Good thing I did a lot of writing last week on sports – ‘cause I think I feel one of those political commentaries stewing in my belly. I can’t help it.
It seems more than one person contacted me in reference to my most recent article wondering, “why I hate Republicans?” Frankly, I do not think I hate anyone. You see a long time ago I learned that the opposite of the word love, contrary to what most might think, was not hate. No, the opposite of the word love is indifference. So much though for etymology.
I do not hate republicans. In previous articles I have written about golf outings with some of my closer friends: Henry Kruse (Republican), Mark Francis (Republican) and Mike Lemke (Republican). Then there was the time I played with Jeff Strickland (Republican) and Rob Stumpf (biggest and most obnoxious Republican I know) – frankly, for the most part, my social life is saturated with Republicans.
Back to my letters. One e-mail went so far as to suggest, no, suggest is not a strong enough word, went so far as to inform me “Democrats support homosexuality. And homosexuality undermined the sanctity of marriage.” I understand I am in the minority here, but still I do not understand how two gay people getting married is a threat to the marriages of people like myself. Was I going to walk down the street, see two men holding hands, and go home and tell Lynn, “Hey, that looks great. Maybe I could marry a guy who likes football (see last week’s article), watch the game with him, and then come home and sleep with you.”
No, the biggest threat to marriage is divorce. Now I realize this is a radical thought for the right leaning St. Charles County, but I am in a position where I have the freedom to speak my mind. And as long as there are left thinking Democrats out there, I will continue to have just such rights.
There is an issue brewing in St. Charles City dealing with a redevelopment proposal for the north end of Frenchtown possibly involving eminent domain. It seems the owner of one of the businesses that may be blighted, Doug Medley (Republican), owner of Frenchtown Transmission, is greatly concerned that he is going to “get the short end of the stick.” In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that Doug and I have played golf together, smoked cigars together, and have had scores of adult beverages together. Doug is concerned, very concerned, that he might just loose his business. He has some valid points. “Location is everything,” he shared with me, “people aren’t going to drive out of their way to have their transmissions repaired. If they want to replace my property with one of equal value, and pay for the installation of equipment, and the moving of everything, then I have no problem with it. But that is not what they are talking about. I guess the first clue that they were going to ‘put it to me.’ was when I could not get anyone to return my phone calls. I made no less than 30 phone calls – not one was returned.”
As in every issue, there are two sides of the story. According to Council President Rory Riddler, in an article published in the Post-Dispatch, “Had this area on its own been economically viable enough to attract a major developer, it would have by now.” Let’s face it, I am about as far from being an economist as one can get, but it seems to me this is a case of big money taking away the property of little money (no offense, Doug). Doesn’t common sense dictate that Griffey Construction, the would-be-developer, simply purchase the land from Doug (and others). If they want it so badly, let them pay for it. Make Doug an offer he can’t refuse. One thing I am certain about, someone is going to make lots and lots of money off this deal, why shouldn’t Doug be one of them. Buy Doug out, or at least purchase his property at a price that will allow him to continue doing business. That’s all he really wants – to continue working, doing what he loves, and providing for his family. To deny him is as un-American as you can get.
Finally, as long as I am on the subject of politics, has anyone besides me heard the rumors regarding Sally Faith. Rumors they may be, but should they turn out to be true, well, irony raises its head in the strangest of places.
High School Hockey Playoffs
St. Charles West Moves to Different Tournament
Francis Howell Central Earns Higher Challenge at Expense of SCW
By Louis J. Launer
Playoff hockey can be brutal. For St. Charles West, their quest for a St. Louis Blues Challenge Cup in the Mid-States Club Hockey Association came to a quick end last weekend. They did wind up playing their next round in the Wickenheiser Cup, the MSCHA’s consolation tournament.
The Ice Warriors regular season screeched to a halt when they lost to the Francis Howell Central Spartans, 7-3. Ironically, the same Spartans were the Warriors’ opponent in the first round of the Challenge Cup tournament.
The first round was a two-game series with the first game taking place last Friday and the second game last Saturday. Both games were held at the St. Peters RecPlex. Although St. Charles West finished with a 15-4-1 record, Francis Howell Central was the Warriors’ worst nightmare this season.
The Spartans scored first with 12:32 remaining with a goal by senior Kody Lowe. Junior forward David Rey scored two more goals in the first period within one minute between each goal. Rey did get his hat trick and Spartan fans did throw their hats on the ice.
Freshman Johnny Kraus scored two goals for the Warriors and senior Andrew Hill scored one goal. But it was too little, too late. Francis Howell Central won Game 1 with an 8-3 final.
Game 2 belonged to the Spartans as well. They kept St. Charles West off the scoreboard and sent to the Warriors to the Wickenheiser Cup bracket by taking the first round. The Game 2 final score was 8-0.
Francis Howell Central advanced to the second round to take on CBC, a hockey club undefeated in four years. They have dominated the St. Louis Blues Challenge Cup throughout this decade. Several CBC alumni are now playing in Junior B and Junior A hockey throughout North America. If they are lucky, a few could play professional and might be seen in a game either at Family Arena or Savvis Center in the future.
St. Charles West played Whitfield in the second round of the Wickenheiser Cup. The Warriors remain to have a favored chance to make the finals of this tournament.
FRESHMAN HAS A FUTURE: Although senior goaltender Andrew Phillips started both games in the series for the Warriors, Chris Powell took over for Phillips in the third period of both games. Powell had a strong showing in game 1, stopping 7 out of 9 shots in the third period. Powell is a freshman and has lots of promise for SCW’s future on the ice. Watch for his presence next season.
RAGE
RE-UNITED…AND IT’S LOOKING GOOD!!
By Mike Thompson
RiverCity Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt will tell you up front, no hesitation at all. “It’s great to be reunited with Sven Hack after an absence of several years. The one thing I’ve always appreciated about him both as a player and coach is the fact that he is a real student of the game of football, a guy who not only knew his assignment, but everyone else’s too. As a person, he’s a lot like me in the sense that he doesn’t let his ego get in the way of doing what’s necessary to get the job done. I think that’s something we both learned over in Germany. You have to wear a lot of hats, there’s not the infrastructure of a team here in the USA overseas so everyone has to pitch in, and no job is beneath you. Simply put, Hack gets it.”
And get it, he did. After working for Wyatt’s Show-Me Believers in 2004, Hack (pronounced ‘Hock’) is now once again teaming up with the coach he credits with “teaching me so much about the game of football and more importantly, holding fast to the friendship we’ve developed over the years. I watched him turn the team around when we worked together in the German Football League, I saw him do it here in the NIFL, and now I get the chance, again, to be part of what I know will be a championship calibre team this year.” Newly appointed by Wyatt to be the Rage Offensive and Defensive Line Co-ordinator in 2006, Hack says he “can’t wait to get working with these players, practices and games, both giving me a chance to see who’s ready to step up and make the big play for the Rage game after game. I never pre-judge anyone, so it’s a level playing field when we hit the turf for the first time later this month. I’m excited, I’m getting to do once again what I love most and I’m doing it for a coach I respect and believe in.” When asked what he foresaw for the RiverCity Rage in 2006, Hack had the ready answer. “What we all see, a championship trophy lifted high at Savvis Center come end of summer.”
A lofty goal for the 28-year-old Raunheim, Germany native who didn’t play high school or college football, and who’s coaching career was filled with peaks and valleys until this recent reunion with his mentor.
“Germany doesn’t offer high school football, so I played in a Pop Warner type league from the ages of 14 to 18, mostly on the defensive line and a little fullback from time to time. The school structure there is such that when you graduate from high school, you leave with the equivalent of an Associates Degree in junior college here in the USA. I actually went straight from high school to playing for Coach Wyatt.”
That was in 1998, when along with attending automotive trade school in Frankfurt, Hack labored on the defensive line for the Raunlheim team in the GFL, and got his first taste of coaching later that year helping Wyatt developed the Junior team in the highly popular German league. “That was the first time anyone ever called me ‘coach’, although I did work as a 16 year old bellboy in the NFL Europe. Coach Wyatt was there, too, and I got great experience helping to run the player tryouts for the nationals (local players in the NFL Europe) as well as attending clinics and finally ending up on the Team Services Staff. It was instrumental in getting me focused on the coaching aspect of the game, because the playing days were numbered.”
After a 4 year run in the GFL, Hack’s dream of playing in NFL Europe came to a sudden, jolting halt. A torn Achilles tendon, an injury he says may have been mis-diagnosed, and an on-going romance with the team’s female trainer, gave him new perspective and direction. “It was tough to give up playing football, we had been to the playoffs every one of my 5 years, but I met my wife Anika overseas in this league. She was a volunteer trainer for Coach Wyatt’s team, and in the military at the time we were married in the year 2000, but even that proved to be a means of destiny for coach and myself.”
Funny sometimes how things work out for the best….out of football for the first time in years, Hack worked at a golf course and held various other jobs while stationed at his wife’s barracks in Arizona, yet he and Coach Wyatt “always stayed in touch. Coach was still running teams overseas and when he finally came back to the USA to take over the Believers in 2004, I actually came to St. Louis to work for 6 months on his coaching staff. I stayed all season at the Holiday Inn- Riverport and it was great and for the first time, that NIFL team had a winning season. I know in my heart it was primarily due to the efforts of Coach Wyatt.”
Staying just one season, Hack returned to Arizona to be with his family and again threw himself into the coaching game at the middle-school level. He coached youngsters on the military base and says, “I had a great time, it was a throwback to the German Football League Junior League days. The kids were quick learners and very receptive to new techniques and really wanted to learn how to play the game. For me, it was therapeutic, because once again I felt like a coach.”
The final chapter was written just months ago when Anika was selected by the Army to be a recruiter and was scheduled to be transferred to Oklahoma City. Just five days before that was to take effect, new orders came through, and Hack, Anika and their two children were on their way to St. Ann, Missouri. Close enough to warrant a call from Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt. The wheels were soon in motion to once again bring the two together. Again!!
MSHSAA CLASS 4 DISTRICT 7
BOYS ROUNDUP
St. Charles West to travel to Duchesne, twice
Conference crown at stake Friday; District semifinals February 22
By: Mike McMurran
Sports Editor
In what might just be the biggest boys’ basketball game played in decades at Duchesne High School, the Pioneers will host cross-town rival St. Charles West for the Gateway Athletic Conference – North Division title Friday night (tip off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.). The winner will have little time to celebrate as the two squads will go at it again the following Wednesday (Feb. 22) in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 7 State tournament, with the winner advancing to the Championship game.
Duchesne, fresh off their emotional 1 point overtime win against St. Charles, is led by junior Zach Plackemeier, who is averaging 24.5 points per contest, which puts him in third place in the Region scoring contest. Both Duchesne (20-2) and West (19-6) will enter the contest with perfect 5-0 conference marks.
Not to be outdone, West has the region’s sixth leading scorer in sophomore guard Kramer Soderberg (23.4).
At the District seed meeting, held prior Duchesne’s 49-48 overtime win against the Pirates, West received the number 3 seed, Duchesne number 2 and St. Charles High number 1. Ironically, both West and Duchesne have topped High (19-6) this season in conference play, hence High’s 3-2 conference mark.
The Class 4 District 7 Championship game is scheduled for Friday, February 24, with a 7:30 tip off.
GIRLS ROUNDUP
As surprising as the boys’ seeding turned out, the girls’ side of the ledger was even more of a surprise. St. Dominic (16-6) who sits atop the Archdiocesan Athletic Association standings with a 9-1 conference record, was surprised to receive the number 2 seed.
The number 1 seed went to St. Charles High (13-10), who will have an easier road to the championship game, much easier. While St. Dominic is scheduled to take on host Duchesne (12-12) in semifinal action on Tuesday at 5:30, the Pirates will play the winner of the St. Charles West (8-14)/Trinity Catholic (8-14) contest.
High has defeated West twice this season, 52-39 in the annual Thanksgiving eve season opener, and 56-51 on January 20. They topped Trinity in semifinal action of the Trinity Catholic Classic 48-40 back in late November.
Duchesne fell to St. Dominic 53-41 at St. Dominic in early December. The championship game will be played February 24 at 6 p.m.
GAC Basketball
GIANT KILLERS
St. Charles West Defeats Zumwalt West
In a Come-From-Behind Victory
Zumwalt North Also Loses to Warriors
SPECIAL TO THE FIRST CAPITOL NEWS
Do not take the St. Charles West Warrior basketball team lightly. Also, play all 60 minutes of basketball. That’s what the Warriors have done all season.
A little under a month ago, the Warriors defeated cross-town rival St. Charles High School in quite an eye-opener to all of the local basketball experts. This past week, St. Charles West took their calm and focused game plan to Fort Zumwalt West, a Class 5 team positioned to take its district.
In its previous game, the Zumwalt West Jaguars won a nail-biting 71-64 game against their cross-town rival Fort Zumwalt South. Zumwalt West’s coach expected the momentum from that victory to carry over to the St. Charles West game.
In the first half, Zumwalt West had a team shooting percentage of 68 percent. The result was a 29-23 lead for the Jaguars at halftime.
Despite being down by six going into the second half, Terry Hollander’s St. Charles West Warriors remained focused and consistent on the game, while the Jaguars ran on emotion. Josh Branch of Zumwalt West carried the emotion to a third quarter high with 1:26 left. Branch shot from three-point range to give the Jaguars a 42-29 lead.
St. Charles West was just getting started. After two free-throws by Branch early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors rallied to score nine unanswered points. Zach Ring of the Warriors scored from three-point range to make the score 45-44. Although down by 1 and less than four minutes remaining in the game, the Warriors turned up the heat.
Sean Stratton and Kramer Soderberg scored two back-to-back 3-point shots giving the Warriors a 52-50 lead with 1:21 left. Also taking advantage of a bonus situation and Jaguar players who fouled out, the Warriors scored all six of their free throws to give the Warriors an upset victory over Fort Zumwalt West, 58-54.
The Warriors were perfect 14 for 14 on free throws in the game. Kramer Soderberg led the game with 28 points. Sophomore Brian Maurer is a Warrior to watch for the future as he scored 15 points in the game. The Warrior defense was able to keep Jaguar leading scorer Mike Graham to only 14 points.
SODERBERG, RING AND MAURER STRIKE AGAIN: After doing damage earlier in the week to Zumwalt West, the Warriors went north, to Fort Zumwalt North to take on the Panthers in a rivalry dating back 30 years. Kramer Soderberg scored 32 points in this game and was 4 for 6 in 3-point shots enroute to a 65-50 victory. Zach Ring and Brian Maurer had twelve points each for the Warriors.
