Saints go one for two Monday
Not sure if we’ve ever seen something like this, the way Thomas More’s men shot the ball in Wednesday’s heartbreaking 62-61 home loss to Ohio Dominican. The Saints were spectacularly good from distance, hitting 14 of 30 from three-point range for a terrific 48.9 percent. So how did they lose?
They converted just seven of 24 — an awful 29.2 percent — from inside the arc on their two-point attempts. They were perfect from the line but got there just five times. Crazy stuff for the 7-5 Saints who dropped to 1-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference — with two overtime losses plus this one-pointer but do get two more league home games this week — Thursday against a Northwood team that beat TMU by two and then Saturday against Hillsdale. Six-foot-5 freshman guard Daniel Allen led TMU with 19 points.
The good news for TMU Monday was how the women’s team doubled up on Ursuline, 82-41, in GMAC play to improve to 11-1 for the season and 3-1 in the GMAC. The Rylee‘s — Turner and Leonard — led the way with 15 and 14 points, respectively in the romp. MU women finish the week with doubleheaders with the men — vs. Northwood Thursday and Hillsdale Saturday afternoon.
You get what you pay for… some of the time
Just a nod here to the way of the sports world these days for Northern Kentucky fans — and there are many — for both UK basketball and the Cincinnati Bengals.
If as reported, UK has spent an almost-beyond-belief $22 million in NIL money for this often-uninspired roster of mostly transfers that sometimes shows up, sometimes plays defense, sometimes plays like it cares but not often for good guy but so far not-so-good coach Mark Pope, may be the worst bargain in the new era of pay-for-players in college sports. To put that number into context, none of the remaining four teams in the college football playoffs is spending that much for their entire football roster.
But then there are our Bengals, where fans here are realizing that when you pay for just four players, and no one to protect your highly talented but oft-injured quarterback, and not anyone else on your roster and try to draft your way to the top but have the fewest number of scouts in the NFL and try to get local government to pay for most of your stadium while you keep all the profits, you get exactly what the Bengals paid for — a 6-11 team and a family patriarch/owner worth more than a billion dollars.
Which has to have local fans wondering why the heck are they paying top dollar for tickets while they walk through the winter cold and wind across the Suspension Bridge to see this team in — as they say — action.
No. 500 for Ft. Thomas native Walz
Nice work by University of Louisville women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz, a Highlands and NKU alum whose 14-3 Lady Cardinals gave Walz his 500th career win, 85-60, over Virginia Tech, 85-60. Said Walz, in his 19th season as U of L head coach and just the seventh active coach with 500 wins at one school: “Five-hundred wins doesn’t happen alone. Grateful for every current and former player, coach, staff member, our incredible fans, and my family for the support along the way. Thank you.”
CovCath holds on to No. 2 in the state rankings
Not a bad 10 days or so for Kentucky’s now No. 1 boys’ basketball team, Louisville Male (10-2). All they did in that time was knock off No. 2 Covington Catholic in the King of the Bluegrass for the Colonels’ first loss, then beat then No. 1 Louisville St. Xavier and then No. 3 Lexington Frederick Douglass. Which is why the Male Bulldogs are now No. 1 in the state in this week’s SI.com rankings.
The good news here is that CovCath (10-1) retained its No. 2 ranking ahead of St. X (9-4), now No. 3. Two other Northern Kentucky teams retained their Top 25 spots– 10-1 Highlands at No. 17 and 12-1 Holy Cross at No. 22 after the Indians crushed Ohio teams Middletown and Purcell-Marian last weekend.
Here’s the entire top 25: 1) Louisville Male, 10-2; 2) CovCath 10-1; 3) Louisville St. X (9-4); 4) Madison Central (12-1); 5) Daviess County 12-3; 6) Frederick Douglass (7-3); 7) George Rogers Clark 8-3; 8) Warren Central 8-1; 9) Boyd County 9-4; 10) Lexington Catholic 8-4; 1 11) North Laurel 9-4; 12) North Oldham 8-4; 13) Louisville Butler 10-3; 14) Bell County10-2; 15) McCracken County 10-3; 16) Pikeville 10-1; 17) Highlands 10-1; 18) Louisville Ballard; 19) Louisville Seneca 8-2; 20) Louisville Eastern 12-2; 21) Clinton County 12-2; 22) Covington Holy Cross (12-1); 23) Montgomery County 7-4; 24) Ashland Blazer (8-3); 25) Lyon County 7-5.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X @dweber3440.