Random Thoughts: D-I, MLB, more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

The latest installment of Random Thoughts centers around moving to Division I, a road trip, an MLB fun fact, the NBA Draft, sticker shock and a non-sports note.

Moving up

As expected, not many Ohio high school sports teams took advantage of the opportunity to move from any division to Division I on a sport by sport basis.

According to the Ohio High School Athletic Association, just 14 teams from 11 schools opted to move up, which is about twice as many as I figured would do it. Of course, the opportunity to do so was made possible when OHSAA member schools approved a referendum earlier this spring.

The biggest number was in girls basketball, where two Cincinnati schools, Seton and Mount Notre Dame, and two Cleveland-area schools, St. Joseph Academy and Rocky River Magnificat moved to Division I.

Only one team moved up in football (Westerville Central), and only one team moved up in boys basketball (Cincinnati Elder). There was speculation that perhaps three-time defending Division IV state champion Richmond Heights would move up to Division I, but it didn’t happen. I was very skeptical that they would, even though it would have made sense. The Spartans will be in Division VI this winter and with all due respect to all other teams in the division, Richmond Heights will walk away with a fourth consecutive state championship next March.

Road trip

Marion Local has a new football opener this year and it’s quite a haul to get there.

After opening against Wapakoneta the previous two seasons, the Flyers will head across the border and keep going – all the way to Linton, Indiana, southeast of Terra Haute, to face the Linton-Stockton Miners. The trip will take over three hours and 30 minutes, probably close to four hours by bus.

The Miners are no strangers to success – they won the Indiana Class 2A state championship in 2022 and at one point had won 14 straight sectional championships.

Fun fact

As of Monday, two Major League Baseball teams have overall losing records, but are above .500 on the road. Those two teams are the New York Mets (33-37 overall, 15-14 on the road) and the San Diego Padres (37-38, 19-17 on the road).

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox started the week 37-35, but 18-20 at home and 19-15 on the road.

NBA Draft

The NBA Draft is next Wednesday and Thursday. Without looking it up, can anyone honestly give me the name of a player in this year’s draft besides Bronny James?

It doesn’t seem to be a star-studded class. Then again, the NBA Draft seems to be a crapshoot anyway.

What happened?

I realize that the cost of virtually everything has gone up (maybe not TVs), but wow.

I was leafing through the Athlon Sports College Football preview magazine at a store over the weekend. It seemed like it had some interesting articles in it and Athlon has published some excellent magazines in the past. I had seen enough to make the decision that I was going to buy it…until I flipped back to the front cover to check the price. $14.99.

When did magazines start costing $15? Back on the rack it went. Call me frugal, a cheapskate, etc. but I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much on a magazine. This isn’t a knock on Athlon, but it was truly sticker shock for me.

Speaking of college football and magazines, I miss the days when there were many options to choose from – I used to love buying and reading the Sporting News college football preview, Street and Smith, Sport, Don Heinrich, Sports Illustrated and many more. Obviously things are much different now, as nearly all of those publications are gone.

The heat

On non-sports note, please be careful if you need to be outside this week. Conditions are not exactly conducive to outdoor activities, even if you’re a fan of high heat and humidity. I’m not a fan of either and both makes it worse.

In addition to exercising caution, please check on neighbors, the elderly and anyone who might be deemed high-risk and please, get your pets indoors if at all possible.

If you have thoughts or questions on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.