Alvin Reid

If the St. Louis Cardinals do not re-sign free agent right fielder Jason Heyward, the tired mantra of “the franchise could not afford him” will be trotted out once again. The Cardinals can afford to sign Heyward, free-agent pitcher David Price and another star if its owners decided to part with the dollars. Cards’ Chairman […]

A North Carolina law that opens the door to discrimination against members of the LGBT community has led the NCAA to take punitive action. Future NCAA men’s basketball tournament games will not be awarded to sites in that state until the law is addressed, and several other events will be moved. The NCAA said it […]

As the sports world enters 2016 here are some hopes and wishes for players, coaches, organizations and fans. May Jason Heyward greet the many boos he receives in his first plate appearance at Busch Stadium with the Chicago Cubs with a home run – or at least a base hit. May the St. Louis Cardinals […]

Willie O’Ree, NHL’s first Black player, will finally have his No. 22 retired in Boston. A year has passed since the St. Louis Blues hosted the NHL All-Star Weekend – and what a year it has been. College and professional sports, and much of American society, would be halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The […]

The FBI concluded swiftly that a rope fashioned as a noose in racer Bubba Wallace’s garage stall was a “door pull,” and not and intentional act of hate directed at the driver. The “I told you so,” crowd is in full glory and many of its members aren’t hiding their racist attitudes. Unfortunately, Wallace has […]

Players and parents from Parkway North have accused MICDS players with directing racial slurs at black players throughout a state football playoff game last Saturday. Receiver C. J. Boone, who is coveted by the University of Missouri, said on Twitter, “The (MICDS) players used the N word the Whole game.” Parkway North head coach Bob […]

I’ve been to Bellerive Country Cub all of one time in my life. Ozzie Smith held a press conference there the morning after his selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame was announced in 2002. I wish I returned on Sunday for the final round of the 100th PGA Championship. As Tiger Woods sank a […]

There were few firings in Major League Baseball following the 2017 season, although the big-name, big-market Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Washington Nationals have new skippers. None of the new gents is black. Why am I not surprised? Boston hired former player and Houston Astros bench coach Alex Cora, a Puerto Rican, as […]

The second I read Dexter Fowler’s comment on President Trump’s proposed travel ban, I knew he would get his first real taste of his new town. Fowler’s wife, Aliya, is from Iran and moved here with her parents at the age of 5. She is an American citizen, just as American as Trump. Fowler was […]

When the NFL season regular season ended on January 1, there were six open head coaching positions. If you had told me one-third of those slots would be filled by black men, I would have doubted you. If you had told me no black coaches would be fired, bringing the total of African Americans guiding […]

The Lovie Smith era got underway last Saturday at Illinois in outstanding fashion before almost 50,000 fans in Memorial Stadium. The Illini dismantled Murray State 52-3 in Smith’s college head coaching debut. “There was a lot of anticipation for this,” the former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Bucs coach said following the game. “I didn’t […]

February 17, 1949 – July 21, 2016: Dennis Green was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1982 after his Northwestern Wildcats snapped a 34-game losing streak, won three games and was competitive in several others. Freshman quarterback Sandy Schwab gained national recognition by completing 45 passes in a loss to Michigan, and he would […]

In February 2012, Richard Cebull, a U.S. District judge in Montana, sent an email on his official address to a group of people that racially insulted President Barack Obama. It included a joke that implies Obama’s mother Ann Dunham was impregnated at a party at which she was drunk. Of course a white woman would […]

By the time you read this the NFL might have approved relocation of the St. Louis Rams to Inglewood, California. Multi-billionaire owner Stan Kroenke could have gotten his way after letting the region – in particularly the city of St. Louis – what he thinks of them. The lesson that again is being painfully learned […]

Missouri’s football program is at a crossroads. Coach Barry Odom has made an excellent move in hiring DeMontie Cross as defensive coordinator. A dominant linebacker in the early 1990s at Hazelwood East, Cross played for Missouri 1994-96 and posted 415 career tackles. A former teammate of Odom, he was the Tigers’ top tackler his junior […]

If the St. Louisans that were in tears and overwrought at the NFL town hall meeting last Tuesday put that same emotion into solving some of our region’s problems, they would have an immediate impact. Of course, the thought of losing the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles is much more terrible than educational learning […]

It took less than an hour last Friday for a Manhattan jury to acquit Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha of three ridiculous charges filed against him by the New York prosecutor. The 6-foot, 6-inch Sefolosha was found not guilty of misdemeanor obstruction of justice, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He allegedly did at least one […]

Get ready to laugh Missouri football fans, this one’s for you. A highlight of my collegiate career, and my life, was serving on the equipment staff for the University of Kansas football team during the 1979-82 seasons. I got paid a monthly stipend that topped at $110 a month my final season, could eat dinner […]

After wide receivers Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt and tight end Jared Cook displayed the “Hands Up, Don’t shoot” pose during their pregame introduction before a home contest against the Oakland Raiders last year, a firestorm of controversy erupted. The St. Louis Police Officers Association and other groups demanded an apology. […]

Jo Jo White will be inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, and my first thought is: It’s about damn time. A native St. Louisan, White led Vashon to the state quarterfinals in 1963. Following that season, Vashon changed its location to Bell Avenue and the former site became part of Harris-Stowe […]