BenFred: The greatest threat to this St. Louis sports season? Ankles.
"A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" cries King Richard III in Shakespeare's "Richard III," before he fights to his death on the battlefield after losing his four-legged ride.
Dramatic, sure, but I'm starting to feel a similar way about healthy ankles as our local teams try to stay afloat despite crucial players suffering from different variations of the same injured joints.
If I asked you entering this part of the sports calendar to name the most critical member of each active team, chances are you would have picked the following three players:
One is St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas.
One is Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook.
One is St. Louis University Billikens basketball big man Robbie Avila.
All three are in various stages of recovery from ankle injuries, which can rival a Shakespearean villain in their abilities to both sabotage and stick around longer than the good guys would prefer.
Ankle injuries are fickle foes. They can be minor enough to walk off. They can be major enough to require surgery. They can be worse than broken bones — or include them.
For Thomas, it was a fracture. For Cook, a high ankle sprain. For Avila, it sounds like more of a routine sprain but one that already has been reaggravated once. The teams for which these players play all find themselves in similar places: They are trying to hold their ground as best as possible until their stars return.
It's asking a lot.
Look, I get that it's supposed to be next-man-up mentality for all of these teams. Easier said than done, though. There simply are not spare players like Thomas, Cook and Avila just hanging around on the depth charts. To not heavily factor their absences into analysis of what we are watching feels a bit disingenuous.
Sometimes bad luck really does strike. In this case, three times.
It's popular to pile on the Blues at the moment. They look like future sellers. But what, exactly, were people expecting after Thomas went down? We all agreed he was the most important player on this team entering this season, and we all agreed that this season was one where lots of things had to go right for the Blues to depart the rebuild phase and reenter playoff contention.
Thomas getting hurt was the single biggest thing that could have gone wrong.
He touches so many aspects of the Blues' game. The initial burst from the Blues following his injury was admirable, but it was hard to believe it could be sustained — and it hasn't. Just seeing him back on the practice ice this week was great news.
If the Blues can be within spitting distance of a chance to crack the playoffs when he's finally cleared, I'd count that as a win. The way-too-early postseason projections at MoneyPuck.com has them at 5.3%. That's fifth-lowest in the league. Gulp.
Despite Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz's understandable attempts to campaign, his team finds itself on the outside of the College Football Playoff discussion as it prepares for what could become either its most impressive win or case-closing loss. Facing a South Carolina defense that is among the SEC's best in creating havoc for opposing quarterbacks, the Tigers have to decide if Cook, who also has a banged-up hand/wrist in addition to his ankle issue, could be mobile enough to defend himself or if backup Drew Pyne and the strides he made late in the win against Oklahoma are the better option.
If Cook hadn't gotten knocked from the lopsided Alabama loss, and if that game turned out to be closer than the blowout it became, maybe then Mizzou would be looked at more favorably by the CFP committee. But the Tigers still have plenty to play for, with a 10- or even 11-win season there for the taking, but every week has become a guessing game about Cook's status and what this season could have looked like if his wheels weren't damaged even before the Auburn injury sent him from the field to the hospital.
Cook returned to that game and spearheaded a heroic comeback win. Does he have another comeback left in him? It's pretty hard to imagine Mizzou beating South Carolina without him.
Fears of a highly anticipated season scrambled before it got going stirred when Avila went down with his ankle scare during a SLU scrimmage. His return in time for the second exhibition dulled that reaction — but not for long.
SLU got something worse than a loss when it dropped its season opener to Santa Clara. Avila went down again, same right ankle. He watched the home opener in a walking boot and wasn't expected to play Saturday.
So much of Josh Schertz's offense flows through Avila, who is so much more skilled than most players his size. Getting him back and then getting him back to his full strength and mobility has become the biggest X-factor at SLU this season. A third setback would signal trouble up ahead.
Three teams. Three highly anticipated seasons. Three dang ankle injuries to the most versatile and important players and leaders on the roster.
One would be bad. Two would be brutal. Three?
It's a tragedy.
So I'll judge accordingly for now. I don't see teams anywhere close to full strength. I see teams trying to hold the line with key pieces missing, hoping they can buy enough time to become whole again before it's too late.
Forget four hooves. My kingdom for three ankles healed.
Sports columnist
