The Watch List: Local sports stories to keep an eye on for the coming week
Cardinals and Plan B
The Jason Heyward watch is over. The market’s top free agent signed with the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals are left with another hole to fill in their lineup. There remain several options available to St. Louis on the free-agent market, whether they choose to invest in an outfielder or first baseman. Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Chris Davis are still looking for new contracts and would be a fit with the Birds on the Bat. GM John Mozeliak claims the club is not bound to chase aggressively any of those remaining free agents, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, several rumors connect the Cardinals to other teams as potential trade partners as well. Would Mozeliak part with what few gems remain in the Cardinals’ farm system for the Rockies Carlos Gonzalez, his 40 home runs and the two years left on his contract? Are the Braves serious about moving Freddie Freeman? What about the Reds and Joey Votto? Or will the Cardinals stand pat with with what they’ve got? Now that the market has been set with the Heyward signing, things are bound to move sooner than later. Stay tuned ...
Final Bow?
Sunday marked the 28th anniversary of the last time the St. Louis football Cardinals played a home game at old Busch Stadium. Could history repeat itself Thursday? The St. Louis Rams will play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Edward Jones Dome in the season’s final home game as owner Stan Kroenke continues to make plans for a new stadium in Los Angeles. Could it be the Rams’ final game in St. Louis? A taskforce established by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has made the Rams’ move west anything but a foregone conclusion with a feasible plan for a new stadium on St. Louis’ north riverfront. And with Disney CEO Bob Iger now involved in plans for a shared stadium for the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders in LA, NFL owners will take some time to consider their best strategic option. Still, Kroenke could challenge the league’s authority to prevent the Rams move and do so with or without his blessing. To be safe, say your goodbyes to the Rams on Thursday. They may not be your team much longer.
Top Prep Players
A rich field of local high school athletes are in contention for BND Player of the Year honors. But local coaches and members of our sportswriting staff have cast their votes. Results in several key votes will be announced this week both at www.bnd.com and in the daily News-Democrat print edition along with our list of all-area teams. We’ve already crowned Althoff quarterback Jordan Augustine as the Small School Football Player of the Year. This week, the BND will reveal All-Area teams and Players of the Year for large-school football, large- and small-school volleyball, boys soccer, golf and cross country.
Small-School Rematch
Two emerging girls sports programs will clash on the basketball court for the second time this season Thursday. Sisters Kendra (13.1 points per game, 5.1 rebounds) and Krista Bass (11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds) have led the Lebanon Greyhounds to an 8-0 record. The New Athens Yellow Jackets are led by Alina Lance and her 12.6 points per game and Abby Marlow’s five rebounds. The Yellow Jackets’ only blemish in their 7-1 start is a 45-24 loss on the Greyhounds’ floor Nov. 23. To add intrigue to the game Thursday, it was New Athens that ended Lebanon’s season at 23-5 last year with a 57-51 win in the semifinals of the Okawville Sectional.
This story was originally published December 13, 2015 at 12:02 PM with the headline "The Watch List: Local sports stories to keep an eye on for the coming week."