I found the most predictable response to this trade, considering the source. bsky.app/profile/reds...
09.02.2026 15:19
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I found the most predictable response to this trade, considering the source. bsky.app/profile/reds...
Ed Cooley is blessed: His team is 1-6 in the Big East in Year 3 and folks in DC have other things to concern themselves with besides his embarrassing program...oh, and payday is always just around the corner. ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/ed-cooley-...
I'm going to the store to return this preseason-top-5 St. John's team I was sold.
Words on Providence's first game vs. Holy Cross, including thoughts on other PC opening nights, how the passing and shooting looked and more. Also, how did a bunch of former and almost Friars perform in their debuts with new teams? #pcbb ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/underreact...
The college basketball season is nearly upon us, which means it's time to take stock of reasons for optimism and reasons for concern for Providence Friars fans entering the 2025-26 season: ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/3-reasons-...
Coming tomorrow at ultimatecranston.substack.com ...
And yet, the Red Sox bullpen is actually quite good. Speaks more to sheer number of close games than performance of bullpen.
For the love of God, stop calling it a "ghost runner." There is a person standing on second base -- it's not a ghost.
Nuf Cedd does it again! #RedSox up 4-3
I would have led with, "You can bet your ass it's better than what Bloom got back for Betts" and see how that played.
Just not true. A lot of large corporations with employees who have contributed to a company's previous success have had bad/very bad/unceremonious endings. Let's not act like it's rare for things to end badly; things often end badly in every industry. Not an excuse, but also not exceptional.
Where have you gone, Brett Lawrie?
A look at potential targets for Providence class of 2026:
open.substack.com/pub/friarbas...
Focusing on Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri and UCLA, I dove into the big improvers from last season in college basketball to see what the Friars could learn from their turnarounds. ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/the-path-t...
There's no truth to the rumor that Goga Bitadze left Georgia for the NBA because he was only third-string center behind Asa Newell and Somto Cyril.
Consider starting your Good Friday with my essay on what it's like being a college basketball fan in 2025: a lot of people I respect are saying the sport is doing great, but my eyes see something different. Plus, 2 suggestions to improve roster-building: ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/being-a-co...
The very nature of writing a story like this prompts even more coaches to reach out. I just had a head coach in the Big Ten text me to say a Missouri Valley player they were recruiting suddenly let it be known he wanted $2.5 million.
"We didn’t call him back after that."
Hello, England's Rose.
Most may have moved on from a forgettable PC basketball season, but I present my post-mortem, which hopefully provides some learnings (or at the very least a catharsis) before fully moving on to what's next: ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/on-the-sea...
And now begins the most scintillating part of college basketball games: end of game reviews.
That said, this is a ref show.
The only rule I would take from the NBA to college is challenges for replays. I embrace the difference for the others: no advance on timeouts, no quarters, 1 and 1's, 30 second shotclock. I don't think any of those makes the sport better.
Or just don't foul so much?
I joined Richard Coren and Steve Hartnett on the 247ScoutFriars Podcast to put a bow on a disappointing Friars season. We also discussed the Big East Tournament, the NCAA Tournament field and what's next for the Friars this offseason. ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/podcast-fr...
Here's my historical analysis of the 2025 NCAA Tournament field, one which is setting records for gaps between the haves and have-nots. A particularly dry Round of 64 if you like moonshots...but its contemporaries say to expect great S16/E8 matchups. open.substack.com/pub/statsbyw...
[Tongue in cheek] I'm now in favor of a theory that fabricating Abner Doubleday's role as the inventor of baseball was done as a massive middle finger toward the former Confederacy. (Below is an excerpt from Erik Larson's "The Demon of Unrest.")
I wasn't really in the best mood to talk Friars basketball last night, but it was therapeutic to work it through with the lovely
@mhopkins-pcbb1917.bsky.social and Brian Reddy. Listen on Spotify, Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Podbean and more: ultimatecranston.substack.com/p/providence...
My nephew and me in front of the press box at Soldiers Field in Douglas, MA
My nephew’s picture of me on top of a snow mound, staring down a hitter.
My nephew’s picture of me delivering a pitch on top of a snowy mound
My nephew readying to deliver a pitch on top of a snowy mound
I caught the terrific baseball movie EEPHUS (coming out this spring) at the New York Film Festival and found out it was shot at Soldiers Field in Douglas, MA near my sister’s family.
Took my nephew there a few weeks back and let him use my film camera.
A great December day at the diamond:
