Let’s start with a confession. It’s not earth-shattering.
I had never seen Nelly and/or the St. Lunatics perform live. I saw him perform on Saturday Night Live in November 2002 and thought he was excellent.
I’m not into rap, hip-hop or whatever it is called today, but the show was energetic, and St. Louis could be proud of a native son.
My wife and I have been to the Black & White Ball, but if he performed, we didn’t see it because we had called it an evening before midnight.
I got my chance to see the multiple Grammy winner at halftime of the St. Louis Battlehawks’ season-opening game against the D.C. Defenders.
The sound was hit or miss for parts of the show; however, Nelly should be commended for again putting St. Louis in a positive national spotlight.
The UFL should also be recognized for staging an entertaining product. St. Louis will again lead the UFL in attendance by a wide margin, based on crowd sizes for this week’s opening games.
Fans seem to really enjoy the games, even though many of the players at the beginning of a season are unknown.
Andy Banker of FOX 2 fame must be exhausted after every game. As the public address announcer, he hypes every positive Battlehawks play and exhorts the crowd to get louder when the opposing team faces a third down.
After trailing 10-6 at halftime, St. Louis battled back to score a 16-10 victory over the defending UFL champion Defenders.
Unlike the NFL, the UFL institutes rule changes designed to move the game at a faster pace while creating more offense and scoring.
This includes:
Field goals from beyond 60 yards are now worth four points. Defenders kicker Matt McCrane booted a 60-yard field goal in the first quarter, putting his team up 4-0 and his name in the UFL record book as the first to achieve the feat.
Teams can no longer punt from inside the opponent’s 50-yard line. This is true even if a penalty or loss of yards pushes a team back after crossing midfield. It leaves two choices: either try a long field goal or run a fourth-down play. This rule is waived during the final two minutes of each half.
One foot in bounds is good enough for a reception or interception. It’s the college football rule, which gives receivers a slight edge. The UFL says it could reduce injuries and help officials. I don’t buy either, and I don’t like this rule change.
Speaking of college, the UFL has gone there with its overtime rules, too. Overtime is now three alternating drives from the 5-yard line. It’s gimmicky, but for the most part, so is the UFL.
The rule change the NFL should immediately adopt is the UFL’s ban on the “tush push.” This is not a football play. It’s a rugby play, at best, and it should have had a one-year run in the NFL before it was banished.
The UFL has selected St. Louis as host of its championship game in both years of the league’s existence. Twice, the Battlehawks have blown the chance to host a home title game by losing a semifinal game.
My guess is that the third time will be the charm.
The Reid Roundup
Three games into the season is too early to talk much about the St. Louis Cardinals’ season. But…JJ Wetherholt looks like he is a legitimate hitter…Jordan Walker seems to have found his batting stroke. He was hitting .400 with a home run and two doubles in the season-opening series against the Tampa Bay Rays…Victor Scott II was hitting a robust .500 with a team-leading five hits…Pitching could be a big problem. Matthew Liberatore pitched well in the home opener on March 26, but former L.A. Dodger Dustin May’s first start was a disaster. The team ERA was 5.21 after three games, good for 23rd in MLB…I picked Arizona to win the NCAA national title, and I’m sticking with that prediction…There isn’t much to say about Tiger Woods. His latest episode with alleged impaired driving left him climbing out of the passenger door of his flipped Range Rover and under arrest. It is a new chapter in what now is a very dark novel.