ST. LOUIS — 5 On Your Side sports director Frank Cusumano is dropping by every once in a while to share his quick hits on the St. Louis sports scene, food he's thinking about and shows he's watching. Here's the latest 'Frankly Speaking':
- I think after Sports Plus and Pete Rose Sunday night, the next best thing on television is the HBO series, Mare of Easttown. It’s a crime thriller with Kate Winslet. I will be home by 11:15 and watching it at 11:20. Monique is out of town. We are supposed to watch together. Yes, I am cheating on her.
- I probably won’t get to heaven because of this next statement. That old series Two and a Half Men is dang funny.
- Because he is a great pitcher who seems to be getting better each game, and because he’s already 4-0, and because the Cardinals always seem to hit for him, Jack Flaherty could end up in the mid 20’s in victories this season. He really could. Although the stat geeks say that wins don’t matter. They do.
- I have no idea if Tyler O’Neill is going to continue this, but I think it’s realistic that Tyler becomes the next Randal Grichuk. He can run and field and hit with power but he just won’t be an on base percentage guy. Just stay healthy, draw a few more walks and we will see how the numbers look in October. Staying healthy is number one.
- Dylan Carlson is too mature to be 22 years old. He just has a sophistication at the plate. Now it helps he is an off the charts athlete with great hand eye coordination. I just like the way he slows the game down. I like the way he is getting better like every week.
- Ryan O’Reilly was on Sports Plus recently. He said he has never thought about the idea of a statue outside Enterprise Center. I know it’s a long way off. However, if he plays another seven years or so like he has played the first three years, we may have to call a sculptor one day. That performance on Saturday was one for the ages. The game should have been over but he wouldn’t allow it. He willed his team to victory.
- I feel sorry for people outside of St. Louis who have never had a pork steak. I really enjoy pasta. In fact, today I made Spaghetti Carbonara. But the pork steak I ate tonight blew it away. With the right barbecue sauce and a high quality meat, you just can’t go wrong.
- Steph Curry has won enough awards and championships. I know he is a great guy too. But it’s time for Brad Beal to win something-like the NBA scoring title. Tenths of a point separate them. This baby is going down the wire. It will be like a George Gervin/David Thompson type of finish on the last day.
- The Francis Howell basketball job recently opened up because their great coach, Kurt Jacob, stepped down. It’s a wonderful school district with plenty of fine athletes. I would love to be a basketball coach. I coached over a thousand games of my three kids. I have spent hundreds of hours watching Grawer, Sutton, Pitino, Spoonhour, Romar, Soderberg, Majerus and Ford run practices. Just sayin!
- Chris May, the outstanding Athletic Director at SLU, has made a lot of great hires. One of his best ever is hiring the Harvard grad, Katie Shields to coach the women’s soccer team. Three straight conference titles and she is cleaning up recruiting. She may turn SLU into a dynasty.
