Random Thoughts: pretty random edition

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

This week’s installment of Random Thoughts centers around the fast approaching fall sports season, Eggerss Stadium, LeBron James, new additions to Ohio’s pro sports landscape and the new PAC-12.

July

It’s hard to believe July is here already. Where is the summer going? It won’t be long before fall sports practices officially begin – August 1 is the date for most of the sports, including football.

Eggerss Stadium

Work continues at Eggerss Stadium. New signs are up, new lockers are being installed on the home side of the stadium and the elevator is slated to go in soon.

The Cougars will open the home portion of regular season schedule August 30 against Bath. Before that, the annual scrimmage against Crestview will be held at Eggerss Stadium August 16.

LeBron James

Like the guy or not, LeBron James will make NBA history by playing his 23^rd season. He’ll be 41 years old before the 2025-2026 season is half over and he’s still playing at a very high level.

When you think about it, he has a lot of mileage on his legs. 22 NBA seasons, long playoff runs in some of those seasons, Olympic play, etc…it makes the feat even more amazing.

I know some people are clamoring for him to return to Cleveland but that’s probably not going to happen with his contract ($52.6 million for the upcoming season). It would require the Cavaliers shedding at least a couple of key players. If he returns to Cleveland, it’ll be to sign a one-day ceremonial contract in his retirement.

Regardless, the fact that he’s still an elite player at his age is amazing. It’s literally NBA history.

Ohio sports

Ohio is apparently getting two new pro franchises. Cleveland will have a WNBA team in 2028. The city previously had a WNBA franchise, the Rockers, from 1997-2003. It’s not yet known if the reincarnated franchise will be named the Rockers.

An Arena Football One (AF1) has also announced plans to field an expansion team in Ohio in 2026, but it’s not known where it will be. Cleveland and Columbus are the best bets, with Cincinnati a possibility as well. All three cities had Arena Football teams back in the day. Cleveland had the Thunderbolts and Gladiators, Columbus had the Thunderbolts and the Destroyers, and Cincinnati had the Rockers, whose quarterback for a season or two was none other than Art Schlicter.

New look conference

The PAC-12 is coming alive again but it’s going to have a vastly different look.

Starting in 2026, members will be Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State, and Washington St. That’s eight teams, a requirement for FBS membership.

No disrespect intended, but that’s far cry from previous members, including USC, UCLA, Oregon, Cal, Stanford and Washington.

The college football landscape continues to change.

As always, if you have thoughts or comments on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.