You'll soon be hearing a new voice reporting Missourinet Sports. Bill Pollock has been hired as our new Sports Director. Bill is already part of the Learfield family, joining our sports division in 2001, working in affiliate relations. He'll be transitioning from his old job to his new on this summer. You'll begin hearing him on our afternoon sports reports this month, then full time in September. Bill chatted briefly about his plans for Missourinet Sports. (7 min)
The 8th season (or is it the 9th?) of Football Friday Night kicked off with nary a hitch. Producing a show like this is very stressful. You have stations to sign up, score reporters to coordinate, schools to contact, sponsors to please and just when you think you have it all ready to go... you find out there is no CD player in the (temp) studio. Can't have break music without a CD player. We also had new producers, new score-takers and a new studio setup. So, as you can imagine, we were a little nervous about this first show. Proud to say it was one of our best ever. Big thanks to John Wells, Julie Anderson, Jeff Thomas, Jim Foucault, the folks at MoSports.com and, of course, the men behind the mics...David and John. Go team Go! [Photo by Jim Foucault]
There are times when a job just doesn’t seem like a job. I probably say that more than most people. Monday, April 10, 2006 was one of those days. My assignment: Travel to St. Louis, attend the Cardinals’ first game at Busch Stadium III, write and talk about it.
There is nothing quite like a home opener. The sky is bluer, the sun is warmer, the breeze is crisper. Perfect white lines outline a pasture which is greener than green. Even the dirt looks clean. The mouthwatering aroma of sizzling meats, popcorn and beer covers you like a warm blanket upon entry. Balls hit bats, vendors bark their product and in the background a soft organ floats out note-after-note of bouncy music.
Now multiply those feelings by about 100. That was the scene, as the Cardinals played their very first game at Busch Stadium III. Gone was the old round metal building, which housed the club for 40 seasons. In, is the brand new, and might I suggest, warmer brick structure.
As you look up the brick façade, you see intricate carvings of the bird on the bat high atop the structure. The lights stand tall in square banks, much like they did in the old ball parks. Along the sidewalk is a mosaic of bricks with names of those who paid good money to forever be a part of the new ball park.
Walking into the place, there was this amazing feeling. You realize that you are one of the first of millions and millions of people who will come to this place. The first of who knows how many wonderful memories were made that day.
The ballpark is beautiful. Some kinks need to be worked out, still. Seats in left field still need to be installed and the view just past the seats in left field is a lovely mix of work trucks and rubble. Not quite Waveland Avenue, the Citgo sign or McCovey’s cove, to be sure. But it is hard not to be struck by the beauty on the inside and out. Once the so-called “Ballpark Village” is completed, it will be perfect.
Inside the view is tremendous. The shiny buildings, the old courthouse and of course the arch provide the backdrop for the outfield. At night this place will be jaw-dropping. Unlike the old stadium, which was closed off, the new stadium is wide open. Almost eternal. It’s not as much a structure in Downtown St. Louis is it is an extension of Downtown St. Louis.
This is not a stadium….it is a ballpark.
There were more than a few people who watched the game through the view finder on their digital cameras. Almost everyone was snapping a shot of someone or something, trying to capture moments that may be lost later in life. I doubt those pictures will ever tell the story as vividly as the people who lived the experience though. Days like this don’t fade easily. Someday, when this beautiful piece of architecture is deemed useless—and it will---old men and women will tell their grandkids—and anyone who will listen, for that matter---that they were there when the “old” place first opened. In full detail they’ll describe all the things I’ve described, only with embellishments.
And, oh by the way, the Cardinals beat the Brewers 6-4. Mulder went eight innings and hit a two-run homer. Pujols also went deep. Looper and Isringhausen almost blew a four-run lead in the ninth. But that was all a side note. When the story of going to Game 1 at Busch Stadium III is retold by the 41,000 people who attended, it won’t be about balls and strikes. It will be about laughs, and wow’s and smiles and friends and family and tradition. For me, it’ll be remembered as a great day at work.
-- David Sprague, Missourinet Sports Director
We got some sad news this week. Sports Director David Sprague is hanging up his Missourinet boots and moving to Boston. He'll be joining family and friends that are already in the area. We wish him the best, but It is going to be hard to replace this guy. He's done a lot of good work for us including helping establish the network's sports product, expanding our online coverage, and making our special programs like Football Friday Night successful. Above all that, he is a heck of guy. He's definitely fun to have in the newsroom.
His last day with the Missourinet will be May 31st. Whatever David ends up doing in Beantown, we can be sure of two things...he will be a huge success and he will NOT become a Red Sox fan.
Missourinet Sports Director David Sprague has been extremely busy the past couple of weeks covering the soap opera that is the Mizzou basketball program. In addition to his Missourinet duties, David has been providing updates for several radio sports shows in Kansas City, St. Louis and nationally with the Chris Myers Show on Fox Radio (AUDIO: 4 min MP3).
