TODDS AND ENDS: IT'S JUST A STATE OF MIND

HI, MY NAME is Bob, and I'm a sportsaholic. My partner, Beavis, has been called to the White House, so I'll be writing solo.

It's a long way from California to Missouri -- about 2,000 miles, 17,438 bugs on my truck and not a surfer in sight. My guess is it would probably play to about a par of 3,700 -- which includes some nasty doglegs -- and I'd probably still double-bogey the sucker with a three-putt.

As a native of California, I'll admit that I say "cool." And I say "bitchen'." And I say "dude."And if something really spectacular happens, I might just put them all together, as in "Cool. Bitchen', dude."We might as well get one thing straight right now. I did not, repeat, did not follow the Rams here. Oh, I grew up in Southern California and just loved Lawrence McCutcheon, but I was too young to worship the Fearsome Foursome and never really did latch onto the Rams as "My Team."THE RAMS were almost always decent in the 1970s, but you just knew come playoff time they'd choke. I mean, let's face it, they weren't the Steelers or the Cowboys. Most years, I'd take USC and give the Rams about seven points.

Plus, I had the Lakers, the Dodgers, UCLA basketball and football, USC football and my beloved hometown California Angels to cheer, so the usually non-descript Rams had to take a back seat -- for me and most of Southern California. Of course, that's why they're in St. Louis right now.

After graduating from high school, I moved to Northern California, and all that meant was that I'd get to watch the San Francisco 49ers for the next 14 years. Now there was a team I could live and die with.

Five Super Bowl championships later, I was able to look down on the Lambs with the disdain of a red-headed step-child that had soiled a brand new carpet.

But, hey, I'm a Missourian now, so the Rams are my team, as are the Cardinals, the Blues and whatever NBA team St. Louis can cajole/entice/bribe/steal into town.

I'm proud of my Golden State roots, though I've been getting a lot of, "So, you're from California" snickers (with some "that's-too-bad" shakes of the head thrown in) from the good folks here in the Show-Me State.

OF COURSE, I got almost the exact same reaction from family and friends in California when they found out I was moving to Missouri."Missouri?" they'd howl. "Why are you going to Misery?"Or, "I hear the state animal is the mosquito."Pretty clever.

But when I really started to have my doubts about Missouri was when I was talking to an operator with my insurance company, and she said, only half-jokingly, "Missouri. Huh. That's too bad."And she's based in Oklahoma. Geez, I thought, if the Okies look down on Missouri, I could be in trouble.

My trepidation, however, has been relieved. Most folks have been more than friendly, my new co-workers have been great, and as soon as I can get used to sweatin' buckets right after I open my front door, I'm sure I'll fit right in.

In an effort to get more news and features into the sports section, a few changes have been made and more are on the way. The "agate" in the Scoreboard has been modified, a roundup of major-league baseball games will run daily and a "Sports Briefs" has been added. We hope readers will notice and enjoy the difference.

As always, the Southeast Missourian will continue to provide top-notch coverage of local sports.

Even the Rams.

Bob Todd is the sports editor of the Southeast Missourian.