Slu let the dogs out?

Ha. Not a chance there is another vote on this. Especially one so soon. Unfortunately, the MLS ship has likely sailed. I was holding out hope that maybe the owners would just say "F IT" an fund the financing gap themselves. But after Garber and that other MLS execs' comments last night, I don't see how they can walk back from those. I hope I am wrong!

If you have spare time (which I suspect you do) add up the annual Metrolink ridership numbers & total number of people shot at a metrolink station or on the metrolink. You probably have a better chance of being struck by lightning than shot on the Metrolink. HINT: daily ridership on the Metrolink is around 50,000. If anything, this whole MLS fiasco highlights the fragmentation of the St. Louis region. You had voters representing 12% of the region voting on the fate of a team and stadium that would have been enjoyed by 85% of people form the county that had no vote. It's time St. Louis stops competing with itself and starts competing on a national/global scale. We are becoming Omaha.

TheChosenOne: I tried to quote you but have no idea how to do it so i just copied and pasted above. To answer the second part of your sentence, yes and no. Quality leadership (or lack thereof) in the city has certainly played a large role. I think another factor, however, has been policy at the regional level which can have a large impact on the city. One small example: county voters voting down a nominal tax increase for Metro services. County residents: "I don't care about public transportation. Why do I care if they are able to maintain their buses, I certainly don't take them!" Well, a lot of low-wage city residents DO take them and DO depend on them and a lot of them work at jobs in the county. Metro had to shut down services outside of 270 and county business owners were SHOCKED when their employees weren't showing up to work! My point being, the city needs to take responsibility and do whatever it can to improve. There is no denying that. But it would be in the best interest of the surrounding counties to extend a hand and help instead of constantly turning their backs. Again...a healthy and vibrant city is good for the entire region. There seems to be this self-fulfilling prophecy with many county residents: the city is horrible, crime-ridden and useless, therefore I won't vote for anything that could actually improve the city because what's the point? It's a "waste of money". Then more crime happens, more disinvestment, etc. Those people watching the news: "See!!! You see! Why would I want to help the city?" As an FYI, I live in the county.

Newsflash: you don't have to live 70 miles outside of the city for really good schools and low crime. In fact, take a look at this list of top public schools in Missouri. The top 10 are all in St. Louis county. https://www.niche.com/k12/rankings/public-high-schools/best-overall/s/missouri/ You can keep the tract housing, 15 minute drives just to get milk, and hour-long commutes to get anywhere meaningful. It always cracks me up when outer suburb/fringe metro STL residents think that they aren't impacted by the city of St. Louis. A stronger city center helps create a stronger STL metro. The lack of progressive thinking in this region has been killing us for years. People (that live 30 miles out) would rather complain about the city than do anything to help turn it around. After all, they don't think it affects them at all. This MLS deal is no different than if a major company approached city officials and negotiated a deal to move here. Public private partnerships have been a part of cities nation wide for decades. It's how you get things done. Don't like it, come up with something radically different.

There is absolutely no doubt that the MLS is trending up in all facets. 2016 team valuations are up 80% from 2013. That's crazy. This article is over a year old but does a good job explaining how the MLS is closing the gap on the "Big 4". Hopefully one day old guy comes to grips with the fact that the MLS is not going away any time soon. https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2015/12/22/how-major-league-soccer-is-closing-the-gap-with-the-big-four/#43a8390e6c20

Didn't want to start a new topic on this but Davidson up 14 on Mizzou at half.

Yeah, I think Xavier ended up pulling away at the end but I remember a lot of lead changes throughout the game.

I believe Mizzou played them close last year as well. We all know how that season turned out. Also, I think X was missing their best player today. I could be wrong though...

I take it the blue font represents sarcasm? Sorry, it's been a crazy day...

Is there anything out there about what Jeremiah Tilmon may do now that he isn't signing with Illinois?

I've had similar experiences with 3 of my friends. None of them have any connections to SLU yet all 3 are interested in season tickets. I have several friends who don't necessarily care about the sport itself, they just love the atmosphere and socializing (and getting away from their wives and kids). Now that the Rams are gone, there isn't an opportunity to tailgate on Sundays. I think a few of them are considering turning to SLU basketball to fill that void, especially with Chaifetz being a wet arena! I know the overlap between the NFL and Men's BBALL is small, but my friends look for any excuse to get out of the house!

I wasn't suggesting there were any correlations. I'm not saying: "Now that the Rams are gone and the Cardinals are entering their demise (I kid KSHOE), It will have a direct impact on SLU and every game will be sold out!" If Ford continues to attract top recruits and it translates to not just winning basketball but entertaining basketball, Chaifetz will sell out and be rocking! That will take care of itself. What I'm asking, is if people think the there is an opportunity for SLU to take advantage of a few things: 1) the NFL leaving town - I'm not saying Rams fans will now all of a sudden attend SLU games. There is space in the sports section to fill now that the NFL is gone. 2) The possibility (not certainty) that the Cardinals have a few off years. Again, I'm not saying the Cardinals will or that it will have an impact on their attendance. Yes, the Cardinals will always be the media darlings of STL and their attendance won't suffer terribly if they have an off year or two. When I say take advantage, I mostly mean in terms of media coverage and general excitement in the STL metro, (especially with top area recruits staying home to play for the Billikens) not in terms of attendance. I'm asking if there is an opportunity for the Billikens to parlay this potentially exciting and successful style of basketball into more exposure with the local media and people. Instead of the top Post story in January being "Ranking the Cardinals Bullpen", it is "High-flying Bills top Dayton in match up of two top 15 teams", or something corny like that. It sounds like many don't see and connection, either direct or indirect, between SLU and the Cardinals and I get that. I was just looking for people's thoughts. Lesson learned!

Ha, funny enough, I started typing ISU but then decided to erase it for some reason.

Blackhawks fans are already the most insufferable fans on earth. It's unreal. None of them even knew what hockey was before 2009.

You honestly don't think the media's BFIB label has had any effect on how Cardinals fans act? I've seen it firsthand, especially at Dodger Stadium, Petco, whatever stadium the DBacks play in now, Kauffman, etc. Heck, I've heard fans yell it!

I'd say 3 years from now, the only certainties at SP are: Leake (unless someone wants his contract), Reyes, and Martinez. Of course they have an overabundance of SP options but as we know, you can never have too much SP and it doesn't always work out. Not sold on Gonzalez, Lynn (health), Garcia (health), Wacha (health) or Weaver yet.

Ha, I'm not panicking over the Cubs. I'm looking at their position players, their ages, their current contracts, and the numbers they produced this year and deduced that based on these numbers, the Cubs aren't going anywhere for a while. Now, I will say that injuries are a big part of the game and you are right....there certainly is no guarantee the Cubs will continue this type of play into the future.

I'm with you on that. I just think it will be interesting to see what happens if SLU can snag top 100 recruits over the next few years and how that will translate on the court. That's all! Let's just get this out of the way: SLU basketball will have zero effect on the Cardinals attendance or popularity! I know that

No I know that is what you assume. You've been doing a lot of that.

The Cardinals had over 130 different line ups this past year and only missed the wild card by 1 spot. You see, 3-5 years means 3 to 5 years. So, over the next 3-5 years, they will need to find: a CF, a LF, at least 2-3 SPs, a 1B and a closer. And if Wong continues his current trend, a 2B. That is almost half of their starting line up and at least 40% of their starting pitching. Pray tell, in what universe would this not be considered to be a rebuild? What is missing from that quote, is where I say the Cardinals will be bottom dwellers during this time. Also missing...where I say this will occur in 1 off season.

Similarly, jumping to the conclusion that I'm implying the Cardinals are now facing their demise because they are no longer the best team in the NL Central is a bit of an exaggeration.

I've been a Cardinals fan all of my life. Flew in from California in 2006 to attend WS-clinching game 5. I will admit that Cardinals fans get on my nerves, where this self-righteous attitude is merely a mask for the intense insecurity they possess (BFIB!). I'm not sure why you do so much assuming. I guess I'm not surprised that a thread that was intended to show excitement and gauge fellow SLU fan's hopes for the future has turned into an argument about the Cardinals. I've now stated several times that all I am saying is that the Cardinals run of NL Central dominance is over (for now). I've responded several times stating that I still think the Cardinals have a shot at the playoffs every year. I've also stated that this will not impact attendance at Busch. I've also stated that I don't believe that SLU will ever replace the Cardinals as the most popular team in St. Louis.

That is not what I'm suggesting and I think you know that.

I tend to agree with you here. I am a bit surprised at how easily many St. Louisans (including myself and several friends) were able to completely stop watching the NFL. I figured, and this is probably naive, that if you are able to turn it off for the NFL so quickly, you could turn it on just as easily for the NHL. The Blues did a tremendous job gathering civic support and harnessing civic pride shortly after the Rams left. I'm hoping that some people that weren't necessarily fans of the NHL before would give it a shot. At least in the interim, as support for the city but hopefully grow to love the sport. I know, a bit of a reach!

Well, if you're keeping tabs, this is the fist time in 26 years a team in the Cardinals division won the WS. What dominant teams were the Cardinals competing with in the NL Central in 2007? This isn't a 1 and done fluke for the Cubs. This is the beginning of a potential dynasty.