As many of you recall, part of the selection process for inclusion of my book The PHL in the STL was a ballot that I put out for readers and community people to fill out if they wanted to see their favorite players included in the book. I am now calling on everyone once again in the community to participate in the production of one of the my upcoming projects. I am putting together a publication which will feature the Top 100 African- American High School Athletes in the history of the St. Louis Metropolitan area, which should be out in February for Black History Month. The book will include male and female athletes from both the Illinois and Missouri sides of the river and in any sport and from any time period in history from any part of the metro area.
The athlete that you nominate does not necessarily have to be one who became a college or professional star, but he or she must have been a great performer in high school. This will be an exclusive list, so when you nominate your athlete, make sure you have some compelling reasons why, because there are so many great prep athletes who have come through the ‘Lou. To nominate your favorite African-American high school athlete of all time, you can email me at eaustin@stlamerican.com or call me at (314) 289-5412 or drop me a line at Earl Austin Jr., Sports Department, St. Louis American, 4242 Lindell, Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63108. Or if you see me on the street or at a game, you can tell me in person. I will be taking nominations until the fall, so let me hear from all of you. I got a great response from those who nominated basketball players for the PHL book. Let’s try to top that for this upcoming project. I cannot wait to see and hear what you have to say. This publication will be another great way to celebrate our great African-American athletes of the past, present Ball the Badger Wentzville Timberland High football standout Montee Ball gave a verbal commitment to attend the University of Wisconsin this week. The 5’11” 205-pound Ball was the St. Louis American Offensive Player of the Year during the 2007-08 season. As a junior, Ball rushed for a whopping 3,077 yards and 32 touchdowns while averaging more than eight yards per carry. Ball has put Timberland’s football program on the map after leading the team to a 10-2 record and a berth in the Class 4 state quarterfinals. Ball rushed for more than 1,800 yards as a sophomore. Track record Some of the area’s top track and field performers will be competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials this week in Eugene, Ore. Former Berkeley High star Michael Rogers will compete in the 100-meter dash. Aformer NAIA All-American and national champion, Rogers won the 60-meter dash at the U.S National Indoor Championships over the winter. Riverview Gardens product Miles Smith will compete in the 400-meter dash after finishing sixth in the event at the recent NCAA Championships. Former Visual & Performing Arts standout LaJada Baldwin will compete in the 400-meter dash, as will former Hazelwood Central standout Donniece Parrish. Baldwin just finished her freshman season at the Univesity of Mississippi while Parrish just completed her career at Kansas State University. The trials will begin on Friday and will run until July 6. Former Villa Duchesne track standout Cydney Ross won the 800-meter run at the U.S. Track and Field Junior Nationals in Columbus, Ohio last weekend. Ross turned in a winning time of 2 minutes 07.12. She qualifies for the Junior World Nationals in Poland next month. Mea culpa Picking the Los Angeles Lakers to defeat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals was probably the dumbest prediction I ever made. I have to admit it. Everything going into the Finals pointed towards a Celtics victory. They had more star power (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen), they were a tougher, half-court team, and they played championship level defense while the Lakers relied on too many “soft” international players that could not handle the toughness of the NBA Finals. Being the big San Antonio Spurs fan that I am, I think I gave the Lakers too much credit for beating the Spurs in five games to win the Western Conference. As for the much-maligned Eastern Conference, it might surprise some to know that the East has won three of the past five NBA titles. The only Western team to win the world title has been the Spurs. That is because they are built to win a world title with its great defense, half-court offense and the low-post dominance of Tim Duncan. The West is loaded with great teams, but most of them are offensive-minded teams that run and shoot the basketball. The East has always been geared towards the bumpand- grind and that has not changed over the years and the Western teams other than San Antonio have to be able to deal with that.