The St. Louis Sportists

The Cardinals have a solid road trip and then return to rough treatment from the first-place Brewers. The gang struggles to understand the pitching theory for those games while understanding that winning may not be the top priority for the Cardinals in 2026 The demoted Cardinals are finding rough sledding in Memphis, particularly Nolan Gorman. Is he headed down the path of Nolan Gorma, Colby Rasmu...

The Sportists record on Bobby Bonilla Day and celebrate appropriately, complete with a glorious cake from Labonne Bouchee (Thanks, Brian)! There are surprise guests, late arrivals and all sorts of surprises in this episode as the team considers the critical phase of the season facing the St. Louis Cardinals. A month before the trade deadline, many questions about the 2026 seasons hang in the balan...

The midpoint of the baseball season is almost here and the Cardinals are in the thick of the playoff chase. The lineup is strong, but the rotation is springing leaks. The opening day starter seems especially vulnerable, and even Keith, a usually reliable defender, is out of ammunition. Around the league, fans and players are concerned about a strike and Rafael Devers pulls a real-life Roger Dorn s...

Doug, Tom and Ron discuss the Cardinals blazing past Flag Day in the number one Wild Card spot. The recent lineup transfusion has breathed new life into an offense that was growing stale. But what about the rotation with two starters that are taxing the bullpen regularly? And then, there’s the Dustin May question – suitable for a high school debate class. Sell high or hope he’s Carpenter 2.0 and b...

It’s World Cup time and The Sportists have you covered. Jen Siess, the host of the pre- and post-game coverage for St. Louis City SC on Y98 and can be heard regularly on KMOX radio joins Ron for World Cup 101. If you are new to watching soccer or a life-long fan, you’re bound to learn something in this overview of the upcoming World Cup. Jen and Ron discuss the global impact of the tournament that...

The Sportists join the rest of St. Louis in asking, how much longer does Nolan Gorman have to prove himself? Winning teams celebrate players doing well, but a .500 month of May has the Cardinals looking for run production. But Noot is back and reinforcements have arrived from Memphis. Is a winning record in ’26 complicating the long-term plan? Across the state, the Royals are in freefall after a s...

The Cardinals have hit choppy waters for the first time in 2026. Is this a cause for major concern or just a bad week in a long season? Never fear – Noot may be here – possibly by the time you’re reading this! And, it could be worse – you could be a Cub fan. We have our first update on Ahmad Hardy and details remain scarce. Even more developments in the Brendan Sorsby situation and his future is a...

In a decidedly tarps-on effort, The Sportists analyze the Cardinals season at roughly one-third of the way through. Starting pitching has defied expectations but the bottom of the lineup is underperforming. Jordan Walker is over performing his contract – to a stunning degree. Around the league, the Cubs are faltering and Pete Crow-Armstrong has a momentary lapse of reason. Is it ever acceptable fo...

When do Cardinal fans have to stop saying “it’s still early” before being excited about the 2026 team? The Sportists consider this as well as the amazing start of JJ Wetherholt. Also, there’s a “catching glut” that could work to their advantage later in the season, along with the return of Lars Nootbaar – which could be less than a month away. Paul Skenes and Jacob Misiorowski are confounding MLB...

The Cardinals continue to roll and are starting to get some national attention. Wetherholt and Walker, specifically, are getting some callouts for their noteworthy starts to 2026. How long before other teams begin to call for players that were thought to be trade chips at the start of the season? Around the league, the injury bug hits Detroit and the Cubs are winning in an annoying fashion (if you...

Can bad football save your life? The Sportists may have an instance. Surprisingly good baseball is being played by the St. Louis Cardinals as they close out April with a flourish. The catchers are providing unexpected offense, and this may be a season to not jump to conclusions on player performance. Around the league, managers are getting axed early and ABS continues to have unintended consequenc...

The Cardinals are still off to a strong start but there are troubling stats that need to be watched. Riley O’Brien is exciting in a good way and Ryan Stanek is driving fans to antacids. The NL Central is overperforming, and the Mets are hilariously underperforming. Is a mayoral hug to be blamed? The Royals finally have a new stadium site, but where’s the parking? Perhaps the Truman sports complex?...

The Sportists are as excited as the rest of Cardinal Nation to watch Jordan Walker blossom into a star this Spring. He’s become must-watch TV just like other previous Cardinals. And the team has eight come-from-behind wins. But, ya have to be behind for those wins. An entertaining Masters is one for the history books as Rory McIlroy goes back-to-back. CBS has a challenging ending, but nothing like...

It’s Masters week and The Sportists are ready with their preview and analysis. Where else do you find concession stand picks and a Danny Willet reference? To the surprise of Tom’s daughter, the Cardinals are winning and are fun to watch. Jordan Walker seems reborn and the team sits at 7-5 heading into a weekend series against Boston. Not all is rosy on the north side of Chicago where their most pr...

In this week’s episode of The St. Louis Sportists Podcast, the guys preview the Final Four featuring the Fighting Illini of Illinois. We’ve followed the international cast assembled by Brad Underwood all season and with Blue Horseshoe, take a look at their prospects for the weekend. In other tournament games, Duke gets “Laettnered” and Michigan and Arizona impress. And closer to home, SLU fans hav...

It’s time to forecast the season for your 2026 St. Louis Cardinals and the Sportists use 20 questions for the preview. Compare your answers: 1. Season Record 2. Games Played for Laars Nootbaar – Over/Under 81 3. Most starts in left field 4. Victor Scott II – Over Under 43.5 Stolen Bases (Last year – 138 g, 34 SB) 5. JJ Wetherholt – Over/Under 150.5 hits and ROY? 6. Season Attendance – Over/Under 2...

Happy March Madness! It’s all-Ava this week as March Madness roars into action. Mizzou, SLU and Illinois are all part of the field of 64 and the team breaks down the prospects for the local teams. The guys consider the bracket winners and losers – starting with the Missouri Tigers who were fortunate enough to wind up playing in St. Louis. Maddening Mizzou has driven ticket prices to over $1,000 co...

March Madness is here, and the Sportists are ready – even if some of it is played on glass. Maddening Mizzou is doing everything possible to stay on the bubble. SLU is facing a troubling trend, and a key player suddenly has an unsettling injury. But the Illini – now there’s a group gelling at the right time. The remaining St. Louis Blues go on a modest win streak only to be ended with help from th...

In this edition of The ST. Louis Sportists Podcast, the Blues face a trade deadline that could be one of the most impactful in franchise history. One trade – since rejected – would have sent Colton Parayko to Buffalo. The guys consider several players and if they will still be wearing the Bluenote after Friday at 2 p.m. It’s officially March and Mizzou is no less Maddening. SLU, despite unique hal...

The Sportists discuss the first signature event of 2026 - the Miracle in Milan. The thrilling US win over Canada takes its place in hockey history and Canadians are unhappy - even with their stuffed animals. Maddening Mizzou continues to ride the season-long roller coaster and SLU has entered a troubling slide. Illinois gets "Tyus Ednied" in UCLA and bracketology is shuffled across the board. Spri...

In this bonus episode, Pam and Brian Bunte join Ron to take a 10-minute look at the 2025-26 Illinois Fighting Illini basketball program and their prospects for the rest of the season. Recorded just before the surprising upset loss at UCLA, Pam and Brian tap into their decades of Illini fandom to compare and contrast the current team to previous Illini teams.

The Sportists cover a wide range this week as basketball, Olympics, NFL, MLB and golf all have newsy weeks. The SLU Billikens take a tumble in a conference game. Suddenly, they only have a half-game lead in the A-10. Is this just a hiccup? Maddening Mizzou lives up to the name as they have a clunker against Texas, but Illinois is crisp and clean against Indiana. Yadi is in Cardinal camp and Lars N...

The Sportists ask, was this the most boring Super Bowl ever? If not, it's certainly in the conversation. In positive developments, Joe finally nails the air-fried Uncrustables. And the stealth hit at one Super Bowl party? Krispy Kreme's! As for the game itself, are we entering a new NFL era of defense and running the football? Did 2025 represent the end of the Chiefs era or just a speedbump? Are t...

It's the second annual Super Bowl Preview Like No Other! April, Tom, Joe and Ron consider prop bets, Bad Bunny and if Taylor Swift is providing Easter eggs or just messing with everyone. Again. St. Louis is going to be an Olympic city once again, and it was a surprise! Whether it's men's or women's soccer in 2028, it will be a return to the 2004 Olympic roots for the Gateway City. Maddening Mizzou...

It has finally happened - The Sportists are on Tik Tok! Track suits and dance moves for everyone. In this week's episode, contracts include horses and the case of the shrinking quarterback. On more traditional topics, Maddening Mizzou is hitting shots from the logo (Puxico and Hayti, specifically) in a thrilling game against Oklahoma. SLU and Illinois continue to rocket skyward and face significan...