[November 22, 2008] St. Louis Post-Dispatch Bernie Miklasz column: Rams family able to put rift behind them Tweet Nov 22, 2008 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- There will be an unexpected visitor at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday when the Rams honor Carroll Rosenbloom, their late owner from the Los Angeles days. The surprise guest is Carroll Rosenbloom's son, Steve, who will join his brother and sister, Rams owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez. Steve was Carroll's son from his first marriage. Chip and Lucia are the children of Carroll Rosenbloom's second wife, the late Rams owner Georgia Frontiere. The family history wasn't always pleasant. When Carroll Rosenbloom died in April 1979, it was widely assumed he'd leave the franchise to Steve, who had learned the football business at his father's side, eventually becoming the LA Rams' team president. But in his will, Rosenbloom left 70 percent of the Rams to Frontiere. The Steve Rosenbloom-Frontiere relationship soon deteriorated, and Frontiere fired her stepson only four months after taking over as owner. This led to a bitter estrangement, with Steve Rosenbloom firing off harsh criticism of Frontiere through the years. But Chip and Lucia became friendly with their brother and eventually brokered a truce. "Steve and I had a long discussion several years ago," Chip said. "He's my half-brother and my father's son. And I love him. Our relationship is more cordial than most people realize. There was just no point in carrying the negativity forward, and Steve agreed. "My Mom's not a villain, and Steve isn't a villain. That's over now. And the important thing is that we have a good relationship, and we're really happy that Steve will be there to honor our Dad." Steve Rosenbloom, who lives near New Orleans, will celebrate his 62nd birthday Sunday. I was unable to reach him to comment, but in an interview before Super Bowl XXXIV, he said: "I want to keep things civil with (Chip and Lucia) because they didn't have anything to do with this and don't need to be in the middle of something between me and their mother." Chip and Steve are in agreement that their father belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 25 years as an NFL owner, Rosenbloom's teams had a record of 226-116-8. That adds up to the greatest winning percentage (.660) by an owner in NFL history. Rosenbloom's Baltimore Colts won three NFL championships. By agreeing to shift his Colts to the AFC, Rosenbloom played a major role in the 1970 merger between the NFL and AFL. And he was a driving force in convincing the other NFL owners to share network TV revenue, a decision that helped make the league what it is today. Reading Time, three minutes Free Rams fans. So Richie Incognito is ripping Rams fans for not showing up, and for not knowing how to cheer? That's hysterical. A Rams player talking about fans not showing up? Here's a question: When do Rams players plan to show up for a game instead of lying down, as they did against the Jets and 49ers? And perhaps the customers will learn how to cheer when the Rams learn how to play winning football. Big news for St. Louis boxing fans: On Friday the IBF ordered No. 3 contender Cory Spinks and No. 5 contender Deandre "Bull" Latimore to face each other for the IBF junior middleweight title. If the two St. Louis fighters and their camps can't negotiate a deal by Dec. 20, the IBF will accept bids to determine purse, the promoter, date, and venue. The up-and-coming Latimore is represented by St. Louisan Steve Smith and Rumble Time Promotions and Spinks is represented by Don King. I'll say this for the Blues, who are torn apart by injuries and held back by the mistakes made by inexperienced players: at least they play hard. Unlike Rams players, Blues players respect fans who pay hard-earned money to watch them play. At least the Blues have maintained their high level of competitive desire and integrity, which is more than I can say about the occupants of the locker room at Rams Park. Happy birthday to Stan Musial, who celebrated his 88th on Friday. As always, The Man is all class. When Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols won the National League MVP award on Monday, Musial called Pujols to offer warm congratulations. ... Good luck to the two St. Louisans who will compete on opposing sides in Sunday's MLS Cup: DeSmet's Pat Noonan (Columbus Crew) and Chaminade's David Roth (New York Red Bulls). ... Congrats to Ben Davis, a 2007 graduate of the Westminster Christian Academy; he made the basketball team at Wake Forest. We extend our condolences to the basketball family at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. After beating Western Michigan on Sunday, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, freshman Mark Yelovich, learned that his brother had been killed in an auto accident.. ... Cornerback Niles Brinkley (Beaumont High) clinched Wisconsin's victory over Minnesota last Saturday with his fourth interception of the season. Friday, Lucia Rodriguez and her son, Will Rodriguez, traveled to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for a tour of the facility. This is especially notable because Friday would have been Frontiere's 81st birthday, and she enthusiastically raised funds for St. Jude for many years...In Sports Illustrated's rankings of the best wide receiver tandems in NFL history, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce were No. 5. Earl Austin Jr. is completing his latest project, a DVD version of PHL in the STL, the history of basketball in the city's Public High League. The 100-minute video is packed with highlights and old footage of famous PHL stars. To order, visit www.earlaustinjr.com or call 314-289-5412. How bad is the Rams defense? They're allowing 158.4 yards rushing a game; since 1950 only three Rams teams have given up a higher per-game average. And opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 101.8 against the Rams this season; that's highest passer rating against an NFL defense. The Nice Section Mike Rathmann, 2008 graduate of St. Louis U. High and a state qualifier in the '08 high jump, is currently at John Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, where he's undergoing intense therapy after being paralyzed from the diaphragm down. Medical costs are extreme, so a major fundraiser -- "A Night with Mike Rathmann and Friends" -- is planned for Jan. 3 at SLUH. The event features trivia, auctions and raffles. For tickets of more info on how to help the Rathmann family, please e-mail John or Linda Steinway at [email protected] To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com. 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