On the latest episode of “The Derek King Sports Show,” STL has the NFL, they just don’t know it yet. Derek discusses the current and past lawsuits involving NFL relocation.
The Derek King Sports Show – EPISODE 2 “STL Has The NFL, They Just Don’t Know It”
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Catch him on The Weekly Show w/ Ron Nuttall every Thursday night at 8:00PM CST on Cards on Deck Network
In this week’s edition of “The Monologue,” The Livn Legend tells you why Isaac Bruce should be in the Hall of Fame right now over Tony Gonzalez, who was named a Hall of Famer at the NFL Honors ceremony Super Bowl weekend.
NOTE: The following contains language that some will find objectionable. Parental discretion is advised.
N The Zone SEASON 4 – The Monologue 02-12-19
Back on the show this week, Natasha Gransberry (@TheGransberry) of The Gransberry Chronicles and author of The Gransberry Gridiron Guide joins Palmer Alexander talking her recent Super Bowl experience that included some time on the ESPN First Take set.
N The Zone SEASON 4 – Natasha Gransberry (The Gransberry Chronicles) 02-12-19
After the failed expansion attempts in STL for a new a NFL franchise, city leaders were pushing hard for a reward after piling millions into the nearly open TWA Dome.
Georgia Frontiere was looking for greener pastures out of LA because she couldn’t get a stadium deal done. During the ’94 season the Rams became a lame duck in LA. Attendance tanked, fans tuned out, they saw the writing on the wall. They all knew what was coming and they didn’t even put up a fight (except for a slight few) to try and keep the team. The Rams made an initial attempt to move out of LA which was disapproved by the NFL owners. Then when STL officials were given the go ahead by city leadership to everything necessary to land a franchise in STL they went all out and sold their soul in the process.
Sad thing is and this is just my opinion, St. Louis already had the Rams if they had made a better attempt at negotiating the lease with the Rams, instead they gave up the farm in order to land a team that could’ve been theirs for a lot less than the sweetheart deal that was given. St. Louis payed $15 million in relocation fees, The Rams got a $260 million dollar stadium, a $15 million dollar practice facility in Earth City and a $250,000 yearly lease, St. Louis also ate the Rams’ $30 million debt to LA and all this to land a team in the Lou.
As you can see everybody’s good old buddy Georgia that so desperately wanted to come home to STL to save Football was a farce. She made millions in the process of coming “home” the Rams went from operating at a $9 million dollar loss a year in LA to a $20 million dollar profit a year in STL. Say it ain’t so Georgia! Oh, it be so! So after the slam dunk of expansion just kissed off the rim, officials gave away the farm for magic beans that barely grew and were half rotten.
In ’95 when the team moved Georgia sold a 40% stake in the team to Stanley Enos Kroenke the wealthy real estate tycoon hailing from Columbia, Mo.
He bought the 40% stake for, get this, $60 million. That’s right, you read that correctly. Then when the unfortunate passing of majority owner Georgia Frontiere passed away from cancer in 2008 the Rosenbloom children became de facto owners of a team they didn’t want. They started shopping the team and Shahid Khan places the winning bid to buy the team, but OUTTA NOWHERE COMES STAN KROENKE!!! He put the kibosh on Khan’s attempt to buy the team and exercised his right of first refusal which was in his contract when he bought his 40% share. He purchased the remainder of the Rams for $450 million. If you do the math he’s in to the tune of $510 million on a franchise value at the time in 2010 of $750 million. He knew he was going to move then if not planning contingencies before the fact.
Kroenke was in this for the long haul. He was in this like an investment property, knowing it would triple in value if he moved it to LA LA Land and then he be rolling in it.
Just think of it this way, if it wasn’t for all those untold millions and millions that the Rams made off of the backs of taxpayers they probably wouldn’t have ever sniffed a Super Bowl, let alone make it to the playoffs. That influx of ministry support is what made it float, and when the lake dried up, they pulled anchor and sailed out of town back to LA.
So who was Frontiere? Savior? Money grabber?
What was Kroenke? The Grinch That Stole Football? Ebenezer Scrooge? That piece of food stuck between your teeth?
Frontiere did bring football back to St. Louis albeit selling her soul, or 40% to the devil to get it, well, maybe devil is a little harsh…..then again, no it isn’t.
Thanks for reading.
N The Zone Network contributor
Shane Gray (@RealShaneGray)
With NFL training camps opening across the country, it seemed a perfect time to check the Twitter, Instagram and Facebook followings of the league’s 32 franchises. We will update these following Super Bowl LII next February to check trends. As it stands now, these numbers stand out:
-The Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots ranked first or second on each of the three aforementioned social media sites.
-The Pittsburgh Steelers were the only other club to rank in the top 5 on all three platforms.
-The San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks were the only other teams to rank in the top 10 on all three outlets.
-The Jacksonville Jaguars were the only organization to rank last on multiple hubs (Twitter and Facebook).
-The Los Angeles Rams were easily the largest market to rank in the bottom 10 (No. 31, 31 and 27) on all three platforms.
-In the battle for New York, the Giants go three-for-three against the Jets.-
-The Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans are the only franchises to rank in the bottom three for all three outlets.-
-The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only other organization to rank in the bottom five for all three platforms.
With that, here are the complete results — ranked for each site — of all 32 NFL teams:
Twitter
1. Patriots: 3.4 M
2. Cowboys: 3 M
3. Steelers: 2.4 M
4. Broncos: 2.2 M
4. Panthers: 2.2 M
6. Eagles: 2.1M
7. Seahawks: 1.9 M
8. Packers: 1.8 M
8. Falcons: 1.8 M
10. 49ers: 1.6 M
11. Texans: 1.5 M
11. Giants: 1.5 M
13. Bears: 1.4 M
14. Jets: 1.1 M
14. Ravens: 1.1 M
14. Saints: 1.1 M
14. Lions: 1.1 M
18. Raiders: 1 M
18. Redskins: 1M
20. Chiefs: 906K
21. Browns: 888 K
22. Vikings: 875 K
23. Colts: 868 K
24. Dolphins: 843 K
25. Cardinals: 777 K
26. Bills: 749 K
27. Bengals: 741 K
28. Chargers: 665 K
29. Buccaneers: 670 K
30. Titans: 583 K
31. Rams: 502 K
32. Jaguars: 464 K
Facebook
1. Cowboys: 8.746 M
2. Patriots: 7.011 M
3. Steelers: 6.510 M
4. Packers: 5.439 M
5. Broncos: 4.437 M
6. 49ers: 4.2 M
7. Bears: 4.102 M
8. Seahawks: 4.071 M
9. Saints: 4.047 M
10. Giants: 3.968 M
11. Raiders: 3.431 M
12. Eagles: 3.016 M
13. Panthers: 2.386 M
14. Ravens: 2.351 M
15. Colts: 2.270 M
16. Dolphins: 2.256 M
17. Texans: 2.201 M
18. Vikings: 2.105 M
19. Falcons: 2.041 M
20. Jets: 1.97 M
21. Redskins: 1.982 M
22. Lions: 1.915 M
23. Chargers: 1.593M
24. Chiefs: 1.551 M
25. Cardinals: 1.453 M
26. Browns: 1.269 M
27. Bengals: 1.193 M
28. Buccaneers: 944 K
29. Titans: 930 K
30. Bills: 860 K
31. Rams: 790 K
32. Jaguars: 594 K
Instagram
1. Patriots: 2.6 M
2. Cowboys: 2.4 M
3. Seahawks: 2M
4. Steelers: 1.5 M
4. Giants: 1.5 M
6. Panthers: 1.4 M
6. Packers: 1.4 M
8. 49ers: 1.3 M
9. Broncos: 1.1 M
9. Raiders: 1.1 M
11. Eagles: 981 K
12. Texans: 934K
13. Ravens: 733 K
14. Saints: 715 K
15. Dolphins: 708 K
16. Falcons: 700 K
17. Bears: 655 K
18. Redskins: 588 K
19. Cardinals: 559 K
20. Chiefs: 547 K
21. Vikings: 530 K
22. Lions: 521 K
23. Jets: 517 K
24. Colts: 494 K
25. Chargers: 464 K
25. Browns: 464 K
27. Rams: 393 K
28. Bills: 381 K
29. Bengals: 341 K
30. Jaguars: 300 K
30. Buccaneers: 300 K
32: Titans: 279 K
St. Louis, MO
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Rams traded a plethora of premium 2016 and 2017 draft picks to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for the number one overall selection in the 2016 NFL Draft. In doing so, the Rams bet the farm on the hope that either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz will become the league’s next elite quarterback and help lift the former St. Louis-based franchise out of a decade-plus stretch of frustration and futility.
In giving up a first, two seconds and a third rounder this year and first and third round selections next year, L.A. essentially sealed the franchise’s fate for the next several seasons.
After relinquishing so much draft capital to move up to get their gunslinger, the Rams bold move will do one of two things:
If it works, they have landed themselves a top-tier quarterback to go along with a potentially dominant defense and ground game, and the move will help elevate the organization to the upper echelon of the NFL in rather short order.
If it fails, the risky trade with the Titans will set the franchise back several more seasons and likely keep the franchise fumbling in the won-loss column for several more years.
In short, this trade will all but make or break the Rams hopes to turn the corner in California. This was an all-boom or all-bust deal. Time will tell the tale on how it plays out for Stan Kroenke and company.
Speaking of the Rams Trade…
Unfortunately , St. Louis fans and media alike learned that the Rams front office — led by team CEO Kevin Demoff — was good at a few things not remotely related to winning football games: lying, manipulating and serving themselves.
With that understood, I couldn’t help but laugh when hearing that the Rams chose to wait a day to announce the aforementioned trade for the number one pick so as to not take away from the final home game of Lakers all-time great Kobe Bryant.
Of course, the Rams made sure to let everyone know that they postponed the news an extra day rather than just quietly announcing the trade the next day and leaving it at that. That’s the Rams, though.
For anyone unclear of the Rams motives, let me break it down for you:
The Rams did that for the Rams. That’s it.
They desired to appeal to Lakers fans by attempting to show consideration for their fan base in an effort to help the Rams and nobody but the Rams. It’s really that simple.
The Rams PR machine continues to be predictably pathetic.
How ‘Bout Those Blues?
After securing a three games to one advantage over the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the NHL’s Western Conference playoffs, the Blues started looking like the same old Blues in faltering to a 3-3 series tie as fans wondered if it was yet another hear-we-go-again- postseason collapse.
But this year, with all the chips on the line, St. Louis stepped up with a thrilling game 7 win at home to the delight of Blues faithful.
As the club is now just a series win away from their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1970, a Finals appearance couldn’t come at a better time for either the Blues or the STL.
With the Rams and the NFL freshly departed, this would be the ideal time for the Blues to grab the attention of former Rams fans who may be looking for another local pro club to turn their attention to. With many football fans feeling scorned, what better time for the Blues to pack the bandwagon than right now? What better time to grow some future die-hard fans with a Stanley Cup appearance just months after the Rams exit?
And for St. Louis, what better time for the Blue note to win a Stanley Cup than right now, with so many sports fans and St. Louisans in general feeling disappointment following the exodus of the world’s preeminent sports league?
Whether you are one of the many have moved on from the Rams move or one of many others who haven’t, this would be a perfect time for the city’s great sports fans and the region in general to enjoy some good fortunes in relation to the region’s pro-sports landscape.
Now perhaps more than over, St. Louis wants to see the Blues get this done and they may have a better shot than they have in awhile to do just that.
Thanks for reading…
SG
