Sports this 'n' that

 Bowl season hasn't started yet, and some college teams are already making moves to change coaches for next season.

You'll recall that USC dumped coach Clay Helton earlier this season after a disastrous start. Now that it's obvious they won't be in a post-season game, the Trojans heisted Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma, hours after the Sooners lost to Oklahoma State in the annual Bedlam game on Saturday.

Riley's predecessor, Bob Stoops, will come out of retirement to coach the Sooners for their bowl game. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess.

LSU is saying goodbye to Ed Ogeron, who will not coach in the Tigers' bowl game. LSU administration pulled a similar heist, grabbing Brian Kelly from Notre Dame to be their next coach.

The carousel will keep spinning over the next few weeks.

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It turns out that Javier Baez's stay in New York was just a rental after all.

Baez has packed his bags for the American League, signing with Detroit, ending a short stint with the Mets in which he formed a formidable double-play combination with BFF Francisco Lindor.

On the other hand, the Mets made up for the loss of Noah Syndergaard (Angels) by getting Max Scherzer away from the Dodgers to the tune of 3 years at $43 million a year. A rotation of Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker, a healthy Carlos Carrasco, and possibly a returning Marcus Stroman, would make the Mets, barring injuries, a player in the NL East in 2022.

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Former NY Giant Michael Strahan had his number retired prior the Giants' upset of Philadelphia on Sunday. After this, Strahan will take a leave from Fox NFL Sunday/Thursday and ABC's Good Morning America to go on a space flight next month. He'll be on the same shuttle that recently had TV icon William Shatner (ex-Star Trek, Rescue 911, TJ Hooker, etc.) on the last flight. The man with the most famous gap tooth this side of David Letterman will return before the season's over.

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Texas Rangers fans are saying, here we go again.

The Rangers have struck big on the free agent market, bagging Corey Seager (Dodgers) & Marcus Semien (Toronto) for big bucks. In Seager's case, this gives him more opportunities to play against brother Kyle (Seattle) every year, at least until Kyle decides to test the free agent waters. The Blue Jays also waved good-bye to Steven Matz, as St. Louis outbid the Mets' plans for a reunion with the Long Island native.

That particular deal didn't sit well with owner Steve Cohen, who must feel like Matz's no-name agent decided to play salary chicken, using the Mets' offer to leverage a bigger deal with the Cardinals.

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We have to close on a sad note.

Lee Elder, the first African-American to compete in the Masters in 1975, passed away on Sunday at 87.

Elder earned his first tour card for the 1968 season. In 1970, he was invited to appear on Shell's Wonderful World of Golf with George Archer and Canada's George Knudson......

Rest in peace.