Odds 'n ends

Wow. That show was fun. We had some fun topics to talk about, and we got to beat up on Ron like old times. It'll be back to normal next week though.

A few notes:
-The Cards are now 0-2, and I'm not thrilled. Carp's arm is sore and will miss 1 start. I hope it's not an indication of something more serious than that. At least Kip pitched pretty well today (6 innings, 2 ER). Who knows, maybe D. Dunc has actually whipped him into a legit #2. Let's hope. What concerns me more though is the lack of offense. 2 games, 2 runs is not good. Maybe its just sluggishness, but I have a small hunch the Cards' underlying injury problems (Enc, Edmonds, Eck, Rolen) may hurt us in a big way this year. I'd put good odds on Walt being forced to trade for a bat or 2 eventually, or selling high on some older players (Edmonds, Enc, perhaps even Eck or Rolen) if the price is right at the deadline and settling for "next year." I guess it's WAY too early to be talking like that, but I haven't had a great feeling since we failed to sign at least 1 impact bat in the off season.

-I am not too down on Dana Altman pulling a Saban-esque switcheroo on Arkansas. (I realize it's not the same scenario as Saban but the indecisive coach comparison is there.) For those who haven't heard, Altman left Creighton for Arkansas only to rescind and successfully ask for reacceptance at Creighton today. I can understand (and he said it was for his family) not wanting to leave a place where you and your family are comfortable, and where the pressure on winning is pretty much just to get to the Dance, and anything past that is gravy. Much better than the seemingly stark raving mad Razorbacks administration and the SEC. I also really don't see the Arkansas job as a marquee one now, anyway. They haven't been a major player since the days of Nolan Richardson, and I think his leaving really threw the program into dismay. Plus, with the emergence of the football team, the pressure will be increased on the basketball team, probably with lesser resources devoted to it. Not a situation I would want to step into.

As I touched on in the show Saturday, I think there is a common feeling and trend toward coaches being content at lower-pressure jobs. We saw it with Tubby Smith going to Minnesota; Alford moving to N.M.; Billy Gillispie at A&M; Chris Lowery at SIUC; Calipari at Memphis; Jeff Bzdelik at Air Force (for now anyway) ; and by my odds, Billy Donovan, who I think will stay at UF. Now there will always be those schools that can lure the guy they want away, and there will always be guys willing to move on from their jobs on to bigger and better things (see Beilein to Michigan), but I think the "traditional powers" don't hold the stature in younger coaches and players' eyes. And that's why these mid-major teams and up-and-coming programs (Tim Floyd at USC, Bob Huggins at K-State, Mark Few & Gonzaga) have been successful on the court and in recruiting. Personally, I like it. I guess it sounds funny to talk about more parity in the game when for the first time in 15 years a team won back-to-back championships and the final 4 featured 2 of the most storied programs of all time, but I think the playing field is becoming more even, and I think it's a good thing.

Ok, that was a lot to write on 2 things, so I'm gonna head out. Maybe I'll try to arrange some stuff better for a column in the Argus this week. We'll see. And I'll see you later.

EDIT: for those of you who care and didn't know, you can check out the Argus online at www.iwu.edu/~theargus.
There you'll find my column this week, and whenever I publish one (which isn't as often as I'd like).