It was a tremendous week for athletes from the St. Louis area in terms of special recognition for their achievements.
It all started when CBC basketball standout Caleb Love was selected to participate in the McDonald’s All-American basketball game, which will be held on April 1 in Houston. The 6’3” Love is a five-star guard who is currently averaging 27 points a game for the Cadets.
The next St. Louisan to receive special recognition was former Chaminade College Prep All-American Jayson Tatum, who was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time. In his third year with the Boston Celtics, Tatum is currently averaging 21.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. He is having the best season of his early NBA career by far. The NBA All-Star Game will be held on Sunday, February 16 in Chicago.
The biggest honor of the week came last Saturday when former Lutheran North High star Steve Atwater was voted for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Atwater spent the bulk of his NFL career with the Denver Broncos, where he was one of the hardest hitting safeties in the history of the league.
In 10 seasons with the Broncos, Atwater was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, a two-time First Team All-Pro selection and a member of the NFL’s 1990 All-Decade Team. Atwater was also a big contributor to the Broncos two Super Bowl championship teams in 1997 and 1998.
A big tip of the cap goes to Isaac Bruce, the former St. Louis Rams’ star wide receiver who also received the nod to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Isaac Bruce was one of the focal points of the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” offense that set records and netted the franchise two trips to the Super Bowl, including the world championship in 1999-00. It was Bruce who caught the game winning touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in the final two minutes of Super Bowl XXXIV to give the Rams a 23-16 over the Tennessee Titans.
