When the L.A. Rams selected Jared Goff with the first pick of the 2016 NFL draft, it finally hit me that the franchise really isn’t here. It’s gone. It’s over.
I’m not grieving because (as many of you know and are probably sick of hearing) I’ve been all in on the Dallas Cowboys for almost 50 years.
Here is my invitation to St. Louis NFL fans: Let your football hearts follow homeboy Ezekiel Elliott to Dallas and become fans of the silver star.
Sure, there is a lot of old hate for the Cowboys dating back to the fierce late 1970s rivalry with the Big Red. There is new hate for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones because he was the first to back Stan Kroenke’s new stadium and proposed move to L.A. In fact, he is probably more responsible for the franchise shift than any other owner – including Kroenke.
But STL has its own investment in the Cowboys now, and that is Elliott.
Elliott became Dallas’ highest running back selection since Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett was picked No. 2 in 1977. On October 9, a rookie Dorsett greeted Cardinals’ fans and the nation with an 80-yard TD run in the Cowboys’ 30-24 win. I was there.
All-time NFL rushing leader and Hall of Fame member Emmitt Smith was picked 17th in 1990 by the Cowboys. Elliott is in great company, but it doesn’t seem to overwhelm him.
“I’m glad that my name’s even up there with those guys. I definitely don’t consider it a burden. I think I’m at my best in hard situations, situations of pressure,” he said.
He proved that two years ago when he rushed for an Ohio State bowl-record 246 yards with four touchdowns in a 42-20 national championship victory over Oregon in Cowboys Stadium.
“It’s crazy how things work. I am very familiar with ‘Jerry Land.’ I’m pretty excited to get back to ‘Jerry Land’ and put on a show,” Elliott said.
It’s a show all St. Louis should be proud to watch develop.
“I hate to lose more than I love winning, and I’m coming to Dallas to win a Super Bowl,” Elliott told Cowboys legend Deion Sanders on the NFL Network moments after being drafted.
“I live for the big moments, so I don’t think they could’ve picked a better player for this situation.”
Elliott will receive some big cash for those big moments. He is projected to make $24.9 million over the length of his first four-year deal, with a team option on the fifth year. This includes a $16.5 million signing bonus. Hopefully, he will become a philanthropist of some type in the St. Louis area, as well as Dallas.
Reaves on race and hockey
Ryan Reaves, one of the growing number of NHL players of black descent, was asked on April 15 by Post-Dispatch sports columnist Jose de Jesus Ortiz what Jackie Robinson Day meant to him and other questions. Quite frankly the questions are ones that too many white reporters and columnists find difficult to ask.
Ortiz first asked about Robinson.
REAVES: “He broke the color barrier and allow(ed) black baseball players to come into the league. Obviously, a very historical name and a very big name in baseball and history.”
ORTIZ: “Sixty-nine years ago he broke the color barrier and made this a more inclusive country for all of us. Black. White. Brown. In the NHL what is the diversity like and what is it like being one of the few black players in the NHL?
REAVES: “It’s obviously a predominantly white sport. You see a lot more players of color coming into the league. I think that has to do with people of color learning about the game. In some areas, it’s more basketball and football. That’s what you’re brought up with. My dad played football, and he was brought up in a black neighborhood. You see more and more (black NHL players) coming into the league, and it’s only going to keep going.”
ORTIZ: “In a city that has a large black community, what is it like for you when you go into the black community? Do you see people (who) say, ‘Hey, I want to play hockey’ or ‘I care more about hockey because I see part of me in you?’ Do you see any of that?”
REAVES: “I wouldn’t say so much that. No. You see rinks being built around areas where there are predominantly black people. Down on Kingshighway they just built that arena the Blues helped out with, and that kind of helps educate those areas and people not very interested in hockey may explore that.”
Howard still a MVP
The Achilles injury that Ryan Howard suffered in the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 Game 5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on the final out of the 2011 NLDS cost him any real chance of living up to his $125 million annual salary.
He struggled late in 2012 and missed half a season with an injury in 2013. Entering Tuesday’s game at Busch Stadium, the Lafayette High School graduate was hitting just .185 with five home runs and 10 RBI.
He is booed at home games, which is the norm for under-achieving players in Philly. He did receive a huge ovation last week when his 11th-inning home run secured a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
He has also not turned his back on his adopted home. Thanks to his sizeable financial contribution, the Ryan Howard Training Center will open in South Philadelphia this summer. The structure is 7,500 square feet and includes four retractable batting cages lined with artificial turf. It will provide young baseball and softball players a practice facility that can be used year-round.
“It’s cool to have a building named after you,” Howard told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But it’s really about what happens inside – people being able to take advantage of what’s going on there and better themselves.”
What is really cool is what is going on inside of Ryan. There is no bitterness, just a will to help out city kids.
“I do it to give back. I do it to try to provide opportunities for kids who want to make more of themselves,” he said.
“I really just do it so it can help these kids have a chance to pursue whatever their dreams may be. It may help a kid get a college scholarship somewhere. They may not make it in baseball, but it’s getting into school with an opportunity to go to the next level and get a degree.”
Ryan Howard remains a class act.
Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows. His Twitter handle is @aareid1.
