High School Athletics

Whip It!

National Association of Black Journalists Recognizes RFT

The National Association of Black Journalists recently announced the winners of its 2012 media awards, with Riverfront Times earning recognition for its investigative, feature and sports reporting.Former RFT staffer John H. Tucker won "Best News Feature" for his story "Knockout King" about the stree ... More >>

Brent Woody: Former Parkway Central Coach Gets 12 Years for Child Sex Charges

​Brent Woody, the one-time substitute teacher and freshman girls basketball coach at Parkway Central High School, pleaded guilty in October to charges of transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. Yesterday he was sentenced to 151 months in federal pris ... More >>

Floyd Irons Out of Prison and Coaching Basketball

​Last we checked, legendary basketball coach Floyd Irons was serving a 12-month sentence in federal prison for mortgage fraud. Just prior to his 2008 sentencing, came even more bad news: The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) stripped the coach and Vashon High School of thr ... More >>

While You Were Eating Left Over Turkey, Teenage Boys Were Living Out Gridiron Dreams

Jennifer SilverbergProud American Traditions: Jazz... Ford... Capitalism... Thanksgiving weekend high school football state championship games.​Not even a man wearing a cowboy hat while eating a Big Mac, listening to Bruce Springsteen and trading derivatives on his iPad is more American than high ... More >>

Intentional Grounding: When the state stripped his Flyers of back-to-back conference titles last year, East St. Louis High football coach Darren Sunkett seemed done for. Not so fast.

David Freese's High School Coaches Reflect on Former Player's World Series Heroics

David Freese was great in high school, but did anyone foresee a World Series hero?​When all is said and done, David Freese's performance in Game 6 of the World Series might go down as one of the greatest postseason performances of all time. At bat in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and down ... More >>

Previewing the Cardinals 2011 Draft

I'm a big fan of the draft. The baseball one, too. ​Baseball's first-year amateur draft takes place tonight, with our hometown Cardinals going on the clock at No. 22 overall. Unfortunately, that's the only pick the Cards will have in the first round/supplemental round range, with their second sele ... More >>

Chaminade's Beal Recognized as Gatorade's Top Athlete

Gatorade.com​With so many murmurs portending bad times for Missouri basketball now that Frank Haith has taken the helm, we're missing out on an opportunity to do some serious celebrating about a positive news story in the world of local hoops. Earlier this week, Chaminade standout Bradley Be ... More >>

Bring it On! Missouri Cheerleaders Sue School for Taking Away Their Pom-Poms

​"Mean Girls" has come to Missouri. In a made-for-Hollywood subplot that would make Lindsay Lohan blush, two cheerleaders from a state championship team have filed a federal lawsuit against their southwestern Missouri school district, claiming their civil rights were violated after being boot ... More >>

Amid Controversy, East St. Louis Football Coach Darren Sunkett Invited to Elite Coaching Academy

Image via BND.comThe Army wants to help Coach Darren Sunkett be all he can be.​Despite the best efforts of the Illinois High School Association, East St. Louis head football coach Darren Sunkett will be on the sidelines this postseason.East St. Louis' outstanding quarterback/defensive back Glen Fa ... More >>

Love, American Style

Anthony Bonner Bids Adieu to Vashon

Jennifer SilverbergBonner in the gym last year.Vashon High School boys' basketball coach Anthony Bonner told me today that he's hung up his high-school whistle in order to pursue a new career opportunity with the New York Knicks.Bonner quit substitute teaching at Vashon in December and spent his las ... More >>

News Quiz: Floyd Irons, Federal Mortgage Fraud, Vashon High School Scandal, Federal Penitentiary...Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said the 'ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.'"Those words resonated last week after I interviewed...[whose name goes here?]."It's news quiz time, boys and ... More >>

Baseball Card of the Week: How the Cardinals Could Have Drafted Chase Utley of the Phillies

Basketball by the Book: The Post Dispatch's Selective Distortion

Read Floyd Irons' full interview with investigators (transcript)

Read Floyd Irons' full interview with investigators (transcript)

Floyd Irons' Mortgage Fraud Saga: The End

Floyd Irons' Mortgage Fraud Saga: The End

Milestone Christian Academy Pastor/Principal Suspended

Milestone Christian Academy Pastor/Principal Suspended

The bench empties at controversial Milestone Christian Academy

Floyd Irons: The MSHSAA Interview Transcripts, Part 1

Floyd Irons: The MSHSAA Interview Transcripts, Part 1

Basketball by the Book: Floyd Irons Paid for Players to Live Near Vashon High School

Basketball by the Book: Floyd Irons Paid for Players to Live Near Vashon High School

With Anthony Bonner at the helm, it's a whole new ballgame for Vashon basketball

Floyd Irons' trial is delayed.

He may be facing additional charges.

Floyd Irons’ Sentencing Delayed -- Again

Floyd Irons’ Sentencing Delayed -- Again

Hoop Raiders

Is a Christian academy in Kansas City stealing St. Louis' high school basketball players?

Floyd Irons Pleads Guilty, Faces Prison and Up to $1 Million Fine

Floyd Irons Pleads Guilty, Faces Prison and Up to $1 Million Fine

Basketball by the Book, Part 5

Legislators call for a probe of the nonprofit that governs Missouri high school sports.

A Vashon cross-state rival cries foul over '04 championship game.

Basketball by the Book, Part 4

Hinman Wins EWA Award

What’s Hockey Without a Cup?

Basketball by the Book: A Riverfront Times Investigation

The Vashon High School Wolverines have won five state titles in the past eight years. But did they play by the rules?

Athletic Supporters Unite!

False Start

A Ladue man gets hit with a time-out just as he nears his goal of building a decent athletic field for city schoolkids.

Hell of a Catch

Friday Night Lights goes deep -- a rare route for football movies

Tallboys

The answer to Larry Bird's prayers for a white basketball savior might reside just off Highway 67 in Poplar Bluff

Shooting Stars

Tommie Liddell plays tortoise to Darius Miles’ hare in the annals of East Side High basketball lore

Shootout Freak-Out

Ho ho hoops at Savvis

Offside!

The Public High League once dominated the local gridiron scene, and suburban districts were perennial doormats. Now it's the other way around. Ever wonder why?

Feed the Beast

Everybody wants Hazelwood Central's Kalen Grimes and St. Louis' junior class of hoopsters. But recruiting in the city is a courtship dance and a high-maintenance affair.

Jams, Slams, and Christmas Hams

The Shop 'N Save/KMOX Shootout promises a peek at the future of pro basketball

This Week

Goal-Line Stand

At the finish of a 28-year career that includes 248 victories and four state titles, Sumner Bulldogs coach Larry Walls takes some parting shots at deseg -- which he claims has decimated the city's once-mighty Public High League