sluc+f1972

walking back to humphreys from chaifetz after the x game the other night, i got to thinking what the corner of spring and laclede used to look like, and points west, all the way down to vandeventer... john clark's fridays occupied the northwest corner, in an old what was i think a corner grocery or pharmacy in the days of old...nights in fridays used to feature a textbook fire code breaker!...a big long bar along the north wall of the joint, with booths on the south wall and a mezzanine deck over them...so many people squeezed into slu's first 'singles bar' and college hangout that you could literally have your nose stuck in some babe's hair...screamingly loud jmmy hendrix or beatles blasting away...10 oz draft buds for less than half a buck...we used to hit fridays after night classes, and weekends too...no fraternity houses on campus?...no problem, somehow all 7 fraternities would have about 15 members in attendance at any one time at fridays...eventually, i recall john received a demand from newly arrived in stl 'tgi fridays' to cease and desist, and he switched names to 'clarks'...that was one helluva bar... across the street, former fridays bartender bob manglesdorf opened humphreys, following that location's somewhat sorry attempt first at a coffeehouse and shortly after as a quiet bar called 'free advice'...i believe one of the frats (adg) had actually rented the dump and just started having 'private parties' there, and later started charging admission and handed out pitchers and cups...it became legit, expanded under bob's ownership, and doubled up again before he died young...under his wife jan's management, the place obviously still thrives as the home of slu basketball...who can forget thursday night ladies night, and crazy bob getting up and standing on the bar, pouring out drinks and ratcheting up the music...lou reed, jefferson airplane, pink floyd, the who...and remind me: who was the recording guy who seemed to stick a microphone down his throat and sing through his guitar?...dang that place used to be crazy...and we used to drive home after all that?...God helps us all... moving westward we had bogarts, then the loading zone, and a little later the fifth house, calecos and the billiken bench club...we hit 'em all, but the loading zone on vandeventer near what is now fr. biondi's parking lot always held special meaning for me...deafeningly loud music, endless pitchers of cold bud (no bud light back in the good old days) and legions of beautiful women seemed never to end...wasn't it wednesday nights that we stumbled out at 1:30 closing time and headed to schneithorsts or parkmoor for dinner?... finally, jimmy and andy's on boyle was a favorite...hq for pre- and post-slu hockey games...cold falstaff, good old fashioned bartenders and a small, tight floor plan...no worry...150 people seemed to fit in quite comfortably!...hungry?...no problem, order some barfood, or make a quick exit over to sarah and laclede, and duck (literally, or you'd crash your head into low overhanging pipes) over to the basement pizza place known as rossinos...chicken pizza, the house specialty...a del pietro family legend...sometime late in the 70's, owner dutch zimmerman was killed late one night driving on the forest park parkway, when a pharmacist also heading home fell asleep and crossed over the median... there were others - the fox bar on washington (or was it delmar), garavellis, talaynas, santoros, oh my the list goes on and on...hiccup...

i'll bet there aren't many slu graduates in calhoun county...heck, there aren't many grade school graduates there...the population's only about 5,000...seriously, though, i think easy ed macauley's roots were from there...

kyle and conk are in graduate business school, and as far as my sources know, are not headed to the lakers or celtics...but they'll probably be managing money or selling insurance to a lot of the folks in the stands this season...they've got a future...most college basketball players don't...good luck to them!...

hate to tell ya, pal, but you're gonna die of a massive heart attack if you keep loading up on chicken wings and pizza...better get to the gym, and a nutrition counselor...now i was at the fieldhouse before the x game, and i only had a few beers...good for the ol' ticker, i've been told...be careful out there!...

well, then, good!...glad i could be the first...and have then contact me if they're looking for a commish...i'd be perfect for the job...love to criticize athletic directors, travel on expense accounts, and lecture everyone on everything...

how about a jesuit only conference?...pull georgetown, bc, usf, loyola, fordham, marquette and creighton into a super-catholic conference...maybe we could even say a hail mary before the game, like in the old days...

is coach signed up for 2012/13?...i sure hope so...after following slu for 50 years, it sure seems like we've got 'a program' now...i remember john bennington, loved rich grawer and hated to see spoon leave, but coach is the best we've ever seen...let's be sure we've got him tied down and committed for a few more years...

forget mizzou...i'd like to see a home and away with illinois...and an annual game with a big ten opponent...ohio state, purdue, michigan state...those would be great matches...more jesuit school games too...usf, loyola, marquette and bc...let's start playing some decent pre-conference games, instead of the div 2 woosies that we get...i don't care if we lose every game, let's see some decent teams...

am i missing something? here we were, 8,000 strong on the campus of slu, playing another Catholic college, in the overwhelmingly Catholic-attended chaifetz the other evening, and we're asked to stand before the national anthem and roster announcements, 'to pay tribute' to beloved coach charlie spoonhour by 'observing a moment of silence'!? what is this, a public school? a town hall meeting? a planned parenthood convention? no, it was an athletic event sponsored by our Jesuit and Roman Catholic alma mater. so why weren't we led in a prayer, say, the Hail Mary, and a petition for the repose of spoon's eternal soul and his eternal salvation? had i a couple of more schlafly pale ale's in my gut than i already did, i might have belted out a memorial prayer myself. next time, i just might. as a matter of fact, what ever happened to slu's practice of having a pre-game prayer for all of the crowd to join, or not? what a grand opportuniity it would have been to see someone, anyone, to emerge onto the floor the other night and lead the crowd in a prayer for our departed coach anf friend charlie spoonhour. are we Catholics growing more complacent, less devout, even embarrassed or ashamed of our faith? from the tone set by the athletic department the other evening, i'd say 'yes'. let's work on this, and request more leadership from our university's athletic department, any any other branch at slu, when the opportunity arises. go bills!