A real football game, depending on what part of the world you live in, is being held at Wembley Stadium in the UK, and I’m sure that lots of folks are getting to watch it. It’s the first regular season NFL game held outside the US. However, if you’re in St. Louis, you’d better like infomercials, ’cause that’s all that’s on Fox.

See, the Rams can’t seem to sell out their home games, which means we don’t to see them. Not a big deal — with no wins on the season, there’s not much to watch most Sundays. But apparently, that means we are also excluded from seeing any of the games Fox is showing in the early timeslot. Which means that St. Louis gets to miss out on watching a history-making NFL game.

I don’t get the politics of broadcasting and sports. It’s almost as though the NFL is saying, “St. Louis, since you can’t sell out your own game, we’ll show you and not let you see any game during that slot. Bwaaaah-haaa-haa-haa.”

Good thing there’s a NASCAR race today! 🙂

Today was the Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure, and was the second year Beck and I joined the massive throng downtown for the festivities. This year Sio joined us, which was just a wonderful blessing. Last year’s race had over 64,000 folks in it, and was the largest in the US. This year, the estimate was over 70,000 folks pounding the pavement in the sweltering heat, stomping out a charitable path.

Again this year, a mammoth number of Harley riders handled security and blocked roads for those of us walking. We just happened to be at the War Memorial when they pulled up, and that was a sight to see! Man, were they loud, but just as goofy as anyone else out there. Some of these folks were dressed in their bike leathers, with pink wigs. Some of their bikes were decked out in pink add-ons. Definitely not your typical Harley crowd! 🙂

Pink Ladies
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Just like last year, there were some weird, weird things out there. For example, this dog. Yup, it’s pink. I thought I’d been drinking too much! (Although that’s usually pink elephants, isn’t it?)

Shirts of Love
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Every big group out there had their own shirts. My favorite t-shirt? Well, it’d have to be this small group of ladies.

Political Commentary
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There were even political messages embedded in the crowd. This particular bit of activism I support wholeheartedly!

So, we had a great time, and pounded the pavement for a good cause. All three of us made it through the heat, and enjoyed the spoils of a nice breakfast at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House!

That’s how long ago October 27th was, and how long it’s been since there’s been baseball played — baseball that counts anyway! And tonight, it begins where it ended last year… right here, at Busch Stadium.

For most of my life, my springs and summers have been measured by the ebb and flow of the season. I watch a ton of baseball, and go to as many games as I can. For the last decade, I’ve had the great fortune of living in just about the best baseball city there is, and that just makes the time spent in the season that much more special. For weeks, the build-up has been terrific, but now it’s time for the rubber to meet the road, and for my Cards to defend their title.

T minus forty minutes, and counting….. 🙂

Got Charter Cable? Live in St. Louis? Well, you and many, Many, MANY thousands of other folks in your boat will once again NOT be able to watch the Super Bowl in HD on Charter Cable.

Last year, ABC had the big game, and our abysmal ABC affiliate refused to give Charter the right to send their over-the-air (OTA) HD signal down the line. You had to have dish, or have an antenna to watch the HD version of the Super Bowl. To this day, that’s still the case, and the folks that own KDNL continue to try to extort money from various local cable outfits in order to get paid for what folks can get OTA.

Move forward a year, and CBS has the Super Bowl. And once again, the owners of the local affiliate — this time KMOV — have pulled their HD signal from Charter’s lineup, wanting to get paid for something folks already have access to for free. The fact that this happened just a month before the Super Bowl is suspect, and I can’t imagine that there was anything other than a profit motive for this.

I wonder just how far we are from local channels requiring some kind of subscription from regular viewers of their OTA broadcasts. In a few years, that’s all that will be left — no more analog broadcasts — and a pay-to-play model for OTA broadcasts would doom traditional television. The NFL is already tried this model out this year with their carrying some Thursday night games on their premium subscription channel.

Of course, the folks selling OTA TV antennas are loving this fracus ‘twixt Charter and the local broadcasters. I’m sure they’re making a bunch of sales they wouldn’t ordinarily have made, especially after Charter subscribers getting the shaft again this year.

I have an antenna up, and have had for years. Once again, I will NOT miss the HD spectacle of the Super Bowl. Woo-hoo!

In such an improbable pairing — the Cards vs the Tigers — my Cardinals have brought home the World Series Championship tonight. What a great way to christen the new stadium in its first season!

Becky said it best — it’s just plain fun to enjoy the excitement of the folks on the field as they leaped about like little kids, hugging each other, and spraying champaign all over the clubhouse.

For me, this is the first time I’ve been in a World Series winning city. In my short time in St. Louis — just over a decade — I’ve seen the Rams bring home the NFL championship, and the Cards bring home the MLB championship.

St. Louis really is a sports city!

21.0mi

Well, I brought both my tennis gear and my bike to work, but it was cycling that won my favor.

It was hot, and I knew it could be a tough slog, so I started guzzling water during the afternoon, getting set for what I was planning as 10 miles of riding, and then an hour or so of tennis. Mr. Slate pulled the birdie’s tail right around 4.15, so I filled my CamelBak and scampered off to the trail.

I’d decided to work north (east?) on the trail tonight from the Weldon Spring trailhead [MM 56], as I hadn’t been up that way in a few weeks. That’s a lonlier stretch of trail than the path toward Defiance, as there’s no sign of humanity for five miles until reaching the I-64 bridges scores of feet above your head, and nowhere to grab some water or a snack.

Up the trail I went, and sure enough, by the time three miles were behind me, I was ready to turn around. I decided though that I would work through this tough part of my return to the trail (there’s a little bit of a slope) and my lack of riding for a week, and try to at least get to the bridge a couple of miles up the road.

And once I got there, I decided to try to get to Pitman Hill Road. It was just a couple of more miles up the road, and had been the farthest up this part of the trail I’d travelled. And then I decided upon arriving there to continue up the trail. I wound up at Caulks Hill Road [MM 46.5], 10.5 miles up the trail, and decided it was time to turn around.

What an exhiliarating ride! It seems like once I get past the first few miles, the road just starts flying beneath me. It is such a wonderful feeling! Tonight’s return to the trail was triumphant for me — my second longest undertaking since returning to the bike six weeks ago — and I can’t wait to see where my bike takes me next!

6.9mi

Well, the TrailBlazer was to have returned today…. only to have not quite made it. I’m told it’ll probably be tomorrow. And, without the truck, that means I’ll miss our Wednesday group ride this week. D’oh!

I got on the stationary tonight, but it’s just not the same — although I can’t watch Rick Wakeman concert footage (like I did tonight) whilst riding on the Katy Trail. And so, I don’t ride as long (distance or time), and become quite bored with the thing after a short session. I think the variety of the trail lulls me along, and challenges me to see what’s after the next bend in the trail. That I don’t get on the stationary.

So tomorrow, maybe I can pick up the truck, and get back to hitting the trail. I’m sure ready for it!