St. Louisan James Busch Orthwein had just sold the New England Patriots to Robert Kraft, who was committed to keeping the team in the Boston area.
Months earlier, the St. Louis expansion bid had crashed and burned in spectacular fashion. Carolina and Jacksonville were awarded the two franchises.
So even with construction of a $300 million domed stadium well underway, St. Louis’ hopes for an NFL franchise appeared doomed.
With that in mind, I met with Post-Dispatch deputy sports editor Mike Smith to plan the future. My future, actually. Smith, now the P-D’s assistant sports editor/online, suggested I help with our Cardinals baseball coverage.