Cardinals are Missouri's top story in 2004

Associated Press

It was over in the blink of an eye.

Getting swept in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox was something the St. Louis Cardinals will spend the winter trying to forget.

''I think what's going to gripe me the most is we got beat in four games,'' manager Tony La Russa said one mostly sleepless October night after the stunning end to one of the best seasons in franchise history. ''That wasn't us.''

Getting that far, a six-month triumph, was by far the better story. No contest, it's also the No. 1 sports story in Missouri for 2004.

Last spring, the Cardinals were supposed to be the third-best team in their own division, held back by a no-name pitching staff filled with question marks. The rotation ended up being a major strength in the regular season with comeback right-hander Chris Carpenter and three others winning 15 or more games.

An offense with no holes, bolstered farther by the August pickup of outfielder Larry Walker, made the NL Central a runaway. The Cardinals won 105 games, one shy of the franchise record. Then they beat the unbeatable Roger Clemens and the Astros in Game 7 of the NLCS to produce the city's first World Series in 17 years.

The rapid-fire four and out in the World Series was a better fate to La Russa's thinking than what happened to the Yankees, who blew a 3-0 ALCS series lead against the Red Sox.

''I think I would prefer to get swept in the World Series every year and still win the league championship, if you had to pick between those two,'' La Russa said.

No. 2 on the list: the Missouri basketball team getting placed on three years' NCAA probation after more than a year of scrutiny focused on questionable activities surrounding former point guard Ricky Clemons. The investigation will cost the program future scholarships and it dragged down what had appeared to be a promising 2003-04 season.

The school avoided a ban from postseason play, but was prohibited from off-campus recruiting for one year.

Another Missouri disappointment rated No. 3, the football program's return to mediocrity. Coach Gary Pinkel produced the school's first bowl berth in five years in his third season and the Tigers, led by Heisman Trophy hopeful Brad Smith, were tagged as a team on the rise this year.

Instead, the follow up to that success was a 5-6 record and a season marred by Pinkel's decision to transform Smith, a dynamic run-pass threat his first two years, into a conventional dropback passer. Missouri lost five in a row after a 4-1 start, and also blew three double-digit leads.

Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams were two of the dominant teams in the NFL. This season, they're both back in the pack, disappointments rating as the Nos. 4 and 5 stories.

The Chiefs were favored in the AFC West after winning 13 games last year, but were pulled back to earth by defensive woes. They entered December already out of the playoff picture and with Priest Holmes out with a knee injury.

The Rams were 12-4 last year and like the Chiefs, a Super Bowl contender headed into this season. Injuries to two starting offensive linemen in training camp, a new defensive scheme that inexplicably took players two-thirds of the season to grasp and terrible special teams put St. Louis at 6-8 and on the fringe of the playoff picture headed into the last two games.

The No. 6 story was yet another failure. The Kansas City Royals won a surprising 83 games last year, earning Tony Pena AL manager of the year, leading to hopes of a first postseason appearance since 1985.

Instead, a succession of injuries, questionable managing and inept play led to a team-record and AL-worst 104 losses, making a mockery of the season motto, ''Together we can.''

The fall of one of St. Louis' biggest sports heroes, the departure of Kurt Warner from the Rams, is No. 7.

Warner is a two-time NFL most valuable player, leading the team to two Super Bowls, but injuries and the constant pounding he took in the pocket led the Rams to release him in June and finally end a long-running quarterback controversy with he and Marc Bulger. Warner landed with the New York Giants as the caretaker starter for first-round pick Eli Manning for about a half-season.

No. 8 on the list is the bond issue passed by Kansas City voters to build a new downtown arena. Officials hope to lure an NBA or NHL team along with competing with other cities for NCAA and Big 12 basketball tournaments.

The lurid murder-for-hire tale involving St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton and his former agent is the No. 9 story. Danton, who was arrested as the team headed home from a season-ending playoff loss, got a 7 1/2-year sentence after pleading guilty in July to murder conspiracy charges.

The No. 10 story is the defeat in Kansas City of a sales tax proposal, Bistate II, that would have raised millions of dollars for improvements to Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums as well as fund arts in the city. Supporters of the measure said it was needed to lock in the Chiefs and Royals.