St. Louis Sports Online is an online sports weekly that aims to provide St. Louisans (and transplanted St. Louisans) with an additional source of news, information, and humor about St. Louis-area sports events and St. Louis-area sports teams.
Contributors to #93 include Randy Karraker, Jim Hunstein, Randy Hu, Eric Niederhoffer, and contributing writer Mike Rainey.
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St. Louis Sports Online OCTOBER.96.3 CONTENTS
1.0 StLSO News and Notes by RANDY KARRAKER 2.0 StLSO Sports Shorts 2.1 Cardinals News 2.2 Blues News by MIKE RAINEY 2.3 Rams Report by JIM HUNSTEIN 2.4 StLSO Quote of the Week 2.5 StLSO Headline of the Week 2.6 StLSO Paragraph of the Week 3.0 StLSO Features 3.1 Damn Yankees by RANDY HU 3.2 The Academic by ERIC NIEDERHOFFER 4.0 StLSO Recaps 4.1 Cardinals-Braves Series Recap 4.2 Rams Lose to Carolina by JIM HUNSTEIN 5.0 StLSO Numbers 5.1 Rams -Panthers Game Stats 5.2 Blues Scoring Statistics (through October 15) 6.0 StLSO Media Views 7.0 StLSO Interactivity 8.0 StLSO Editorial: La Russa vs. Cox
St. Louis Sports Online OCTOBER.96.3
1.0 StLSO News and Notes by RANDY KARRAKER
Even the most ardent, blinded Cardinal fan would have had trouble picking the Cardinals to move into position to vanquish the Atlanta Braves in five games, but that's exactly where they were after their dramatic Sunday night win over Atlanta at Busch Stadium. Before the series started, we mentioned here that the Cardinal starters matched up well with Atlanta's...and aside from the rare blowout of Greg Maddux in game two, the starters have been even. A better observer than I, Whitey Herzog, told folks before the series that it would come down to the bullpens, and it has. In game one, T.J. Mathews allowed the game winning hit to Javier Lopez...and Mark Wohlers blew the Cards away in the ninth. After the 8-3 rout in game two, the Cards bullpen was brilliant in relief of Donovan Osborne, preserving a 3-3 victory, and of course Sunday night Greg McMichael was tagged for Brian Jordan's homer, while Alan Benes, Rick Honeycutt and Dennis Eckersley were terrific. If the Cardinals win this series, fans must hope games against the Yankees DON'T come down to the bullpens. New York's has been terrific all year, and they play those six inning games.When you look at a game like Sunday, and see heroics from Alan Benes, Brian Jordan and Dmitri Young, you see the recent fruits of the farm system. The Cardinals have gone longer than any team in MLB without drafting an all-star (Tom Pagnozzi in 1983), but that may change soon. Once the season is over, GM Walt Jocketty informs us that the club will have interest in bringing back all of its free agents...among them Gary Gaetti, Pagnozzi, Luis Alicea, Mike Gallego and...Willie McGee.
It appears that The Watch is officially on at Rams Park, where a club near the salary cap and purported to be pretty talented has lost five in a row. Losing certainly can be excused if a young team is progressing and playing hard, but the Rams are doing neither. The penalties continue to mount, turnovers keep occurring, and now the team isn't playing hard. For a club that showed some promise in their final season in L.A. (six of their twelve losses were by a touchdown or less), in their current 3-13 stretch, the Rams have been behind by nine or more points (more than a TD and two point conversion) when the game ended eleven times...and more than two touchdown in eight. Think about that...the Rams have lost half of their last sixteen games by more than two touchdowns. Ouch! Hot coaching prospects? 49er defensive coordinator Pete Carroll, Eagle defensive coordinator Emmitt Thomas...whose son Derek is Charlie Spoonhour's assistant at St. Louis U., Northwestern coach, St. Louisan Gary Barnett and several NFL offensive coordinators...Sherman Lewis (Packers), Ron Turner (Bears) and Joe Bugel (Raiders).
The Blues are off to a predictable start. They play great defense and win they games they win by 2-1, 3-1 scores. Say this for Mike Keenan...he can coach. If young winger Jim Campbell is the real thing and the Blues can add a star at some point during the season, the offense will be in good hands. If Grant Fuhr stays healthy...as Joaquin Andujar used to say...youneverknow.
2.0 StLSO Sports Shorts
2.1 Cardinals News
*World Series schedule (all games on FOX, St. Louis times):
G1: Saturday, Oct. 19
NL champion at Yankees, 7:01 p.m.
G2: Sunday, Oct. 20
NL at Yankees, 7:30 p.m.
G3: Tuesday, Oct. 22
Yankees at NL, 7:15 p.m.
G4: Wednesday, Oct. 23
Yankees at NL, 7:18 p.m.
G5: Thursday, Oct. 24
Yankees at NL, 7:15 p.m., if necessary
G6: Saturday, Oct. 26
NL at Yankees, 7:01 p.m., if necessary
G7: Sunday, Oct. 27
NL at Yankees, 6:35 p.m., if necessary
2.2 Blues News by MIKE RAINEY
*The Blues finished their 3-game Western road swing with a record of 2-1. They recorded victories in Calgary and Edmonton, but dropped a 5-3 decision to the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night. Among the high points on the trip was the continued good play of the younger players, especially Jim Campbell. Campbell currently leads the team in scoring with 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points. Also Robert Petrovicky and Konstantin Shafranov registered their first points as members of the Blues during the trip. Petrovicky has 3 assists in 4 games despite getting limited ice time in three of those four games.
*Joe Murphy also had a strong road trip notching his first 2 goals as a Blue in Calgary and Edmonton. Murphy has recently been playing on a line with Campbell and Harry York; the threesome has been clicking nicely.
*Jon Casey got his first start of the season Saturday night in Vancouver. Grant Fuhr has been his usual brilliant self in the first four games, but Coach Mike Keenan didn't want to try playing him on back-to-back nights just yet after the career-threatening knee injury he suffered in the playoffs against Toronto in April. "We're not going to jeopardize his health at this point," Keenan said. "He'll get stronger as he continues his rehab."
*The Blues next game is Thursday night at Kiel Center when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team they defeated in the first round of the playoffs last spring. The team will then travel to New York for a Friday night tilt with the New York Rangers. It will mark the first time the Blues will face former teammate Wayne Gretzky as a member of the Rangers. The Rangers have struggled this season thus far with a record of 1-3-2.
*Blues Schedule and Results
October
Oct. 4 - St. Louis 4, Colorado 2 Oct. 6 - Chicago 4, St. Louis 1 Oct. 9 - St. Louis 3, at Calgary 1 Oct. 11 - St. Louis 3, at Edmonton 1 Oct. 12 - at Vancouver 5, St. Louis 3 Oct. 17 - Toronto 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 - at NY Rangers 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20 - San Jose 6:00 p.m. Oct. 22 - at Phoenix 9:00 p.m. Oct. 24 - at Chicago 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 - Washington 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30 - at Colorado 8:00 p.m.
2.3 Rams Report
*The Rams released offensive tackle Darryl Ashmore. Ashmore, who started 15 games in 1995, has been riding the bench this season behind second-year player Zach Wiegert.
*Rams 1996 Results and Schedule
SEP. 1 St Louis 26, Cincinnati 16 SEP. 8 San Francisco 34, St. Louis 0 SEP. 15 Bye SEP. 22 Washington 17, St. Louis 10 SEP. 29 Arizona 31, St. Louis 28 (OT) OCT. 6 San Francisco 28, St Louis 11 OCT. 13 Carolina 45, St. Louis 13 OCT. 20 JACKSONVILLE 3:00 OCT. 27 at Baltimore 12:00 NOV. 3 at Pittsburgh 12:00 NOV. 10 ATLANTA 12:00 NOV. 17 CAROLINA 12:00 NOV. 24 GREEN BAY 7:00 DEC. 1 at New Orleans 3:00 DEC. 8 at Chicago 12:00 DEC. 15 at Atlanta 12:00 DEC. 21 NEW ORLEANS 3:00
2.4 StLSO Headlines of the Week
*From the 10.16.96 P-D: "La Russa Juggles Lineup"
2.5 StLSO Paragraph of the Week
*From the Vahe Gregorian-authored Terry Pendleton feature in the 10.16.96 Post-Dispatch: "At one point, ([former Cards GM Dal] Maxvill) told my agent what I could do to myself," Pendleton once said. "And I said, 'Dal, I don't have to--you've been doing it to me for years."
2.6 StLSO Quote of the Week
*Alan Benes, on his start vs. the Braves: "I'll be ready whenever they give me the ball."
3.0 StLSO Features
The Cardinals hold a precarious three games to two lead over the favored Atlanta Braves for the right to play the New York Yankees in the World Series. It serves the Braves right for playing in a city where the sacred Coca-Cola formula has been shamelessly put up for sale.
Assuming that the South doesn't rise again, the battle for diamond supremacy will showcase the Cardinals and the Yankees, two of baseball's most successful franchises who have met five times previously in World Series play. A St. Louis-New York knockdown, dragout pairing, will produce more fireworks than a Bloods-Crips turf war.
The Yanks feature more prolific bombers than a Kaczynski family reunion. ALCS MVP Bernie Williams, Cecil Fielder, Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, and born-again Darryl Strawberry can reach the cheapseats handily. This doesn't include perennial batting champ Wade Boggs or rookie sensation Derek Jeter. Their starting rotation boasts probable Cy Young winner Andy Pettite, David Cone, Jimmy Key, and Kenny Rogers. The real strength lies in the bullpen with stalwarts Mariano Rivera and ace closer John Wetteland. But, they wouldn't have overachieved without the nurturing of first-year manager Joe Torre.
It has been a difficult season for Torre, who endured the death of one brother while another awaits a heart transplant in a New York hospital. Torre knew coming in he was stepping into owner George Steinbrenner's revolving puppet show, but he kept his sanity in the Big Apple's lunatic fringe and focused on piecing the puzzle together. The results were resounding series victories over the Texas Rangers and the powerful Baltimore Orioles, culminating in a record-extending 34th appearance in baseball's championship series.
The Cards are on a roll and match up well with the Yankees. The leaders that carried the Redbirds all year are stepping up as ready-for-primetime players. Brian Jordan, Ron Gant, Gary Gaetti, and Dennis Eckersley are taking care of business, but a part-timer like Dmitri Young can provide a timely big hit a la Tom Lawless. "When the stands are full of red shirts, it really inspires you," said Jordan. "It's a lot of fun. Baseball fans here are incredible. They love the game." Manager Tony LaRussa has skillfully molded his team into cohesive unit and they appear to be a team of destiny. "To watch this club grow and improve through the course of the season has been a real pleasure and a privilege," said LaRussa. "They came so far, so fast and refused to make any excuses about all the newness and taking the time to jell."
The baseball gods have done their job. The Cards need to do theirs.
Time for an early Blues reality check. In their 29-plus regular seasons, the Bluenote have compiled a less-than-stellar record of 956-978-347, scoring 7,469 goals while allowing 7,709 tallies. Same story in the postseason. The Blues have won only 18 playoff series in 44 attempts, sporting an overall 103-127 mark. This season looks to be more of the mediocre, but thanks to the NHLs rules that defy logic and promote parity, past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Though ageless goalie Grant Fuhr and 23-year old rookie winger Jim Campbell have sparked some early excitement among the remaining faithful, the Blues are being reminded that St. Louis is and will always be a baseball town.
Speaking of which, thousands of puckheads are missing in action, having contracted a severe case of Keenan-itis. The lack of fans--and more importantly, loss of revenue--has hit Blues management like a puck in the chops. This was clearly evident as team officials wisely declined to introduce coach/GM Mike Keenan in opening night ceremonies, in fear of the negative backlash he would have received. Though Keenan has softened his hardcore stance somewhat, you can still measure a first down with his ego.
The team that nobody knows has turned the Kiel Center into an upholstered mock-arena. Who knows, maybe the Blues can move back to the Arena if attendance doesn't pick up. Or even Affton Ice Rink.
Believe me, it gets old ripping the Rams week after week. The Rams are regressing rapidly in a downward spiral and aren't prepared both mentally and physically for their Sunday beatings. Simply put, they won't be going anywhere until the communication breakdown between head coach Rich Brooks and his players is fixed before irreparable damage is inflicted. After their 4-0 start of a year ago in which they didn't commit a single turnover, they've gone 4-14 while turning the ball over 59 times, including 9 returned for touchdowns.
"We're not toast for this year," said an embarrassed Brooks after the humiliating 45-13 debacle in Carolina. "We certainly look like we are, but we're not." How about a 10 out of 10 on a suck scale? Brooks is more of an eternal optimist than Ross Perot. The fat lady has had laryngitis for a couple of weeks now from her overused vocal pipes. Though fans want their heads, Brooks and GM Steve Ortmayer won't be fired anytime soon, but their hot seats are of the nuclear variety. The majority of the team glaringly lacks emotion and needs to be motivated to become competitive (as if weekly $50,000 paychecks aren't motivation enough).
The only light at the end of the tunnel, besides the oncoming 4:15 out of Chicago, is that starting with Sunday's game against Jacksonville, the Rams' final ten games are against teams with a combined 26-39 record. The one-trick pony offense is vanilla and the offensive line is as stout as vanilla pudding. If fellow rookies Tony Banks, Lawrence Phillips, and Eddie Kennison can somehow avoid becoming permanently flattened into the Trans World dome carpet, they'll gain valuable experience for next year.
Until then, enjoy the World Series.
Editor's Note: Randy Hu is the sports columnist for The Riverfront Times
3.2 The Academic by ERIC NIEDERHOFFER
My recent return trip from Duluth, MN via the Twin Cities and Chicago's Midway airport had more than the usual level of enjoyment. Yes, I know that one can fly directly from Duluth to St. Louis. I usually take the direct and shorter path, but specific circumstances had me routed through Chicago's Midway Airport.
Upon arriving at Midway, I found my way to the Southwest gate for the last flight out of the windy city to St. Louis. It was 8:30 p.m. and all the tvs in the terminal were tuned to the big game that night, game four of the Cardinals vs. Braves series. It was the fourth inning and the Cards were trailing by a couple of runs and we (the anxious travelers) were waiting for the arrival of the 9:30 p.m. flight. The Braves scored again to build what seemed a commanding 3-0 lead. The gate clerk for Southwest went about her business checking in passengers, asking the three questions that are intended to weed out carefully concealed bombs and weapons, and handing out those nicely oversized rubber boarding passes.
The crowd was watching intently as the Cardinals batted in the bottom of the sixth and two batters reached base, which brought the rookie [Dmitri] Young (or is it the Young rookie?) to the plate. His triple was greeted with a loud roar from the St. Louis fans at the terminal gate and a strange stare from our pleasant gate clerk. The Cards were only trailing 3-2 with a man on third when the gate clerk announced that our plane was on time but we would be leaving Midway 15 to 20 minutes later than expected because of a delayed plane from Detroit that was carrying 55 people needing to connect with us to St. Louis. The crowd seemed to react in unison shouting, "Keep it circling, we aren't done with the Braves!" It turned out that most of those 55 people from Detroit were teenage hockey players returning from what I assumed was a weekend tournament.
The Cards managed to score the tying run just as we needed to board the plane for our trip home. At the approximate half-way point the captain interrupted the flight with an update on the game, "Still 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning folks, but we'll keep you informed." Not more than 20 seconds later, a different voice was heard over the PA system, "The Cardinals have beaten the Braves 4-3, have a good trip home." I could still hear the cheers and applause during my two hour drive from St. Louis to Carbondale that night. I slept very well.
4.0 StLSO Recaps
4.1 Cardinals-Braves Series Recap
4.1.1 Cards vs. Braves Atlanta Homestand (G1 & G2) Review by JIM HUNSTEIN
By way of explanation, we have opted to summarize the NLCS by homestands to better convey the essence of the series.
IN THE ARCHIVES: The underdog Cards, not really expecting to take two games to open the National League Championship Series, came out of Atlanta with the next best thing, a 1-1 split.
ON THE SCOREBOARD: G1: 4-2 Braves (5-hitter by John Smoltz); G2: 8-3 Cards (5-run 7th inning capped by Gary Gaetti's grand slam)
GOING IN: All tied up at 0-0, both coming off divisional playoff sweeps
COMING OUT: The teams are still tied at a game apiece heading for three in St. Louis
AT THE PLATE: The biggest hit of the series (so far) is Gaetti's salami in the 7th inning of G2, all the better since it came of Greg Maddux. The Cards managed only five hits in G1 but made the most of them. The first was Brian Jordan's triple, which was followed by three strikeouts. Three hits in the 7th led to only one run, though. Brian Jordan was red hot, going 3-for-7 to follow up his heroics in the divisional playoffs. Ron Gant fired up with a 3-for-5 G2 after a hitless G1.
OFF THE BENCH: Willie McGee flied out in the 7th of G1 while batting for starter Andy Benes. That left men on second and third, who were also stranded by Luis Alicea before him and Ozzie Smith behind him. But the bench keyed the big 5-run 7th inning when Mark Sweeney, pinching for starter Todd Stottlemyre, reached second on a blown (by the Braves) sac bunt plus error. He later scored the first run of Gaetti's quadro-slam.
ON THE BASEPATHS: In G1, Jordan scored after his triple scampering home on a wild pitch. In the 7th, before everyone was stranded, a well-executed hit-and-run moved Mejia to third so he could score on Tom Pagnozzi's single. You can't beat speed. Royce Clayton led off G2 with a single. He took third on Gant's single. He then scampered home when Marquis Grissom bobbled the ball.
ON THE MOUND: Benes got the start in G1 and pitched well. He scattered 7 hits for 2 runs over 6 innings while striking out 7. He might have been pulled early considering how effectively he was throwing. The reason he was pulled was because with men on second and third, Alicea couldn't get the job done at the plate. In G2, Stottlemyre didn't quite as well (3 runs on 4 hits in 6 innings) but he fanned 8 and got his first win in this post-season.
FROM THE BULLPEN: Not exactly what you want to see in the playoffs. Mark Petkovsek came in to relieve Benes and did well, setting them down in the 7th. But Mark Lemke walked and the Chipper Jones reached on a bunt single when Alicea didn't bother to cover first. Both runners scored on Javier Lopez's single off TJ Mathews. Petkovsek took the loss in G1. The bullpen gave up only one hit. Dennis Eckersley pitched the last 1 1/3 innings not for the save, but for the chance to throw.
IN THE FIELD: The biggest blown play of the two games was in G1 when Alicea didn't cover first on Jones's bunt. And then when he did get there to take Petkovsek's throw several feet behind the base, Jones knocked the ball out of his glove, letting Lemke take third.
IN THE HOUSE: G1: 48,686 (thousands of inexcusable no-shows); G2: 52,067 (funny how many more showed up when the Braves won)
ON THE CLOCK: G1: 2:35; G2: 2:53
ON DECK: The next homestand, a 3-gamer, will be at home in St. Louis, all of which will be needed due to the split in Atlanta.
IN THE HOLE: A 2-game return to Atlanta if needed, on Wednesday and Thursday. And then the winner heads to New York to face the Yankees in the World Series.
4.1.2 Cards vs. Braves St. Louis Homestand (G3, G4, & G5) Review
IN THE ARCHIVES: The upstart Redbirds continue to surprise, taking two out of three from the Braves in St. Louis.
ON THE SCOREBOARD: G3: 3-2 Cards (2 HRs by Ron Gant); G4: 4-3 Cards (Brian Jordan's HR in 8th wins the game after Dmitri Young's two-run triple in the 7th tied it); G5: 14-0 Braves (Todd Stottlemyre, on three days rest, allowed 9 hits in one inning of work)
GOING IN: All tied up at 1-1
COMING OUT: The teams head back to Atlanta with the Cards up 3-2
AT THE PLATE: Gant provided the power in G3 with two HRs off of lefty Glavine. Young and Jordan did their late inning thing in G4; Young tripled to drive in two runs and Jordan homered in the eighth to provide the final margin. Cards managed but seven hits (all singles) in G5. Overall, the Cards managed a total of 19 hits in the three games in St. Louis...the Braves pitching appears to be working most of the time.
OFF THE BENCH: Young's triple in G4 was the first extra-base hit of his MLB career. McGee, playing in place of the injured Lankford in G4 and G5, picked up two hits but, along with Jordan, appeared to misplay a fly ball in CF early in G5
ON THE BASEPATHS:...seems hard to believe that the Redbirds did not attempt a stolen base in G3, G4, or G5. Look for that to change in G6 and G7.
ON THE MOUND: Osborne went seven innings in G3 and pitched well. AnBenes, on 3 days rest, went five innings in G4 and appeared weary, allowing 7 hits and three runs...and striking out no one. Also on three days rest, G5 starter Stottlemyre was awful from the get-go.
FROM THE BULLPEN: The trio of Petkovsek, Honeycutt, and Eckersley combined to throw two scoreless innings in relief of Osborne in G3; Eck got the save. The pentet of Fossas, TJ Mathews, AlBenes, Honeycutt and Eckersley threw four shutout innings in relief of AnBenes in G4, with Eckersley picking up the victory. In G5, all four relievers (Jackson, Fossas, Petkovsek, and Honeycutt) each allowed at least one run...in a game that was 7-0 after two.
IN THE FIELD: All Atlanta runs in the three games were earned...but McGee and Jordan let a fly ball drop between them early in G5 that should have been caught
IN THE HOUSE: G3: 56,769; G4: 56,764; G5: 56,782.
ON THE CLOCK: G3: 2:46; G4: 3:17; G5: 2:57 (about two hours too long).
ON DECK: At least one game in Atlanta.
IN THE HOLE: On to New York to face the Yankees in the World Series. One more win vs. the Braves accomplishes that.
4.2 Rams Lose to Panthers by JIM HUNSTEIN
Just as a hungry predator will attack the helpless prey, the Panthers mauled the Rams on Sunday before a packed house of 70,535 in Charlotte. Rams officials had to count the Sheep, assuming they hadn't been bored to sleep by the game, to make sure the herd hadn't been thinned by the expansion carnivores.
But maybe it's time for some selective winnowing of the team. Some of the players seemed to leave early anyway. At least it looked that way.
The defense used to be the strong suit of the team, right? They were charged with maintaining order while the young lambs figured out their way around the ol' Rancho NFL. But the D went to the wrong pasture and Carolina ran up the score like no team has this year. No one has scored 45 points so far this year, not even against the really bad teams. Unfortunately, St. Louis is now justifiably so labeled.
In fact, the Panthers set all kinds of team scoring records. In their 22-game history, they'd never scored more than 29 points total. They were one short of that heading into the locker room at the half. With the Rams so accommodating, the Panthers will honor them by proudly putting the Rams in their record books and media guides. What do you bet that there is an asterisk to footnote that St. Louis was the leading candidate to get one of the two expansion teams, one of which became the Panthers. Ahh, infamy.
And special teams were supposed to be one of the better part of the Rams game. (Such a compliment is known as damning with faint praise. Sort of like saying that cancer is better than leukemia.) But Panther returnmen ran like they had many more than nine lives. And the Rams treated them like they were black cats instead of white-with-toothpaste green stripes. Such a laissez faire attitude led to a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown no to mention numerous punt returns for bonus yards.
Yet the offense was not as bad as the score might indicate. Yes, QB Tony Banks is finding new ways to let his turnovers become enemy scores, but he is also showing some surprising calm in the eye of the tumult that is his offensive line. And never has that been a more appropriate adjective. Those bumblers who let Chris Miller get knocked permanently into the middle of next week almost sent Banks to the land of uhs. He suffered a bruised elbow on the fifth sack which forced him from the game. But not before he completed 15 of 29 passes for 163 yards. He threw one touchdown to go with the interception. But he also fumbled twice (actually, the ball was stripped twice but balls stripped is not a category except in... never mind), the first one resulting in the second Carolina touchdown after a 66-yard return.
RB Lawrence Phillips turned out to be a bright spot, believe it or not. He didn't set the world on fire, but he did set a personal best of 54 yards gained. More importantly, he ran with his head up in the air, not up somewhere else (the sun seldom shines there, if that's a clue). He kept moving forward, avoiding the non-existent holes and finding an occasional opening. He also nearly doubled his year-to-date average per rush.
One other positive that must be said. The Rams came into the game averaging 10 penalties per game, way more than any other team. On Sunday, they were flagged only three times for just 35 yards. Looks like the mental mistakes are being overtaken by the physical ones.
Some things never change, though. The Rams have yet to score on an opening drive this year and, true to form, they promptly went three-and-out. The Panthers have no qualms about getting on the board early, aided by the inept tackling. Make that would-be tackling. The Rams D must have come from WD-40, which is maybe what they soaked their gloves in. The key play in the 9-play, 68-yard drive was a 29-yard pass-and-run to Oliver, who kept going running when would-be tacklers CB Torin Dorn and LB Roman Phifer collided on the receiver. They both fell down (Dorn didn't get up) and Oliver kept going until CB Todd Lyght brought him down while being blocked at the Rams 29. They eventually scored on a 6-yard pass from Collins to TE Wesley Walls. Collins had to scramble to the right (actually "permitted" as DE Kevin Carter blew his containment assignment) and Phifer wasn't able to contain Wells across the back of the end zone. Carolina led 7-0.
The Rams answered with a nice sustained drive of their own, starting at their own 26. They got first downs on a Phillips run, tight pass to WR Eddie Kennison, a naked bootleg completion to WR Isaac Bruce, and a dump pass to RB Harold Green. The last three were on third down plays. Facing another third down, DL Shawn King broke through and stripped the ball from Banks. LB Kevin Greene scooped the loose ball and rambled 66 yards unmolested for a 14-0 lead. Kennison showed off some blazing speed and closed to within a few yards before Greene literally took a dive across the goal line.
The only thing remarkable on the next St. Louis series, besides it being split by the change of quarters, was a third down screen pass to Green. What made it notable was that, due to the pressure, Banks threw it left-handed! The play lost five yards, but it was fun to see. The Rams had to punt and only Ernie Conwell's diving tackle prevented Oliver from returning it for a touchdown. The Panthers settled for a 38-yard return to the Rams 48. The defense held firm this time and Carolina had to settle for a 50-yard field goal. But Kasay, who was 3-for-3 in 50-plus yard field goals, pushed the ball wide right.
The Rams once again had to punt from near midfield, giving P Sean Landeta the chance to pooch the ball deep into Panther territory. He caught some air and CB Keith Crawford was camped underneath it at the two-yard line. But he bobbled the ball into the end zone for a touchback. Carolina started on their own 20 and were at the 46 after five plays. Then Collins hit WR Muhsin Muhammad (Banks's college roommate and the guy taken with the very next pick in the draft) on a simple curl pattern. But S Keith Lyle spun right off him and Muhammad had himself a 54-yard TD pass reception. And the Panthers had a 21-0 lead.
After yet another failed drive and punt, the Panthers were ready to roll from their own 12. On the third play of the drive, though, Collins threw behind WR Mark Carrier, who reached back for the ball and flipped it up to CB Anthony Parker at the 22. Parker ran it back and, fighting off OT Mark Dennis, got the ball across the alumni stripe for the Rams first score of the game. The Rams then trailed by only 21-7 and might have had hopes of coming back.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Rams covered reasonably well and stopped Michael Bates at the 29. But RB Greg Robinson was called for being offsides on the kick. So they rekicked and Bates, taking the ball at the 7, streaked up the middle and then cut to the left side and blew by K Chip Lohmiller on his way to wide open spaces. No Ram could catch him since St. Louis didn't bother to draft the gold or silver medalist in the 200-meter from the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Bates, it seems, took the bronze. And the Panthers took a 28-7 lead.
The Rams came right back with a scoring drive of their own as the second quarter was winding down. Using a hurry-up offense and wide open play-calling (Hint to the Rams brass: This worked!), Banks used completions to Kennison, WR Jermaine Ross, and Green to move down to the Carolina 12. He then pump-faked to Bruce and tossed it to Kennison wide open in the end zone. But Lohmiller blew the extra point, which may have taken whatever momentum the Rams might have gleaned from the score. St. Louis headed to the locker room down 28-13.
The score to the contrary, the teams were pretty even statistically at the half. The Rams "led" in total yards (161-155), first downs (11-8), and time of possession (17:10-12:50).
And that was just about it from the offense. They barely showed up for the second half other than to either punt the ball away or throw an interception. They racked up a mere 58 more yards and only four first downs and hold the ball for about nine minutes.
The Panthers, on the other hand, kept right on scoring, an interesting concept that seems to have escaped the Rams. After missing a 51-yard field goal, the Panthers hit a 22-yard three-pointer and another touchdown pass to Walls, this one a 19-yarder right up the middle, before the third quarter ended. They didn't have their first punt of the day until halfway through the fourth quarter.
The only thing the third quarter meant to the Rams, besides another bagel on the board, was the injury to Banks. He was blind-sided by S Chad Cota late in the quarter on a safety blitz. As banks went down with a bruised elbow, the ball floated to LB Sam Mills for the interception. That set up the Walls TD. Banks came in for the next series which featured six pass plays (one a 19-yarder to Kennison for a first down) and a punt.
After the Panthers scored their last touchdown of the day on a 2-yard run. That left mop-up duties to Jamie Martin. Not one to miss out on the fun, Martin threw an interception of his own, straight into the arms of Lofton, who returned it 42 yards. But Carolina mercifully let the clock run out on the Rams' fifth loss in a row. This is their worst start since the beginning of the 1987 season when they dropped seven of eight.
5.0 StLSO Numbers
5.1 Game Statistics: Rams vs. Panthers
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q F Rams 0 13 0 0 13 Panthers 14 14 10 7 45
First Quarter:
Panthers - TD; Walls, 9-yd pass from Collins (Kasay kick)
Panthers - TD; Greene, 66-yd fumble return (Kasay kick)
Second Quarter:
Panthers - TD; Muhammad, 54-yd pass from Collins (Kasay kick)
Rams - TD; Parker, 22-yd interception return (Lohmiller kick)
Panthers - TD; Bates, 93-yd kick return (Kasay kick)
Rams - TD; Kennison, 12-yd pass from Banks (kick wide right)
Third Quarter:
Panthers - FG; Kasay, 22 yards
Panthers - TD; Walls, 19-yd pass from Collins (Kasay kick)
Fourth Quarter:
Panthers - TD; Philyaw, 2-yd run (Kasay kick)
Team Stats:
Rams Panthers First downs 15 21 Rushing 5 12 Passing 10 8 Penalties 0 1 Third down eff. 6-15 5-13 Fourth down eff. 0-0 3-3 Total net yards 219 361 Total plays 61 62 Avg. gain per play 3.6 5.8 Net yards rushing 78 184 Net yards passing 141 177 Sacks-yards lost 5-52 2-19 Gross passing yards 193 196 Punts-average yards 7-44.3 1-46.0 Penalties-yards 3-35 3-15 Time of possession 26:17 33:43
Individual Stats:
Rushing (carries-yards)
Rams: Phillips 13-54, Robinson 2-12, Banks 2-8, Green 2-2, Martin 1-2
Panthers: Johnson 22-126, Philyaw 9-22, Ismail 1-17, Hoard 4-11, Oliver 5-6, Collins 1-2
Passing (completions-attempts-yards-touchdowns-interceptions)
Rams: Banks 15-129-163-1-1, Martin 4-7-30-0-1
Panthers: Collins 11-18-196-3-1
Receiving (receptions-yards)
Rams: Kennison 8-93, Green 4-6, Bruce 3-34, Conwell 2-24, Ross 1-28, Harris 1-8
Panthers: Walls 5-86, Griffith 2-31, Johnson 2-14, Muhammad 1-54, Oliver 1-29
5.2 Blues Scoring Statistics (through October 15)
POS NO. PLAYER GP G A PTS +/- PIM PP SH GW GT S PCTG C 10 *JIM CAMPBELL 5 4 2 6 2 4 1 0 2 0 12 33.3 C 25 PETER ZEZEL 5 1 3 4 3 4 0 0 0 0 11 9.1 R 21 JOE MURPHY 5 2 1 3 0 6 1 0 0 0 14 14.3 L 32 STEPHANE MATTEAU 5 1 2 3 2 7 0 0 0 0 7 14.3 D 44 CHRIS PRONGER 5 1 2 3 4- 13 1 0 0 0 5 20.0 C 36 ROBERT PETROVICKY 4 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 .0 R 27 STEPHEN LEACH 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 12.5 R 26 KONSTANTIN SHAFRANOV 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 33.3 D 2 AL MACINNIS 5 0 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 12 .0 C 37 *HARRY YORK 5 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 .0 R 28 BRIAN NOONAN 4 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 33.3 L 9 SHAYNE CORSON 5 1 0 1 4- 13 0 0 0 0 8 12.5 R 16 BRETT HULL 5 1 0 1 4- 4 0 0 1 0 26 3.8 C 23 CRAIG MACTAVISH 1 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0 D 35 CHRISTER OLSSON 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 D 33 TRENT YAWNEY 4 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 .0 D 34 MURRAY BARON 5 0 1 1 2- 6 0 0 0 0 3 .0 D 4 MARC BERGEVIN 5 0 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 .0 L 14 GEOFF COURTNALL 5 0 1 1 3- 9 0 0 0 0 9 .0 D 5 IGOR KRAVCHUK 5 0 1 1 2- 2 0 0 0 0 5 .0 G 30 JON CASEY 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 L 13 YURI KHMYLEV 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 G 31 GRANT FUHR 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 L 18 TONY TWIST 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .0
6.0 StLSO Media Views by MARK BAUSCH
*The long-rumored sale of KSD-AM 550 to the folks that operate WIBV-AM 1260 is finally going to occur, at least according to a recent Jerry Berger Post-Dispatch column.
Ramifications of KSD's sale?
The programming at KFNS, owned by the same company that is selling KSD-AM, will be strengthened by the sale. Sports-related personnel who have worked at KSD include Kevin Slaten, Tim Liotta, Steve Schlanger, and Tom Wheatley. KFNS also appears likely to pick up some or all of KSD's live events, which include Rams radio broadcasts.
But with change comes uncertainty.
Which time slot will Slaten work?
What will happen to the pro football-oriented KFNS show currently on Sunday morning?
With the enhanced signal afforded by the AM-550 slot, will Charter Communications ('IBV's owners) now take part in the radio bidding rights contest for major St. Louis franchises?
And who will win the radio rights to Billikens basketball games?
Remembering that competition is good...the KSD transaction should result in higher quality radio programming in the St. Louis area...and that goes for sports, too.
*550-AM Permanent Ban Update: Heading into Week #6...and still going strong.
7.0 StLSO Interactivity
*Mike Francis writes from Oregon--
In a recent issue of St. Louis Sports Online, Mike Huss wrote that "One day, there will be a Real Commissioner for Major League Baseball."
I'm not so sure this is true. Doesn't it seem as if the owners, without saying anything, have decided to proceed WITHOUT a commissioner? To hire a commissioner, the owners would have to voluntarily surrender some power. Why should they? For the first time since the 1920s, they are absolute rulers of the game. Nobody can tell them to bend to the players' union, the umpires' union, or even the fans. As long as they rule the game, they can continue to hold up cities for better stadium packages, stand firm on a luxury tax, and yes, collude over free agents -- though more discreetly this time.
I'd love to see somebody force them to install a commissioner, but I have my doubts it will happen. And if it does, you can bet it won't be a strong commissioner -- it'll be somebody who will rubber-stamp their decisions, as the league presidents do now.
P.S. God, I love these Redbirds.
*Screenname VoiceofA writes--
Come the end of October and the completion of the World Series, St. Louis fans will smell a foul oder in the air. It will be coming from points north and west of Busch Stadium and its colors are blue and gold. Go Redbirds!! I wish they'd play through December.
8.0 StLSO Editorial: La Russa vs. Cox
The Cards-Braves NLCS series currently stands at 3-2 in favor of St. Louis. One of the interesting sidelights to the current series involves pitching-related decisions made by managers Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox.
For his part, La Russa has been extolling Cox's virtues for the entire season. Heck, even during spring training Tony La Russa told anyone within earshot that Bobby Cox has been one of the best, if not THE best, managers in all of baseball...for a long long time.
Certainly, La Russa and Cox are two of the best managers working today. Evidence for that assertion is that they rank first and second in career LCS victories by a manager.
All of which makes for an interesting comparison as far as the way Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox set up their respective starting pitching rotations. Specifically, would either man choose to utilize a three man starting rotation (for the Braves--John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine...and for the Cards--Andy Benes, Todd Stottlemyre, and Donovan Osborne), or would Cox and La Russa add Denny Neagle and Alan Benes as their respective #4 guys?
The Division Series offered no clue, since in their best-of-five series, Atlanta swept the Dodgers while the Cards swept the Padres.
But in the LCS, Cox tipped his hand early and announced that Denny Neagle would start G4. In that scenario, Neagle would be surrounded by a trio of past and present Cy Young winners (Smoltz, Maddux, and Glavine, with Maddux and Glavine ready to go in G6 and G7).
La Russa, though, wanted to retain the option of utilizing Andy Benes, his 18 game winner, three times in the series. Thus, Benes started G1 and G4, and Stottlemyre started G2 and G5, with lefty Osborne going in G3.
Presumably, La Russa wanted to come back with Osborne in G6 and Andy Benes in G7. In such a scenario, Benes, Stottlemyre, and Osborne would each pitch with only three days rest.
But the Cards starters in G4 and G5 (Andy Benes and Stottlemyre) didn't have their usual stuff. Although Benes only gave up three runs in G4, he failed to strike out a single batter in only five innings pitched.
Then, Stottlemyre was cuffed around pretty good in G5. All of which has apparently caused La Russa to rethink his plans.
Expect Alan Benes to get the nod as the starter in G6...and Osborne in G7.
In essence, La Russa's decision to go with Andy Benes and Stottlemyre in games 1, 2, 4, and 5 means that he is left with Alan Benes and Osborne as his starting pitchers in games 6 and 7. If Alan Benes had started game 4 (with Andy Benes coming back in game 5), La Russa would have the option of utilizing Stottlemyre and Osborne (both on their regular four days rest) as his starters in games 6 and 7.
Meanwhile, the Braves and Bobby Cox are plodding along with Cy Young winners Maddux and Glavine in games 6 and 7.
Advantage Bobby Cox.