With the 28th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education within our grasp, it’s the ideal time to take a moment to show our appreciation for St. Louis (and Missouri) sports. These Salutes are for those organizations or players who currently play in the St. Louis market as well as players from the 314. Though it seems like the St. Louis area remains in a constant struggle to prove it is a NFL-worthy city, our city maintains a great impact on sports all across the nation, and beyond. Without further ado, let’s get to the awardees.
Salute to prep sports stars. I’ll be brief here as my esteemed colleague Earl Austin Jr. has a monopoly on prep sports expertise in these parts. However, I must salute local prep stars such as Chaminade’s Jayson Tatum, for performing at such a high level and keeping St. Louis on the recruiting map, especially in basketball. Tatum is the latest in a long line of standouts with the ability to set the nets on fire at any given time. We look forward to watching him next year at Duke, playing under the bright lights and shining for his hometown. Tatum’s ascension into the elite has also helped pave the way for the next batch of STL super recruits including Carte’Are Gordon (Vianney), Courtney Ramey (Webster Groves) and Torrence Watson (Whitfield). It won’t be too long before we are all witnessing Tatum doing his thing in the League, following the lineage of guys like Anthony Bonner, Larry Hughes, David Lee, Bradley Beal and others before him.
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Salute to the STL stadium project. While I’m fundamentally opposed to giving welfare to billionaires, the harsh reality in sports is, you’ve got to pay to play. Kudos to those involved with the stadium project for looking past the obvious signs that St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke has zero intentions of keeping the Rams in the Midwest if he has his way. The fact that our city is putting up a fight to keep its team will bode well for the St. Louis in the future, regardless of what happens with the Rams. A new stadium will not only help give a badly needed facelift to the riverfront, but will likely net the town another professional team – soccer. St. Louis is supposedly the soccer capital of the nation, but hasn’t had a real professional team in ages. No, it’s not an NBA team (file that under not going to happen) but soccer fans on television always seem to be having so much fun.
Salute to Nick Foles. I realize that St. Louis Rams QB Nick Foles looked fairly awful in the Rams’ disappointing Week 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. However, I’ll give him a pass since he rarely moved without a defensive lineman in his face and when he did put the ball on the money, it was dropped by Rams receivers like loose change. However, against the Seattle Seahawks, Foles looked like the poised and confident passer that St. Louis has long longed for. Over in Philly, ex-Rams QB Sam Bradford looked like Sam from Quantum Leap. Bradford looked lost and bewildered on nearly every play like he’d just teleported into someone else’s body. Philly fans won’t put up with constant awful performances like St. Louisans did. I firmly expect Bradford to either be booed out of the game or carried out of the game via injury by Week 5 at the latest. Meanwhile, if the Rams offensive line can get it together, expect Foles to lead the consistently inconsistent Rams to a solid season.
Salute to Jason Heyward and the St. Louis Cardinals. Enjoy Jason Heyward while he’s here. After a slow start, Heyward is living up to his billing in St. Louis. He’s batting .311 since the All-Star break and is a master defender with a rocket arm and web gems galore. On a Cardinals team that has shuffled players in and out of the lineup the entire season due to injuries, Heyward has been one of the best and most consistent players. Considering that the Redbirds have been atop the league standings for virtually the entire season, Heyward’s stock and price tag is going up every day. The Cardinals are expected to make a serious run to retain his stellar services, but unless Heyward has become enamored with the ‘Cardinal Way,’ I’d expect him to bolt for some Yankees pay. Enjoy the show while it lasts.
Salute to black-owned sports. After having St. Louis Surge owner Khalia Collier and guard Bianca Beck on the Rams Roundup, I must give props to the Surge. In a short time, Collier has developed the Surge into a successful WBCBL franchise, winning the championship in 2014 and serving as runner up in 2015. Collier continues to build up her franchise through community engagement and involvement – and success. All things are pointing to 2016 being another successful season for the Surge.
If you weren’t aware, World Wide Technology CEO David Steward has been a part of the St. Louis Blues ownership group since 2012. Though Tom Stillman serves as the majority owner and Chairman of the Blues, Steward is a minority owner in every sense of the word. He is one of very few black owners in the four major sports in the US. The image of a black man in the owner’s box helps our youth envision themselves being successful in sports off the field.
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