1. Having moved back to Kellogg in 2017, I didn't buy snow (winter) tires the first two winters. In part, I managed by not going out very much, especially when the roads were snowy and icy. Today, I decided to do it differently this year. I've been going to CdA and Spokane more often. I'd like to keep doing that. I'll feel more secure driving with snow tires, so I went to Silver Valley Tire this morning and bought a set. Even though, having looked at the forecast, it looks like the weather will be good in the Pendleton area for my drive down Friday and back on Sunday, I figured I'd be ready in case a change occurred and bought these tires before making the trip.
2. Just by chance, I looked at today's broadcast schedule on FS1 and, to my delight, I saw that the Johhnies of St. John's were playing the Mercer Bears at 3:30. Primarily, I was fired up because I am eager to see how St. John's performs this year under new coach Mike "40 Minutes of Hell" Anderson (I admit, though: I missed seeing Chris Mullin on the sideline) and I'm eager to see how they play without three of last year's stars, Shamorie Ponds, Justin Simon, and Marvin Clark.
Having watched tonight's game, I think the Johnnies will be fun to watch again. They will play pressing, pressure defense and try to get as many points as possible in the open court. Last year, the Johnnies loved to run and gun, but they weren't a solid defensive squad. Coach Mike Anderson emphasizes defense and, tonight, it looked to me like the Johnnies are applying his teaching. I really enjoyed seeing L.J. Figueroa and Mustapha Heron back in action and both seemed to enjoy flying up and down the court. Heron's three point shot looked solid.
It turned out the game was a mismatch. The Johnnies triumphed 109-79. Two new Johnnies looked promising: Nick Rutherford and Marcellus Earlington. It's hard to tell when a game is such a mismatch and a blow out just how good the winning team will be against better competition, but, at least, I got to see what the Johnnies' style of play will be and who it appears they'll lean on for scoring and leadership. It might not be a great season, but it looks like it'll be fun.
3. Last winter, I had a blast watching FS1's coverage of college basketball. I enjoy their broadcasters a lot, as well as their studio analysts. Tonight, I was stoked when I saw that Mike Hill and Steve Lavin were handling the studio chores. Lavin is a great analyst, loves to play with language, is good-natured, and often very funny. He and Mike Hill have fun playing off of each other and I suddenly realized tonight how much I'd missed their work.
Court side, for the St. John's game, Brian Custer was solid: knowledgeable, easy to listen to, and in tune with the rhythms of the game. As the broadcast got underway, I was very happy to see that Sarah Kustok was providing analysis and commentary. I first heard Kustok last season and enjoyed her deep insight into basketball and the teams playing and found her insights illuminating. The same was true tonight.
After the Johnnies' game ended, I watched a ragged game between Cincinnati and Ohio State. At times it was painful to watch both teams going through early season growing pains, especially in the first half. Cincinnati is playing under a new coach, John Brannen, and the team is learning a new style of play. Early on, Ohio State just flat struggled. They didn't even score until the game was 7-8 minutes old. The teams looked a little better in the second half, and despite their awful start, Ohio State triumphed, 64-56.
Even when the game was brutal to watch, I enjoyed the play-by-play work of Tim Brando and the insights of analyst Jim Jackson. It's fun to listen to two broadcasters who are both in tune with the action on the floor and the challenges both teams face at the beginning of the season and who have a great knowledge of college basketball history.
With my mind so occupied by the baseball playoffs and the World Series, I hadn't paid much attention to college basketball's early season schedule, but I'm getting into it now and am happy to see so many intriguing games coming up on FS1, especially next week during the Dave Gavitt Tipoff Games between teams in the Big East and the Big Ten.
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