Oct. 12: As if the Cardinals bowing out of the playoffs weren't bad enough...

By Adam Claypool
Metromix

The Cardinals played three games this post-season, and they lost all of them. It looked like they would return to Busch Stadium 1-1, but the 9th inning breakdown Thursday night pretty much sealed the deal. And as the Cardinals struggled, so did a restaurant owned by a former Cardinal great.

Ozzie's will be closing its doors for good this Friday. The bar and grill has been open for more than 20 years in Westport Plaza. Apparently, the down economy... along with increased competition at Westport has taken a big bite out of Ozzie's bottom line. Here's what Ozzie had to say: "All good things must come to an end. We, like a lot of businesses, couldn't survive in this economy. We exceeded our expectations of being in business for 21 years... It was a great ride. We didn't stay in business just because of the name. We lasted this long because of our food and our service. It was a great ride."

Talk about a bummer. Ozzie is a great guy. I remember when I put together a piece on video games when I was the morning producer for Today in St. Louis. Art and Jennifer tried their hand at the Xbox 360. The piece was a big hit - and Ozzie Smith came in to do an interview later that day and talked to Art and Jennifer about their video game skills. I remember how cool it was knowing that Ozzie had seen (and enjoyed) something I put together. It's a shame we'll no longer be able to see the place he put together all those years back.