‘What ifs’ at Rams Park
By Mike Claiborne
For the St. Louis American
As the Rams enjoy the bye week, now may be the time to ask two words. What if?
What if interim coach Joe Vitt and the Rams finish strong? Let’s say 10-6, 11-5. The Rams couldn’t fire a guy that took a team that was on near life support and made them a playoff contender, could they? If Vitt were to do that and the Rams were to look elsewhere, what credible coach in his right mind would take a job from a team that has shown they could care less about results?
What if Mike Martz decides to dig in and not go quietly despite what he may be owed? He could certainly drop a dime on the organization and make them less attractive to someone else and start a media pounding.
What if the Rams act quickly, tell Martz adios and then say they will wait until the season is over to evaluate the situation? Surely you are not buying the part about waiting until the end of the season, are you? They will be looking at everyone that can blow a whistle between now and the end of the season. I am considering throwing my hat in the ring. What do I have to lose, considering some of the losers in the hunt.
Have you been hearing about the so-called backstabbers of Martz at Rams Park? All we keep hearing is that there are people in the front office that are out to get him. Hey, if this is that serious, then how about a few names? We all would like to have the alledged backstabbers in front of us. Take it from me on this one. It is unfair to everyone at Rams Park who draws a paycheck to be thrown in to this group, if there is one. Let’s name some names, or shut up and move on to some facts.
You go, girl
Sheryl Swoopes came out of the closet recently. Where is there a story here? That’s her business. I don’t understand why homophobes want to make a big story out of it to see how people react. The reaction from where I sit is “good for her.” If only we knew the true sexuality of the ones who wanna make more out of this story, THAT would be a story.
So long, Mr. Broeg
I won’t ever forget my first encounter with the late Bob Broeg. I was at Busch Stadium for the St. Louis American in 1981. I must have looked really out of place then, being one of four African Americans who acutally had a media credential. Mr. Broeg came up and introduced himself to me. We sat and talked for an hour about the job, the team and what I wanted to do with my career. That was a day I won’t soon forget.
He was a gentleman every day that I knew him. He covered the game in an era when many would have preferred people of color not participating in the game nor covering it. But he wanted to know how things were and if there was anything he could do. He was fair. He was friendly. He was a fan of the industry. He will be missed.
DJ and me
During a recent Rams game I had the opportunity to visit with Demetrious Johnson. DJ is a pasionate person. That is what I have always come to respect about him. Even when we may not agree on things, if only we were on the same team more more could get done around town. Philosophy on some items? Different for sure. But we are going to embark on an agreement of respect and support for items and issues we think we can help each other in, especially setting and example of how it should be in our community – respect for each other, no playa hatin’ and open and frank dialogue that will hopefully benefit each other.
NBA Qs
The NBA opened up its regular season this week with a number of questions to be answered. Has the Eastern Conference finally arrived? Miami, Detroit, Indiana, Philadelphia and a couple of dark horses are ready for a now-suspect Western Conference. San Antonio will be tested this year. The Lakers will be lucky to win 50 games. Phoenix will be without Amare Stoudemire for a few months. Dallas? Well, they are Dallas. No D when it counts.
My spies tell me that they can not wait to get troubled Darius Miles out of Portland. They have tabbed him and Rueben Patterson as players of concern so one if not both will be gone. Miles has a tremendous point per minute average but is not ready to be coached by yet another black coach. This time it’s Nate McMilllan.
Word is before David Lee started tearing it up late in the preseason, New York Knicks GM Isiah Thomas was interested in Darius. In Cleveland, the Cavs featuring Lebron James need some outside shooting, which raises the question of why they signed Larry Hughes, who is not the ideal perimeter shooter they needed. The answer: is Larry’s defense and his ablity to get the fast break started along with finding the open man in Damon Jones could be what the Cavs need. Let’s hope so.
