More great news: Rams on their way out of town again

Howard Balzer, for the resurgent St. Louis Globe-Democrat, reports Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez could decide by March to sell their 60% of the team. The buyer is not believed to be Dave Checketts' group. It is believed to be a single buyer who will also buy Stan Kroenke's 40% of the team. Obviously we don't know how serious the buyer is about keeping the team in St. Louis, amazing as it is that there's a guy out there willing to spend $725 million on a football team and his identity is a secret. But the rest of Balzer's article (here's the link) points out any hurdles to moving the team look fairly low.


There's a fair amount of speculation in this article, but Howard Balzer's no sensationalist reporter, either. There's a real threat someone's buying the Rams to move them out of town.

Winners and losers if that happens:
* Loser: Dave Checketts. The quoted $600 million Checketts offer is so much lower than the rumored lead offer, it doesn't even look serious. And now, instead of the Blues' owner, you're now the guy who failed to keep the Rams in town.
* Winners: Chip and Lucia. They can pay their inheritance taxes and get their $100s of millions out of something their hearts are not in. And they can say they tried to keep the team in town but they got lowballed and couldn't afford any other alternative.
* Loser: St. Louis, naturally. Me specifically. I enjoy the heck out of watching this team and writing about this team, even at 1-15. But I can't see supporting the second team to spurn my hometown, especially after we supported it far more vigorously than the first team.
* Big fat mother-freaking loser: E. Stanley Kroenke. The scenario is being painted here that he'd rather sell the team and let it move out of town than make any effort to keep it here. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he'll be as big a villain as Bidwill if he sits back and collects his $300 mil (Oh hooray, he can buy Arsenal now) and lets it happen.
* Winner: Los Angeles, if that's where the Rams are ultimately headed. If the Rams are destined to leave, at least let them return to their old place and give the many fans out there still rooting for them a chance to re-connect.

Christ, between Eugene Parker, the Jackson allegations and now this, I can't remember a worse day to be a (St. Louis) Rams fan.