C-roysScene's Blog

As the diehard Tigers fan that I am, I guess I was glad a wedding reception kept my eyes from watching what I realize was a frustrating four quarters in Columbia.  OKST on top surely was not the glitch in the schedule that many in Tiger Nation had predicted.  The loss not only took the wind out of the Good Ship TigersonTop but it also proved decidely devasating in the numbers game.  We dropped like the Dow in the AP and coaches polls, down to 11 in the rankings which have been as erratic as a Terrell Owens press conference but none the less the polls prove important in the BCS lineup. 

So we are out of the top ten are we out of the national championship conversation?  This week for sure but a golden opportunity awaits us in Austin.  A lot of important eyes will be glued to the marquee game of the week and I believe a victory against the Horns puts us back in the hunt for the big game.  If we run the table including two W's in a row at Arrowhead then my argument is we are still in consideration for the championship.

A one loss team will be crowned king this January.  That could be Mizzou.  I realize there are a lot of "if"s, perhaps the biggest one is pulling a win out the crowd of burnt orange deep in the heart of Texas.  Some thoughts on why Mizzou might win.  Clearly our success is directly tied to #10 and Chase will be looking to prove that OKST was a fluke and will be looking to enact some revenge on the local school that overlooked his 5'11'' frame.  I would much rather play a confident Texas squad than a pissed-off one.  We have a chance and if Penn St. stumbles and the SEC continues to beat up on each other we are back in BCS business.

I still believe the Big 12 is the best conference in the nation and even with one loss the team on top in the 12 should get an invite to Miami..can it be the Tigers or are we truly "one and done"?

Trust me I am not so jaded to think that there are not genuinely nice people, in fact I truly meet many during nights on the streets of the St. Louis metro, but few as nice as the lady that helped me this morning and I have to share.

While heading into McDonald's play land along Lindbergh i have a tray full of food ni one hand and my one-year-old in the other.  After I filled the soda cup something told me it wouldn't make it there safely, for once I should have listened the voices I guess.  My daughter held the door open for me and despite the kids running around it was looking good for a successful landing at the table by the window.  Just then with so much focus on the tray of food and the soda balancing precariously the two foot tall human in the other arm started to rock the boat.  The excitement of seeing big multi-colored plastic in various shapes and degrees was too much for him to ignore and he begins flailing about and reaching for the steps of the playland.  The squirming enough to throw the perfect balance that I had managed into complete flux and I had a split decision: drop the child or the tray of food...trust me after the morning he had it was a tough decision but the food and soda had to be sacrificed.  As if in slow-motion the food and more importantly the soda hit the floor and end up everywhere.

After the dust cleared I was left in the wreckage of happy meals strewn across the playland and a soda swamp below my feet.  While i was struggling to compose myself an older woman there with her grandson was already composing my family's lunch back on the tray and already armed with napkins she was busy scooping ice back into the wrecked vessel of paper that used to be a soda cup.  Her actions were admirable enough but as I had laid my son down and started to gather what I had dropped she was already on her way out the door to fetch me another soda.  I offered to do it on my own and she wisely said your hands are still too full as my one-year-old had already made it up the flights of stairs and was lost inside the playland.  She confirmed what was inside the cup and returned moments later after i had fished my kid out of the jaws of the plastic monstrosity with a new soda and pile of napkins.  "I figure you coudl use these," she said. 

After the day i ahd already had (i won't even go into the trip to Costco just minutes before) this woman's kindness immediately turned a lousy day into one that was well...worth typing about.

We have received in the newsroom and I have taken several calls and emails about TRASH!  Specifically a "mandatory" recycling program recently installed in St. Louis County and the introduction of trash districts in unincorporated St. Louis County.  The latter is an issue that has spawned websites against the idea and many considerations of legal action...OVER TRASH. 

I have to say it floored me the first time I covered this story about a year ago to discover that people get to choose who takes their trash away.  The districts would require one hauler for each district, much like it is in many municipalities.  The meetings I have covered have been impassioned against the idea of losing their opportunity to choose their trash hauler.  I have never had the chance to choose who hauls my trash away and it still to this day fails to resonate with me that people would be so angry over this loss, none the less the sheer number of people that have emailed and who attend those meetings impress on me that this an important issue for many. 

The voices that are not heard enough are the ones that unfortunately are kind of scared to speak.  A Co-worker and friend is relieved with the approval of a trash district, sure his bill could go up a bit but for him it is worth to feel that his daughters are safe to play in the front yard without one of the five to seven trash trucks that roll down his street every other day running into his yard.  I also have video of a trash truck that slammed into a residents car as she was pulling onto her street.  Sure that could have happened with just one truck a week, but the thought among those who quietly applaud the decision is that it reduces the risk of accidents with one instead of seven trucks rolling through neighborhoods. 

I recently also looked into St. Louis County's new ordinance that requires haulers who work in the county to provide a minimal service of recycling. 

Link: http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_vide
o.jsp?contentId=6195286&version=1&locale=EN-US 

Through a grant the Health department distributed recycling bins much to the anger of many who don't wish to recycle or would rather do it on their own.  The fact is that they don't have to...and can return the bins with no charge.  What frustrates many is that even if they choose not to recycle many haulers are passing on their added expense to the customers to the tune of on average 6 bucks a quarter.  This issue is happening all over the county whether un-incorporated or not.  Many "Munis" do require recycling be part of the cost of exclusively doing business within city limits, like it is in Webster Groves for example.

I just find it fascinating that both these issues create so much furor among people, sure trash bills may be going up a bit, but so are MSD bills (which we have chronicled as well on FOX 2), water bills (likewise) and of course power bills are always on the way up.  County bosses argue that at least 50 percent participation in recycling is crucial to run out of landfill space and it is a "civic duty" to recycle.   What are your thoughts is this Refuse Revolt worth the energy or is it wrong to not have the Right to choose who hauls and what they haul from your curb?  

Do you think Pertz can actually be highlighted on every blog section?  He's not far from history...Go for it John!  Now that's a blogopalooza!

A convincing caucus win for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.  Many Americans are likely thinking this Thursday night "Wow this guy came out of no where!"  Truly he did and as one of the few reporters in this market to interview this guy not only once but twice, I can tell you a bit about this man's humble campaign.  It was early this summer I was dispatched to interview a Presidential Candidate in the lobby of the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.  I knew a bit about Huckabee, his tenure as the Natural State's Governor and his impressive weight-loss.  I was surprised to meet him and only him, no staffers, no press agents, no advisors by his side just the man and his personality and ideas.  I found him engaging back then, a charming man with some sensible ideas and comments.  He was as excited to talk about his weight loss as he was his candidacy.  We chatted about the Cardinals and his memories listening to Redbird games as a kid in Hope Arkansas.  I remember thinking "too bad this guy doesn't stand a chance."  Months later and here he is: victorious in Iowa.  It was during the National Urban League conference a couple of months later when I was readdying myself for a live shot outside the street.  I was tasked with trying to hook up with Huckabee somewhere for an interview but the night and logisitics kept that from happening until a few minutes from air I hear "Hello, Sean how are you?"  I turn around to the outstretched hand of Mike Huckabee.  "Nice to see you," he said.  He had sought me out and was thrilled to have someone to share his time with on that night.  Although he did have a press agent with him this time Huckabee was in charge and as we talked about the Urban League he told me that it was important for him to be there even if he wasnt invited and wasn't going to speak inside.  Again he struck me as humble, caring and real.  Granted the man is a politician but at least he seemed to be truly appreciative of a St. Louis reporter's time and very gracious for the opportunity to run for the Oval Office.  Now its on to the New Hampshire, where he is not expected to win. but I don't expect east coasters to get him, but I do and much of Iowa does as well.  He likely won't be President, but then again he likely wasn't going to make much noise in the race and the Bass guitar is blaring tonight.  This is not a ringing endorsement as the man still has some ideals that I don;t agree with, this is just a real set of observations...I would love to share the same observations of Obama, Clinton, Romney or Rudy...but they don't offer much time to local reporters, even those of us who are more than willing to listen.

It always strikes me silly this time of year when the St. Louis Police Department actually arranges or buys ad time on the radio and TV to remind people in this "fair" city that shooting guns into the air to usher in the new year is a bad idea.  I don't necessarily blames the cops for asking folks to not do it...I blame the people who are forcing cops to ask by still doing it.  While things have been better, cop friends tell me of times in the past they would park under an overpass at the stroke of midnight to insure they not get hit by stray falling "fun" bullets.  Can you imagine what a visitor to this city has to think to hear that ad over the airwaves...no wonder St. Louis is ranked so highly as dangerous.  A sad commentary that doesn't need much more to be said than the ad to just roll like thousands of eyes are rolling as well. 

What is it about Fog that makes me feel so comfortable...I relish foggy days...anyone else.

I get it, I understand, I even agree...the BCS blew it when it comes to Mizzou.  BUT quit the whining my fellow Tiger fans because the bottom line is IF the Tigers would have played up to their potential, sacked up and went for touchdowns instead of back-breaking field goals and then beat OU like the could have, this whole BCS argument would be moot. 

You should not lose to the same team twice in a season if you want to be considered a top team and especially not the way they lost to OU the second time.  That was embarassing and clearly convincing enough to put an inferior team in the spotlight.  Win and you are in...it was a simple scenario that Pinkel's gameplan couldn't understand. 

So please Tiger nation quit the "un-fair" and "we got screwed" talk because the Tigers did this to themselves.  I dare to argue, even if they had made it a game intead of a blowout we would have been in. 

NOW that being said...the biggest travesty of this BCS mess is the insane rule that three teams from the same conference cannot get in.  I will argue that Mizzou, OU and (as much as this pains me to say) Kansas all deserve a spot.  The Big East doesn't deserve an automatic spot, I think West Virginia proved that.  Clearly the WAC has proven that it deserves that automatic bid over the "Little East" conference.

From the looks of it Mizzou should have lost to Mizzou, because that seems to be the best way to get into the BCS...but the better way is to win the big game!   Since we failed to do that let's throttle Arkansas in the "next best thing bowl" and watch Va. Tech further expose the Jayhawks and make the thousands the Kansas fans who are going to spend thousands of dollars to go to Miami have that cash seem wasted by the first quarter of the Orange Bowl....and OK lets root for the Illini...because enough with USC. (sorry Dave Murray)

Go Tigers, and remember if I was to ask you in early August if you would be satisfied with a Cotton Bowl appearance on New Year's day Tiger nation...most of you  would have answered with a resounding "Yes."  Just like the resounding "Yes" we would have recieved if we had simply beat OU.

It's fun to notice that even non-Mizzou grads are reveling in the weekend win and gold paved path to the championship.  While the Number 1 ranking and sensational season are a source of pride to those that spent 4 (ok maybe 5) years in the Columbia campus they also have non-alums beaming.  I know one co-worker, friend and Illini grad (the name will remain annonymous, but his fedora and suspenders are trademarks) that is equally excited about the ranking because the state he now calls home sits next to the Number 1.  This is a real chance for every missourian to brag and feel good about the Show-Me-State.  I'm sure I will get some heat from the Die-hard Missouri State fans but deep down inside I know most of them are cheering for the Tigers.  Hopefully black and gold blankets the state Saturday and after a win against the Sooner the buzz bounds from Kimmswick to Kearney, Blue Springs to Bolivar, Hayti to Hannibal, Arnold to Albany and St. Louis to Springfield as this moment which we all hope will be a long one is something we can all share together no matter if we flipped our tassle in Jesse Hall or not.  Not so much Go Tigers as it is Go Missouri!

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Saturday- Arrowhead Stadium-Kansas City

Whoever came up with the "Border War" idea to play what usually is a meaningless game in a neutral NFL stadium mid way between the campuses now looks like a genetic physicist. MU-KU on the national stage. Game Day will be there ABC is salivating to have it in prime time and now tickets are dropping on EBAY for 300+ a pop and a continued romp to the national title game on the line. Never in my imagination could this scenario have played out, even in my fairly overactive imagination. For the first time in ummm, forever, I found myself cheering for KU these last two games. I wanted them undefeated and wanted MU to win out. An epic clash of what most back in May thought would be a trivial contest that even Cable 10 wouldn't pick up.

All of the focus has been on the Jayhawks, which is just fine with me and many other Tiger fans. I think the country will be enlightened about the Tigers prowess come late Saturday night. It will boil down to defense and I think Mizzou's is better, if not on paper, in heart. The true test is for the undefeated "Fighting Manginos" as this will be their first contest against a ranked team. I think Mizzou is better prepared and tested and has the greater experience when it comes to these big games. I can't find the official line but i assuming Kansas will be favored...my money's on Mizzou!

I will be in the stands on Saturday. My buddy in Kansas City thought "What the Heck" several months ago and bought tickets...now we are both feeling very privilidged to see a game that will be historic one way or another. I'm sure as I see the event play out i will need a pinch here and there because this Saturday is truly the stuff that dreams are made of.

What do you think? Will Mizzou crush KU or are the Tigers overmatched?

Sure hanging 76 on Nebraska is impressive...apparently Sportscenter thinks so as KU garnered much more attention than the Tigers...but Mizzou's win and it's record are much more impressive and notable than those of the Chickenhawks.  I am a Mizzou fan but I am being objective here and letting performance and simple math make my point.

The one thing lost in the coverage of the KU win was that Nebraska hung 39 points on them...an embarrassment for that defense...in any other game when an opponent drops almost 40 on you, you usually add one to the loss column.  It's more embarrassing when you realize those 39 points came from a poor offense that Nebraska has...with a back-up QB.

Sure Mizzou "only" scored 55 points...but they held a better team to only 10 points...7 of which were a gift off of a fluke turnover.  Those 55 were on the road in a still tough place to play...Colorado has beat Oklahoma...Nebraska has beat....ahhhh Iowa St....now lets talk about the real reason the Tiger win was far more impressive:  margin of victory.

Fifth grade math (which is tough for those "intellectuals" in Lawrence) shows that while KU had a margin of 37...Mizzou's margin was 45 points....with only a 4 and a half point spread by the way...oh yah once again...on the road.  A place where KU eaked out a victory against the Buffs 19-14.

Not that Mizzou's schedule has been extremely challenging but it looks like an NFL schedule compared to KU's cupcake parade.  No Oklahoma, no Texas, no one with much of a record.  Oklahoma State at 5-5 is the most impressive Kansas foe outside of the final team on their schedule...the only ranked team they will play: MIZZOU.

KU will have one loss by the time they get to Arrowhead to try and tackle the Tigers and there is little doubt that game will be for the Big 12 North...the difference like it has been all year will be the Missouri defense and the consistent play of the offense will make it a long day for the "Fighting Manginos".  

Lou Holtz was very prophetic when he was asked on a broadcast Saturday night...Who was the best one loss team in the country LSU or Oregon?   Holtz said it is the team that comes out of the Big 12 championship and to me there are only two teams deserving of that: the two who have one loss not the undefeated team.  Come on KU: Toledo? Central Michigan? SE Louisiana? Florida International? Iowa St?  Baylor?  Revel in your "thumping" of Nebraska, Mizzou will just keep crushing better teams in route to the rendezvous at Arrowhead where if they beat a "good team" than I will stand up and applaud KU but until then I will remain seated fighting back the yawns and watching a better football team make the Show-Me-State proud. 

I am certainly one of those figgity fliers who has to be ready early and have everything set from the first step out the door to the final snap of the seatbelt on the plane...so when toting two kids all of the ducks need to be in a very single file row.  That is why I appreciated the preboard policy of the most family friendly airline: Southwest.  Even if we did a get a "B" card (which is rare with my obsessive ways while traveling) it was nice to know that we can haul our three year old, six month old, two car seats, four bags and our already ragged selves on the plane first.  You can imagine my and my wife's shock when a friend of ours announced the new policy she was surprised to discover when she travelled with her two kids from Tampa to St. Louis.  Now families can either wait in line with the other "A's" if they have an "A" boarding pass or have to wait until after all the "A's" have boarded.  It limits having the pick of the litter of seats when you board first and more importantly the elbow room to preprare your family before the crowds close in.  Southwest says it is more efficient and actually speeds up the boarding process and is a fair compromise for those who make the time and effort to be there early.  I was miffed when I discovered this was true until I snapped back to the many Southwest flights I took before my brood arrived.  Since home is near Salt Lake City, every trip home was filled with frustration watching the four or five families of six walking up at the last minute and boarding before me after I made the effort to get there 2 hours early.  That used to drive me nuts.  Until I was put in that position.  I can certainly see both sides but is letting families on first such a hassle for those who have to only haul themselves to Houston?  

Check out the story in the news area...and weigh in!   

Alright loyal collegiate fans...any predictions? any smack talk? any chance Illinois can even get in the endzone?  It will be close until the fourth when Mizzou will wear the boys in orange down...too bad they don't have the chief to protect them anymore.  I don't want to hear that this is a game that doesn't matter either.  Mizzou may be a contender and Illinois is still in the Big Ten so this is a big matchup and I would expect to hear from you on this one!

Most times when we let our minds wander about the 29th state it tends to meander towards pork, corn and poor drivers but every four years the Hawkeye state grabs the attention of millions of Americans.  The latest political headline comes from our neighbor to the north in regards to the Iowa Straw Poll.  Yesterday (Saturday) some 14-thousand Iowans walked into a building in Ames and cast votes for Republican candidates. Two mild surprises surfaced after those votes were dropped.  One: little-known candidate Mike Huckabee took second to Mitt Romney's strong victory and two: the "Hollywood" candidates barely registered: Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and John McCain finished way back. 

Since the "star" candidates that didn't show in the straw poll didn't show anywhere in Ames it makes sense that their apathy about the event would result in a poor showing at the poll.  The first surprise was all over the Sunday morning shows and here is why, in my experience, Huckabee's showing isn't a surprise: He is the closest to an average guy that the GOP has vieing for it's nod.  I have interviewd Mike Huckabee twice in the past three months on two different trips he made to St. Louis.  Huckabee doesn't travel with an entourage and doesn't expect to be interviewed.  He seemed to me a man who is humbled by even the opportunity to run for President and therefore is well aware of his position as an underdog.  Huckabee is well-known as a former Governor of Arkansas, but perhaps even more well-known for a man who dropped dozens of pounds in transforming his life by losing several pant sizes.  As he explained to me, that weight loss has made him appreciate life much more and he promised himself that he wasn't about to let life pass him by.  I write this not as a ringing endorsement for Governor Huckabee, I write it to offer an idea why this man did so well in this poll in Iowa and will likely make a bit more noise in the Midwest.  Iowans, like most of us in the Midwest, appreciate honesty, humility and being a human instead of a politician.  Huckabee's midwestern qualities, which he started to learn living in Hope, Arkansas (yes the same Hope, Arkansas that Bill Clinton grew up in) endeared him to a fairly large number of regular people in Iowa.

Another man in this side of the race that I have had a couple conversations with as a journalist is Mitt Romney.  While I worked in Salt Lake I interviewed the man who "saved the Salt Lake Olympics" a couple of times.  Back then this man was hired to not only pull off the mammoth task of welcoming the world to the Beehive State for the 2002 Winter Games but also was tasked with healing the black eye the "bid buying" scandal that plagued those Olympics.  He did both.  While he worked for the Olympic Organizing Committee Romney immediately began fixing the P.R. problems that plagued the Salt Lake Olympics.  His look, his style and his message all immediately resonated with the folks in Utah and across the world.  He struck me as a smooth operator, an incredibly intelligent man and an already polished politician.  Even while interviewing this man I remember thinking back in 2001, that he was going to run for President someday.  Six years later that hunch has held true.

Romney's stint in Salt Lake came after this Mormon almost uspet Ted Kennedy in a state where JFK's little brother has been given a free pass for decades.  A Mormon almost defeating a Catholic in Massachusetts should have given most an idea of what this man was capable of accomplishing.  He followed the Olympics up with a victory in the Massachusett's Gubernatorial race, once again a Mormon making a name for himself in this predominently Catholic state.  His pedrigree, (son of longtime Michigan Governor George Romney), his resume, (successful businessman, Olympic Chairman, Mass. governor) and his charm and smooth speaking all make it likely less than surprising that he is among the front-runners on the GOP side.  The surprise to me is that early on in this race that he is the candidate for the "religious right." 

It was not too long ago that the Southern Baptist Convention targeted Mormons as "non-christians" that needed to be "corrected" by the christian conservatives.  Make no mistake Mormons are undoubtedly part of the religious right as Utah will never go Blue (even though Salt Lake City has a long-standing Democratic Mayor, but its a big state) but they aren't exactly Christians in the truest sense.  I am not a theoligian, but grew up Catholic in Mormon Utah and have a lot more knowledge and interest about this faith and more honest friends within the faith than most.  This is a church that does hold the Bible as one of it's scriptures, but it is second to the Book of Mormon. While the Mormon's say they believe in Jesus Christ of Nazareth they pay more homage to the Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon, one that was a figure to folks in ancient South America.  So to have a man who is debatedly Christian take the lead as the Religious Right candidate is most surprising to me.

Giulinani's moderate views will endear him to many younger republicans but if Romney does attatch to the "core" of the party and Fred Thompson doesn't gain too much steam...A Romney vs. Guiliani face off may be in order but maybe thanks to Iowa nice guys like Mike Huckabee likely won't finish dead-last either.  Will Huckabee win the nod, no but hopefully he reminds whoever gets it and the delegates who give it to that other candidate that humans should be holding the Oval Office not politicians, Iowa tries to reminds us all of that, hopefully we remember that the next time we are trapped crawling in the fast lane behind a car with Iowa plates.

     

So Eddie got out of re-hab and it finally cleared his mind to "imagine" a tour that tens of millions of Halen fans have thought for years was "no-brainer."  Van Halen with David Lee Roth is set to start touring in October.  Granted it's no secret the brothers don't get along with anyone else in the band, but it doesn't take a rock promoter to figure out this tour would be monsterous.  Different trailers and only see each other for rehearsal and concerts and be grown men and realize that the money to make for yourselves and the memories to make for fans.  The only better idea is a tour where they would split the stage and sets between Sammy and DLR...that would truly be among the most epic concerts around.  Regardless if there is a scent of tension on stage and even if Michael Anthony doesn't hop aboard I look forward to Halen rocking the Scottrade soon...although a happy band with the original bassist in tow would be stellar!  Stay tuned...hopefully St. Louis is among the first stops so when they cancel because of "artisitc differences" we will get to see them first.