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After Rams leave, Blues owner sticks up for St. Louis

TomStillman

The owner of the NHL’s Blues -- unlike the owner of the NFL’s Rams -- thinks St. Louis is a great place for a pro sports franchise.

“We love St. Louis,” Tom Stillman told the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday. “We know that it’s a tremendous place to live, to work, to raise a family and to be a sports fan. We also think it is a great place for a home of a sports franchise, mainly because the fans and other supporters are so loyal and dedicated and classy. I guess I don’t understand wanting to be anywhere else, no matter how big the market or the untold riches that might await. This is where we want to be.”

But it’s not where Stan Kroenke wanted his Rams to be. So they’re in Los Angeles now. And to make his case for relocation, Kroenke -- who also counts the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche in his sports empire -- argued that St. Louis “lags, and will continue to lag, far behind in the economic drivers that are necessary for sustained success of an NFL franchise.”

Which didn’t go over too well in the Missouri city, as you might imagine.

Stillman believes that that was just Kroenke making his case as strongly as possible, in order to get what he wanted. And Kroenke has since said, “This move isn’t about whether I love St. Louis or Missouri. I do and always will.”

Regardless, Kroenke is destined to go down in St. Louis lore as Art Modell did in Cleveland lore.

Hence, the tweet by Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop after he shut out the Avs on Tuesday:

As for the Blues, well, we can think of no better way to make St. Louis sports fans forget about the Rams than by going on a deep playoff run this spring.