Parents who get all crazy at their kids' sports games really ticks me off. Shouldn't it be about having fun when they're too young to even know what defense means yet? Yelling and cheering enthusiastically is one thing, but when parents start screaming at their kids or the refs of a their 5-year-old's soccer game, I want to yell at them to shut their traps. (Phew!)

Clearly, someone needs to have a little chat with Hanover Park's Michael Beck about what is appropriate adult behavior at a youth softball game. For the rest of you, know that threatening a youth umpire and spitting on a deputy sheriff might land you in jail for five days like it did Michael.

The raging father has been charged with felony aggravated battery and faced up to 7 years in prison, but has now accepted a plea agreement with a lesser sentence and apologized to Judge Peter Dockery. I still think he needs a time-out though.

I have taken my beatings for calling Aaron Miles the most overrated player on the Cardinals roster - many times - and don't mind taking some more. Sure he pulled through a couple of times when we needed him to, but I will contend - often to peril of my standing as a baseball fan - that when it came his turn at bat everyone in the city must have been taking a potty-break or going on a beer run. That is the only way I can see so many St. Louisans touting him as this way awesome player - yeah, he may have the numbers but like Jimmy says, "Come on guys. I mean come.on."

As of today, I can give the issue a rest and my verbal lashings are over. Miles has officially gone to the dark side and will be donning a Cubs jersey next season. He is their problem now, and now some soul in Chicago has inherited my lonely plight.

Christmas has come and gone, along with the tunes you've been listening to for a while now. In its place (drumroll please) will be 101 ESPN - a 24-hour sports talk station. The signal is big and the talent is better, and if you guys are anything like me, the thought of an FM sports station in The Lou will rock your world.

You know how I know my job is cool? Because D'Marco Farr just walked past my office. For my chat with him, Pat Parris, Bryan Burwell and Randy Karraker, click on the [tab:trav_video].

All I know is that if these guys can make a simple press conference as entertaining as they did, their daily on-air chats are going to be even better. Stay tuned for the launch tomorrow, when 101 ESPN will be airing three bowl games.

And if you want to check out your soon-to-be-favorite St. Louis' Sports Station's page, it will go live here on Thursday as soon as Mike Flynn rolls out of bed and puts on his pants.

I also understand that as soon as Vick was arrested and charged, Americans then turned their attention to the poor dogs in the middle of Vick's whole mess. They were pit bulls, so because of their stereotyped aggressive nature, almost everybody assumed that they would never be able to live a normal life in a normal household. Thankfully, according to Sports Illustrated, many of them were far from being a lost cause. (To read the entire story, click here.) Touching. Happy. Warm and fuzzy. But deserving of the cover of the last issue of SI in 2008?

Do you mean to tell me that out of every single sports-related moment that graced the pages of Sports Illustrated in the last 366 days, Sweet Jasmine the pit bull is the thing that the mag most wants us to remember? Granted, Phelps was on the previous week's cover, so it wouldn't have been ideal to feature him back-to-back, but even so, Phelps might have been a better choice. Did they forget about Tiger vs. Rocco? Or Misty and Kerri. Or even any of these?

Maybe it's just me, but the final SI cover of 2008 leaves me wanting more.

Granted, many Missouri Tiger fans were a little...perturbed...by the way we got crushed by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship. Trust me, a win might have made Mizzou fans feel a little bit better about sitting outside in the biting cold in KC for a few hours. But setting the disappointment of the last two games aside, Mizzou is geared up (we hope) and ready to kick some Northwestern butt in the Alamo Bowl this evening.

Mizzou is heavily favored going into the bowl game, which is a good sign for Tiger fans. It was only a few years ago that tailgating was more productive than what was happening on Faurot Field, so be thankful that Mizzou is playing in a decent bowl game.

Make sure you tune in tonight at 7 p.m. to ESPN and cheer on your favorite college football team in the Alamo Bowl!

There are a couple schools of thought about asking for a lady's hand in marriage on a huge screen at your favorite sports venue. Some women think that it's overdone, corny and they'd rather be caught dead than be proposed to in this manner. Still, I know lots of couples who got engaged this way, and the bride-to-be thought it was romantic that her future groom was willing to express his love for her in front of so many people.

In case you're wanting to try this approach here in St. Louis, you'll have to do so during a Rams game (groan). The Cardinals claim that this definitely isn't an option, and although the Blues used to offer jumbotron proposals, they discontinued this service three years ago. (It might be because of the $500 required donation.) So if you're willing to shell out $100 bucks at a St. Louis football game, it counts as a tax-deductible donation and it's as easy as going here (Scoreboard Messages is towards the bottom of the page).

But before you try this incredibly public pledge of undying love, make sure you know she'll say yes. This wasn't on a jumbotron, but it was still on national TV in front of thousands of basketball fans. Click on [tab:video] to see one of the worst rejections I've ever seen. Still, at least we haven't started using them to ask for a divorce yet.

What are your thoughts? Are public jumbotron proposals romantic or ridiculous?

On the other side of the state, in a stadium far, far away a football team called the Kansas City Chiefs is asking the state for a $25 million dollar tax credit to build a new training stadium in St. Joe, MO and to make further upgrades to the stadium where they play. This wish comes on the heels of a $50 million dollar tax credit that was granted to the city in 2006 for upgrades to both the baseball and football stadiums.

Since the Chiefs are technically a Missouri team (but who roots for them when we have the Rams right?) those are our tax dollars, and as the decision about the credit may be funneled through a special committee you might not get a lot of say about it. That got me to thinking about all of the different ways that I might spend $75 million dollars (that is if someone asked me about it). It might be kind of fun to put some of that money into our city's public education system since there are a few schools that might need it. Oh-oh, or maybe we could keep some of those MetroBus lines from closing? Just a thought, that is if we had $75 million dollars laying around.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is going to be behind Big Mac until the very end. Despite McGwire's recent "natural talent" problems, St. Louis' favorite manager is still pulling for him to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It's Mark McGwire's first time up at bat on the Hall of Fame ballot, but based on an AP survey of 125 baseball writers who are eligible to vote - about 20 percent of the total - only one in four who gave an opinion planned to vote for McGwire.

Would you vote for this 'roided out batter, who at one time was a hero here in The Lou?

In recent years, I've heard cheerleaders, pommers, chess masters, baton twirlers and flag girls all refer to their respective pastimes as a sport. No offense to people who partake in any of the above recreational activities, but I'm not quite sure they qualify as an actual sport. To call yourself an athlete, I think you need to meet the following specifications:

1. You break a sweat. Not a cute little glisten, not a lone bead of concentration on your forehead; I'm talking about loads of sweat dripping down your...neck.
2. The only sounds that you make while partaking in your activity is due to physical exertion or to call a play. An outside hitter in volleyball can call for a set, or a goalie in soccer can grunt as they hurl their body towards the ball, but a checkers player saying "I'll have to think about this move" does not classify.
3. The only music involved with your activity could be found on "Jock Jams." (If you need a refresher, click on [tab:video] for one of my personal favorites.)
4. It involves actual training. I do realize that many of the aforementioned activities do require practice, but this qualifier should eliminate anyone who thinks that bungee jumping makes them an athlete.
5. You can get hurt doing your activity. Hockey players get stitches, runners pull muscles and even tennis players get tennis elbow. If the worst thing that can happen in your activity is slipping on a stray pawn on the floor, you're out of luck.

What do you think? Is cheerleading a sport? Are ribbon dancers athletes? Am I going to get beat up by baton twirlers in the alley after work?

Unfortunately, if you haven't signed up already, the race is at capacity. Yes, I know it's a bummer, but it's not too late to volunteer. If you want to help funnel and hydrate the masses of road runners down the highway, click here. And even though you won't get the cherished race-shirt, I don't see why you couldn't show up and run down the highway anyway. As long as you don't plan on placing, whether or not you're registered shouldn't be an issue. (However, if you get in trouble for running un-registered, you did not hear that from me.)

For some tips on how to stay warm while you're road running, click here. If anything, the cold weather will make you run faster, because the faster you get done, the faster you get to warm up indoors.

For more information, please go here. Proceeds will benefit Payback, Inc., a non-profit organization which puts delinquent youth to work at supervised work sites where they earn restitution to repay their victims. And if you opt out of Fun on the Freeway, the St. Louis Track Club stays up-to-date with most of the other races going on in the St. Louis area.

Check back soon for photos from the run!

But then I thought some more. Perhaps this was the reason that so many of my male buddies have been sporting a Chester the Molester. I know that there is more to a good ballgame than just showing up, but to what extent should I take my fan-dom? According to the movement's motto, "If you can't grow one, wear a fake one. Make it black and gold, get creative. Spread the word..." OK, so in this case, growing and/or sporting a mustache is a sign of complete team loyalty and adoration. If men are willing to look pretty ridiculous for weeks at a time just to support their favorite team, what else are people committed to doing as a pre-game ritual?

Many people (or maybe just the people I hang out with) use pre-gaming as an excuse to drink a certain amount of beverages before the game starts. This requires way less planning ahead of time than the aforementioned mustache, but it is a ritual for some, nonetheless. Some shotgun a beer, and some break out the beer bong, but extremists might even do a case race as their game-time ritual. I doubt they remember much of the actual game though.

Another game-time ritual that I've uncovered has to do with food. Given the nature of sports, this isn't very surprising, but it makes my stomach hurt nonetheless. As part of their tailgating experience, many fans eat the same this before each and every game that they watch. If that ritual happens to include three hot dogs, loaded nachos, a pretzel and a fried pickel, so be it.

And then there are the game-time rituals that are a bit louder I have a group of friends (all male, shockingly), who like to yell and, well, grunt at each other in a circle before their game comes on. Literally, they yell like wild animals about the team and how bad their going to kill the other team. (This is only a slight exaggeration; they really do grunt and yell at each other.)

I have yet another group of friends (I know, I have a lot of "friends") who partake in a starting lineup before every Mizzou game. They run out of a decked-out Zou Bus, through a banner that insults the opposing team, and are announced by name as they bound out through fog from a fog machine. That is a true game-time ritual if you ask me, and I have witnessed its greatness.

Do you have any pre-game rituals that you gear up for game time with?

Anywhoo...since Richie clearly isn't all that bright I figured I would take this chance to translate his comments so that we will all understand them a little better:

It seems like our fans aren't coming to the game, so it's fun when the other fans come in and start hooting and hollering — you know what I mean?

Translation: I'm high as a kite.

At least someone is in the dome yelling. We don't worry about noise. (Bears fans) can be as loud as they want. We deal with noise on the road; we deal with noise at home.

Translation: The louder it gets the better since we are all sick of hearing Bulger crying before every snap and whimpering "oh my god...oh my god...oh my god..." over and over again.

We know how our fans feel about us, that's fine.

Translation: I get spit on when I walk in to the Dome before games. The fans with the bags on their heads at the games are a nice touch though...

It's nice to have the other fans here. At least they cheer. Our fans get in their seats, they don't know how to cheer, when to cheer. We get the other team's fans coming in, and they cheer real nice for us. It provides for a good football atmosphere having the Chicago fans down here.

Translation: Over my years of football and drunken bar brawls I've been hit in the head so many times I've lost the ability to realize that our fans don't cheer because being blown out 40-0 in the first half, although record-worthy, isn't worth cheering for and the other teams' fans cheer because they know they get a free win and their division rivals don't have to play us.

They're waiting for something to cheer about, exactly, we didn't give them much to cheer about.

Translation: San Francisco 49ers: 35 - St. Louis Rams: 16

Quote source: STLToday.com

Boxing is a non-stop mental and physical workout that hints at choreography and dabbles in martial arts. The constant movement really works all muscle groups and, like chess, you are always thinking ahead to your next move. Brown said the nice thing about a boxing workout is that you are thinking so much about what you are doing that you forget you are working out, and any workout that I don't realize is exercise is right up my alley. To see Brown teach me and Margo the basics of boxing, check out [tab:trav_video].

Are you interested in learning how to box or quit smoking? Tomorrow, November 20th, Sweat is partnering with BWell Laser Therapy for an event to encourage people to "Kick the Habit!" To mark the 33rd Annual Great American Smokeout, Sweat is offering free kickboxing classes at 11:30am and 12:30pm with a catered lunch from Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and Mazara. The event will last from 11am until 1pm and representatives from BWell to discuss smoking cessation, weight loss, and pain management programs they offer and you get a free workout and food to boot.

Sweat is located in downtown Clayton at 8011 Maryland Ave. A single boxing class only costs $15, with discounts available for multi-class packages. There are five different classes offered at the facility, including one for beginners, in addition to private coaching.