Hot Time in the Cool Town Last Night

It's the first beautiful weather weekend in at least a month. Apparently, St. Louis had the third hottest August on record this summer, and we've been here for a majority of it. All this made made last night's Cardinals game with my three youngest that much more enjoyablem, as it was an absolutely perfect evening complete with low temps and a cool breeze. We had a great time watching the Redbirds pull up to .500 ball, a place they've not been since April 15th.

Despite my lack of faith in July, manager Tony LaRussa, along with a couple key younger players in Ryan Ludwick, Brendan Ryan, and especially Rick Ankiel, have really surprised me. Now just a couple of games out of the National League Central, the Redbirds have the most momentum of any team at the start of this September. It would be fun to make the playoffs again.

In other sports news, this weekend Mizzou beat Illinois 40-34 in the Arch Rivalry game last night at the Edward Jones Dome. This may not seem that big a deal on the opening day of college football (especially compared to the Appalachian State upset of Michigan), but having spent two years in Marching Mizzou back in the early 90's, trust me when I say it's not everyday Mizzou alum get to take pride in their football team.

As the girls and I left Busch Stadium last night, downtown St. Louis was packed with folks wearing Mizzou black and Illinois orange, as well as all the fans wearing Cardinal red. It was fun to see the city so alive and to be with three lively and lovely ladies to enjoy it.