A member of Missouri's House of Representatives has proposed a bill to make the St. Louis Cardinals "the official baseball team of the state of Missouri."
Courtney Curtis, D-Ferguson, introduced Bill No. 2831, which calls for the state government of Missouri to legally recognize the Cardinals as the verified, state-sanctioned baseball team.
"The St. Louis Cardinals, which can trace its history in Missouri back to 1882, are selected for and shall be known as the official baseball team of the state of Missouri," the legislation reads.
"I think we have the better team," Curtis said in a telephone interview with WDAF-TV, Kansas City. "Given that we have a strong delegation from Kansas City, I can see them putting up a fight, but I think overall the state of Missouri is behind the Cardinals."
Sen. Ryan Silvey of Kansas City, whose hometown Royals are the defending World Series champions, rolled his eyes when he learned of the bill.
"I've told people it's cute," Silvey told the Kansas City Star. "It's like a fifth-grader trying to dunk a basketball. He's clearly just trying to get attention for himself back home."
According to the House of Representatives' website, the bill has been read twice. A hearing has not been scheduled and the bill is not on the house calendar.
"I'm sure they have nothing at all better to do than name an official MLB team of the state, right?" Matt Snyder wrote for CBSSports.com. "And, really, would this actually be more of a badge of honor for Cardinals fans than the team's rich history? ... Maybe Representative Curtis lost a bet or something?"
"Perhaps there's a compromise to be found somewhere in this," Mark Townsend wrote for Yahoo! Sports. "After all, the cardinal isn't even the state bird of Missouri. The bluebird is. If Curtis or anyone else wants to truly make a statement here, perhaps that's where they should start.
"Then again, if someone really wanted to ruffle some feathers in Missouri, they might suggest renaming it the 'Royal' bluebird.
"One thing is for sure. No matter what, if anything, comes of this proposal, Missouri will always be a baseball state divided."
Pop's a softie
Craig Sager, who is in his 17th season of roaming NBA sidelines for TNT, is known for his distinctive clothing. He's also become known for the repartee he's had recently with San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich.
When Sager announced Tuesday that his acute myeloid leukemia, which caused him to miss the 2014 NBA playoffs and a portion of the 2014-2015 regular season, was no longer in remission, moods around the league became somber.
Popovich, in an interview for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel posted by HBO on its website Tuesday, was among those reflecting on what Sager has meant to the game and his profession.
"He's just been such a genuine person who really does love the NBA and loves the game, and it comes through and you know that," Popovich said. "Even though he does what he does design and fashion wise, you know it's part of the shtick. But his questions are always sensible, they're always answerable and he does it with fun. He does it with humor. I react to that very positively, so we have a good time together."
Sports on 03/25/2016