ough it." With 11 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Deng sc

ST. LOUIS - If St. Louis loses its NFL team, experts say itd have a small potatoes economic impact. The blow to regions psyche, they say, would be far greater.The beleaguered fan base took another hit on Monday, when Rams owner Stan Kroenke joined in a development group thats planning an 80,000-seat stadium in the Los Angeles suburbs. Yes, the Rams appear to be going back west, perhaps in 2016, just two decades after St. Louis swiped the team from L.A.Itd make St. Louis a two-time loser in NFL circles — the Cardinals bolted for Arizona in 1987. Though St. Louis and Missouri officials are fighting to keep a team — be it the Rams or another one — even going so far as to unveil a design for a new riverfront stadium, it appears at this point to be a longshot.Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon knows there are precious few franchises in the nations favourite sport.Were one of 32 in the world, Nixon said. Its very valuable to our state.But that value is more about civic pride, not economics, economists and city leaders say. If you want to be a major-league city, you want to have an NFL team, St. Louis Sports Commission President Frank Viverito said.And losing the Rams would pale in comparison financially to some of the other businesses that have left the region at a cost of thousands of high-paying jobs. In the 20 years since the team arrived, St. Louis lost a Ford plant and two Chrysler plants; Trans World Airlines folded into American Airlines; McDonnell Douglas was purchased by Boeing; andMay Department Stores was bought by Macys. Even Anheuser-Busch — synonymous with St. Louis — was sold.The Rams, meanwhile, employ about 200 people full-time, less than 1 per cent of the 26,000-plus employed by BJC HealthCare, the regions largest employer. The teams annual revenue, about $225 million, ranks low among both NFL teams and public companies in the region.As for the economic benefit of home games, the Rams again come up short when compared to the NHLs Blues and the citys dominant team, the St. Louis Cardinals — mostly because hockey and baseball seasons have so many more games, said Glenn MacDonald, economist at the Olin Business School at Washington University.Counting preseason and post-season games, the Blues typically play at home about 50 times a year, drawing fans from nearby rival teams Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks.And no team in the region comes close to the economic impact generated by the Cardinals, who draw more than 3 million fans a year to 81 regular-season home games. Their fan base is spread throughout the Midwest and South, and with mostly three- and four-game series, downtown hotels fill up.The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association has estimated the Cardinals annual economic value in the $320 million to $350 million range, depending on how far they go into the post-season.Rams games are different. The fan base is mostly local — unlike the Packers, Cowboys or Steelers, the Rams have little following outside of the area (except for die-hard fans who remain in California) — so they dont stay at hotels and arent much into tailgating.The Rams also play only two preseason and eight regular-season games at home. And playoffs? The Rams havent had a winning season in 11 years and havent hosted a playoff game since 2003.Each football games economic impact is in the neighbourhood of $10 million, MacDonald said. It really boils down to small potatoes, he said. There are lots of reasons to be interested in the Rams, but the direct economic effect is relatively minor.Major-league teams, like the Rams, end up becoming part of your civic identity, said Jeff Rainford, chief of staff for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.We have the Arch, the St. Louis Symphony, the Cardinals and Rams and Blues, and that becomes part of who we are, he said.St. Louis certainly isnt giving up. A committee appointed by Nixon announced plans Friday for a new open-air stadium along the Mississippi River. The stadium, expected to cost between $860 million and $985 million, would built through a combination of team and NFL funding, seat licensing and public funding already in place. Nixon and city leaders agree new public money is not an option.We want an NFL franchise, but not at any cost, Rainford said.___Associated Press writers R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis and Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report. 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The 27-year-old forward has informed the Leafs that he will be unable to play in Monday nights home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.HOUSTON -- Dwight Howard is happy and healthy in Houston, and coach Kevin McHale is pleased with how his superstar centre has played so far this season. Howard scored 23 points, James Harden and Chandler Parsons each had 19 and the Rockets used a big third-quarter run to pull away for a 109-94 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. "Hes just got a nice rhythm," McHale said of Howard. "When he goes fast there is a reason to go fast. When he goes slow, hes setting guys up. Basketball is such a game of rhythm and hes in a nice flow right now." Howard joined the Rockets in July after one tumultuous season with the Lakers. He said hes feeling good, but has been spending extra time after practice working on his post moves in an attempt to improve. "I love it here," he said. "Its a great place to be. Were having some early success, but were not happy with where were at. We want to continue to get better. We dont want to get satisfied." The Rockets are 17-9 and in second place in the Southwest Division behind San Antonio. The Bulls trailed by three with 5 1/2 minutes left in the third before their offence went cold. Houston took advantage of the scoring drought, using a 15-1 spurt to make it 83-66 entering the final period. "That was tremendous," Harden said. "Weve been striking out these last couple of games in closing quarters and Coach has been preaching to us to make sure we go on a little run to close every quarter out. Tonight we did it and weve got to be consistent with that." Chicago missed six shots and had five turnovers in that decisive stretch, while Omri Casspi scored seven points to power Houstons offence. The Rockets picked up the victory in the return of McHale, who had missed the previous three games following the death of his mother. Jimmy Butlers 20 points tied his season high and led the Bulls, who have dropped three in a row and 12 of 15. "Were losing, so mentally its tough," Chicagos Joakim Noah said. "When you lose, its not fun but we have to keep battling. The games keep coming and nobody feels sorry for us and we cant feel sorry for ourselves.dddddddddddd" Harden started despite spraining his left ankle Sunday night. He had scored at least 25 points in five consecutive games. Harden said he got stepped on again on Wednesday night and was very sore after the game. He figures hell feel worse on Thursday. "Probably," he said. "I try not to think about it. Well wait until tomorrow and see how it feels." Howard had nine rebounds and Harden had six assists and three steals. Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich missed his third consecutive game because of back stiffness. D.J. Augustin, signed on Friday, made his first start for Chicago in Hinrichs place. He finished with eight points and nine assists. Luol Deng scored 18 points for Chicago. Carlos Boozer had 17 and Taj Gibson added 14. "At the end of the day it comes down to the fact that we have to get guys healthy," Boozer said. "It seems like we are always missing somebody, but well do the best we can to fight through it." With 11 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Deng scored Chicagos first basket since there were more than 5 minutes left in the third. Casspi scored four points soon after that to extend Houstons lead to 89-70. Patrick Beverley had 15 points, Casspi added 11 and Terrence Jones had a career-high six assists for Houston. The Bulls used a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 68-65 with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the third. Augustin scored five points in that stretch and Butler added a 3-pointer. Casspi ended the run with a 3 and Howard tacked on a dunk a minute after that to start Houstons big surge. Deng got Chicago within eight points late in the second quarter, but Beverley extended Houstons lead to 57-46 at halftime when Deng fell down and he sank an off-balance 3 at the buzzer. Officials at first said it didnt count, but a review showed he got it off in time. NOTES: Houston PG Jeremy Lin missed his second straight game with back spasms. ... Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he doesnt expect Hinrich to be out for an extended period. ' ' '