In January 2000, St. Louis American photographer Wiley Price and I were at the NFC Championship game against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Edward Jones Dome.
I was in a nice seat, Price was on the sideline doing his job. Late in the fourth quarter, he snapped a series of photos that captured receiver Ricky Proehl’s game-winning touchdown pass from Kurt Warner.
The American’s Super Bowl special section featured a three-panel, frame-by-frame series of photos called “The Catch.” In the media center in Atlanta, where the Super Bowl was held, newspapers from across the nation posted special sections.
Some of the best NFL writers and photojournalists approached me with compliments. Of the 75 newspapers I had delivered, none remained in the media center a day later.
I said all that to say this: It was cool that Ricky Proehl’s son, Austin, caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the St. Louis Battlehawks’ 2023 debut on the road against San Antonio.
I’m not delusional. Austin’s Proehl’s catch wasn’t “The Catch,” but it was a great way to begin the XFL season, especially since his father is the Battlehawks wide receivers coach.
It will be another two games and three weeks before the Battlehawks play their first game at America’s Dome. I’ll be there. So will Wiley Price. Let’s make some more magic.
Bieniemy not the enemy
If former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has some terrifying skeletons in his closet, I really don’t want to know about it. However, there is no explanation for his being passed over for head coaching positions following each of the Chiefs’ ultra-successful seasons.
The man led head coach Andy Reid’s offense to three Super Bowls in four years and won two of them. The Chiefs have been to five successive AFC Championship games and led the NFL in every meaningful offensive category this season.
Bieniemy, for whatever reasons, has left the Chiefs and is now the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator. He was forced to leave MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes behind and settle for Commanders would-be starter Sam Howell to prove himself as worthy of a head coaching position. It’s weird.
The Reid Roundup
Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty told mlb.com that he is healthy and confident headed into the 2023 season. “Every time I get the ball, I want the team to show up and feel we’re going to win. I think we’re going to feel that way a lot this season,” he said…St. Louis was the toast of the XFL until it shut down abruptly in 2020. The pandemic was the cause, but we later learned then-owner Vince McMahon had it on the road to bankruptcy…Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and partners stepped in to resuscitate the league. Johnson appeared at each of the four games this past weekend, which obviously included some private jet flights and a lack of sleep…Congratulations to San Antonio for being named host of the XFL Championship game in April. However, since St. Louis is a primary reason the XFL was worth bringing back for another try, it seems that this city should have “Rocked” championship weekend…Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes keeps making big plays. The non-profit Mahomes’ 15 and the Mahomies’ Foundation is supporting the HBCU Legacy Bowl All-Star Game on Saturday, Feb. 25 in New Orleans. It is being held in conjunction with the second annual HBCU Combine on Monday, Feb. 20. Scouts from each of the NFL’s teams were in attendance… Former North Carolina and NBA star Brad Dougherty has been a NASCAR racing team owner since he retired. Last Sunday, he made history by becoming the first Black principal owner to win the Daytona 500 when driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the race…There reportedly has already been “some trash talking” between Dougherty and 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan. Bubba Wallace, who takes the wheel for 23XI as NASCAR’s only Black driver, finished 20th of 40 entries…The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that Dean Barnes, a 53-year-old school district administrator, has collected the rookie trading cards of every Black player who ever played a National Hockey League game. There have been just over 100 of them.
