnotized by his recruiting classes. Look at us. Ford hasn't changed the results much from a record standpoint, but we are all overly impressed with his recruiting and what the future may hold. Mizzou may simply see Ford's ability to recruit this area and see that he could bring Gordon and Thatch and say "done deal." If Ford leaves to take the Mizzou job, Pestello needs to pack his bags to head back to the East Coast.

Since the hype last year was around Bryce Drew, I decided to look up some numbers on him. In the past two seasons, Vanderbilt was 21-14 (14/15) & 19-14 (15/16). Each year they finished 7th in the SEC. This year, Vanderbilt is 17-14 & currently is 7th in the SEC. Last two seasons under Drew, Valpraiso was 28-6 (14/15) and 29-7 (15/16). Each year they finished 1st in the Horizon. Without Drew this year, they are 24-8 and tied for first in the Horizon. I know one year removed is a bad sample to work with, but Drew becoming the Vanderbilt coach has not made any difference at Vandy this year, and the loss of Drew hasn't resulted in a sizeable drop-off at Valpo either. That being said, Ford hasn't improved our record from last season, but we all know that he was working with a limited roster. I think he would have gotten several more wins with Ash in the lineup. There's not a huge point to be made here, but I would take Ford and the excitement he has created at SLU over having Bryce Drew. I think we would all agree about that. That sentiment is very different than it was almost a year ago when we all wanted Drew and were disappointed with the hire of Ford.

A four seed. That's strong. I can see us making it at least to the Elite 8 based upon those in our side of the bracket.

I'm confused. You say several donors swore they wouldn't give while Biondi was in charge. I've also heard that one of the big problems with the financial situation right now is that donations are way down since Biondi left and Pestello took over and that they are bringing Biondi back to get the donors back that bailed. Maybe the donors you are referring to all graduated with social work degrees (meaning not really donors at all). Didn't Biondi get run out of town by the faculty, staff, and students because he was trying to institute tenure rules that would keep costs down? So, Biondi wants to put measures in place to keep control over costs, he gets chased, we get Pestello, and a few years later we have a financial crisis. It's been a long time since I graduated from the Business School, but I think the facts add up pretty well. Now, your trying to twist those facts to make it sound like donors swearing off Biondi was the problem. If that was the case, then we should have seen rise in donations in recent years. I don't think that is what happened.

I think we'll compete for the A-10 title with Dayton and VCU in the league. Playing them will help our RPI. Not having them will hurt it. Gonzaga stays in its league, because it has no other options. We may have options.

For anyone already making plans for that trip, tickets to Hamilton on Broadway for those days go on sale to the general public starting tomorrow (3-7-17) at 10:00 a.m. EST.

For those that want to get into the Big East, ask yourselves this: How likely will getting an invitation be if its suddenly harder to recruit to the lesser conference that the A-10 will become if this goes down. I guarantee that T. Ford will be able to recruit the level of kids he wants if he can tell them that they will be playing U-Conn, Memphis, Cincinnati, etc. every year. I'm not completely sure that he will be able to recruit guys to play against the teams that will be left in the A-10. Another question: Will Gordon sign next year if Dayton and VCU leave the conference? He might get some folks in his ear about the level of talent he will be facing affecting his draft status. If that happens, he may think that Kansas offers him better exposure. This AAC thing may represent a big moment in the history of our program. First, does it happen or not with Dayton & VCU. Second, if it does happen, do we get invited along.

I hope Chris May is being proactive about this AAC thing. I'm fine with staying in the A-10 as it currently is. But, if Dayton and VCU leave, we need to go to. The worst case scenario is that Dayton, VCU, and Wichita State go to the AAC and we don't. Suddenly, we would be stuck in a depleted A-10 that is full of east coast teams, the nearest of which would be Duquesne in Pittsburgh. It sounds like the wheels are already turning on this. We can't come late to this party if there's a shot at us going in with these other schools.

Let's make an official correction: GOSEETHEKIDSPLAY5FULLGAMESALSOKNOWNAS10HALVESNOTJUSTONEHALF

I agree with Brian. If Wich St. and Dayton were moving to the AAC, and we were also invited, I think you have to go. That basketball conference would be, by its own additions and by the A-10's attrition, a much better conference than the A-10. Leaving would put us in a more competitive conference than we were in. Staying would leave us in a worse conference than we were in. Plus, the regional rivalries would be much better. I like roadtripping to games. There are very few options in the A-10. There would be many more options in the AAC. The key for me would be Wich St. and Dayton jumping with us. If that doesn't happen, then stay where we are. If it does, I think we have to go too.

I agree. I think he starts next year or at least gets significant minutes. He and JJ are the two guys who I think will be better with better talent around them.

That's a good point. Teams considering whether or not the schedule a game with us are contending with the fact that we are good now, but that most in the country only know our women's team by its history. This adds to the idea that a win doesn't gain them much, but that a loss loses them a lot more. This may be why scheduling decent teams is so difficult.

We used to be zoo members also. I totally disagree. The Zoo is one of St. Louis's treasures. It is a top 5 zoo, because of the funding it gets. If you take away that funding, then we have a zoo like Indianapolis or Kansas City instead of a top Zoo. I'm a big believer in lower taxes, but that belief is based upon the idea that taxes should be going to things like roads and the zoo and not for entitlement programs.

Women's Non conference road game locations: Irvine, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Peoria, IL; Little Rock, AR; Cape Girardeau, MO; Tulsa, OK, and Nashville, TN. The only games that could be considered "local" were Cape and Peoria. The rest were legit trips. Men's team non-con road games: Las Vegas, NV (2 tournament games- 1 trip); Wichita, KS; Carbondale, IL. That's it. The women's team did much more than the men's team on non-con travel. I think Stone is a blessing for the program. She has taken it to heights it has never seen. She and her staff deserve a pass for any snafu this year on scheduling. Frankly, she deserves about a five season pass at this point. That being said, they do need to work on better scheduling for next year. Clearly, the budget is there for travel. They just need to take the money for the six non-con road games they took this year and do the same with better opponents next year.

No benefit? So, the State of Missouri is actually not out the $9 million in tax revenue from not having the Rams ($150 million salary cap X 6% state income tax)? Also, the City is not out $1.5 million in tax revenue ($150 million salary cap X 1% City income tax)? Also, the State and City are not out the additional income taxes from all the executives, coaches, assistant coaches, trainers, field maintenance employees, vendors, etc., etc., etc? Drives me crazy when someone who reads one or two flawed personal agenda driven studies that only discuss things like sales tax (which you'll notice I didn't mention above), thinks other people know nothing about the economics of sports facilities. Putting aside the fact that the Rams were probably going regardless of the region putting money into a stadium, the State and City are worse off to the tune of $15 million to $20 million a year simply in lost income taxes. Stop being blind to the economic impact of sports teams just because you read an article about how revenues for local bars don't change much when government doesn't help invest in a stadium or arena.

If the Fox Sports deal with the BE is truly $500 million for 10 teams and $600 million for 12 teams, I would go to the BE and tell them we'll take less than our equal share for the remainder of this TV deal. That way the current member schools would be looking at adding revenue by including SLU rather than it being a wash. I bet we could work out a deal that still puts the same or a little more TV money in SLU's pocket compared to our A10 deal, but creates an incentive for the BE schools to include us. Think about it, if Creighton, DePaul, Marquette, Xavier are lukewarm about SLU or even against adding us, but then suddenly they are looking at taking in more money simply by bringing us into the fold with UConn, then that might tip the scales.

Is there any possibility that this would open up a spot to go in with UConn?

I still have five extra tickets to the Fordam game in the Bronx on Saturday. Any NYC alums that want to go to the game just let me know.

I think that 3 Star's point was that the last scholarship would go to a kid that would start out 12 or 13 on the depth chart. If he does well, he might work his way into the rotation next year. Obviously, you expect him to eventually develop into a starter. We will eventually have to adjust our mindset from this recent frenzy of recruiting. Ford started with nothing and, therefore, had tons of immediate minutes to offer kids. That only lasts so long if you bring in quality guys. Eventually, if your recruits pan out, you don't have immediate minutes to offer to high school kids or transfers. That's a good thing. Eventually, the high school kids you recruit have to be okay with the fact that they have quality guys ahead of them and that they will need to work their way into the rotation in a year or two. Again, if you recruit well, getting to this point is what you want.

They're conditioned to only show up when they get free pizza. I can see the texts flying back and forth now "You going to the game tonight?" "I don't know, is there going to be free pizza." "No." "Let's do something else." Trying to bribe the students into coming to the games with free food, instead of just trying to play to their school pride, has backfired.

Only advantage to Gordon reclassifying, which I doubt would happen, is that we would lock him in sooner rather than give the blue bloods more time to try to change his mind. If he was already locked in for us, I would say wait another year.

Looks like Leech has an offer already from Washington. Is he tight with the Porters?

Anyone else getting the ominous feeling that this Billiken team is getting ready to punch us in the gut. Just starting to get the good feelings flowing. Emotional draining win this week. Team that we are expected to beat. I'm worried.