Confederate Monument in Forest Park

I am not a fan of the Confederate Monument in Forest Park. I thought it was appropriate to be upfront about this. This post is simply here in an effort to make sure the complete text of the monument is online somewhere. I have had a lot of trouble finding it anywhere else. I transcribed the text from a recent visit to the monument. I have also included some photos taken from that visit.

To the memory of the soldiers and sailors of the Southern Confederacy.
Who fought to uphold the right declared by the pen of Jefferson and achieved by the sword of Washington.
With sublime self sacrifice, they battled to preserve the independence of the states which was won from Great Britain, and to perpetuate the constitutional government which was established by the fathers.
Activated by the purest patriotism they performed deeds of prowess such as thrilled the heart of mankind with admiration.
"Full in the front of war they stood,"
And displayed a courage so superb that it gave a new a a brighter luster to the annals of valor.
History contains no chronicle more illustrious than the story of their achievements, and although, worn out by ceaseless conflict and overwhelmed by numbers, they were finally forced to yield.
Their glory, "on brightest pages penned by poets and sages, shall go sounding down the ages."
"We had sacred principles to maintain and rights to defend for which we were duty bound to do our best, even if we perished in the endeavor."
Robert E. Lee

Erected in memory of the soldiers and sailors of the Confederate States by the United Daughters of the Confederacy of Saint Louis.

Attached is a copy of a letter I wrote to Mayor Krewson with a Proposal for the Confederate Monument in Forest Park.

15 Vocalists

Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen vocalists that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes and in no particular order. Tag fifteen friends, and me, because I'm interested in seeing what singers my friends choose. (To do this, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste rules in a new note, cast your fifteen picks, and tag people in the note).

This was fun to think about. (I'm listing them with one of my favorite songs of theirs.) I tried to do this quickly like the instructions said. So in some cases I may have not listed my favorite song that features their vocals, and I probably left someone really important off the list who should take a weaker choice's spot (I'm looking at you David Lee Roth). And this is in no particular order:

1. Elvis Presley - Burnin' Love

2. Freddy Mercury - Somebody to Love

3. Robert Plant - Baby Come on Home

4. Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness

5. David Lee Roth - Running with the Devil

6. Whitney Houston - Greatest Love of All

7. Al Green - Let's Stay Together

8. Michael Jackson - I Want You Back

9. Van Morrison - Sweet Thing

10. Geoff Tate - Silent Lucidity

11. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

12. John Lennon - Twist and Shout

13. Aretha Franklin - Natural Woman

14. Ronnie James Dio - Rainbow in the Dark

15. Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz

Why British People Know Nothing About Music, or Another Moment in my Love/Hate Relationship with Lists

While browsing at the magazines in Barnes & Noble the other night, I found Q Magazine. They had a cover that I could not ignore. A list of the 100 Greatest Frontmen of all time? I love music, and I love lists, so let's see what they have to say.

When I was in high school there was talk about some British band that was reportedly going to be the next Beatles. This seemed far fetched, but I listened. I thought that all that hype had died almost as quickly as it had started when everyone realized that Oasis was just a British rock band with some good songs. They were nothing special, and they probably weren't bad. Apparently the editors at Q Magazine never got that memo. Although they don't have the complete list of 100 printed on their website, I was able to find the top 20 listed elsewhere on-line. Before reading this portion of the list, be prepared because you might throw up a little in your mouth:

1) Liam Gallagher [Oasis]
2) Bono [U2]
3) Freddie Mercury [Queen]
4) Damon Albarn [Blur; Gorillaz]
5) Chris Martin [Coldplay]
6) Matt Bellamy [Muse]
7) Jim Morrison [The Doors]
8 ) Bob Marley [The Wailers]
9) Paul McCartney [The Beatles]
10) John Lennon [The Beatles]
11) Robbie Williams [Take That]
12) Debbie Harry [Blondie]
13) Mick Jagger [The Rolling Stones]
14) Morrissey [The Smiths]
15) John Lydon [Sex Pistols]
16) James Brown [The Famous Flames]
17) Bruce Springsteen [E Street Band]
18) Robert Plant [Led Zeppelin]
19) Tom Meighan [Kasabian]
20) Joe Strummer [The Clash]

Really? Liam Gallagher is #1? The number of things that this list got wrong is unfathomable. They give way too much credit to popular British bands of the last 20 years. They give almost no credit to the pioneers of rock who set the standard that other front men try to live up to (no Elvis in the top 20?). They placed Robbie Williams ahead of Mick Jagger. I know that popular British bands don't always translate across the Atlantic, but there were way too many times going through the entire list where I looked at a name I didn't recognize, then read their blurb about who he or she was, and still had no idea who they were.

It appears that the only thing this list got right was putting Freddie Mercury at #3. But that doesn't really even count since they put Bono ahead of him. Now there is nothing wrong with Bono. You could make a strong case that he is one of the 10 best frontmen, but Freddie Mercury is at least equals with Bono if you are just measuring things like attitude and charisma and stage presence. But that is ignoring the fact that Freddie Mercury was one of the best (if not the best) rock vocalists ever! Bono is all attitude, charisma, and stage presence. There is nothing else there.

In my opinion, the top four is pretty easy:

#1 Elvis Presley: He is the original. He set the standard, and there hasn't been anyone who has been able to replace him at the top. It was all there: the voice, the hips, the charisma, the attitude, the jumpsuits.

#2 Freddie Mercury: Simple an amazing performer.

#3 Mick Jagger: Can't be rated any higher because he didn't have the vocal chops of Freddie or Elvis, but he made up for it by being simply riveting on stage (even at age 64 and counting).

#4 James Brown: Although you could say that he wasn't quite as good as Eddie Murphy's impersonation of him.

After them, my opinion is probably too slanted towards hard rock, and I'm not sure how to rate hip-hop MCs, but these artists have to be somewhere in the vicinity of the top 20: Jim Morrison, Roger Daltry, Roger Plant, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Bono, Axl Rose, and David Lee Roth. These frontmen all helped define or redefine what a frontman should look and sound like. If you honestly think that Liam Gallagher defined or redefined anything in rock n' roll other than underachieving on expectations (no matter how unfair they might have been), you are most likely wrong.

Spike TV has been airing the Star Wars movies (both the originals and the new ones) during the past couple of days. It has been an enlightening experience especially after watching this series of YouTube videos.



I had no trouble making it through all seven parts of the review. Although the YouTube video doesn’t take itself very seriously (the running joke about the narrator being some kind of sex criminal was a bit tired), it’s analysis of what made the originals so good and the new trilogy so bad was seriously well done.

Right now Spike TV is showing the special edition of Return of the Jedi. Ultimately, the special editions didn’t bother me too much. They weren’t nearly as bad as the special edition of E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. Spielberg’s decision to remove all the guns and replace them digitally with walkie-talkies took all the drama away from the final chase.

There were two things that Lucas’ special editions did ruin, though, and both of them were in Return of the Jedi. I didn’t really care when he replaced Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen in the final funeral scene. That choice actually made some sense. Before the funeral scene we only see Shaw as Anakin once, and his face was barely recognizable, all scarred up and pale and dying. When I first saw the original trilogy I had to ask who that guy standing with Obi-Wan and Yoda was. Everyone now knows that Hayden Christensen is Anakin, for better or worse, and he looks genuinely happy to be there. Good for him. After a promising performance in the quite decent movie, Life as a House, his delightfully bad performance in the Star Wars movies effectively ruined any hope he may have had for a career. I'll give him this one.

No, what Lucas ruined actually had more to do with the soundtrack. They added an ugly CGI alien to perform a terrible song for Jabba the Hut. I actually had the action figures for the original band. Their original song meant a lot to me. And then they destroyed the ending of the movie by getting rid of the Ewoks’ celebration song with some lame new theme so that they could show everyone in the galaxy celebrating. The Ewok song was awesome, mostly because it sounded a little like they were singing, “Don’t believe the hype! Jub! Jub!” Classic.

I’ve actually thought about trying to rewrite the new trilogy, but I’m sure some other fan of the originals has already done it. Ultimately it won’t do anyone any good anyway. The problems with those movies can't be resolved with a special edition. George Lucas will just have to live with his failure for the rest of his life.

Top 10 Things the Housepops Will be Doing During Christmas Break

(And three things we will not be doing this year.)

As presented at the First Annual Canfield House Follies!

We will not be:

Gambling with the housekeepers. (They’re way too good at poker.)

Filling E-Mac’s room with popcorn. He’ll have to eat his way out!

Backyard wrestling in Ridgway. Mrs. F-M has humiliated me for the last time.

What we will be doing:

10. Sleeping through breakfast, and lunch, and dinner, Taco Bell is open til 3 a.m., participation may vary

9. Arguing about who gets to be Chewbacca at the annual Star Wars Christmas Party (c’mon Jared, you would make a perfect Yoda. I’m tired of being C-3PO)

8. Recording the Where’s Waldo book on tape

7. Watching Nate try to cook all his meals.

6. Did someone say South Park marathon?

5. Taking turns putting the boa constrictor in Shad’s bed

4. Married houseparents canoodling….all.…over.…campus.

3. Drawings for foreign language textbooks

2. The first rule of fight club in the rec room is you do not talk about fight club in the rec room

1. Caffeine!

Are you staring at my titles?

9 random thoughts that I wrote about while watching Michael Jackson's memorial, some of which have to do with the memorial, but most of which do not.

1. What happened to Mariah Carey? Listening to her try to get through “I’ll be There” during the Michael Jackson memorial was slightly painful. She can’t hit any high notes. Her voice has gotten really raspy and weak. How does that happen? It’s really too bad because she was such a talented singer and performer.

2. Why do they insist on messing with a working formula. Chuck was a great show. I’m not even interested in next season now. I finally got to watch last season’s finale. What they did to his character made absolutely no sense. It ruined everything that was great about the show and how it worked. Boo.

3. The Hangover was absolutely hilarious. Todd Phillips has now directed three of the funniest movies made since 2000: Road Trip, Old School, and now The Hangover. Genius.

4. The question keeps coming up about whether or not Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time. First of all, tennis has been affected more in the last few decades by technology than any other sport. Trying to compare players who played with wood rackets to those who play with graphite is simply impossible. The game is too different. Is he better than Sampras or Nadal? I think that if you paired them all together at their respective peaks and had some kind of tournament where they played against each other on all surfaces, Federer wouldn’t win all the matches, but he would win more than the other guys.

5. I don’t understand the way cats think. They are crazy. My girlfriend’s cat doesn’t seem to understand that my feet are connected to my body. Of course she can’t figure out that her own tail is connected to her body, but even so, it’s very annoying.

6. Michael Jackson’s brothers are all wearing matching single gloves at his memorial. That’s cool. I’m not sure why they are not all on the same hand though. That’s a little weird.

7. During the first half of this baseball season, Albert Pujols has been out of this world good. He’s always been great, but he seems to be at another level. I hope he can make it to 60 home runs. That would be awesome.

8. Michael Jackson didn’t show us the worst, but certainly some of the weirdest ways that fame could affect a person. There’s just too much. Where do you start? When I was growing up, we had this record of Michael narrating the story of E.T. That was so cool. I wish I still had it.

9. Serena Williams is an interesting woman. And according to John Wertheim, she does not pack lightly.

You all wish you were as cool as Han Solo, PI

Fine I'll do it.

My brother knows how much I love lists.  I mostly love disagreeing with them, but I do love them.  He told me about a website that rates the greatest albums of all time based upon how they are ranked in other lists.  I decided to get in on this because I didn't like that some albums were underappreciated or unappreciated all together.

These lists are so hard to make.  I do know that I love every song on Radiohead's The Bends, but does that really make it the best album of all time?  I don't know the answer to that.  I just know what I like.

You should be able to see my list here:  My list.

You probably won't like what you see, but that's the beauty of the exercise.  Enjoy.

I am a Witness, for a lot of Bad Basketball with LeBron James

I love the NBA…usually.  LeBron James is the most talented basketball player alive.  The NBA playoffs have been incredibly entertaining this year.  All that being said, the end of game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic showed why so many people love to hate on the NBA.  The great basketball that was played, at times by both teams, was overshadowed by the events of the final minutes and ultimately the final seconds of regulation.

Watching the Cavaliers offense disintegrate into the LeBron James one-on-one show during the last few minutes of regulation could not have been more frustrating.  If one of LeBron’s teammates actually touched the ball on the offensive end during the last few minutes of the game, I certainly didn’t see it.  The Cavs apparently hired a new assistant coach to essentially act as their offensive coordinator.  But what’s the point of having an offense at all if it can’t get you a basket when you need it?  Even Mo Williams admitted that there was no other option other than LeBron James at the end of game 2.  And are James’ teammates that bad?  For a man that has gotten so much praise throughout the season for being a great teammate, LeBron James seems to forget that they even exist at the end of games.

Sure he gets some things done.  There was one point towards the end when Orlando was slow getting back on defense.  LeBron recognized and dribbled past everyone for a monster dunk.  And he did make a three to get the Cavs within one point towards the end of overtime.  This probably goes back to the game a few years ago when LeBron scored the Cavs’ last 25 points in a playoff game against Detroit.

Maybe LeBron is not entirely to blame for the way he played the end of the game.  It obviously works enough for him to keep doing it.  Cleveland’s management deserves some blame for not surrounding him with better players.  Cleveland’s coaching staff could be blamed for not having better or more imaginative ways even for LeBron to get the ball and take the final shot.  And of course the officials need to take some blame for the way last night’s game ended.

After LeBron made his game tying free throws, the officials did the right thing by not calling a foul when Dwight Howard and Anderson Varejao got tied up on the last second lob attempt.  The players were instead awarded five more minutes of game time to figure it out.  But what about the sequence that led to those game tying free throws?

LeBron received the inbound pass from the sideline.  (Why NBA teams get to automatically advance the ball past half court after a timeout is beyond me and best left for another time.)  From the moment he touched the ball it was obvious that he was not going to even think about passing.

I coached a high school basketball team this year.  Anytime a player with the ball lowered their shoulder into the defender, a foul was called against the player with the ball.  No question.  Last night LeBron drove the ball and lowered his shoulder right into a backpedalling Mickael Pietrus.  LeBron then lost his balance and control of the ball.  LeBron could have gotten called for an offensive foul, but really it was a great opportunity for the officials to put their whistles away and let the players decide the outcome of the game.  Instead Pietrus was somehow called for a blocking foul.  Are you serious?

I am not an Orlando Magic fan.  But after watching that game and comparing the way those two teams played, it seems impossible not to like the Magic.  Their style of play is more similar to the college game that everyone seems to love, except that they do it much, much better.  (Don’t believe me?  Just ask former college All-American JJ Redick who can’t even get in the game for this team.)  The way they moved the ball and played an overall team game was such a change of pace from the Cavs end of game “give it to LeBron” offense.

This year’s playoffs have been so exciting and have been filled with great basketball.  It just disappointed me to see this game reduced to LeBron and the officials vs. Orlando.  Hopefully as the great Herm Edwards would say, “We can build on this.”

The Internet is a Harsh Mistress

I am always surprised by the way things work on the internet.  I don't visit this site for over 3 years, and yet it still survives.  Someone has decided that it is worthwhile to let my old words sit here and wait for what?  For me to come back?  For someone to want to read a track by track review of Strong Bad's CD written by a career camp counselor?  For the internet to die a fiery death?

Well I'm glad it's here because I think I'm coming back.  I thought myspace was going to be the place to be.  I thought that would be a great way for people to see my blog.  And yes, some of my friends took the time to read, but now there are better and more advanced ways to do things.  Plus, no one uses myspace anymore anyway.  Of course eventually I will ditch this blog again for what I think will be greener pastures only to come crawling back.

This is a strange place.

Hall of Shame

As we wait with baited breath to discover who will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today, I am starting to see why people get so heated about who should or should not be elected. (I am also noticing that this article will become effectively obsolete in about two hours when election results are announced).

It used to be that the choices seemed really simple. The players I had heard of got elected. The other guys didn't. Now, however, I am starting to see a lot of names on the ballot that I recognized. Not only that, but a lot of players that I idolized. Now I know that Gregg Jeffries is not a Hall of Famer, but what about Orel Hershieser. I mean, this guy was unstoppable in the playoffs, but people are saying he's not Hall of Fame caliber.

The worst is the case of Albert Belle. Here we have one of the most feared hitters of the 90s. He is the only player ever to have 50 homers and 50 doubles in the same season. That is unreal. Yes he corked his bat, but that's not even the biggest road block. The real reason he will never be in the Hall of Fame is because he never got along with the media, and it just so happens that the media decides who's in and who's out. Kirby Puckett had a great career cut short by injuries just like Mr. Belle. Except that everybody loved Kirby Puckett. I loved Kirby Puckett. He's a in. Mr. Belle should be too.

Of course, in my world so should Donny Baseball, Hershieser, Will Clark, Lee Smith, and Fred McGriff. How can you not put the Crime Dog in? Seriously.

Bowl Season is Heating UP!

What a finish to the 2005 Alamo Bowl. This is prime example of why you never leave a game early. Unfortunately it was one of those coulda', if only, kind of endings.

After what was apparently a poorly officated bowl game, Michigan almost won on a hook and ladder play, that half the players in the stadium thought was dead. The officials did not even bother to throw a flag on the play, for the extra men on the field either because they didn't see the 75 extra red jerseys on the field, or because they saw the 20 extra blue ones and decided "Who cares, it's just the Alamo Bowl." I really thought it was going to turn into one of those "I actually saw it" type of moments I could brag to my friends about. Instead it was just another meaningless bowl game.

I need some playoffs!

Good Times and Crazy Times

For me the evening of December 21, 2005 will not be remembered so much for the most lopsided victory in the annual Bragging Rights game as much as for the wild evening that I experienced. Normally I don't miss the big game, but tonight we had some good times planned. Calc2 wanted to get the hook up going on with Jim Mahfood. The 40 oz. Comics creator was performing live art at the Red Sea on the loop, and Calculus wanted to do some networking.

The plan seemed to run into some hick-ups along the way, though, as family business often trumps other business. We did have Matisyahu and RJD2 to supply ample soundtrack needs for the evening. They helped smooth out and sweeten the otherwise rough spots in the evening. We found out that Eyecon was a new daddy. Rob G was in town and playing downtown. J-Toth managed to shoot a nail through his foot. Calc2's family was thinking about getting another dog. His daughter seemed destined to never go to sleep. Crazy times.

Taco Bell even wanted to make a brief cameo in the evening as a super villain of mythic proportions. How is it possible that they forget something every time you go through the drive thru. Luckily we checked the bag before we left the window. They forgot my Meximelt again. That's twice in a row they forgot a Meximelt that I had ordered, and at least the sixth time in a row that they forgot something in my order. When all was remedied, we went home. I may just give up on Taco Bell altogether. Is it really worth it?

We finally got going. We headed straight for the Red Sea. Jim Mahfood and Jose were putting up some mad artwork. DJ Pickle was working the turntables. We came around to say hi to DJ Mahf. Then the music stopped. Who kicked the plug out of the socket? Whoops. Boy I hope that wasn't me.

I tried to find a good spot to see the art as DJ Mahf took over behind the turntables. He started us off with his Jurassic 5 mix. Always good times. I found a comfortable spot to watch Mahfood do his thing. Unfortunately there was a couple of 30 year old women who blocked my view of Jose's work, but there was a cutie who was all smiles sitting off behind me. Nice. The 30 year old Buffarillas in front of me did supply some minor comedy as Mahf started digging into his less hip-hop oriented records. They absolutely LOVED! when he started to drop things like the Temptations and Boys II Men. "Finally some music I know! That incessant hip-hop was getting so tiresome. I mean it all sounds the same, right?" Whatever.

It looks like Rob G finally finished up downtown. He and Tucker arrive with the Frozen Foods crew. A series of greetings and sometimes awkward hip-hop chest hugs ensue. Apparently while at Rob G's show some tool decided to buy Tucker's CD just so he could break it in half in Tucker's face. Who does that? Someone who goes that far out of their way to symbolically declare their utter hatred for someone's art needs to realize that no one cares about their opinions. As Rob G mentioned, "These things only happen to Tucker."

The guys from Perfect Strangers hand me a newsletter and a CD. Vol. 1 Iss. 1 of On Air Magazine. This is definitely a service that St. Louis hip hop needs. Much love to the Perfect Strangers for showing much love to a hip hop scene that deserves much love. Of course, the most exciting discovery is that I finally have a copy of Serengeti's "Dennehey." Hopefully now more people can hear this masterpiece of rap love for Chicago.

Well the art continues and the turntables don't stop. Some other artists including Calc2 get to put up some art. The Doom piece that Mahfood did was probably the highlight of the artwork performed that evening. Things start to wrap up, and people disperse.

Calc2 and I head with Ben Sheppard to his place to watch the new 4 Star video. The Gonz is crazy and amazing. Eric Koston is unbelievably smooth. Japan looks like a lot of fun. How do they make it look so smooth and so easy?

We then head back to the Delmar Lounge at 2:30 where the crew is hanging out. As we come in Jim Mahfood and Danielle run off somewhere in an excited hurry. Whatever. We say high to DJ Mahf again. Then the fun really gets started. Danielle was caught allegedly tagging the vintage cigarette advertisement they had airbrushed on a back wall in the bar. Who cares? Cigarettes suck anyway. Cover it up. Use a less dangerous product to advertise and add some supposed "atmosphere" to the walls. You can call a bar anything you want, but in the end it's still a bar.

Then a team of bouncers storm the men's room:

Bouncer: What are you doing?

DJ Pickle: I'm taking a piss.

Bouncer: And what are you doing?

Sheppard: Taking pictures of my friend taking a piss.

And allegedly DJ Mahf is still performing art. "Oh wait, he's a real graffiti artist," someone chimes. Should someone get a free pass because of their apparent reputation? The bouncers apparently decide that it should not. They clear the bar for closing time leaving Danielle and Mahfood inside. Some of us hang out front waiting to see what unfolds. Calc2 thinks he has some Magic Erasers and offers to be a Good Samaritan and clear everything up for the artists. But, alas he left the Magic Erasers at home.

Then three cops show up with a paddy wagon and head inside. Then a few minutes later a fourth member of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department comes by and joins the fun inside. Then over the course of the next half hour we see as many as three more police cars stopped by the bar. Do they really need seven cops to take care of two alleged graffiti artists? In the entire city of St. Louis, there's really nothing better to do? There aren't any more serious crimes being committed? Shouldn't they be more concerned about suspects armed with real weapons instead of markers?

Finally at 3:30 they bring Jim and Danielle out in handcuffs. Ben Shepp snaps a few photos. The cops yell at him to stop, "You think this is funny?" Then they yell at us to clear the sidewalk because the bar is closed. Of course, since we are just inside the borders of the city, Pickle and Jose have to drive all the way downtown to try to bail out their friend. If we had been on the other side of the block, this could have been a much easier trip. In bed by 4:00 a.m. Crazy times. Am I getting too old for nights like these, or are these nights getting too old for me. At least I've got "Dennehey."

Comedy on Ice

Apparently after waiving free agent bust Patrick Lalime and losing Curtis Sanford to a hip-flexor injury, the St. Louis Blues were left with goalie Jason Bacashihua to man the nets for the Blues Saturday against the Flyers. Bacashihua made his first ever start in goal in the NHL. It did not go well. His backup, Chris Beckford-Tseu, had to fly in from Alaska of the ECHL. He arrived an hour before the game. If he had not arrived on time, the Blues were ready to dress St. Charles County police officer Bill Muller to be their back up net minder.

I wonder if Officer Muller is one of the members of the St. Charles Police force who gets to hang out in Olde Saint Charles on a horse. Maybe if the Blues want to pull in some more business, they can put Officer Muller in full goalie gear on the horse and bring them out to watch the goal for a night. For good measure that would certainly piss PETA off, which is always good. We can always dream.

40 Card Shuffle

I am watching the 2004 World Series Cardinals disappear. Apparently we don't have enough money. Our 40 man roster is getting a shake up. My playoff hopes seem to be getting the shake down. I don't know what the Cardinals' plans are for the coming season, but hopefully it will lead to more wins. It just seems like we can't ever get the players we want. Yes we have a lot of money tied up in players like Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, and Scott Rolen, and I'm not complaining about that. When their healthy, they simply murder. We saw that in 2003 when they all finished in the top 5 in the MVP race. They need help though.

What doesn't make a lot of sense to me, though is how we're handling the pitching staff. We obviously need bullpen help, and we let Julian Tavarez go. As crazy as he may be, he still pitched. I won't forget the 2004 playoffs when he broke his hand hitting the phone, but I also won't forget how he came back a few days later and pitched. It was a valiant performance. I will agree that Al Reyes won the setup man position from him last year, but we don't have Al Reyes this year. Injuries stink, but Julian Tavarez doesn't.

I want to see Anthony Reyes in the starting rotation next season. I like Jason Marquis. He has shown that he is good enough. Yes he griped a little about going to the bullpen, but he's good. How soon we forget that the only two pitchers that pitched well against the Red Sox in the World Series were Marquis and Danny Haren. He's young and cocky, and he can throw it 96 mph. Put him in there.

For the outfield, give me So, Jim, and what about Juan Encarnacion. He's good. He'd be great. I don't understand why there hasn't been more talk about him. Get him in St. Louis. I want to win the World Series. The Curse of Keith Hernandez must be erased.

QB of the Future?

I work at a summer camp with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Not the Harvard graduate who led the Rams to victory on Sunday, just a guy. He's a nice guy, and I can only assume that this new rookie quarterback is a nice guy too. Wouldn't it be nice if the world worked this way sometimes. I guess everything can't be perfect. That would be like saying that people who were born while the sun rose under a certain constellation were all alike. Crazy.

But the world is interesting and different and, at times, a little crazy and coincidental.

But this isn't about my friend Ryan Fitzpatrick, this is about football. The Ram's rookie looked good. That isn't easy to do in the Ram's offense. It's complicated. Just ask Scott Covington. Mr. Fitzpatrick just came in and did the job. Of course, we were playing the Texans, but somehow we were down 20 points to the Texans. Then Fitz saved the day. I love bandwagons just as much as the next guy, but Marc Bulger is still our quarterback until further notice. A dependable backup can be a commodity, though. Welcome to the Rams, Fitz. I hope you have fun.

What Happened?

It was not long ago that everything was right in St. Louis. We have seen so many flashes of brilliance and so much promise, yet it all seems to be going away.

Yes the Cardinals are winning, but as any Red Sox fan will tell you it can hurt just as much when you seem to get so close without going all the way. Although it would be wrong to compare the death of Busch Stadium to other more painful tragedies in recent memory (Darryl Kile and Jack Buck), it was supposed to be a farewell party with fireworks and rings and trophies. Instead we said goodbye wondering where the pop went and why Tony Larussa can't win in the playoffs.

Now the wrecking ball seems to be crushing more than steel and concrete of Busch Stadium. The Greatest Show on Turf left town, with the ring leader, Mike Martz, worn down and exiled. I guess it takes a lot out of you to save a dying franchise. When the Rams came to town they were worse than mediocre. At least Martz kept things exciting. Even if the circus was more exciting off the field, at least it was exciting and people were talking about it.

The Blues used to be good. 25 straight years. Sure we never won it all, but we played good hockey. Now no one wants to by a dying franchise that is not only losing money, but now losing games too.

Mizzou was supposed to be on the way up with Quin "Call me Coach" Snyder. Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson were supposed to carry us to the Final Four. Instead the Ricky Clemens drama and Quin Snyder's inability to find and develop a good point guard cost them their chances of making the tournament, and Paulding's chances of being a lottery pick.

And will SLU ever be able to recruit another Larry Hughes, or a Justin Love, or a Marquee Perry, or even another Donnie Dobbs? And who could possibly be interested in those great new conference rivalries with Fordham and La Salle?

At least Larry Hughes is having a good year in Cleveland, but that's only consolation for me. Everyone else in this town seems to hate the NBA. I say fine. Don't watch the most talented athletes in the world. All the more for me.

So here's what we need to do. No one wants to buy the Blues and Savvis center? Well, I do. St. Louis needs to buy back it's hockey team. We should be proud to bleed blue. St. Louis should want to care about their hockey team again. It should not be the league door stop.

No I don't have $100 million, but if we all pitched in, we could find it. There are over 2.5 million people in the St. Louis metropolitan area, and between all of us, I think we can come up with that kind of cash. I'm sure that there are probably enough die hard hockey fans in St. Louis, that we could all buy the team. With a few heavy investments from some rich folk, and enough people to get a start, we could buy the team. If Green Bay can do it, certainly we can. And if we own the team, we'll fill the seats, because we own it.

And what's $100 million to 2.5 million people. Obviously not everyone here is a hockey fan, but if even one fifth of the people here put up $200 each, we would have enough. Let's buy the Blues because once we have the Blues, we can might be able to figure out how to stop singing the blues.

Curtis Sanford, You're My Hero!

What more can I say? Mr. Sanford is giving spreading hope and joy to the St. Louis area. Maybe we can salvage this season.

"Drugs are bad, mmmkay."

I am trying to recover after reading ESPN the Magazine's article on steroids in baseball. It's all there. Steroids getting cast aside as a non-issue when other things were taking up media space. MLB turning a blind eye when anyone and everyone was hitting homeruns in bunches and then having their oversized muscles fall off of their bones or their overworked tendons snap like Mike Tyson at a press conference. Why did they turn a blind eye? Because fans were coming back to the game after they lost interest because of the strike. Or because they did not want to tarnish the image of McGwire and Sosa. Well both of them survived quite well didn't they?

Whether it's Andro or cork or stealing signs or gambling, baseball players cheat. Obviously there are still honest people in baseball, but we live in a culture that encourages people to get ahead at all costs. Kids today go to school seeing cheating and plagiarizing as the norm. I had a friend in college who could barely read because he had friends who would do his homework and write his papers for him all through high school. They all figure that as long as they don't get caught, it's a victimless crime.

Except everyone becomes a victim eventually. The people who don't cheat don't get the credit they deserve for their talents. The cheaters don't learn, or get hurt, or get caught, depending upon the arena or the situation. The world has to waste money in ways to train people to catch cheaters, test people for drugs, and hope that they don't except a bribe or something to look the other way because once again our culture is embedded with a cheater's mentality. It sucks.

Major League Baseball dug their own grave on this one. McGwire, Bonds, Giambi, Sosa, Palmeiro, all of them are going to get into the hall of fame. Why? Because they cheated. Everyone knows it, but it is too late to prove it. And baseball can't do anything about it. Roger Maris is still the record holder for most home runs in a season. Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are still the only player who have hit 700 or more home runs in their careers.

Mark McGwire was my hero. I still remember where I was when I saw number 62. We were playing Tekken 3 in Chris and Jared's room across the hall, and either Justin and I would be checking the TV in our room for when McGwire was coming up to bat. Then it happened. It barely made it. It was his shortest homer of the year. And now it is just another symbol of all that is wrong with sports. I'm almost glad that the 62 in left field won't be there anymore with the new stadium being built. And Jim Edmonds did the right thing by getting it down and taking it to Big Mac. Now he can be reminded everyday of how he broke America's heart. I still love baseball, and I still love the Cardinals, but there is a black spot hanging over the past two decades that will never be clear.

Of course after reading what Victor Conte thinks about the new steroid policy in baseball, that dark spot may still be hovering over the sport today.

At Least Pronger is Happy

I was hanging out with my friends from the Frozen Food Section backstage at the pageant last night. It was a good time. Great music. Great art. Crazy excitement. Only one dark spot hovered over an otherwise profitable and fun evening: the Blues. They lost at home 7-2 to Chris Pronger's new team the Edmonton Oilers. And although Pronger did not score any points last night, you know he was happy. The Blues should have never let him go.

Sure long term contracts can look like debt to a prospective buyer for a team for sale, but any fan of the game should be able to understand what Chris Pronger brings to the table. Wins should look great for a team for sale. They bring excitement and money. No one wants to see a losing team. Chris Pronger was a winner. He has proven his worth after the Brendan Shanahan trade. Coupled with removing the captaincy from Brett Hull, they accounted for the only two good decisions he made during his tumultuous tenure in St. Louis.

The Blues are not winners right now. After losing two of the top five defensemen in the NHL, they have fallen apart. Their new goalie stinks, but it does not help that he gets no help from our porous defense. Dallas Drake is a gritty captain, but he can't save this ship. The Blues right now are the worst team and the league, and there does not appear to be any hope insight. As Tucker Booth so eloquently stated, "The Blues are like the Cardinals would be if they had spent a year playing with themselves in Canada."