If there is such a thing as a Hall of Fame for sports bar owners, it's pretty safe to say that Marilyn "Merl" Gehner would be a first-ballot entry in the original class of inductees. Gehner passed away recently after a battle with cancer. She was 76. Merl and her family founded The Locker Room Sports Bar in Florissant in 1979, and they owned the popular family hangout for the next 21 years. I recall Merl showing me the blue prints to the place in her basement. I met the Gehner family when I first started dating my wife and, in full disclosure, two of my four children worked at The Locker Room…

Comments made by the opposition usually carry a good deal of credibility. When Christian Brothers College High School quarterback Dalton Demos spoke about the McCluer North defense, he didn't hold back. The Cadets defeated the Stars 31-10 in the Class 6 quarterfinal playoff game and advanced to the finals before losing to Blue Springs South. "This is the best defense we've played against all season," Demos said after the win over North. "We never could get anything going in the air against them. They made it pretty tough all night long." The compliment might be the best thing fans can say …

Jordan Granger made perhaps the most important decision in his young life a couple of weeks ago when he gave a verbal commitment to play college basketball at Auburn University next year. The McCluer North senior has the sometimes hectic, demanding and strenuous recruiting process out of the way. Deciding where to play at the next level is difficult for professional athletes, let alone a young man. "This is big-time college basketball in the Southeastern Conference," Stars coach Randy Reed said. "We have another player from McCluer North in this conference, and this is a great accomplishment …

Mention the schools McCluer North and Hazelwood Central, and most St. Louis area prep football fans know that anytime these two teams meet, they will not be disappointed. This matchup is the North County version of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Celtics vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, and the University Missouri vs. the University of Kansas. This year, the rivalry takes on a few different twists and could include an unofficial changing of the guard, as the area may losing one of the best and most experienced coaches. Throw into the mix a change in the playoff system, and…

There are too few soccer players from St. Louis who play the game for a living. There are even fewer who manage to play with the traditional St. Louis style, a hustling, athletic and exciting brand of soccer that dates back to a time when players and teams from the area dominated on the national and collegiate scene. The soccer community lost a valuable member on Sept. 6, when former Hazelwood Central standout Bobby Rhine died of an apparent heart attack while vacationing with his family in Florida. He was 35. Rhine spent 10 seasons with FC Dallas and was one of the most consistent players in…

When the opening kickoff took place on Aug. 26 at Trinity with the host Titans playing John F. Kennedy, that familiar, unique and down-home voice was absent from the press box microphone. Bob Strub wasn't there to open his play-by-play with "And heeeeeeeerrrrrrre ... weeeeeee … go." Strub passed away Aug. 12 from complications of a brain tumor. He was 83. The passing of Strub was the last link to athletics at Rosary High School where he was a teacher and coach for 28 years. After he retired and Rosary merged with Aquinas-Mercy several years ago (currently Trinity Catholic High School), Strub …

The tradition that started at McCluer North years ago with a soccer player handling the punting and kicking duties for the football team remains in good hands. Junior Zach Schulz, who plays wing forward and midfield with the soccer team, had the ultimate test to uphold the Stars’ history of good placekickers in the first week of the season. Not only did Schulz play a soccer game and a football game in the same day, he did both with an approximate 30-minute layoff in between. Schulz set the tempo for his long season by starting the 11 a.m. game against Collinsville at home. He scored the only …

Jonathan Harris has set the tempo for the remainder of his baseball career. The Hazelwood Central right-handed pitcher has taken all of the excitement out of keeping fans in the dark about his future by announcing this past week that he will attend Missouri State University to play collegiate baseball next season. Forget the National Signing Day show when coaches parade athletes like livestock at the county auction in front of parents, media, teammates, coaches and scouts to announce where players will hopefully spend their next four years pursuing their sport. Some hard-working student …

When Ray Stahl told me he was going to be the new varsity boys soccer coach at Pattonville High School, I thought there was going to be some sort of witty, quotable comment to follow this news. Stahl did not disappoint me. "My goal is to coach at every school in the Suburban North Conference," Stahl said. "I only have a few to go, but I don't know if I'll be going anywhere very soon." Stahl also hasn't disappointed too many players, administrators, parents and teachers in his long career. He is the type of coach you want to lead your son or daughter from the sidelines. Stahl recently finished…

Headlines concerning the success of the Hazelwood Central football and track and field teams and also the state champion McCluer North boys basketball team dominated the 2010-11 high school sports season in Florissant. Perhaps an even bigger story, however, is two McCluer North girls soccer players receiving NCAA Division I scholarships. This is a rare occurrence at a public school in our area. In fact, I cannot recall it ever happening. I double-checked with Brian Korbesmeyer, the former Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) women's coach, assistant coach at Saint Louis …

Last Friday was a historic moment in the history of sports in the St. Louis Community College system, which has branches in Florissant Valley, Forest Park, Meramac and Wildwood. As a graduate of St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and someone who also reported on athletics at different schools in the system, I wish I could say July 1, 2011 will be remembered for a championship or another special sports achievement. Sadly, this date will be remembered as the day the number of student-athletes was reduced by the St. Louis Community College system. Facing state funding cuts and …

The highly talented multisport, high school athlete is a dying breed. This is a theory that I have watched evolve throughout the past 20 years or so. Sure, there are the exceptions, but they are few in number. I have argued this point with my friends, and they are split in their opinion. My older friends who watched famous local athletes excel agree with me. Younger sports fans who didn't see these legends dominate the high school and amateur ranks disagree. They point to athletes who can handle two sports at a high level as good examples. The line is drawn, and few can cross the line when a …

The mix of being a lawyer, municipal judge and coach is a unique combination. To say that the late Tim Kelly was a unique human being is an understatement to his life and character. I was lucky to cross paths with him in two aspects of his life, the world of Florissant politics and in his passion for coaching and promoting sports in and around Florissant. Meeting Tim came by chance more than 15 years ago. I knew Tim's brothers, Kevin and Skip, from the St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Florissant. They introduced us at a St. Thomas sporting event at which we were playing Sacred Heart, a rival …

The Missouri Legislature is often blamed for doing nothing or little to solve the state's problems. Headline issues such as health care, education and social services always seem to get the most attention. This past session, Lake St. Louis representative Chuck Gatschenberger introduced House Bill 300 titled the "Interscholastic Youth Sports Brain Injury Prevention Act." The bill was passed in both the house and senate and is headed to Governor Jay Nixon’s desk. This bill will help high school players and coaches deal with the issue of concussions. Although three coaches I spoke with already …

The opportunity to play in the St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Parish golf tournament and talk to my second favorite Cardinals baseball player of my era was hard to turn down. Yes, this would be my first time on the links in 2011, but it was for a good cause, helping to raise funds for the athletic programs at St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. And the chance to spend some time with Ken Reitz, "The Zamboni Machine" and former Cardinals third baseman, was a perfect setting at the Golf Club of Florissant. I could not think of a better way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon. This coming from a guy …

The mere fact that Vince Drake was on the scene to plant the seeds for a fantastic coaching career in soccer, and that he is still coaching and producing winning teams, is amazing. Despite a change in demographics, the number of talented players shrinking and more schools competing for a smaller number of top players, Drake has managed to keep his programs ranked near the top. On May 5, Drake reached a point that few coaches can claim to have reached. He won his 1,000th game when the Titans beat John Burroughs, 3-1. In 43 years of coaching boys and girls soccer, Drake has a record of 1,000-…

The sports cliché of 'sophomore jinx' has been applied to many baseball players over the years, but for one area player, this reference to a slump has a slightly different twist. Hazelwood Central ace Jonathan Harris, who could have been mistaken for the Adam Wainwright of the Suburban North Conference last season as a sophomore, is experiencing a slump in his junior season. The righthander came into the season as one of the best pitchers around St. Louis after an 8-0 record as a sophomore with a 2.49 earned-run average. He was named the Suburban North Player of the Year, an award usually …

The game of football has produced many memorable names that seem appropriate for the sport and its bruising style. Many of these athletic, burly and tough football players have not only played professionally, but have gone on to coach, making football a lifelong endeavor. After all, it's hard to imagine a ballet dancer or golfer named Chuck Bednarik, Nick Buoniconti or Dick Butkus. And the name Van Vanatta is another one that just fits with that of a football player and coach. I can picture Van Vanatta walking the muddy sidelines during a game in a Hazelwood Central football poncho and …

When you get to be my age, you tend to look at the obituaries in the daily newspaper right after you read the sports section. This was the case recently when I came upon the obituary of Bob Kaelin, who passed away at the age of 84. He is a link to my special childhood and one of my first experiences with soccer and baseball.  Both sports have played an important part in my life. I first met Mr. Kaelin when I was in the sixth grade. The Kaelin family lived on Nashua, one street over from the Schildroth clan at 1805 Hudson in North County. Keith and Chris Schildroth were sent to summer day camp…

The emotional ride that McCluer North guard B.J. Young took this past basketball season is one that most young athletes will never encounter. There were more ups and downs in his senior season than lead changes in a typical Suburban North Conference game. After some turmoil, soul searching and finally a state championship, Young ended his prep career by making the smartest decision in his still developing career. Young decided to honor his commitment to Arkansas to play college basketball. This despite the fact that the coach who recruited Young over a year ago, John Pelphrey, was fired March…