Stream of Consciousness Funny how things change over a couple of years. Remember in 2004 when the Red Sox played the Cardinals and there was so much of a pro-Red Sox faction because of "The Curse" and their role as the lovable, Bill Buckner-cursed, Bucky "Bleeping" Dent-hating, just-not-quite-as-good-as-the-Yankees team? Well, they win the Series, end the curse, and three years later, it's the Rockies who are the sentimental favorites. What's that old line from the Tower of Power classic, "What is hip today might become passe"? But the BoSox sure made a statement in Game One, huh? A Josh Beckett postseason performance never goes out of style. He might just be as money in the fall as (Dare I say) Bob Gibson.

Pass the tissues. I see that Barry Bonds is bitter over the Giants letting him go. He's taking the old, "After all I did for you?" stance. Barry, you're 43, you're a liability in the outfield, you've set your record, you're no smiling symbol of the team, and you're gonna want another $18 mil. As I'm sure you've said many times, "It's business, baby." Time to let it go and embrace being a D-H.

It's kind of stunning to see the Rams in free fall like they are. 0-7 aside, this trouble with Claude Terrell (or as the coach called him today, "that particular player") is just silly. The confrontation between Terrell and Scott Linehan last week was probably the end for Claude, but it was convenient that he got himself arrested so the Rams could dump him and not worry about a grievance being filed by the NFLPA. But why say he's going to be your starter on Monday and then release him on Tuesday "for performance reasons"? Am I the only one who doesn't get that? Does a guy get that bad in 24 hours? Or as Rene Knott said to me, "What does that say to the guy behind him? 'Claude, you're the best and the worst of what we've got.' 'You over there, we're just not sure." Say it like it is---the guy was a problem and you were ridding the team of a problem. Coach Linehan even brought up his consistent tardiness and his weight issues (without word one being said about his legal issues). If the NFLPA is such a strong union, wouldn't they know not to support a guy who is a problem and sullies the good name of a strong union? My dad was a union guy for over 40 years, and he always told me that a union is only as good as its weakest member.

Put yourself in this situation: Your team has played 57 games and hasn't lost. Then you lose once, and it's the trigger to your walking papers. It's a record a lot of coaches would sell their souls to have, but it wasn't good enough to save Greg Ryan's job as the U.S. Women's soccer coach. Of course, the decision to bench your top goalkeeper (who's played magnificently in the past several games) on a hunch IN THE BIGGEST TOURNAMENT YOU PLAY IN because your backup has played well against your next opponent in the past---the past. Well, I hope you're glad you stuck to your guns, coach. Your 57-game unbeaten string (and the job) are also now in the past.

How many of you are following the Blues? They're off to a great start and that "p"(layoffs) word is being tossed around. Sure, we haven't even hit November yet, but there are a lot of pieces to like on this team: Paul Kariya and his ability to distribute the puck, Brad Boyes combining with Lee Stempniak to give the team two young snipers, Jamal Mayers and his quiet but impressive leadership, the young defense, and the collective "don't back down" attitude. With hockey players being as superstitious as they are, I would imagine they don't even want to think about the "p" word yet, let along utter it. Maybe they'll adopt the Baltimore Ravens strategy of their championship season. Their coach, Brian Billick, refused to allow anyone on the team to say the words "playoffs" or (heaven forbid) "Super Bowl". So the team broke out code words: "Festivus" for the playoffs, and "Festivus Maximus" for the Super Bowl. I know it's early, but the Blues are looking like a Festivus team.

Finally, for this week's Top Ten list for Sports Plus we're going to count down the top defensive plays in World Series history. (And no, we won't be including the unassisted triple play by Bill Wambsganss in the 1920 Series---no video.) I've got a working list, but if you've got an idea or two, let me know.

By the way, Sunday should be a good show: Tony La Russa, Rick Majerus, and a full hour that begins at 10:25----no NBC football. Hope you tune in. ¶ 1:43 PM 0 comments

60 In 30 (or 21) How do you cram sixty years of Cardinals history into a little over 21 minutes?

That was the task I was given, to produce the October installment of our 60th anniversary celebration that airs this coming Friday. Sixty years of the Cardinals and KSDK. I figured it would be no problem, that there would be more than enough material to fill the time. I was right. And wrong.

There was way too much material to fill a half-hour. And there are those commercials that have to run, too. So 21 minutes filled up pretty quickly.

I've always known that KSDK has a really good archive. I've been poking around in our basement for years now, seeing old film and videotape that I remember seeing as I was growing up. We have two guys here at the station, Bob Garger and Ray Hoffstetter (who, incidentally, are being honored by our regional Emmy chapter this weekend for their many years and contributions to our city's television history), who have done yeomen's work preserving and transferring years and years of historic news and sports film to tape, and much of this special happened thanks to their efforts.

Some high points:

Film from 1947 of the news conference announcing the sale of the team from longtime owner Sam Breadon to Fred Saigh and Bob Hannegan.

The late, great Dizzy Dean explaining (as only he could) the nuances of broadcasting a game during a rain delay, when he couldn't say on the air that it was raining.

Ernie (Let's Play Two) Banks telling Ron Jacober how playing all those day games at Wrigley Field prolonged his career. There are also interview snippets with Tiny Tim (surprisingly, a very big baseball fan), Yogi Berra, Hank Aaron, and a very young Johnny Bench.

A timeline of all the milestone moments in that sixty-year span. Editor Jon King is a wizard at using all the computer-generated effects to really dress things up, and he's outdone himself on this.

And then there's my favorite--an Art Holliday story from 1983 where he put a wireless microphone on Whitey Herzog during a game. You'll have to see for yourself how Art couldn't have picked a better day for that to happen.

There a a few things that we didn't have. I really wanted to find film of Bake McBride's 25th inning dash from first to home in 1974, and we looked but couldn't find anything saved from Harry Caray's theatrical entrance on Opening Day, 1969 (tossing away his crutches to show he'd healed after nearly being killed when he was hit by a car the previous November) or "(H)We (H)love Hrabosky" Banner Day in 1975. But there is still plenty to keep you entertained.

In case you haven't seen the promos on the air, that's this coming Friday night at 7 p.m. A lot of people put a ton of hard work into this, so I hope you watch and enjoy. And see how sixty years flashes by in a half-hour. ¶ 7:33 AM 0 comments

How 'bout Them Cowboys? You probably don't want to admit it, but I know you're out there.

St. Louis football Cardinals fans.

And I know that if you watched the Monday Night Football game, you probably shuddered and twitched a little bit like I did.

Call it the Cowboys factor.

Tony Romo turns the ball over six times. Two of them were brought back for touchdowns. Terence McGee brings a kickoff back 103 yards for a score. The fans in Buffalo were going nuts. They were going to knock the 'Boys from the ranks of the unbeatens.

But us Big Red fans could see it coming.

They slipped the noose. The Bills let them hang around, and look what it got them. 9 Dallas points in 20 seconds. Two perfect 53-yard field goals, including a do-over after a Buffalo timeout (Beautiful gamesmanship to wait until the until the last nanosecond to call that timeout, but isn't it a little ridiculous that the rules allow that?). Silence. Shock. Heartbreak.

Shoot, I've seen that movie. More than once.

The Cowboys were the team that Big Red fans loved to hate. Remember in the Tex Schramm-Tom Landry era how they hated to wear the blue jerseys when they played on the road? Remember how the Big Red wore their red jerseys at home for all but one game? Bill Bidwill even took out a billboard by the highway running past Texas Stadium the week before the Cowboys came to St. Louis, saying "Yes Tex, we will be wearing the white jerseys on Sunday." Unfortunately, it was about all we Cardinal fans got, because Sunday would come and blue jerseys or not, Dallas would usually win.

There were the occasional departures from defeat. 38-0 on Monday Night in 1970. Jackie Smith's incredible run through the Dallas defense. The 31-28 win in 1974 really the win opened the door to those three great seasons in the Coryell era.

But we also remember the Tony Hill push off on Roger Wehrli. The Terry Joyce blocked punt. The non-interference calls on that late drive in 1976. Ottis Anderson breaking into the league with 193 yards but the Cardinals still losing because Rafael Septien's last-minute field goal bounced off the upright and in. Sure, more often that not the Cowboys were just the better team and beat the snot out of the Big Red, but anytime the game was close and there was a break to be had, you could just figure the Cowboys were going to get it.

Watching last night's game brought it all back. D#$@!#@!~ Cowboys! ¶ 12:12 PM 0 comments

A Tale of Two QB's First it was Trent and Kurt.

Then it was Kurt and Trent.

They will be forever linked here in St. Louis.

Hop into the Wayback Machine with me and set the year for 1999. The Rams had signed quarterback Kurt Warner a year earlier, an undrafted free agent. After a year as the number three QB, he was moving up the depth charts to number two.

Behind Trent Green, the first free agent signed by the Rams that year. The hometown kid who would pilot the Rams new Mike Martz-designed offense. But before that, he was Trent Green, the 222nd player chosen in the 1993 draft. Trent Green, the guy who perservered through five years as an NFL backup and CFL reject. Trent Green, who finally got his chance and delivered, and now he and the Rams were on the verge of setting the league on fire, based on the first games of an electrifying preseason.

Rodney Harrison changed all that, with the hit that wrecked Trent's knee and pushed an untested Kurt Warner into the starting job. I don't think I need to fill in the rest. MVP. Super Bowl.

The next year, Kurt got hurt and Trent stepped in and played lights out. But since neither one would be happy being the other's backup, Trent moved on to Kansas City. And while he was putting together five big-number seasons with the Chiefs, Kurt's flame was seemingly going out. From another MVP season to a series of injuries, from St. Louis to New York to the desert.

Now they meet at a crossroads again. While Kurt was leading the Cardinals to a win here today over the Rams, Trent was lying on the turf in Houston, his head ringing inside his Miami Dolphins helmet after it collided with the knee of a Texans defender. And after what could be his second significant concussion in as many years, Trent could be facing the end of his career. And it's a shame that for many of us the last memories of his NFL days could be those two violent collisions. But they won't be the lasting memories.

With Matt Leinart on the shelf for a couple of months, Kurt will be the unquestioned number one again. A chance in the last year of his current contract to remind people of MVP Kurt, an opportunity for the comet of 1999-2001 to flash across the sky one more time. Granted, he is quarterbacking the Arizona Cardinals, a franchise who perennially finds a way to run in place. But knowing the kind of person Kurt Warner is, he will do all he can to have those Phoenix Birds take flight. And make some lasting memories. ¶ 10:16 PM 0 comments

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes I hate to see Walt Jocketty leave the Cardinals.

It's also the best thing for the organization.

With the current structure of the front office, it was a no-win situation. In every company there are personality conflicts and people who aren't completely thrilled with what they're doing or who they're forced to work with. But if the environment is poisoned by tension, well as Mr. DeWitt put it yesterday, it becomes "counterproductive." And no matter how talented the people in question are, if you're running a two-mile zigzag course when you could be running a mile in a straight line, something's got to give.

I read where someone said of their divorce, "a successful marriage doesn't necessarily last until you're dead." And that's the case here. Seven trips to the postseason in 13 years, with two World Series and a championship, is a nice era in Cardinals history. But it is time to move on.

So who's next? Good question. And it almost certainly signifies that there will be a new manager in the dugout in 2008. But how many of you in 1994 (myself included) envisioned a 13-year run like we've had when it was announced that Walt Jocketty was going to be the new general manager? I believe my reaction was, "Walt who?" I'm convinced that, as much as I hate to see a successful man leave, the right person can now come in and invigorate the front office and then that gets the ball rolling on a new era of success.

We in St. Louis can be resistant to change. And change just for change's sake is no good. But this was a case where a change had to be made. And it will make for an eventful offseason.
And selfishly, that's a good thing for us in the media, and for the fans as well. ¶ 12:34 PM 0 comments

Living In The Moment What a great time to be a sports fan. Not so much on the local scene--the Cardinals will take a little breather before beginning their makeover for 2008, and will the Rams ever come out of their death spiral? But there are many other places to look at and marvel.

Did the Rockies' Matt Holliday really get a hand on the plate after his landing gear stuck on Monday night? Who cares (besides you Padres fans)? Umpire Tim McClelland made the call and so we move on, as do the Rockies. But what great drama! San Diego scores 2 in the 13th to go ahead, their dugout was alive in celebration, and they had saved closer Trevor Hoffman for just such an occasion. So after back-to-back doubles, Holliday, the front-runner for MVP (and dare I say, the linchpin of my fantasy league team), ties the game with an opposite-field triple and then makes his heroic, headlong dive that sent Colorado to the postseason for the first time since 1995. After Holliday got his marbles reshuffled, he was asked if he'd trade winning the MVP over making the postseason. He responded that yes, he would. The feeling of winning as a part of a team overpowers the individual achievement.

Did you Rams fans get a sense on Sunday of the Kurt Warner story being remade, starring Dallas' Tony Romo? He attended a small college, was an unknown third-stringer, got his chance and made the most of it. But where Kurt (funny how we in St. Louis are still on a first-name basis with him, nearly four years since he left) won a Super Bowl to cap his Cinderella season, Romo's ended with his botched snap against Seattle. The big question was, after having all offseason to stew over that mistake, would he be able to rebound? With a passer rating of 112 and leading an undefeated team, his answer (confirmed unanimously by the Rams) would be a resounding yes.

It would have been very easy for Brett Favre to ride off into the sunset. After all, what a great career. Super Bowls, MVP's, NFL records, automatic inclusion in the Hall of Fame. How many of you thought he should retire after last season? With the tearful walk off at Soldier Field last December, wrapping up his career with a four-game winning streak, many thought it would have been a perfect time to call it a career. But Brett went against convention and look at him now---a 4-0 start, an 8-2 TD-to-interception rate, and a 97 passer rating, and more NFL records. And he's playing with the enthusiasm of a rookie.

Have you seen the new NBC show, "Life"? No. I'm not shilling for the network, but it really has promise. The central character is a former cop who was falsely imprisoned for twelve years, got the crap beat out of him and basically lived through hell, only to be exonerated (and get a $50 million settlement, too) and wind up as a detective on his old force. He's very quirky, out of touch (due to prison) with modern technologies, but he's making up for lost time. And the first episode was very watchable.

What do these four have in common? They are most certainly living in the moment. The right here, right now. Matt Holliday took off from third base without waiting to hear from his third base coach. Tony Romo turned disaster into the play of the weekend, running down that wild snap over his head and ran 37 yards for a first down. Brett Favre has found a way to turn back the clock, leading a one-dimensional Packers offense to an unexpected, undefeated start. And Charlie Crews is driving a Bentley, living in a mansion and eating all the fresh fruit that he never got in prison. The right here and right now.

The Missouri Tigers, the Fighting Illini, and the Blues all have their chance to fill the void on what has been a bleak local scene in 2007. The Blues have made headlines all offseason and want this to be the year they get back into the playoffs. But first they should build some momentum by winning their first season opener since 1996. After a couple of down years, Ron Zook's Illini are on a four-game winning streak and can really make some noise with a win at home over 5th-ranked Wisconsin. And then there's Ol' Mizzou, facing perhaps the most important two weeks in the Gary Pinkel era. They've proven they can beat Nebraska--they've done it at home the last two times--and they're favored to make it a trifecta. Let's say they make the oddsmakers look good and beat the Huskers. Next up, a trip to Norman, Oklahoma. Mizzou couldn't follow up their past two Husker-do's with a win the following week. Can they quiet the naysayers this time around?

Who is going to live in the moment, the right here and right now? ¶ 4:41 PM 0 comments