The SEC and the ESPN Industrial Media Complex are eating some humble pie these days, as member football programs continue to stumble around and lose in the postseason. It's up to Texas -- a resident of the Big 12 a year ago -- to fight for the honor of the SEC flag by upsetting Ohio State in next week's semifinal game. (Good luck with that.) And so far the Big 10 has won four of its five bowl games against SEC opponents so far this postseason. Missouri, which beat Iowa, has the lone triumph.

In this video I explain why the gap has narrowed between the SEC superpowers and other aspiring teams. I explain the factors that have enabled programs like Mizzou and Ole Miss to win the same number of games (21) as Alabama over the last two seasons. I explain the impact of the NIL and the transfer portal in creating more parity. Thanks for watching.

As the days and weeks go by, the odds of Nolan Arenado staying with the Cardinals will increase. In early December, I would have said there was a 90 percent chance of Arenado getting traded. But the third baseman -- as his right -- vetoed a trade to Houston, and the trade market for him is limited. I'd give it a 50-50 shot that he'll be moved by the Cardinals ... and that would decrease as we count down the number of days until the opening of spring training.

So what if Arenado stays? In this video, I explain the ramifications of Arenado remaining with the Cardinals for 2025. Most notably, Arenado at third base (mostly) excludes Nolan Gorman from playing there, and the Cardinals would like Gorman to establish himself as their third baseman of the future.

I also take a comparative look at Gorman vs. Arenado offensively since the start of the 2023 season. You may be surprised by a few of my findings. Thanks for watching and Happy New Year!

I'll answer the question: No, Cardinals fans are NOT spoiled. They have many reasons to be frustrated, angry, and demanding more from ownership and baseball management. That's why ESPN.com put Cardinals fans on The Top 10 list of the most aggrieved fan bases in the majors.

But in this video, I wanted to make a few points:

1) The overwhelming percentage of complaints about the Cardinals' decline are valid, justified and warranted.

2) The current downturn -- out of the postseason for two straight years and minimal postseason success since 2019 -- could have been prevented, but even some of the finest baseball organizations have gone through a stretch of difficult,, unsatisfying and unsuccessful seasons. And now it's the Cardinals' turn.

3) Fans who compare the Cardinals to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox -- two futile franchises -- demonstrate a complete lack of perspective and lose all credibility.

I've been outspoken in my many criticisms of the way the Cardinals have been driven off the road and into the ditch ... but I do believe at times like this, it's important to keep this in perspective. No team wins forever. Not even the Yankees, who haven't won a World Series since 2009.

It's up to Bill DeWitt Jr. to get this team back on track, and I think we can all agree with that. Thanks for watching.

Since Jim Montgomery became Blues 14 games ago on Nov. 25, the team has evolved into a top-three NHL team in goal prevention. This is a huge change from the first 22 games, before the coaching change. Under Drew Bannister were one of the worst teams in the NHL at preventing goals, and that made it difficult to win on a consistent basis.

The Blues still struggle to score goals -- a problem that must be addressed by GM Doug Armstrong in a trade -- but by dominating the high-danger areas and keeping invaders out of the slot and crease, the strict goal-prevention improvement gives STL a strong foundation that was missing before the coaching switch. With Montgomery behind the bench, goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer have had a better chance to shine, and they're provided the best save percentage in the league (.940) at 5-on-5 since Armstrong brought in Monty.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

In this video I address several connected topics:

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In a story first reported by MLB.com on Wednesday afternoon, Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado used his no-trade clause to block a potential trade with the Houston Astros. Arenado has every right to do so, and no one should hold that against him.

Still, I wonder. What will make Arenado happy? What would motivate him to sign off and put down his no-trade shield. How many teams are interested in him? The Cardinals are willing to pay quite a lot of money to defray the Arenado salary obligations for his new team (if indeed a trade happens), and that could stimulate more interest on the trade front.

This much is clear; the Cardinals to get him out of here. If they are determined to go through with their plan to go with Nolan Gorman at third base, that can't happen if Arenado is still standing there. If they move Gorman back to second base ... well, there's no room for rookie Thomas Saggese to receive extensive playing time there. In effect, if Arenado is still a Cardinal in 2025, he will do another type of blocking ... keeping Gorman away from third, and indirectly keeping Saggese away from second.

The Cardinals do have another option, which I happily explain in my latest "Bern-ado" video on YouTube.

Over the past two seasons, the Cardinals were short on star power.

And they were short of WAR power.

That's a bad combination.

The Cardinals lacked charisma, didn't provide much entertainment, and didn't generate enough Wins Above Replacement on an individual basis. In other words the Redbirds didn't have the necessary star-WAR power.

I explain all of this in today's video. But there is a direct connection between having enough players that generate a higher WAR value and how it impacts your chances of qualifying for the postseason. Yes, we're talking about Wins Above Replacement, and all but a few of the teams that made the playoffs over the last 10 full seasons were fueled by at least one high-value WAR star. In most cases it the playoff-bound teams were led by multiple WAR suppliers who reached 4 Wins Above Replacement that season.

The problem for the Cardinals? Over the last two years (2023-2024) they did not have one position or pitcher reach 4+ WAR. And that is extremely difficult to overcome. Which is why the missed the playoffs in both seasons. And which is why they'll head into 2025 without an established star. Maybe Ryan Helsley. Maybe Masyn Winn. And a lot of questions.

NL teams are spending more and more money. Eight of the top 10 largest contracts in the history of major-league baseball are held by players that currently work for National League teams. The top 10 team payroll list is loaded with National League teams, and stars continue to leave American League teams go head to the NL. Two recent examples (or many) are Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor.

Where do the St. Louis Cardinals fit into all of this? Well, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. is absolutely right in his determination to revive the Cardinals' fallen minor-league and player-development systems. That's why he hired Bloom to handle this extremely important assignment. But down the road, when the young talent has arrived talent to give the Cardinals a good nucleus, DeWitt will have to top off the roster by investing in payroll to move the Cardinals back into the top 10 in spending -- or dang close to it.

And when the time comes, Bloom will have to prove that he's capable of making smart payroll-increasing moves that are riskier by nature.

That's the one thing that we don't know about Bloom as he prepares to take over the baseball ops department after the 2025 season ... if DeWitt gives Bloom the permission to increase the payroll with aggressive spending, will Bloom come through? Can he be effective at doing it?

DeWitt and Bloom can form a strong partnership -- but they both have something to prove.

Over the weekend the Blues acquired left-shot defenseman Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks, and he was ready to go and in uniform for The Note's games against Dallas (Saturday) and the NY Rangers (Sunday) mostly teaming with defenseman Colton Parayko.

In this video I explain why this was a smart and obvious move by Blues hockey commander Doug Armstrong. It's a short-term, low-risk addition that was affordable and helpful. And this Blues were overloading Parayko, Justin Faulk, Ryan Suter with playing-time minutes. The same can be said of the share of minutes being taken by Philip Broberg. In a long and physically exhausting season, it will help the Blues to distribute the minutes among more defensemen.

On top of that, the Blues have significantly reduced their goals allowed since Jim Montgomery became coach on Nov. 25, and Armstrong is doing the right thing to reinforce an existing strength and keep this D-group strong. Thanks for checking out the video.

On Saturday, The Athletic reported the Houston Astros have emerged as a "serious suitor" in a trade for Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. The report also noted that no deal is imminent. But this could lead to a trade; as I type this we just don't know the answer. And depending on when you choose to watch this video, we may have gotten the answer by then ... one way or the other.

Arenado has full no-trade protection, and according to a report at MLB.com, Houston isn't on the list of Arenado's acceptable destination. But the Astros have made the playoffs 9 times in the last 10 years including their current streak of eight consecutive years. Houston still has enough talent to extend that impressive streak. And those Crawford Boxes down the left field line would give Arenado's right-handed, pull-side power some cheap homers.

In this video, I also offer a detailed breakdown of the financial aspects of this potential trade and why it makes sense for the Astros -- contrary to public opinion -- to go for Arenado rather than increase their recent six-year, $156 million offer to Bregman (now a free agent.) The Astros appear to be moving on from Bregman. Can they get Arenado? Thanks for watching.