With the Rams and the CVC engaged in difficult negotiations for a lease agreement at The Edward Jones Dome, it's a good time to ask this question: Who will take charge?
I'm not talking about politicians, or CVC officials, or the good folks that run the RCGA. I'm speaking of the behind-the-scenes power brokers that know how to use their influence to bring people together and get things done.
The subject came up recently in my conversation with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Before ascending to the top job, Goodell was a league executive. Among his duties was to oversee the mid-1990s expansion process that ultimately brought in Carolina and Jacksonville. A nasty lease dispute ruined St. Louis' chances for an expansion team.
Goodell, in reflecting on the old days, mentioned that he had good relationships with area business leaders, men such as Chuck Knight of Emerson Electric. Goodell could pick up the phone, call Knight, and have a frank discussion about the best way to deal with issues. The same was true when St. Louis made the successful effort to bring the Rams here; Goodell had connections in St. Louis that helped the league navigate through a difficult process.
Obviously, the power structure has changed in St. Louis, and there's been a transition. Old lions such as Knight and August Busch III (just to name two of many) are retired.
Goodell would like to see the Rams and St. Louis find a solution to the Edward Jones Dome lease. But suppose the commissioner or one of his associates wants to get involved behind the scenes, to help facilitate a deal?
Where is the power? When that question was asked of me, here was my answer: I'm not sure. With the new guard in place, who at the CEO level can step in and take on a vital leadership role to keep the ball moving and hopefully broker an agreement between the Rams and the CVC? I had to think on that one for a while.
Several qualified candidates come to mind. In alphabetical order they are: David Farr, the CEO of Emerson Electric; Ward Klein, CEO of Energizer; Andrew Taylor of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
I'm hoping that a CEO will heed our call and offer assistance to Goodell, the Rams and the CVC. The St. Louis future of the franchise may depend on it.
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It's been a terrible year for losing some dear friends and fan favorites from the St. Louis sports scene. Ron Caron, Jerry Clinton, Charlie Spoonhour, and now St. Louis soccer icon Harry Keough. I had the pleasure of being in Mr. Keough's company at some awards banquets, and I was so in awe of the man I hardly knew what to say. Which is crazy, considering that Harry was unfailingly polite.
Keough's star power could light up any room. And no matter where Harry Keough traveled in St. Louis, if there was a soccer player in the house, young or old, they knew they were in the presence of greatness. Tuesday, when word of Keough's death spread around town, a gentleman approached me. He was an old soccer player. The man had tears in his eyes as he explained how being on the same soccer field in a pickup game with Harry Keough was among the greatest moments of his life.
I loved this email from Harry's son Ty Keough: "I am sure he won't have a hard time finding a team with players who could use a good coach, or a skillful and elegant center back who will never lose a head ball."
Indeed. There's got to be a perfect pitch in heaven, and you just know that The Hill boys from the seminal 1950 U.S. soccer team are back together, youthful and fit and vibrant. They're probably putting a fright into England all over again.
That said, we're grateful that the goalkeeper from that historic U.S. squad, Frank Borghi, is still with us in St. Louis, enjoying life at age 87. ... We wanted to offer condolences to Post-Dispatch sportswriter Kathleen Nelson and her family after the passing of her father, Robert Nelson. ... Best wishes to Cliff Saunders, formerly of WXOS (101 FM), who is the new manager of sports media for Yahoo! Sports Radio.
Speaking to NHL.com, Wayne Gretzky offered enthusiastic praise of Blues coach Ken Hitchcock. "I'm not trying to compare anyone to Scotty Bowman," The Great One said, "but you see guys like Scotty and Glen Sather and Toe Blake, guys that have won, and Ken is just like them. He lives and dies with the game, and thinks each and every day about how he can make his team better. To a man the players in St. Louis will tell you that he has really turned the franchise around. He's taken them to another level and they've been exceptional. They play hard and smart hockey, and they're going to be a contender in the playoffs because they play playoff hockey each and every night."
Please keep Randy Karraker in your thoughts. Karraker, our friend and colleague at WXOS, is scheduled for heart-bypass surgery Tuesday and will be away from the afternoon-drive "Fast Lane" show for about a month, as he recuperates. ... Blues president John Davidson is on the mend from his fourth knee-replacement surgery.
You should follow Cardinals' Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith on Twitter; his handle is @stlwizard. Tweeting on Friday, Ozzie mentioned the 30th anniversary of his trade from San Diego to St. Louis — it's today, Saturday — and thanked Whitey Herzog. Smith also confirmed that he'll visit Cardinals' spring training next month. It will be great for fans and the Cardinals to have Ozzie there after a long absence.
KTRS (550 AM) has retooled its sports lineup for the new year. The additions are retired Cardinals slugger Jack Clark, Blues' TV voice John Kelly, Post-Dispatch baseball writer Joe Strauss, Missouri broadcaster Mike Kelly, and Post-Dispatch Mizzou beat writer Vahe Gregorian. Sports director John Hadley will co-host and offer written analysis on KTRS.com. The talk show "Sports Night" airs weeknights from 9 p.m. to midnight. And Sports Sunday can be heard at 10 a.m.
The Blues need to start cranking out some power-play goals; they've scored only two in the last 32 opportunities and rank 28th overall in the NHL in power-play success rate. The imminent return of Andy McDonald should help. ... The Blues have the NHL's ninth-best road winning percentage since Hitchcock took control Nov. 8. ... Blues goaltender Brian Elliott is 8-4 with a .935 save percentage on the road this season; his counterpart, Jaroslav Halak, is 2-7-3 with a .904 road save percentage. As a Blue, Halak's road save percentage is .897.
ESPN's Keith Law has released his organizational rankings for 2012, and he has the Cardinals' farm system at No. 4 in the majors. That's impressive. And Law included six Cardinals talents on his list of the top 100 prospects: pitcher Shelby Miller (No. 4), pitcher Carlos Martinez (No. 22), outfielder Oscar Taveras (No. 53), third baseman Zack Cox (No. 66), pitcher Tyrell Jenkins (No. 74) and pitcher Jordan Swagerty (No. 92). Law described Miller as "the top righthanded pitching prospect in the minors."
Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus listed Miller, Taveras and Martinez as five-star (the most elite) prospects. First baseman Matt Adams and second baseman Kolten Wong were given four stars. And the three-star list of Cardinals prospects has pitcher Jenkins, third baseman Cox, pitcher Trevor Rosenthal, Swagerty, third baseman Matt Carpenter, and shortstop Ryan Jackson.
