Tapawingo To Have Flavor of Joe Boccardi's Under New Ownership

Boccardi family takes the reins of Tapawingo National Golf Club; will focus on food offerings first before the golf course and other operations.

The new ownership of Tapawingo National Golf Course will be focusing on diners more than golfers as it gets used to the golf course and banquet facility operation of the club at 13001 Gary Player Drive, off of West Watson Road in Sunset Hills. The ownership group will have a leg up on the banquet side as it is a well-known restaurant family -- Joe Boccardi's. There are six Joe Boccardi's restaurants in the St. Louis area, including locations at 8556 Watson Rd., Webster Groves, 128 Boccardi Lane, Eureka, 117 S. Main St, Columbia, IL, 127 N. Belt East, Swansea, IL, and the newly opened Fenton location at 958 Brookwood Center. The Boccardis also have a catering and market operation at 4476 Chouteau Ave., St. Louis. The Boccardi family also …

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Lindbergh Students Help Take Affton Hockey Team to National Championship

Three Lindbergh students were part of the Affton Americans Championship team, who won the USA National Championship Tier IIA tournament earlier this month.

Sperreng Middle School eighth-graders Luke Gassett and Zeth O'Bryan, and Lindbergh High School freshman Sam Stephens were part of the team that won the USA National Championship Tier IIA tournament in Charlotte, N.C., for the 14U age division, according to a news release from the Lindbergh School District. The boys are all members of the Affton Americans Championship team. The team defeated the Fort Wayne, Ind., Komets; the St. Albans, Vt., Leafs; the East Coast, NC, Leafs; and the Charlotte, NC, Junior Checkers to advance to finals. Affton captured the title in a 7-0 win, against the Alaska All-Stars. This is the second straight championship win for Affton, which won the national championship in 2012 against the Charlotte Checkers, …

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MMA Pro Couldn't Remember Knockout Kick from "The Ultimate Fighter" Experience

Adam Cella was quite literally kicked out of the reality TV competition--a moment he told Knuckle Junkies he didn’t remember until he saw it on television. He's still considering the experience a career win.

Fenton’s Adam Cella, who trains at Finney’s MMA in Crestwood, told Knuckle Junkies that his experience on “The Ultimate Fighter 17” earlier this year is "opening up a door" for new career opportunities.  While he took down the “Honey Bear” in his first fight on the show, Cella’s run on the show ended with a knockout kick from Uriah Hall in the third episode.  (Hall is participating in the upcoming final tournament, according to MMA Junkie.) It turns out Cella, who was seen being carted off to the hospital in the episode, initially didn’t remember the kick, he said in a recent interview. “… I didn’t really remember anything from that fight. I just knew what they told me…. [The UFC] was nice enough to send it to me because I told them I didn…

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LHS Alum Being Inducted into St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame

Marty Kunkler is the third Flyer to receive the honor.

A Penguin Returns Home to Affton

Professional hockey player Joe Vitale shows Inside Penguins Hockey around his hometown.

Joe Vitale, a South County native who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins, recently made a stop back home with some of his friends from Inside Penguins Hockey. The winger shows off St. Justin Martyr School, the Affton Ice Rink, and reflects on his experience playing CBC in Affton.

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LHS Alum Being Inducted into St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame

Marty Kunkler is the third Flyer to receive the honor.

Lindbergh High School class of 1973 graduate Marty Kunkler will be one of 17 athletes inducted into the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame on April 18, according to a news release from the Lindbergh School District.  Kunkler is the third Lindbergh Flyer to receive this honor, following in the footsteps of former Coach Charlie Gateley and 1973 teammate Bill Franz. Kunkler was No. 18, pitcher for the Flyers, and in 1973 he became the only St. Louis player ever to be named Globe-Democrat High School Baseball Player of the Year, American Legion Player of the Year, first team high school All-American and Elks Club Amateur Baseball Player of the Year at the same time. He was also named to All-Conference and All-Metro teams, and was a 20th …

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Crestwood MMA Fighter is Headed to St. Louis Boxing Hall of Fame

You might remember Jesse Finney as the MMA fighter who subdued a suspected shoplifter at the Schnuck's Market in Crestwood and held him until police arrived.

Jesse Finney is having a good year. The Crestwood mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and gym owner is being inducted into the St. Louis Boxing Hall of Fame, and his martial arts gyms are expanding. Finney gained some prominence in the St. Louis area last December for a different sort of physical altercation when he took down and subdued a suspected shoplifter at the Schnuck's Market in Crestwood and held him until police arrived. Finney is the founder and head coach of Finney’s MMA, 9744 Watson Rd., Crestwood, and a former boxer, kick boxer, mixed martial arts fighter and promoter. As a promoter, Finney brought USA Boxing to the Ritz Carlton and was the first to combine boxing and MMA in one event. Finney has trained multiple USA Boxing …

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Lindbergh Racquetball Places Nationally

The high school's team ranked seventh in the National High School Racquetball Championship.

Lindbergh High School’s relatively new racquetball team is making big impressions nationally, with a recent seventh-place overall rank in the National High School Racquetball Championship, according to a news release from the Lindbergh School District. The boys and girls competed in a total of 170 matches over the course of a week, Coach Rebecca Gordon said. “I cannot emphasize enough how big of an impression the Lindbergh team has had in the Missouri league and now the nation,” she said in the release. “Our sudden success is unusual if not unheard of, and I could not be more proud of how well our students played and behaved!” This was the club’s second year participating in the Missouri High School Racquetball League, and their first year…

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Senior Olympics Now Taking Applications for This Year's Competiton

Open to all active seniors in the community, ages 50 and older.

  Information was provided by the public relations staff of the Jewish Community Center. The St. Louis Senior Olympics, the regional competition for athletes aged 50 and older, is actively seeking applications for athletes to participate in more than 90 individual and team events over Memorial Day Weekend, May 23 – 28, 2013. From basketball to bocce; soccer, softball and shuffleboard; to tap dancing, tennis and track – the Senior Olympics engage more than 1,100 athletes and hundreds of volunteers at twelve different venues across the St. Louis area. The events are open to everyone. Athletes must be at least 50 years old, but there is no maximum age. To register or volunteer, view a complete list of events and venues, or to get more …

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Video: Sperreng Student Skates Nationally

7th grader Molly Dirksen qualified for Nationals as part of the Saint Louis Synergy Synchronized Skating Program.