Post-Dispatch = Piece of Crap

Tell me something oh mediocre Saint Louis daily newspaper. Who the hell is calling the shots on your sports desk?

Last Saturday Missouri beats up on Nebraska and that joke of a newspaper, the St. Louis-Post Dispatch puts the game story below the fold on the front of the sports section. Now, keep in mind that there are more graduates and alum of Missouri in the St. Louis region than anywhere in the world. Saturday Mizzou goes out to Lawrence, Kansas and falls flat on it's face in a horrible 13-3 loss. So, where does the lamo newspaper put the story? Yep, you guessed it. The story goes smack dab on top of the Sports section for all the world to see what a miserable day the Tigers had against the Gayhawks.

It wouldn't be so bad if this was a one time occurrence, but there appears to be an ongoing pattern at the Post-Dispatch. When the Tigers do well the paper wants to bury the story. And when they do poorly or the program has a problem the story gets put on the top of the sports section. Come on Post-Dispatch get some integrity!

Hail to the White Sox

Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox. They swept the Houston Astros and are now World Champions. I would have preferred the Cardinals in the series to the 'Stros, but I am not sure of how much better the Cardinals would have done. That White Sox pitching was devestating.

Great job by manager Ozzie Guillen and his ballclub.

Tigers Rip Nebraska

It was a beautiful fall afternoon as the Missouri Tigers beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the second time in as many tries at Faurot Field. Actually, the Tigers have lost like all but two of their last 35 but it was sweet to be in Columbia and watch the Tigers dominate a Nebraska squad that seemed clueless at times.

The final was 41-24, the exact same score as two years ago.

One other thought...the students could have waited until the end of the season to tear down the goal posts, but I guess everyone got caught up in the excitement of seeing the Huskers get spanked. MIZ ZOU-RAH!!!

RIP 2005 Redbirds

Goodbye Cardinals, I will miss you. You're gone until next year, but you were wonderful this year. There is an old saying that baseball leaves you when you need it most.

Well, the loss to the Astros finished the season last night..but this team wont soon be forgotten with the likes of Albert Pujols, David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds, Reggie Sanders, Larry Walker, Scott Carpenter, Mike Mulder and Izzy playing for it. 100 win seasons don't come along very often. So congrats to the Cardinals on a grear year.

And in a sadder note that means Busch Stadium will meet the wrecking ball about two weeks earlier than planned. As I've said before there was nothing wrong with the original Busch Stadium. The new stadium is a monument to the greed of Bill DeWitt and his limited partners.

Farewell Redbirds until next March.

That Ball is Still Flying

Talk about a dramatic finish. The Cardinals were down to their final swing when David Eckstein chipped a base hit to right and then Jim Edmonds coaxed a walk from Brad Lidge.

With two outs mighty Albert Pujols stepped in and took the second pitch from Lidge deep into the Texas night. I believe that ball would still be climbing had the roof on that cracker jack ballpark been open. Like the quote in "Bull Durham",.."Anything that goes that far should have a stewardess on it"!

I can't wait for Wednesday night and hope that Albert's homer energizes the Cardinals to win the final two and make it to the World Series.

Mizzou - RAH!!!

How 'bout them Tigers! They were down to Iowa State this p.m by ten points with less than six minutes to play and Brad Smith and company pulled it out in overtime! What a great day and what a great time at Faurot Field. I am psyched and will be there next Saturday when Nebraska comes to town. MIZ ZOU RAH!!!

Two Down and None to go

And then there were none. The Los Angeles Angels did baseball a huge favor last night by knocking the NY Yankees out of the playoffs. The highest paid team in baseball could not get past the superior pitching of the Angels. The Angels will now take on the White Sox starting this evening in Chicago.

And you know what is even greater about all of this? No East Coast teams in post season play. The four remaining teams are in the Central and Pacific time zones. I'll bet MLB and Fox execs are crying their little hearts out. I can hear it now "..no Yankees or Red Sox, whatever will we do"?

Tough it out boys. You asked millions of Cardinal fans to stay up until 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning because you didn't care enough to show the very best. There is justice!

New Look...same old paper

I've been meaning to write this for about a month now, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has re-designed itself. The Post has new graphics and is attempting to re-invent itself.

But, it's the same old rag. The paper is still mediocre at best, but now it looks like the South County Journal. (The South County journal is a twice weekly suburban throw away).

You can change the look of the rag, but it's still the same old Post-Distate.

MLB has no integrity

Three years ago the Cardinals played the AZ Diamondbacks in the first round of Major League Baseball's playoff. Long story short FOX and MLB decided it was okay to start a game at ten p.m. Saint Louis time. Shortly thereafter MLB got ripped by St. Louis media, and in a big show commissioner Bud Selig said "we will not do this again. It is not fair to the fans, especially to children who are not able to see the game. And children are the future of the game".

Well guess what? The Cardinals are playing the San Diego Padres tonight in San Diego. The starting time is 10:09 p.m. And if you want to watch the game you have to watch it on the biased East Coast Sports Network.

Gee Bud, did you forget what you said three years ago? Bud, let's tell it like it is. You are just a miserable liar, and you are getting bad advice from your staff. Whoever advised you to make this move with the ten p.m. starting time should be fired. Bud, I know you made your living as a car salesman so being a pathological liar is probably not a big deal to you. But, it is a big deal to hundreds of thousands of Cardinal fans!

One Down and One to Go

Good bye Red Sox! See you next year. The Chicago White Sox swept the Boston Red Sox this afternoon in ancient Fenway Park. The Boston club had been hyped by east coast media types as one of the best teams in the game. But, anyone who watched the team all season, knew they had some problems they couldn't get past. Namely their pitching and mediocre defense. The Red Sox bullpen was always an adventure during the regular season. So to me it comes as no surprise that they wont be defending last year's World Series title.

Now if the Los Angeles Angels can just knock the New York Yankees out of the playoffs...

Say What ?!?!

I have always thought of ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman as little more than a TV sports anchor type. And he seems to lack a knowledge of some of the things he is assigned to cover. I guess that is why ESPN leaves him in the studio rather than sending him out in the field.

Except this week the East Coast Sports Network has him covering the White Sox - Red Sox playoff series. His play by play is mediocre and he sounds more like a Red Sox fan who has only been to a few games this year. I have also perceived him as someone who rarely goes west of the Hudson and believe his favorite team to be either the Red Sox or the Yankees. Well, tonight on a national cable cast Boomer's true colors came through.

With a runner in scoring position there was a ground ball hit to the Red Sox second baseman who could have turned a double play. Instead, the ball went through his legs into right field and a run scored. And how did this alleged professional Berman call the play you ask? As the ball rolled into the outfield Berman responded with these two words..."Oh No"!

I would say that is a Red Sock fan. Come on MLB and ESPN get your act together. This isn't the Manhattan cable channel this is a national stage. Get someone who knows the game and can call the game impartially. And while you're at it how about showing someone besides the Yankees or Red Sox in prime time.

Can the Three Stooges

Saturday I wrote it's time for the University of Missouri to take out the trash and fire it's football coach Gary Pinkel. Pinkel apparently is either unwilling or unable to get his players to follow his game plan and as a result Texas bombed the Tigers 52-21. But you say, Texas is number two in the country. I say so what. Missouri played them better in Austin last year than they did this year in Columbia. The program is not improving and the talent does not seem to be getting any better either. We've changed coaches every five years for the past three decades and nothing seems to improve. This time let's get rid of Pinkel, spend some money and get the coach that it takes to turn the program around. And yes, I am willing to make a contribution.

While we're at it let's get rid of Athletic Director Mike Alden. Alden hired Pinkel and our loser basketball coach Quinn Snyder. What has Alden done to earn his money? I can think of several people who could have done the job for a lot less. Let's get a new AD who can hire some winners.

And finally while we are cleaning house let's get a basketball coach with a little experience. Snyder seems clueless during the game when he has to make moves and match up against other Big XII coaches. He is a terrible game coach and his recruiting seems to have gone down the tubes. Let's pull the plug on these three stooges and move on.

A bad loss but still a good day

Some thoughts on today...

Gary Pinkel better get his resumé updated. After the 52-21 loss to Texas he is becoming an embarrassment to the University of Missouri. The program is not improving. It's time to take out the trash.

But, on the good side S, K, B & myself had a good time playing in the four man scramble. It was a great day to be outside hitting the little white ball and laughing it up. I think the high was about 75 degrees and there was a light breeze all day. The tournament was for charity and those are always fun. And the people who put it on did a tremendous job of doing all the right things that make scrambles the blast they are. And the bottom line is they raised a lot of money. A tip of the hat to the organizers!

It's October

Hello it's my favorite month of the year and the weather is spectacular. It's a big day. I am playing in a four man scramble this afternoon and the Tigers are playing Texas. We'll see how things turn out, but I am really psyched!