HONORABLE MENTION: Rape accusations against SLU basketball players Willie Reed and Kwamain Mitchelll; lawsuit fails and Reed is expelled May-Nov 2010.
10. Gateway to Greatness Boxing Event at Scott Trade Center Aug 7
9.NFL Isaac Bruce Retirement Ceremony at Edward Jones Dome. Oct 31
More than 60,000 fans attended the brief ceremony for the retirement of the jersey of longtime wide receiver Isaac Bruce of the famous 1999 Super Bowl Team (dubbed The Greatest Show on Turf). It took place prior to the Carolina Panthers Game and in attendance were several team players and organization heads who were affiliated with Bruce during his career. He announced his retirement in June.
8.Lure Nightclub Closes After City Pressure Oct 17
One of the hot newz items this year was of nightclubs being threatened to close by the city from supposed violence occurring near them. Remnants of the infamous closing of Club Society in 2009, three clubs were on the chopping block in late August: Club F15teen, Sugars and Lure Nightclub, but only Lure was the venue who got its license revoked by the city commissioner board. It sparked much debate on whether certain clubs were targeted for having urban" nights."
7.Nelly (Receives Star on STL Walk of Fame Delmar Boulevard Oct 16 and Becomes a Radio DJ on Hot 104. 1 Aug 11)
It was a roller coaster of a year for St. Louis' music hero(from a burglary at his Wildwood mansion to his CD, "5.0" flopping) . One of the highs was his official induction into the St. Louis Walk of Fame in front of Blueberry Hill Restaurant on Delmar. Although he was installed in 2006, it took four years for him being able to attend it (PICTURED with Nelly is venue proprietor Joe Edwards) . Nelly also went to two radio stations (Hot 104.1. and Z 107.7) to announced the event a few hours before it was to occur. A concert was performed by Nelly and the St. Lunatics inside the Duck Room of the venue afterward.
Another high was when Nelly took to the radio airwaves this summer when he was hired as a temporary replacement DJ for radio personality Staci Static who was on maternity leave. His stint lasted for a month.
6.Pigeon Poop Stops Kings of Leon "Only By The Night" Tour Stop at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater July 23
Only a certain few in the front row of a near sold out crowd actually witnessed the pigeon pooping inside the mouth of drummer Jared Followill (or did they?) causing the band to cut short its concert after three songs. After a PR strategized apology from the band to their die-hard fans and a statement from Live Nation, the concert promoter, which counter-acted from the incident stating their wasn't an infiltration of the birds. The concert stop made national headlines from the fowl fail. The band rescheduled the concert in August.
THE NEXT FIVE STORIES WERE SPORTS RELATED
5. Albert Pujols Receives Award at Glenn Beck Rally at Capitol Mall in Washington DC August 28
Akin to Nelly, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman and superstar slugger Albert Pujols also had a topsy turvy year (eg. arm injuries, hitting 400 homeruns). But he made headlines with his outside baseball activities and controversial appearance at the 90,000 plus Tea Party motivated "Restore Honor" Rally organized by conservative radio personality Glenn Beck. With the Cards in town for a game against the Nationals, Pujols, who was introduced by Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, received the Hope Award for his charitable work. But fans objected to his appearance assuming it was an affiliation of his political beliefs.
4.Cardinals Veteran Stan Musial Receiving Presidential Medal of Freedom Nov 17
Dubbed Stan the Man, veteran Cardinals outfielder Stan Musial was bestowed with the highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was one of several personalities(including St. Louis native poet-educator Maya Angelou) who was given such an honor as selected by President Barack Obama. To spark up interest, in May, there was a robust campaign for Musial to receive the award by fans and was culminated by a ceremony during the Oct 2 game against the Colorado Rockies at Busch Stadium where then 89 year old Musial did a lap around the stadium in a golf cart. Soon after the honor, he also turned 90. The award ceremony will take place at the White House in February.
3.Former St. Louis Cardinals Manager Whitey Herzog gets Inducted in the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York July 25
Eligible since 2008 (after losing the induction by one vote) , longtime St. Louis Cardinals manager and Athens, Ill, native Whitey Herzog got the last hurrah in his formidable career as he got news of his induction by the MLB committee in December 2009. Attended by various colleagues, family and friends (including former St. Louis Cards short stop and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith), the 78 year old was recognized for his 50 plus career including his 10 year stint managing the Cardinals when hired in 1980 (and a World Series title in 1982) . A week after his induction, his No, 24 jersey was retried at Busch Stadium, the 11th one overall, in a sold-out ceremony before the Pirates game.
2.Mark McGwire (Former St. Louis Cardinals Slugger Admits To Steroid Use on Bob Costas Show on MLB Network Jan 11 and Becomes The Ball Club's Ball Coach During 2010 Season, Missouri Congress Passes Law To Remove Mark McGwire Highway Sign on Interstate 70 May 14)
Former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire also had a mish mash year as well as it was announced in October 2009 that the ball club was hiring him to be the team's ball coach(PICTURED with Cards player Colby Rasmus ) . His controversial hiring was part of a double deal to keep manager Tony LaRussa as the skipper in charge in the 2010 Season for one more year (La Russa managed McGwire when both were part of the Oakland Athletic's organization in the 1980s and 90s) . The argument by sports fanatics were if McGwire was qualified to coach players especially after the allegations of using power enhanced drugs for endurance during his stint as a player.
Seen as a pariah in the MLB League, with his alleged steroid use during the Home Run Race with Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa in 1998 and on and off for 10 years, in a PR move, McGwire appeared on St. Louis native sports interviewer Bob Costas show in January on the MLB Network in a teary confession of steroid use during the infamous 1998 season (that LaRussa was on record soon after the interview supposedly unknowing of the flagrancy). Soon after, a press conference was scheduled at Busch Stadium about his new gig. There, a plethora of national media awaited. Fans cheered him on but McGwire evaded any questions involving his steroid use during the conference that also doubled as a Fans Appreciation Day.
In May, The Missouri Congress, after much discussion since his steroid trial in Washington DC in 2005, and new interest since his admittance in January, passed a law to remove the Mark McGwire Highway sign from Interstate 70 near on the viaduct in downtown St. Louis that honored his record number 70 homeruns in 1998. They voted to rename it again by St. Louis recognized author Mark Twain. No info on when the removal was going to take place next year.
AND THE NUMBER ONE STL A&E NEWZ STORY OF 2010 IS:
1.The Rams (New Ownership by Stan Kroenke Passed by the NFL Commission August, New QB Sam Bradford Selected in NFL Draft in April /The Rams 2010 Comeback Season)
The St. Louis Rams was also like Nelly, Pujols and McGwire that had a many extremes in its season in 2010. Coming off a dismal 1-15 season in 2009, there was interest by then majority owners brother and sister team Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodrigues, inheritors from their late mother Georgia Frontiere to sell their 60 percent share to offset inheritance taxes. In May, there was interest by Illinois auto parts mogul Shahid Khan to buy the owners share, but was usurped by Missouri billionaire sports team owner Stan Kroenke who put up the money to buy it--but with conditions,. In order for Kroenke to buy the 60 percent, and abide by the commission's cross-ownership policy, he , at first wanted his wife, a Walmart heiress, to buy it, but eventually had to relinquish ownership in his hockey team Colorado Avalanche and basketball team Denver Nuggets and pass it on to his son in order to qualify. The commission eventually voted unanimously to give Kroenke major ownership (the brother and sister team currently owns 40 percent) of the Rams in August.
Meanwhile, the Rams had first choice to pick at the 2010 NFL draft after having the losing est record in 2009 (1-15) in April when they chose Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford. In July, he signed a $ 78 million deal for six years, a record in NFL history. And he did not disappoint. He helped make The Rams a contender for the Playoffs with a 6-7 record (as of Dec 12) and tying for a third week with Seattle in first place. The Heisman Trophy winner, who is in the running for NFL Rookie of The Year MVP, has won many Rookie Awards including two rookie awards back to back in October and November, a first for a rookie quarterback and No. 1 draft pick .
Not to be overshadowed by Bradford, the team's NFL's top receiver Steven Jackson, despite his injuries to his back and finger, reached two milestones. First in November, he surpassed Eric Dickerson for the most rushes ever and in December, during the Dec 12 Saints game, he set another 1,000 rush record, for a sixth straight year.
Also, in October, longtime Rams player Isaac Bruce had his retirement ceremony at Edward Jones Dome(SEE No. 9)
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