Mornin Mates...
Today's Topic = Upcoming Fireworks
The 4th of July is this coming Thursday and there will be a lot of celebrations that include pyrotechnics galore around the country...
So, my question for all of you today is this...how many fireworks will be going off in our Big Three sports this next cycle in the Big 12..??
Will our football team win enough games to be bowl eligible and, if so, should we bring out the fireworks to celebrate..??
Will our basketball team win enough games to be a March Madness participant and, if it does, should we bring out the fireworks to celebrate..??
Will our baseball team win enough games to make the college baseball playoffs and, if it does, should we bring out the fireworks to celebrate..??
And, if all three of our Big Three Sun Devil sports do those things should we celebrate by having a parade down Mill Avenue that includes lots of fireworks right around this time next year..??
I can't wait to see the updated football roster in the near future to see where our players are with their strength and conditioning prior to the season...
I'm hoping and trusting that by this time, Dilly and his staff have developed his players in a way that seemed lacking under the prior regime...
And, I hope and trust that Bobby's crew will be in the best BB shape possible entering our season, since he has already said that Big 12 BB competition will be characterized by playing against "grown men" and not by a roster full of physically immature young men...
Furthermore, I hope and trust that with a new pitching coach and pitching lab in place that our baseball team will be able to have a pitching staff that doesn't have a team ERA in the stratosphere of college baseball, anymore...
And, getting back to Sun Devil football, will a deeper and more talented roster add up to a jump in enough wins to have a winning record this season...
We get to play Kansas on Oct 5th at home and I like what Lance Leipold (age 60) has done there in only three years as the Jayhawks coach...
The Jayhawks were a designated win for opponents for decades before LL showed up and turned the once lowly program around...
He only went 2-10 and 1-8 in his first season in Lawrence, KS (2021), but went 6-7 and 3-6 in his second season (2022) that included a bowl game...
Last season, his third at the school, he went 9-4 and 5-4 that included a bowl win despite missing their starting QB for a period of time during the season...
And, the Jayhawks are now picked to be good enough to challenge for the Big 12 championship in LL's fourth year at Kansas...
Both Leipold and Fisch had four game win bumps in their second seasons at Kansas and AU, respectively, so can Dilly and his staff do the same for our Sun Devils..??
I guess we will begin to find out when our team starts preseason practice in about another month...
The three biggest areas of concern seem to be centered around the all important QB position, our offensive line (especially the tackle positions) and special teams that were pretty dreadful last season...
But, we are undefeated right now and, maybe, we have made enough progress this past year with which to fix and improve so many areas on the team...
In any event, I hope that you all have a safe and sound July 4th no matter where you live...
I'm going to store up on some fireworks in anticipation of better football, basketball and baseball seasons this next Sun Devil sports year...
How about you..??
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
Today's Topic = Upcoming Fireworks
The 4th of July is this coming Thursday and there will be a lot of celebrations that include pyrotechnics galore around the country...
So, my question for all of you today is this...how many fireworks will be going off in our Big Three sports this next cycle in the Big 12..??
Will our football team win enough games to be bowl eligible and, if so, should we bring out the fireworks to celebrate..??
Will our basketball team win enough games to be a March Madness participant and, if it does, should we bring out the fireworks to celebrate..??
Will our baseball team win enough games to make the college baseball playoffs and, if it does, should we bring out the fireworks to celebrate..??
And, if all three of our Big Three Sun Devil sports do those things should we celebrate by having a parade down Mill Avenue that includes lots of fireworks right around this time next year..??
I can't wait to see the updated football roster in the near future to see where our players are with their strength and conditioning prior to the season...
I'm hoping and trusting that by this time, Dilly and his staff have developed his players in a way that seemed lacking under the prior regime...
And, I hope and trust that Bobby's crew will be in the best BB shape possible entering our season, since he has already said that Big 12 BB competition will be characterized by playing against "grown men" and not by a roster full of physically immature young men...
Furthermore, I hope and trust that with a new pitching coach and pitching lab in place that our baseball team will be able to have a pitching staff that doesn't have a team ERA in the stratosphere of college baseball, anymore...
And, getting back to Sun Devil football, will a deeper and more talented roster add up to a jump in enough wins to have a winning record this season...
We get to play Kansas on Oct 5th at home and I like what Lance Leipold (age 60) has done there in only three years as the Jayhawks coach...
The Jayhawks were a designated win for opponents for decades before LL showed up and turned the once lowly program around...
He only went 2-10 and 1-8 in his first season in Lawrence, KS (2021), but went 6-7 and 3-6 in his second season (2022) that included a bowl game...
Last season, his third at the school, he went 9-4 and 5-4 that included a bowl win despite missing their starting QB for a period of time during the season...
And, the Jayhawks are now picked to be good enough to challenge for the Big 12 championship in LL's fourth year at Kansas...
Both Leipold and Fisch had four game win bumps in their second seasons at Kansas and AU, respectively, so can Dilly and his staff do the same for our Sun Devils..??
I guess we will begin to find out when our team starts preseason practice in about another month...
The three biggest areas of concern seem to be centered around the all important QB position, our offensive line (especially the tackle positions) and special teams that were pretty dreadful last season...
But, we are undefeated right now and, maybe, we have made enough progress this past year with which to fix and improve so many areas on the team...
In any event, I hope that you all have a safe and sound July 4th no matter where you live...
I'm going to store up on some fireworks in anticipation of better football, basketball and baseball seasons this next Sun Devil sports year...
How about you..??
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
