LaSalle =Carey

[Fire ax]

The Explores should give Carey a call

 

[murphman1975]

Neither Carey or Gil Brooks would ever agree to work with the administration at LS especially once they realized they had WAY more financial flexibility at Wood and the Prep. There are countless players in the last 4 yrs that were headed to LS until they chose not to provide the amount of "aid" that came through from Wood or the Prep. The administration at LS doesn't value the football team and they are not willing to invest in it in order to stay relevant. Unfortunately, Gordon resigning at LS will mark the end of them being a top tier HS program. My guess is rather than aggressively pursuing a high profile coach (like Carey, Brooks or possible an existing LS HOF'er!!!) they will take the very safe route by not going after anyone, accepting the candidates that apply, and eventually going with someone that will not rock the boat and is not that good of a coach. 6-4 will lead to 5-5 and eventually 4-6.

 

[yesman3]

Murph,
Sadly you're correct on all fronts..

 

[paul from philly]

I also agree with most of what Murph says, but there was one point that just bothers me and I'm sorry upfront to the Prep people but.......it sure doesn't hurt that the city of Philadelphia DOES help the school immensely. "To the victor goes the spoils", and that extends to the mayor and city council.

As mentioned in a previous post, La Salle has been competitive over the entire athletic field. State and city championships out the a$$ in a variety of disciplines. Now after a while, that does put a drain on the purse strings. If you knew how much the sport of rowing costs by itself, it would amaze you. But I don't think I have to tell the Prep people about Crew. But therein lies part of the problem. How in the world did the Prep build a boathouse on public grounds in Fairmount Park? Or the new field at Cecil B. Moore Ave.? Now again I apologize to the Prep people for what seems like sour grapes but when you start dissecting the issues at La Salle, please don't use the administrations lack of interest. They have people to answer to financially. And you can't argue the fact that the help the city gave to St. Joe's amounts to dollars. Sorry upfront but it is part of the equation.

 

[fb107]

Debatable about the boathouse Paul. Saint Joseph's University and the Prep pay the city for a long term lease of that property. Not sure how much? Does the amount of tourism $ generated by Phila. being a national rowing destination overcome that? Probably. As far as Cecil B. Moore, the majority of $ has come from the Prep alumni and the local community teams will be able to use it also. An eyesore in the city that has been transformed into a win win situation.

 

[tulla]

Paul,

The Prep boathouse is also SJU's boathouse. As I understand it, there was no sweet deal in getting it built. For years and years the Prep raised money to pay for its share of the costs.

As for Cecil Moore, SJP paid what some Prep people think was too high a price to be a co-tenant. But I think it was worth the effort for various reasons. The deal probably would never have been done without the Prep's financial participation. Lots of people went back and forth on the whole issue on here about a year ago, and I think it died down when someone produced the amount of SJP's contribution. And in any case, there has yet to be a benefit to the football program since the facility only became available in November. Given a choice, I'd prefer going to Belmont Plateau.

From an SJP perspective, any dropping off in the quality of LaSalle's football program is not a good thing. The rivalry has been great. Championships mean a whole lot more to whoever wins them when the opposition is strong. I don't think it's entirely an accident that LaSalle won its only state championship the year it and the Prep played two very close games

 

[pclfan1]

It's all cyclical especially when it comes to Lasalle and Prep. Lasalle will be down for a few years here until there is a shift in priority to make the football team elite. Prep will also have a shift in a few years. Believe me sometimes when you win, you don't always win. Prep alumni are some very fantastic people, it will not be win at all cost. Infanti will go down same path as Brooks did, and Gordon did. Just will be a matter of when. So for the coming next few years looks like Prep is at the top and the other schools are looking up. Good incentive for the other teams to bring it.

 

[paul from philly]

You can't build on public park land unless the city changes the zoning, hence the help of City Council. And that boathouse is more the Prep's than the University's. Just ask Jim Glavin. Do you think the Prep would have done anything at Cecil B Moore without the city's help? Look, again this is not sour grapes, it's just what the situation is. So when people say the alumni help St. Joe's, they're right. You can't argue it's not part of the equation.

 

[tulla]

Sorry. Paul, but dragging in the boathouse and complaining that it's more SJP's than SJU's--and so what if it is?--is beginning to look like sour grapes.

 

[paul from philly]

I didn't mean it that way Tulla. The reasoning started because Murph said he thought the administration at La Salle wasn't fully committed to athletics and all I said was it helps St. Joe's out to have the city standing behind them in financial matters. And that point is true.

 

[phillysportz]

Is someone saying the prep has facility advantages? Any help we get counterbalances the fact that we bus 75% of our teams to offsite practice facilities, which are usually public parks and tennis courts. Lasalle doesnt need any zoning help, they have a sprawling campus.

 

[tulla]

Yes, there are cycles, but some last a lot longer than others. SJP for the twenty or so years before Brooks came usually had a week team and occasionally a mediocre one.

It'll be interesting to see what LaSalle signals, partly through the choice of coach, about where they want to go. When Brooks was let go, SJP put out a statement that underlined the fact that it wasn't devaluing football. Hiring Infante, who clearly wasn't moving his family to the Philly area for chump change and who had developed a fairly detailed plan for SJP before he was interviewed, was a signal they were committed to being more than respectable.

I'd like to see LaSalle make an effort to be truly competitive with SJP. I'd also like to see Judge and Roman become more competitive, but I don't know if that can happen, mainly because of circumstances over which they have little control.

 

[murphman1975]

Not talking about facilities especially boathouses......

SJP's administration is committed to, and value's their athletic department more than LS. This is simply a fact. Check salaries, positions held at school, reporting structure etc. They are willing to be more creative with financial aid packages for student athletes and as I stated earlier there are numerous examples of kids who were headed to LS until another school was more aggressive with a financial aid. This lack of commitment has reared its head over the past few years and Prep has taken the upper hand on the field with considerably more talent. With the Gordon's leaving, and LS not valuing what a football program does for the community and the school the gap will widen and widen quickly.

 

[phillysportz]

I agree. Some of the stuff on here started to sound like sour grapes about the prep getting a practice field (which is still a mile away from the school). If there's one advantage the prep will never have its space and fields.

 

[yesman3]

Murphman's comments are spot on, they're not politically correct nor what LS faithful want to hear, but they are accurate as far as the current state of affairs as it pertains to football, the most overt glamour sport.
....but it is to Football at LaSalle currently, the administrative posture I doubt will change in the foreseeable future??

LaSalle faithful need not cry in our milk. When opposing schools come to our campus and gym and see the plethora of PCL/City/State titles won along sports lines, we are still the envy of PCL schools competing athletically. 14 State titles in last ~ 10 years is that to be proud of. Lacrosse team..perennial national power, Swim team..3-time defending state champion, Ice hockey...4x-state champ and regional power, baseball team..2-time state champ, wrestling 6/7 PCL/City titles and on and on....

The fact is LS is competing for PCL titles 'and more' in just about every sport they field a team. Giving allocation has to be much broader to satisfy this current mindset. Selected sports are not targeted and given the lion share of giving that is seen at other PCL schools. Prep is not on the same level as LS in "most" sports they compete in, but football is the glamour sport, that which gets the most ink. Brother Richard understood this during his tenure.

LS cannot compete with the financial strength that has permeated SJP football, that's a fact, nor will it change anytime soon. The on-field talent between Prep and the rest of the PCL is/will be so dramatic, resurrecting Rockne won't make a difference on the sidelines. One also has to applaud (gulp!!!) Prep for putting their money where their mouth is and supporting the football program that has now become the envy of the league and state. Also agree with Tulla, things go in cycles. Infante is a YOUNG highly energetic motivated coach, the opportunity to advance upward will be difficult to resist, then who knows...

So let's enjoy what the boys have given us over the years, along with the academic achievement successes that continue!!



BTW... Congrats to Coach Dempsey and the basketball team for their playoff win at Prep today and advancing to the Palestra for the PCL semi's.
This post was edited on 2/13 6:06 PM by yesman3

 

[paul from philly]

Very well said.

 

[yesman3]

Read Coach Gordon's brief comments via interview with Rick O'Brien.

PC as expected, total class!! Refused to throw anyone under the bus despite the LS-known undercurrent. Why else "if the RIGHT situation came along" sub-text.

Best of luck in your future endeavors Drew, enjoy those grandchildren!!