First Capitol News Photos by Bob Barton
MY COLUMN - Mike McMurran
Have I ever shared with you that from 1974-1976 I served on active duty with the United States Navy? Sure did! Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 was my outfit – the Fighting Seabees we were known as. July 4, 1976 we were stationed on a coral atoll, right smack in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Officially it was known as British Indian Ocean Territory – we knew it as Diego Garcia. “The Rock,” as we called it, was a classic example or the term paradox; easily the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets one could imagine, virgin, and I really mean virgin beaches, twenty-foot waves were common. Our main task was to expand the length of the runway to allow bigger aircraft to utilize it. (During the bombing of Iraq, Diego Garcia launched hundreds of sorties) We blasted the coral to make concrete, and it was common for hundreds to attend a blast. Not for the blast itself, rather to witness the scores of great white sharks that would appear soon after the blast.
On the flip side there was nowhere to go, and I mean nowhere. No television, VCR’s were not around yet, no grass, only crushed coral. One chow hall, which feed everyone. NO WOMEN. We slept in tin huts with no air conditioning (no heat was needed). Mail would arrive twice a week, usually at least two weeks old. Did I mention NO WOMEN? Clearly “it was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”
Anyway, a bunch of my shipmates have been planning a thirty-year reunion next July. It would be cost prohibitive to travel back to Diego Garcia, although some day I would love to do just that, so we decided to have our reunion at the site of our homeport – Gulfport, Mississippi.
Hurricane Katrina altered our plans. Those in charge of planning our reunion have informed us “ain’t no way Gulfport will be ready for anything next July.”
So it seems we will hold our reunion in conjunction with a national Seabee organization – in August, in Florida. Correct me if I am wrong, but is that not hurricane season?
My personal apologies to Eileen Toy of St. Patrick’s parish in Wentzville. This is my public apology, I called her personally to do so. It seems I was unaware of a rule in soccer that led my kindergarten to a romp over the St. Patrick squad. According to CYA rules, once a team has a 5-goal lead, all shots must come from outside the penalty area. Sounds like a great rule and I have no problem with it. My problem is how do I teach a bunch of five year-olds where the penalty area starts. In my own defense I did have my three most aggressive players sit out the final ten minutes of the game. Is it any wonder Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm is my favorite character. Much like him, no matter what I do, no matter how good the intention, it usually ends up politically incorrect, at best, and down right offensive – at worst.
And finally, it has been brought to my attention by a regular reader that even though St. Dominic is located outside the St. Charles City limits, a number of city residents attend school there. Therefore, starting next week we will list the schedule for St. Dominic.
RAGE STAY FOCUSED
By Mike Thompson
River City Rage co-owner Scott Wilson said it best. In front of the television cameras of News channel 20 this past Tuesday afternoon, during the Rage monthly TV wrap-up with anchor Randy Gardner, he sighed and told our audience “I didn’t think the off-season would be as hard pressed as it’s been. It’s every bit as intense and focused as when the team was playing out it’s schedule, only now the concentrated efforts are on all the things that will make 2006 an even better year than our first. But we are up to the challenge, because when Tye and I took over the team, we told everyone on board that if we were going to make a go of this, it would have to be done with professionalism and no shortage of hard work.”
Let the off-season fun and games begin! But, truth be told, The Rage has keep the ball rolling in it’s direction since the day after the disappointing playoff loss to the Cincinnati Marshals back in July. That game, you’ll remember, was the first of what we hoped, at the time, would be three straight weekends at Savvis Center in downtown St. Louis. The loss to the Marshal’s ended that dream, but the partnership of Rage football and Savvis Center was explored and examined and pursued by both parties. And now that association is a firm reality. After a summer’s worth of negotiation, sometime in the next week or two an official press conference will be held to announce the Savvis Center as the new home of the River City Rage of the NIFL.
So, we’re preparing for new digs, and everyone is busy. NIFL league meetings will get underway next week and Rage owners Scott Wilson and Tye Elliott are off to San Francisco for three days of meetings that will focus on expansion for the league in 2006, some new team division alignments, and the possibility of a national television contract. Wilson is excited about the Rage “nomination for the NIFL Executive Committee. This will afford our team a say in league voting, give us input on any major decisions, and it is a direct connection to the NFL in regards to our officials. It’s a huge step forward for this football team. Right now, it’s just a nomination, but the votes should swing in our favor and if they do, it highlights The Rage as one of the premier teams in the league.”
Hey, we’re all busy! Check out our team website at ragefootball.com and you’ll notice a new feature that focuses on area high school football. Each week Rage Head Football Coach Mike Wyatt, myself, and at least one assistant coach sit down and thoroughly examine the reports of high school games played over the weekend. We agree on two players of the week and a team of the week, send e-mails to the coaches of those teams informing them of the honor, highlight the achievements on our website, and send out a River City Rage plaque engraved with the respective selections. We’ve just completed week number three and it’s on tap for the rest of the season, including playoffs. The response from the various coaches has been great, and it’s our way of letting area athletes and coaches know that we’re on top of their game as well.
Then, click on to the NIFL league website and see what Coach Wyatt calls “the new and innovative website that keeps us on the cutting edge.” And we’re proud to say, our Director of Operations Morris Groves is responsible for the entire new user friendly, updated info you’ll find. Morris is now the Webmaster for the entire league and has worked over the last month to take the league’s showcase over the top. Forthcoming features will include a Chat Line, an updated and interactive Fan Forum, audio and video clips and highlights and timely updates and news from all teams around the league. Wanna read how it all came about? See Morris’ profile on the front page of the NIFL website!
And Rage Dance Director Kathy Martinez has been working to take the Rage Cheerleading program to the next level for 2006. This past weekend at the St. Peters City Hall, tryouts were held for the newly formed Rage Mini-Squad, and 28 excited young ladies ages 7 to 11 were informed that they would be on the squad to perform at Savvis Center during Rage home games next season. I was there, my ears still ring from the shrieks and squeals and cheers that rang out when the news was announced. Twenty-eight girls showed up and all twenty-eight made the team. Everyone was happy! And there’s more on the way and again our website is the place to go for all the information. Tryouts for both a Rage Promotional team and cheerleader expansion are on tap in the very near future.
Hey, Scott’s right......it’s kind of like preparing for a wedding. You plan and organize and scheme and plan some more and it all leads up to the big day. It goes off as planned, then you sit back and breath deep and realize all that hard work and thought and organization was worth it. Well, for us, around here at Rage headquarters, it’s the planning stage right now, and I know we are all going to be in that mode for a long time. But come spring, new season, new home, new beginning, we’ll be able to take that deep breath, but hold it for only a while. Because I know someone will say, “Hey, now the hard work really begins.” Can’t wait!!
Kiwanis Golf Tournament To Benefit Boys & Girls Club
On Monday, October 10th, the St. Charles Kiwanis Club and Big A’s Sports Bar & Restaurant will hold their 12 Annual Fall Golf Tournament. The Golf Tournament will benefit the St. Charles Boys & Girls Club.
It will be held at the Warrenton Golf Course with a shotgun start at 11:00 am. The cost is $95 per person and the tournament will be a three-person scramble. The price also includes lunch, beverages on the course and dinner following.
Hole sponsorships are also available. You are eligible for an early entry contest if you send your registration in by October 5th. For registration forms Call Bob Davis at 636-946-6552, Tom Lloyd at 636-949-9900 or John Pallardy at 636-922-9090.
Matt McSparin:
Still A Fan to St. Charles and Hockey
After His Tenure with the River Otters
By Louis J. Launer
Many hockey fans remember Matt McSparin from his days as the General Manager of the Missouri River Otters. Some fans wish he was back. McSparin served as GM of the River Otters from 1999 to 2001 and was a United Hockey League executive of the year for the 2000-01 season.
McSparin, who now operates 62 Sports Group, a sports promotion business in Roxana, Illinois, said that the first few years with the River Otters was a combination of good times and bad times.
“My River Otters days were some of the toughest but also most rewarding days on my career,” McSparin said. “It was great fun on game night and meeting and getting to know people like [all of the loyal fans] is what I miss most.”
Under McSparin, the River Otters finished with winning records. He kept a great coach in Mark Reeds, who is now at Kalamazoo coaching the K-Wings.Plus the River Otters would finish just below or be eliminated by theeventual Colonial Cup champion - either the Quad City Mallards, Muskegon Fury or the Fort Wayne Komets. They were well-established teams who the River Otters played many tough games. Fans were happy with the first few seasons and were awaiting the River Otters to make the move to the next
level, beyond the first round of the playoffs. In the River Otters’ short playoff history, they have never advanced beyond the first tier of the Colonial Cup playoffs.
At the same time off the ice, the River Otters were having difficulty surviving as a franchise. United Sports Ventures, a company known for establishing new minor league franchises in new markets owned the Missouri River Otters franchise. They also owned the Quad City Mallards and the Rockford IceHogs. Today, all three teams are big rivals. Quad City remains the most successful of the three. Rockford had some problems early in their franchise history, dating back to 1999, when they were actually a transfer franchise from Thunder Bay, Ontario. But Missouri kept their head above water. McSparin believes to this day that there could have been some better decisions made with the business.
“United Sports Ventures had as much to do with the lack of financial success of the River Otters as the Arena did,” McSparin said. “But having a more favorable lease would have been the key to our early years as the revenue numbers were ample, the expenses is where our back was being broken.”
Family Arena has never recorded a sold-out River Otters game. The largest crowds have been close to 8,500. Family Arena holds 10,000. Usually those draws are because of a popular game, a popular promotion, or other sports events were not being held on that particular night. The attendance number of 8,500 only came once a season, especially if the team was in a serious playoff hunt. Although good attendance was needed to keep the team going, the River Otters were spending more on Family Arena rent, compared to the other franchises in the United Hockey League who also rent their arenas.
A new renegotiated lease was made with the River Otters franchise in 2002, after United Sports Ventures sold the franchise to a local investment group. Soon after the new lease came into effect, fans became aware that popular draws at Family Arena were disappearing. Fewer concession areas were open, creating long lines at games when the attendance reached 5,000
or 6,000. Fewer promotions were held and by the 2002-03 season, minor league games at Family Arena were treated similar to that of junior hockey or college club hockey, compared to professional hockey at the “AA” level - the level of minor league hockey in the UHL.
As Family Arena became more “bare,” arenas in the Quad Cities and Rockford started to succeed. United Sports Ventures sold all three UHL franchises they owned to local investors/businessmen by 2002. The Quad Cities, with their MARK arena, continued to draw capacity crowds and earned two championships. The MARK is located in downtown Moline, Illinois, next to two major hotels, several restaurants and an active downtown shopping district. The Family Arena is just outside the city limits of St. Charles, next to a quarry and no major development around the venue at
this time.
“More infrastructure around the arena would help make it more of a destination,” McSparin said. “A more visible location would have helped it. The bottom line is the region has failed to fully adopt the team and make it their own like some of the other regions have done with minor league sports. I read where the Springfield [Missouri] Cardinals AA baseball team drew 550,000 people in its first year. That is a good example of build it and they will come. Unfortunately with Family Arena, it was built and not many came. Why? I still do not fully understand it.”
McSparin believes that the County Administration has done a better job compared to the management group that the County contracted to manage the Family Arena when it opened in 1999. But he thinks that things could be done better to continue operation of the facility and it become a success.
“Family Arena Management Enterprise [FAME] was the worst thing to happen to Family Arena because there was a lot of incompetence that made the presentation of game day a nightmare for fans, tenants and anyone else that came in contact with the management of FAME in the early years,” McSparin said. “There were of course exceptions like Matt Hacker who I
thought was competent and reasonable.”
Soon after the County eventually ended FAME’s management deal, United Sports Ventures sold the team. “The County was better than FAME but remember I did not have the luxury of working with the County much, only my successors did.”
McSparin feels that the County should do more to make Family Arena much more appealing to not just the hockey fans, but to fans of all sports, concerts and other gatherings.
“If I was the county I would commission a study on what the region wants in that building and try to deliver it,” McSparin said. “I would study why fans don’t support the teams and try to help the teams fix that. I would engage every school in the county with programs designed to develop kids interest in the activities and sports offered at the arena. I would put a dynamic, driven, likeable guy in the drivers seat and let them have the autonomy to build the arena up.”
McSparin also believes that the parking fees at Family Arena aren’t really much of a problem, but how it is applied needs examination. “I don’t think it was a deterrent,” he said. “But I do not believe it is
consistent with what the arena should be about, affordable family entertainment. I think it was a big issue at the beginning and less of one now.”
Continuing to be a loyal fan, McSparin is very encouraged and curious with what the River Otters could do in the 2005-06 season. He wishes the team and its fans success this season and also hopes for possibly a farther advance in the playoffs, compared to previous seasons. It would not be a surprise if he and some other former River Otters personnel appear in the stands at the games at Family Arena. McSparin likes what he sees in the current River Otter ownership with Mike Shanahan, Jr. as the managing partner and current General Manager Frank Buonomo calling the shots.
The River Otters ownership who purchased the team from United Sports Ventures was dissolved in 2003 after there were financial problems and the UHL League Office noticed concerns within the franchise that the league will not disclose. The UHL operated the Missouri franchise throughout most of the 2003-04 season. The Shanahan family, along with some other small investors, purchased the team in the summer of 2004 and expressed a
long-term commitment to minor league hockey in St. Charles County. The River Otters front office also said they are working with the current arena management to be as accommodating to the fans this hockey season and to try to draw more interest in minor league hockey in the area.
TWO PRESEASON GAMES IN OCTOBER: The River Otters will play on Friday,
October 14 against the Quad City Mallards at the Quad City Sports Center in Davenport, Iowa with a face-off at 7 PM Central Time. On Sunday, October 16, the River Otters will host the Rockford IceHogs at the St. Louis Mills IceZone. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 PM CentralTime. General admission tickets for the game will only be available at the
IceZone starting at 10 AM the day of the game.
Prep Sports Calendar for the week of September 24 - 30
Friday September 23
Football
St. Charles West vs. Fort Zumwalt North at Lindenwood, 5 p.m.
Francis Howell at Francis Howell North, 7 p.m.
Softball
St. Charles vs. Fort Zumwalt North at Kiwanis Park, 4:15 p.m.
St. Charles West at Parkway North, 4:15 p.m.
Volleyball
St. Charles at Lutheran – St. Charles, 6:30 p.m.
John Burroughs at Orchard Farm, 7 p.m.
Saturday, September 24
Football
Duchesne vs. Holt at Lindenwood, noon
St. Charles vs. Warrenton at Lindenwood, 3 p.m.
Orchard Farm vs. Affton at Lindenwood, 6 p.m.
Monday, September 26
Softball
St. Charles at Riverview Gardens, 4 p.m.
St. Charles West vs. Duchesne at McNair Park, 4:15 p.m.
Howell North at Hazelwood West, 4:15 p.m.
Volleyball
Whitfield at Orchard Farm, 4 p.m.
St. Charles at Francis Howell, 5:30 p.m.
Hazelwood West at St. Charles West, 7 p.m.
St. Dominic at Duchesne, 7 p.m.
Pattonville at Howell North, 7p.m.
Tuesday, September 27
Softball
St. Charles West at Parkway West, 4:15 p.m.
Duchesne vs. Cor Jesu at McNair Park, 4:15 p.m.
Principia at Orchard Farm, 4:15 p.m.
Soccer
St. Charles at St. Charles West, 6 p.m.
S.L.U.H. at Duchesne, 6 p.m.
Howell Central at Howell North, 6 p.m.
Volleyball
Zumwalt West at Orchard Farm, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, September 28
Softball
St. Dominic at St. Charles West, 4:15 p.m.
Howell North at Lafayette, 4:15 p.m.
Thursday, September 29
Softball
Duchesne at Borgia, 4:15 p.m.
Soccer
St. Charles West at Timberland, 4:15 p.m.
Duchesne at Holt, 6 p.m.
Volleyball
Howell Central at Howell North, 5 p.m.
St. Charles at St. Charles West, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, September 30
Football
Duchesne at Zumwalt North, 7 p.m.
Warrenton at St. Charles West, 7 p.m.
Westminster at Orchard Farm, 7 p.m.
Howell North at Fox, 7 p.m.
Softball
St. Charles vs. Parkway North at Kiwanis Park, 4:15 p.m.
Parkway Central at St. Charles West, 4:15 p.m.
Soccer
Hazelwood East at St. Charles, 4 p.m.
St. Charles West vs. McCluer North at Florissant Civic Center, 4 p.m.
Annual Gateway Athletic Conference Gridiron Classic
Lindenwood University will host the Annual GAC Gridiron Classic this weekend. The Schedule:
FRIDAY
Fort Zumwalt North vs. St. Charles West, 5 p.m.
Francis Howell Central vs. Washington, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
Holt vs. Duchesne, noon
St. Charles vs. Warrenton, 3 p.m.
Affton vs. Orchard Farm, 6 p.m.
Advance tickets can be purchased through the athletic departments of the participating schools for $7; admission at the gate will be $7. Children age 6 and under are admitted free.
