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Baseball Writers Dinner Here Always Big Event
BY RANDY GARDNER
How cool is it to live in a town like St. Louis, a town that loves its baseball. It was never more evident than on Monday night as over a thousand people showed up for the Baseball writers dinner held at the Millennium hotel to wrap up the Winter Warm up weekend.
The event is just one of only three writers’ dinners left in the country, that is why when I took a step back from the event and put it into perspective, it was really an awesome evening.
The dinner recognizes players and personnel for their outstanding contributions to the game and the community. Just some of the award receipts were Rick Ankiel and the long time Cardinal broadcaster Mike Shannon.
As we waited for the event to start, fans continued to chase players into the event for their autographs and I did not see even one of them get turned down. We are just a few months away from opening day and Tony LaRussa said that this team right now is just a little underestimated for this year and that’s okay. We will have a lot to show the fans.
Speaker after speaker gave tribute to Marty Hendin, telling stories of the great marketing director who died recently . He work for the Cardinals for 35 years.
Why Wait 2 Weeks for Super Bowl?
I have to talk about the NFL playoffs, will the ratings be higher this year as we have the New York Giants under Eli Manning and the undefeated Patriots from New England. There is definietely a big story to either winning team.
A quarterback in Manning, that many feel is a baby in this league including me. I will give him his credit though as he has got his team this far winning three straight playof road ames. On the other hand though, we have a chance to be able to say that we saw only the second ever undefeated football team in history. This will be something that we may never see again in our lifetime.
This two-week break between games will be a letdown for me. I will miss watching football on Sunday, that is just a ritual for me. I think two weeks is to long, lets get this thing going but its all about the money, that’s why we all will wait the two weeks no matter what.
Big Red’s #85 in Town
On Saturday, I had a chance to sit down with one of our St. Louis football icons, #85, Mel Gray. Do you remember him? It was treat for me to sit down and talk with him. I told him that there are a lot of guys about my age including me, that would run through our backyards as a youngster dreaming of being #85 catching a pass from Jim Hart.
He just laughed as I told him about that. He did say that football has changed a lot since he played. The players are bigger and faster and the game has become a game that revolves around money. Money for the players, money for the owners, it’s all about the money. Mel is currently a high school coach in the Midwest and loves to relive the memories that were made on that hard cold turf at the Old Busch Stadium. Memories that will last a lifetime for many of us here.
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