Join columnist Jeff Gordon for his live STL sports chat at 1 p.m. Friday
Bring your Cards, Blues, Mizzou, SLU and MLS questions and comments, and talk to columnist Jeff Gordon in his weekly live chat.
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The usual suspects keep coming up in speculation, Chiarot and Chychrun. I like Lindholm of the Ducks and Larsson of the Kraken. We could see several useful guys in play, Right now the prices are high and teams like the Blues need to deal closer to the deadline to have any chance of making the salary cap work. I have no way to handicap it. Armstrong is pretty good at obscuring his intentions. -
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I'm sure some boosters would vow to never, ever, ever come to a game again -- but fans have been staying away for a long, long time, except for the brief Michael Porter Jr. Era.Martin is not a quitter. He has been up on his feet, coaching every sequence of every game. But he's also made it clear he won't beg for his job. If he's not wanted, he'll take the buyout and move on to the next challenge, whatever that will be.
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It's not hard to see why some player activists would vote against the deal. We've talked about the weak points. But as always in these scenarios, here is the question when push comes to shove: How much more can you realistically get, and will the cost of that be worth it?
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My guess is this: If Missouri was committed to Martin, the school would have already said so. The non-comments are usually telling. The team was delayed getting back to Boone County due to weather, so that set back the timetable to meet with Martin -- either to let him make his case or to negotiate his exit. I agree that the resolution could come very quickly.As for the offseason, Martin or the next coach needs keep a half-dozen key players, starting with Brazile and Kobe Brown. Also, the coach has to add significant help in the transfer portal: Point guard, scorer and proven 4/5 player to relief Brown of having to defend the post.And . . . the next coach has to have some input in the development of a strong Name, Imagine and Likeness program so the school can land some more high-end kids out of high school.
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The Blues have proven they can compete with the league powers. But to advance in the playoffs, they will have to get their team game in sync. They are a long way from that right now, The goal is to be playing very well at the end of the season, then build on that step by step as the games get tougher. Teams can morph into a real Cup contender by winning under pressure. The Blues have done it before to get to some Final Fours and, of course, the Cup.
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Tell my cousin Russell Wilson is over rated. Seahawks won a Super Bowl with defense and Beast mode full back. When Wilson had the chance to win one he threw the worst interception in SB history. Seahawks killed Denver in that trade Lock is young and hungry could be very good. I never knew I had all these relatives! They must want money...
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Gordo,
I'm still in the camp that wants HC CM back with Mizzou for next year and see where it goes. This is his team and he's taken ownership of the performance and results, but this goes back a long ways.
When Norm Stewart left the Mizzou program was considered a top 25 program. Lots of big names were mentioned as potential replacements, like Self and Calipari. The MU administration has been screwing it up ever since. Definitely some head scratching moves. Quin Snyder couldn't run a clean program. Mike Anderson was burning time until Arkansas job opened. Frank Haith was hired even though he was being investigated at Miami. We know the rest all too well.
No coach is going to be successful until Choi and DRF get the Admin fixed to support the program and get that part headed in the right direction.
It's a shame Mike White is considered on the hot seat at Florida. SC's Martin too. Weber just quit. Good coaches who run good programs are being tossed aside for baseless hopes and wishes.
At this rate all coaches should only have 1 year contracts and players can transfer every year until they're out of eligibility. -
Boosters are willing to burn through a lot of buyout money while trying to find a coach that pleases them. That is the story these days in college basketball. It's hard to feel bad for the coaches, since they walk away with lifetime financial security and then some.I assume the administration has been checking with coaching agents to see who would and who would not be interested in this job. That enters the calculation for keeping or firing a coach. Missouri doesn't want to dump Martin, then get rejected by its first 12 choices to replace him.TigerFan is well aware of this school's messing coaching searches in the past. The program doesn't want another one of them.
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Jeff,
Let's really go off the chain here and suppose St. Louis had only the Blues and the soon-to-be futball club. How big an arena for the Blues would be viable? Same for the futball club? I know both leagues prefer the 20,000 seat sizes but I'd think the Blues could and would fill a 30-35,000 seat venue. What are your thoughts? -
An arena that size for hockey would have too many bad seats, like when my beloved Pistons moved to the Silverdome with a makeshift seating configuration. I believe 20,000 is just right. For hockey, the higher seats have better sightlines for flow of the game over the total rink.As for soccer, the MLS hasn't proven capable of consistently drawing big crowds in all the markets. The league has prioritized building cozier stadiums to create atmosphere. Better to have some ticket scarcity than sections of empty seats.
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The division was never going to be cakewalk for the Cardinals. The Brewers are loaded up with quality pitching. The Cubs are hugely profitable and there is talent in the market, so that franchise should have no trouble building a competitive team this year. Let's see if the ownership is serious about that.
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Jeff - just bought a digital subscription because of great content like these charts. I've always admired your work. Here's my question. As a STL fan living in Sioux City, IA MLB continues to blackout six teams - Cards - Royals - Cubs - White Sox - Brewers and Twins. I live 5 miles from the South Dakota and Nebraska border. If I were to move 5 miles in either direction, the blacked out teams go from 6 to 1. Is there any possibility MLB will throw us a bone in the Hawkeye state? Hard to create and sustain a fan base with such limited ability to access the games.
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Thanks for subscribing and supporting local journalism.This blackout weirdness is a persistent problem. We get a lot of complaints about the blackout pattern. I don't know what to tell you. More games will be spread to more platforms going forward, so that might help you see more games. Also, Bally will get to sell individual team games directly to customers at some point -- or so I expect -- so maybe that will offer opportunity.
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I'm still looking for the Cards to sign Colin Moran, or someone very similar. Cards need someone to adequately fill in defensively at 3rd and 1st. I don't think Schwarber or someone of that type fits the need very well. It would take care of the DH but not the other parts
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