The week that was… The Blues p
icked up a win and some losses, the Missouri Tigers got beat, Waino is coming back, and I’m getting ready for some college hoops. Let’s go…The week that was in sports and some random thoughts. As always, you can email me at dan@scoopswithdannymac.com
On a personal note, I will be doing the SLU Billikens television package on FOX Sports Midwest. They will be good. How good? I’d say a tournament team. It’s year three of the Travis Ford Era and he’s done an outstanding job getting local talent to stay home. Look, I get it if a local kid decides to go play for Duke, Carolina, or Kentucky, just to name a few but, if not, stay at home. The upside beyond hoops and when after school is over is large, in a town that really takes care of their own.
Waino is back. I like the move. What’s there to lose? An incentive laden deal for a pitcher that is headed to the Cardinals Hall of Fame. If you’re watching the playoffs, you realize at this time of year, that a club can never have enough pitching. So, spring training gets here, and he begins as a starter. If that doesn’t work, he heads to the bullpen. Also, with one of the youngest staffs in all of baseball, a team can never underestimate the importance of leadership. He brings that and more. Low risk and the potential of a high reward. Glad he’s back.
I watched Missouri on Saturday and everything that is said about Alabama and their depth is true. At one point, they lost three of their top offensive performers and for the most part, they didn’t miss a beat. It’s a machine that is loaded with the top talent in the country. The aspect of the game that I couldn’t believe was the speed at the wide receiver position. It was eye popping. It’s clear they have athletes and then you see the speed and the “elite” athletes. In this day and age of recruiting, television, program exposure, it’s clear that Nick Saban is the best college football coach. Ever. He’s winning in an era that is the toughest in college athletics as it has ever been. Oh, please don’t have Drew Lock roll out to his left and throw anymore.
The Blues are off to a disappointing start. Their top line will be really good. It was encouraging to see the performance of Jake Allen in Chicago. Clearly, this is a talented team. It’s early and usually it takes time to figure what combinations work. However, the Blues are giving up leads in the third and too many penalties. That’s a disturbing trend and HAS to be fixed, the Blues can’t afford to lose all these games at home. It could come back and haunt them late in the season.
The MLB playoffs have been entertaining. However, as I see teams go so early to their pens, I have to wonder if we have some kind of a shift back to starters going deeper into games. I’m not convinced this can work over the course of high-leverage situations for a month. This is on the heals of a 6-month season in which there are fewer and fewer starters going deep into games. The last pitchers that can throw a ball and still lift their arm to comb their hair could the pitchers that are on the championship team. It amplifies the point of having as much pitching as a team can possibly have.
I had my charity golf tournament this past week and I’d like to thank everybody that participated. It’s the 16th year we’ve put this on and it’s raised over 3-million dollars for kids and their families that have special needs.
The MLS is back on track for St. Louis. I’m the first to admit that I’m not a huge soccer fan but, I enjoy it and I would support it. The town needs this. The town needs a win. The folks at Enterprise are to be thanked for all their efforts to help St. Louis. It’s not just soccer and the sponsorship of the “naming rights” of the hockey arena but, it’s so many of the philanthropic efforts around town outside of sports. They have done so much for St. Louis and should be thanked and supported. 
This past week I dropped a podcast with George Grande and I really enjoyed it. He’s a class act and there’s some great advice for aspiring broadcasters. In the podcast, he talks about the people that he’s surrounded himself over the years and that included Red Schoendienst.
A final thought, I’ll be at the “HotShots Sports Bar and Grill” in St. Charles tomorrow night for a taping of a podcast with Blues Hall of Famer Bernie Federko. It starts at 7 and I hope to see you there.
