Once again, it’s the holiday season.
Thanksgiving is here and it is indeed time to give thanks. While I am thankful for a lot of things, I am starting to wonder about others. So here goes.
I am thankful for head coach Scott Linehan and the St. Louis Rams. They have brought back bad football and bad coaching. Just when I thought the days of the Big Red and later Rich Brooks, Dwayne White, Lawrence Phillips and Adam Archuletta were back, here comes bad coaching decisions (pick any offensive play from Sunday’s game against Carolina and you get the hint). Now I have something to look forward to … better football.
I am thankful for Missouri Basketball coach Mike Anderson. It took 100 years before Missouri hired an African-American coach so, Mike, take as long as you need to fix the mess left by the guys before you. Make us all proud … Mizzou fans, too. By the way, this should be the last time we see so many blood donors on the schedule this early. Play someone before the Illinois game.
I am thankful for St. Louis Public Schools Board President Veronica O’Brien. Just when I thought we had moved on from divide-and-conquer and having someone do “The Man’s” bidding, along comes Veronica. She has made a mockery of what the system should be about. Now that she ran off Floyd Irons for the wrong reasons, she’ll be allowed to go stand in the corner until she is needed again. I am thankful for a memory whereas I won’t be able to forget her misdeeds.
I am thankful for watching Irons coach. Why he no longer coaches has a lot to do with a lot of people – including Floyd. He did bring pride to a community when it came to his teams and how they carried themselves. What happens next? Stay tuned.
I’m thankful for watching Bob Shannon coach. It has taken some time for Bob to find enough kids at CBC who really wanted to play football. Now he has just enough to challenge for a state championship. For Shannon, it truly has always been “about the kids.” No fanfare, no back-slapping, no controversy … unless you want to call his exposure of some felons within the East St. Louis School District a few years ago a controversy.
Shannon is what high school coaches should be about – tough, fair, unselfish and real. Whether you agree with him on every matter is not the question; he is always about the kids, now and later.
I’m thankful for the success of the St. Louis Cardinals. Their World Series success is something we all appreciate because we have learned that championships do not grow on trees. The manner of how the season unfolded is what made it fun. The Cardinals went from barely making the playoffs to winning the World Series in five games. There was something to talk about every day. Thankfully it was really all we had to hooray about this year.
I’m thankful to know the likes of Earl Austin Jr., Bob Ramsey, John Maracek, Rick Hummel, Bernie Miklaus, Bryan Burwell, Telly Hughes, Tony Scott, Tony Hubert, John Hadley, Martin Kilcoyne, Steve Savard, Rich Gould, Jim Hayes, Randi Naughton, Art Holiday, Demetrious Johnson, Rick Smith, Isaac Bruce, Marshall Faulk, Jim Stassi, Jamal Mayers, Anthony Bonner, Noren Kirksey, John Rooney, Mike Shannon, Alvin A. Reid and Donald M. Suggs. These are all people with great passion for what they do. They have touched my life and I appreciate it in more than what words can describe. While there will be a disagreement along the way, which is fine with me, it’s them as people I have come to respect. I thank you. Man, am I thankful.
