(Get) A Sporting Life

Someone didn't take kindly to my dissing of Salt Lake evidently . Evidently, this little blog lacks the breadth and scope of a New York Times or The Sporting News. Well, no shit. However they do send me to a Real Salt Lake fan site where I read the following. Major League Soccer has agreed to let Checketts explore St. Louis "as an option" for relocating his team, according to league sources. In the St. Louis option, Checketts - who owns a National Hockey League team in the Midwestern city - likely would sell the team to a group led by attorney Jeff Cooper. ... League spokesman Dan Courtemanche declined to comment Tuesday on RSL, but acknowledged MLS has "had discussions with potential owners in St. Louis for the better part of two years." Noting that the group had some 20 representatives in a luxury suite at the 2006 MLS All-Star Game in suburban Chicago, he added, "They're serious." Gee, Real Salt Lake possibly moving to St. Louis. I wish *I* h...

Missed penalties will kill you everytime. From the BBC : Lawrie Dudfield went from hero to villain as he scored one penalty and missed another as Notts County were held by Barnet. Dudfield converted a 17th-minute penalty at the second attempt after Adam Gross felled Andy Parkinson. But when Gross fouled Parkinson again inside the area after 36 minutes, this time Dudfield fired his spot-kick against the crossbar. And Barnet equalised when Nicky Bailey forced home Richard Graham's corner. Notts is still in 8th, but only 5 points ahead of 17th place Bury. You just can't drop points like this.

Well, I got to watch this one on television locally up here in the Twin Cities area. The Blues were probably the better team for 40 minutes of hockey, but they are back to not being able to score again. So it is a big four point loss, with not enough time to make up for it. I'll grant you they still have games against the Wild remaining, but you need to be within 6 points with 10-12 games remaining to have a shot. I don't see this team scoring consistently enough to get there. It's too bad. This team has enough talent to scare people if they could just get into the playoffs. In case you missed it, here is a nice article on the Blues from ESPN (really): Murray's fresh approach gives credibility back to Blues Entertaining actual playoff aspirations might seem a bit whimsical under the circumstances. Despite this renaissance, the Blues still find themselves a full eight points back of the eighth and final playoff slot in the West. Murray reckons they might have to win 24 o...

News from that soccer hotbed Salt Lake City : Calling it an "unsafe investment," the Salt Lake County major said Monday that he won't support $30 million in taxes for a soccer stadium, a major blow to Real Salt Lake's plan to move to the suburbs. Mayor Peter Corroon's announcement came three days after the county's Debt Review Committee recommended against spending $30 million in hotel taxes on the $110 million project. The committee said Real Salt Lake's revenue projections were too optimistic. Lord, only knows how Salt Lake City can afford to be uppity. I never really understood why the powers that be in MLS would have signed off on a franchise there in the first place. Hell, the league would have been better off with a third team in LA rather than one in Utah. And make no mistake, this means the end of this franchise in Salt Lake. Real has proposed a 20,000-seat stadium in Sandy, just south of Salt Lake City. The team has been around for two seasons a...

The Cards have brought back Preston Wilson on a one year 1 million dollar contract. This should be fine. There didn't seem to be that many useful outfielders floating around out there. If he gets 500 ABs he should hit .265, with 17-21 knocks, and drive in 70-80 runs. That would be more than acceptable in the "bang for buck" criteria. It would be nice to see him revert to his 2000 form where he still hit in the .260's, but hit 35 homers and drove in 130 plus. It isn't anything anyone can count on. (His numbers in Colorado just aren't plausible, so there is no use going into them.) I get the feeling that the team we see on the 40 man roster now (pending what move they have to make to fit Wilson on it) will give us the opening day lineup. It looks like a solid group, but I'm not sure it puts the fear of God into anyone. The only real difference in the everyday lineup is that we should have a little more stability at second base with Kennedy. Everything will...

...is to Houston, RPI of 96. I don't want to talk about it.

Notts County couldn't continue their winning ways on the road as they fall at Hereford. It certainly seems that Notts loses their concentration after the score. Lee nets one in the 7th minute and Hereford responds in the 9th minutes. Lee scores again in the 64th minutes and Hereford comes right back in the 68th! Notts remain in 8th. Next match Tuesday against Barnet, currently sitting in 15th, only 4 points back of the Magpies.

Now this was a frustrating game. You play terrible, and then in the last 4 minutes net one to get within a goal...and proceed to give up yet another goal 40 seconds later. The Blues hadn't played horrible defense like this in over a month, but we just cannot play well against Nashville. We seem to refuse to play well against them. As Bernie Miklasz said , " The Blues made so many mistakes on defense, and let so many Predators get free, I thought I was at a Rams game. " Ouch. It didn't help that Sanford was a little leaky as well. The only bright point was that Columbus was able to knock off Minnesota last night, which keeps the Blues 8 points back. The Wild come into St. Louis, so hopefully the Blues can bounce back with a big game when they really need it. This is an old fashioned 4 point game. It is enough to make one long for the old Norris division.

Ho hum. Another game, another win. Wait a sec! This is the Blues we are talking about! My God! If anyone still followed the NHL this would be big news! Even bigger news is that it actually pays to do a little scoreboard watching. Last night was a pretty good night for the Blues in other North American cities. Both the Avalanche and the Oilers, both just above the Blues in the standings, lost last night leaving the Blues 4 points out of ninth. It would have been a perfect night but the Wild beat Calgary in OT as well, keeping the Blues 8 points out of the last playoff spot. All that stuff is nice, but it don't mean a thing if the Blues don't continue to pick up points. Tonight Nashville come into town again. They have had the Blues number this season, so this might say more about the Blues resurgence than any other game to date. Hopefully, the offense will get going tonight. They might have won their last two games, but the Blues only scored 3 goals doing it.

Nice game by Lisch coming back from injury (9-13 from the field, 5-8 from 3, 28 points). But there are still more trouble spots. Even in a near blowout game, the Bills still only used seven players for most of the game. Soderberg was able to clear the bench late....real late. The kids got 1 minute to run around. I shouldn't be so hard on this team...after all I've already acknowleged they aren't very good. But they have at least some of the pieces to be good. It simply hasn't come together, and it seems unlikely that it will come together, especially with so little help coming off the bench. (Although I should mention that Johnson played a few good minutes, and scored a little bit. That helped offset a bad game from Meyer. Luke managed just 2 points in 26 minutes. Ouch!)

...When you first heard the name Wladimir Mendoza . Over at Get Up Baby! they have the following take on the prize prospect on the Card's Venezuelan team (evidently we do have one of those): But one pitcher stands out enough to not only make the Not-Top Twenties on an exception, but to be the official Get Up, Baby! Longshot Prospect of 2007. Our patron saint, if you will, since I’ve heard exactly one sentence about his abilities from someone who’s seen him play. And that player is Wladimir Mendoza. His numbers–which admittedly need to be taken with a huge grain of salt–speak volumes: IP H BB K HR K/9 BB/9 K:BB ERA 75.2 50 47 89 2 10.59 5.59 1.89 2.26 That appears to be the work of a live arm. But ten of his runs allowed came in two miserable outings. Let’s take those out, and see what we have left. IP H BB K HR K/9 BB/9 K:BB ERA 66.0 38 36 82 2 11.18 4.91 2.28 1.23 So he was old for his league–20–and his control was still pretty bad,...

In case you were wondering, there are indeed rules to Aussie Rules Football. And just as in American Football folks do like to change the rules up a bit . THE AFL will trial a 20m kick rule during the 2007 pre-season competition in a bid to encourage longer kicking and more contested play. Players will now have to kick a ball at least 20m for it to be marked, instead of 15, under a law to be introduced during the NAB Cup, which starts on February 23. In a further modification to be used during the pre-season competition, players will only be prohibited from kicking backwards in their defensive half of the ground. Players will now be able to kick backwards to a teammate in the forward half of the ground without fear of umpires calling play-on. Previously players were only allowed to pass backwards in their team's forward 50-metre arc. ... The AFL hopes extending the distance a kick has to travel before it can be marked will encourage players to boot it longer instead of chipping it...

Well, I'm waiting for a lot of things these days: 1) Waiting for Weaver to pick a team...any team. 2) Waiting for the NHL All Star break to end...already. 3) Waiting for DC United to sign someone interesting...for the love of God. 4) Waiting for the Billikens season to come to an ignominious end...inevitably 5) Waiting for pitchers and catchers to report.

I see that the AP is reporting that Manchester City has terminated the contract of Claudio Reyna, which could/should be the prelude to his signing with MLS and playing for the Red Bulls. There are plenty of folks skeptical about how much Claudio has in the tank after his years in the EPL. My take is that it will be a decent enough move for New York, as long as Reyna doesn't use up too much cap room. He has been too prone to injury to risk a huge amount. Yes, MLS gives you some leeway in signing replacements if a top gun goes down, but those players never seem to add much, mostly because you are just trying to plug holes whether the new player is a good fit for the team or not. In terms of his on-field play, MLS might just give him that extra second he needs to spray passes around the field. Folks like Marco Etcheverry and Preki had good MLS careers doing just that. Ah, in my minds eye I can see Brian Carroll fouling Claudio already.

I see that Sp!ked has seen fit to print my little letter to them re: Beckham (comma) David. However, it its truncated form it lacks the punch of the original. You can complain that Becks is over rated and not worth millions of dollars, but why take shots at the US in general? Back in the 1970s it had been over 20 years since the US had been in a World Cup final field, now they get in routinely (more often than England in fact). In the 1970s all the teams played in stadiums built for baseball or American football on awful astroturf and often they didn't make a dime from things like concessions and parking. Today, team after team are building soccer specific parks and building decent financial foundations. I really don't get the snaring at the US game in general. Fine, I'll admit it isn't the quality of the top tier in England, Italy, France, Germany or Spain but I don't see UK writers going out of their way to remind folks that comparatively speaking the Greek or Po...

The PD had a small round-up on the top forward prospects in the Blues organization. 1. T.J. Oshie Team: University of North Dakota Position: Center Acquired: 1st round pick, 2005 Height: 5-feet-11 1/2 Weight: 185 Comment: Top offensive threat in college who has been slowed this season because of thumb injury. 2. Carl Soderberg Team: Malmo (Swedish Elite League) Position: Center Acquired: 2nd round pick, 2004 Height: 6-3 Weight: 210 Comment: Decision to return to Sweden, after being sent to Peoria last September, could slow his progress. 3. David Backes Team: Peoria Rivermen (AHL) Position: Right wing Acquired: 2nd round pick, 2003 Height: 6-3 Weight: 210 Comment: He was shuttled back to Peoria on Sunday, but not before showing that he has NHL potential. 4. Patrik Berglund Team: VIK Vasteras (Swedish-2 League) Position: Center Acquired: 1st round pick, 2006 Height: 6-4 Weight: 195 Comment: A steal in last year's draft, he is tearing up his Swedish league and could be in St. Louis s...

You would never know it from reading the PD article on the game , but the Blues were lucky to get out with the win last night. The Sharks had many, many more scoring opportunities, and the Blues needed a lucky bounce to net Guerin's 20th goal of the season. That being said, I'll take it. At this moment the Blues are 8 points behind 8th place Minnesota with a game in hand. Not that I'm saying anything...

A little bit better from the US in the second half. Not great, but better. Full game ratings: Starters (Subs) GK: Reis, 5, Steady. RB: Albright, 3, There was some comment that Chris was suffering from a bit of the flu...it showed. RB: (Pearce) 4, Some good work; looked comfortable out there but Denmark didn't press much. CB: Boswell, 5, OK in second half, got a little overconfident and made some bad passes. CB: Conrad, 5, pretty steady in second half; lost his man giving a free header away (that missed by a mile); good game in general; lost concentration once or twice. LB: Bornstein, 5, Great run off the ball for his well taken goal; seemed to gain in confidence as the game wore on; moved into the midfield. LB: (Namoff) 4, Did alright, not much chance to shine. RW: Donovan, 5, moved to forward late in game. CMF: Mastroeni, 4, Slightly better second half; picked up a yellow. CMF: Clark, 4, Does soak up pressure; didn't hold onto possession well enough. LW: Rolfe, 4, High work r...

Well, I suppose it could be worse, but that was not an attractive half of soccer. US comes out in a 4-4-2 against Denmark's 4-5-1. Here is my take so far with ratings: GK: Reis, 5, Not called upon much; had no chance on the Denmark goal. RB: Albright, 3, One decent cross early; laying off too much defensively led to Danish goal; picked up a deserved yellow card for a late tackle; decent header off a corner kick; sloppy passing. CB: Boswell, 6, Probably the best US performance in the half; hardly had his name called as he was all over his defensive responsibilities. CB: Conrad, 4, Pretty good most of the half; worked well backing up Bornstein; beaten badly on the Danish goal. LB: Bornstein, 4, Real shaky early; settled down and chipped in a little offensively, getting a good strike on goal; nutmeged pretty easily once. RW: Donovan, 5, Tentative for much of the game so far; corners have been ok; free kicks have been erratic; has made a couple probing runs; got the goal on the PK, b...

Another bad loss, that is if we are supposed to believe the Bills are a "good" team. If you are a good team (say top 75 in the country) you cannot be losing to teams with RPI's in the 120's. Sitting at 2-4 in the conference race I'm starting to worry about their ability to make it to the post-season conference tournament. So forget about the big dance OR the NIT. I'm getting damn close to thinking Soderberg has to go.

The Magpies layed a little wood to bottom dwellers Torquay today. It is exactly what this team has to keep doing if they want to capture a play-off spot this year. It is a little disappointing that Torquay was able to take a 2-1 lead in the game, but they only held the lead for a couple of minutes. Scoring Summary: ( Notts - Torquay ) Mendes (23) 1-0 Cooke (25) 1-1 Dickson (35) 1-2 Smith (39) 2-2 Parkinson (40) 3-2 Lee (83) 4-2 Lee (90) 5-2 With the win Notts moves up to 8th in the table, still tied on points with Stockport (who had a good road win at Peterborough.)

Dallas Drake, scoring machine. Another big win on the road. That means the Blues have picked up 5 of 6 points so far on this west coast trip with one game to go before the All-Star break. Very nice to see. I actually feel a little sorry for the LA Kings. They are having woeful goaltending problems due to injuries, and we know the Blues have been there. Now the Kings are turning to Sean Burke. Good luck, you are gonna need it. I suppose they are lucky they didn't get stuck with Patrick La-lame...but I'd be suprised if Burke offers much of an upgrade over their Japanese rookie. (See?!? No foolish optimism over the Blues playoff chances here!)

I'll admit I was a little surprised by the following: Players back Beckham in Real row Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has held clear-the-air talks with his players in the wake of indiscreet comments he made about Davd Beckham. Calderon called Beckham a "second-rate actor" after signing for LA Galaxy - and said the team was not civilised. But skipper Raul has revealed: "We met the president to talk about everything that had happened. Calderon said sorry. "It was a positive meeting in which certain rules were implemented so that this situation does not happen again." Calderon made the comments in a speech to university students that was aired by Spanish radio station Cadena Cope. He said the Real players "all think they are superstars" and the fans "don't support the team, like in Italy and England". And he said of Beckham: "He will be an average cinema actor living in Hollywood." But he later apologised, telling Real ...

The dumb bastards at the NHL can't even accept a feel good story when it happens to them. From Slate: Rorygate, The NHL's All-Star voting disaster: a Slate investigation. Finally, something seemed to be going right for the National Hockey League. Despite flagging attendance and abysmal television ratings, the league was headed into next week's midseason break on a wave of positive publicity. For the first time in, well, maybe forever, people seemed excited about the league's annual All-Star Game. The big story of this year's contest began with a single fan—22-year-old Steve Schmid of upstate New York. Schmid decided that it would be neat to see a hard-working journeyman get voted into the All-Star Game. He chose the Vancouver Canucks' Rory Fitzpatrick, an unremarkable player without much talent or flashy stats—in hockey terms, a grinder. The "Vote for Rory" movement took off soon after All-Star voting began in late November. Media outlets picked up the...

I think I've had enough of foreign press complaining about the Beckham deal. It was this piece from Sp!ked that drove me over the edge: So, farewell then David Beckham. You took a mean free kick, you always looked good on camera and, er, that’s about it. Becks hasn’t actually croaked but the tone of reaction amongst British sports journalists has been decidedly obituarial. By opting to move to the land of Walt Disney and play in a Mickey Mouse league, Beckham’s football career is effectively over. The size of Beckham’s pay deal with LA Galaxy, which is said to be worth £128million over 5 years, has raised eyebrows this side of the pond, largely because the Brits are still unused to the idea of top sportsmen getting movie star salaries. Beckham somewhat unconvincingly protests that he’s going for a new challenge. ‘I didn’t want to go there at 34-years-old and for people to say he’s only going for the money,’ insisted the Real Madrid bench warmer. Personally, I’ve got no problem wi...

Facts are facts. This Billikens team cannot play good enough defense to win consistently. St. Louis University has got the scoring half of its game figured out. It's the defense that continues to be the team's curse. So the fact that the Billikens shot 51.7 percent from the field — 60 percent on 3-pointers — and scored 79 points, their most since the opening weeks of the season, was rendered incidental by the team's inability to stop Temple. SLU lost 85-79 on Wednesday night before a paltry crowd at Temple's Liacouras Center. (Only Arizona in 2002 scored more points against a Brad Soderberg-coached Billiken team.) The loss drops SLU to 12-6 overall, 2-3 in the Atlantic 10, and moved it that much closer to having its whole season come down to the conference tournament. This Temple team is pretty woeful, so this loss is terrible. Right now the Bills RPI put them out of the Top 100 . To think they would have any legitimate NCAA aspirations is a joke. They now own losses...

Facts are facts. As well as the Blues are playing, pulling themselves up from dead last in the conference into 12th place only 9 points out of a playoff spot, chances are they ain't gonna make it . The Blues, with 42 points, are currently nine points out of a playoff spot in the West. Over the last four seasons, it has taken an average of 93 points in the conference to qualify for the eighth seed. Theoretically that means even though the Blues are 10-4-4 for 24 points under Murray, they would need to earn 51 of the remaining 70 points available to reach 93 points. So lets say the Blues went 20-10-5 over their last 35 games (a pretty damn good record,) they would finish with 87 points. It just doesn't look like enough. If Calgary and Minnesota, currently in 7th and 8th in the conferences, play .500 hockey from here on out they would finish with 88 and 85 points respectively. Throw in the occasional point from an OT loss, and the Blues are done for. But you know what? I'...

(By Southlandish) My buddy, "CHIN-CHIN" (don't ask), was at the White House today covering the Cards' appearance with Bush. He filed the following report, which I found much more informative than the P-D story: "There were two trophies on display in the White House East room today - the 2006 World Series trophy won by the Cardinals.....and Scott Spiezio's wife. What pisses me off the most is that John Fucking Ashcroft had a seat squared up right across from her." No doubt thankful he wasn't on the hook for the fabric bill to cover her breasts . (A Thought from the Iconic Midwesterner) Great...now, if I meet Scott Spezio I can say, "Man, I'm a real big fan...of your wife."

In a deal that will make headlines in, um, Honduras, United has signed Brazilian foward Luciano Emilio from Olimpia in the afore mentioned Honduras. You know how you know you've signed a less than stellar Brazilian? When he is known by both his names. Any Brazilian worth a damn has only one name, and certainly hasn't been toiling in the Honduran league. I hope to God he proves me wrong and lights it up. On a brighter note it looks like Ruy is no longer an option . One bullet dodged.

...Now there is a sentence I haven't had the good fortune to use for a while. But, tonight the Blues beat the crap out of the Ducks, 6 to 2. More powerplay goals, shorthanded goals, Sanford playing well in his return, Dvorak and Brewer each with three point games (AND both were a team best +3 on the night), Cajanek with a goal and an assist... Damn. These guys are good. The Blues also acquired Yan Stasny from Boston for a draft pick. I'm not quite sure why. He's got no goals and two assists this season. Hell, in 21 games he has managed a total of 7 shots on goal. Maybe someone has seen something in the kid (he's only 24,) but I don't see it in the stats sheet. (I also don't see much Eastern Conference hockey, so what do I know?)

(By Southlandish) From STL BBWAA dinner : Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter drew laughter, and some cringing, when he quipped after seeing a highlight film of the 1982 World Series champs, said, "It definitely wasn't the steroid era." For the record, I've always had my suspicions about Mike Ramsey . He was an awfully "tight" 170 and wasn't known as the Lyle Alzado of the Cards clubhouse for nothing. (Now from the Iconic Midwesterner) Based upon the second picture here, Mike could have made a good living leading a Dexy's Midnight Runners tribute band.

Well, I supopose I should be happy with the point on the road, but we sure didn't play very well for most of the game. We do seem to be finding a way to cash in some goals, the powerplay continues to improve, and the kids keep chipping in (big goals by Wideman and Senja.) I'd just hate to lose momentum now, right before the All-Star break. Speaking of Senja, Jeff Gordon had this to say on him today : And there was Sejna Monday, back in the NHL on an emergency recall, actually scoring a goal for the Blues to help them earn a point in Phoenix. You’ll recall that Sejna won the Hobey Baker Award in college. He has terrific hands and can play off of skilled linemates. He got a big free-agent deal to sign with the Blues, but he hasn’t had enough jump in his legs and enough grit in his game to stick at the NHL. If Sejna can be salvaged – a big IF – the rebuilding process will go much more smoothly. He has more upside than, say, Mike Glumac or Jon DiSalvatore. He scored 36 points in...

-It is good to see Jeff Gordon show Eric Brewer a little love . "But we need to point out that Brewer has been playing MUCH better since Andy Murray took over as head coach." -Congrats to Bill Guerin on his All-Star selection. -Congrats to Lee Stempniak for his selection to the Young Stars game. -Speaking of Stempniak, Larry Wigge has a nice piece on him at NHL.com . -I see that Peter Sejna has just got called up from Peoria . Here, finally, is his chance to impress at the NHL. Mike Kitchen HATED Sejna, so he was never gonna get another shot at sticking while Mike was still around. Hopefully, he can show Murray he has the skills to add to the attack. The question will remian, does Sejna have the work ethic drilled into him yet? It would be a lot better for the Blues if the answer to that question is yes. There doesn't seem to be a lot of other talent at forward in the organization...at least ready to make the jump to the NHL.

I think Brad Soderberg has as his mission to torture Bills fans this year. Just as I had these guys pegged as intriguing second-raters, they have to go and beat down Xavier. (From the PD ) In a game that made its losses to St. Bonaventure and Duquesne that much more inexplicable, St. Louis University dominated Atlantic 10 Conference favorite Xavier from start to finish in a 76-65 win on Saturday night at Scottrade Center. The season that has gone from promising to doomed swung back to promising in front of 10,861 fans on an icy night. The Billikens re-established themselves as a team to watch in the Atlantic 10, though if they had beaten St. Bonaventure and Duquesne as expected, they would be sitting atop the league standing. Instead, they are in the middle of the A-10 pack with a 12-5 record, 2-2 in league play. But after an 0-2 start, 2-2 looks pretty darn good. Xavier fell to 12-5, 2-1, leaving Massachusetts as the only unbeaten team in the league. It is even more impressive in th...

No, the score is not a typo. The Blues actually scored 6 goals AND won a game giving up more than 3 goals. The defense sure didn't play very well, but, yet again, the Blues win the type of game they have to win to keep playoff dreams alive. The playoffs may still be on life-support, but we still have a pulse. Dennis Wideman had one of those up and down games that I'm sure is driving Murray nuts. Wideman gets caught running around in the defensive end too much, but the kid is a big plus on the powerplay. And you need the Wideman's to take full advantage of the truly dreaful LA penalty kill. On a better note, Weight might have had his best game of the year...and scored with a slap shot no less. Let's keep it rolling....

Well, Notts may not be able to win at home, but they sure do take care of things on the road. Goals from Dudfield (9th min) and Lee (20th min), with AS getting their one from Brown (14th min.) There were also a couple of red cards handed out including Notts' manager Thompson. (From Notts County Mad ) But it was Pipe who tested Rogers soon after, taking the former Forest man on easily, forcing Rogers to retaliate with a thunderous, yet illegal challenge as he jumped in. Had he connected he may have broken Pipe's leg. The Welshman reacted, with a melee ensuing between the majority of the players. Referee Andy Woolmer immediately banished Rogers to the stands, a red card for him on his Stanley debut. After much debate, Woolmer also sent Pipe the same way, rather harshly considering his reaction was little more than petty. Officially Rogers was dismissed for dangerous foul play, and Pipe violent conduct, you could suggest unfairly considering his career could have been seriously...

I'm glad someone over at the PD has noticed the improved play of Eric Brewer (from Dan O'Niell's Hit & Run ) The transformation of the Blues from an aimless, ineffective bunch to an entertaining, competitive team — in the midst of the same season — has been one of the more remarkable stories on the St. Louis sports scene in a while. Come to think of it, almost as remarkable as the transformation of the Cardinals from an aimless, ineffective bunch to World Series champions at the end of the same season was one of the most remarkable stories in recent years. Based on this trend, you can expect TWA to bounce back any day now. Credit for the Blues' turnaround may be spread throughout the roster. Almost to a man, the Blues are playing with more energy and more purpose. And perhaps no one exemplifies this change more than Eric Brewer, who looks like a completely different player. Against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the Brewmeister, as they call him over on Pesta...

Well, that is that. DC did alright I suppose. MLS drafts are always such crap shoots that it takes a year at least to really grade it. There does seem to be some upside to their picks, and DC does have a track record of doing well with late round selections and undrafted players. It will be interesting to see who gets invites to camp. Among the undrafted was John DiRaimondo. That's too bad, but I think he will get a look from someone, and I think he has as good shot as any of the undrafted to stick. In general there were no SLU players and (more ominously) no St. Louis area kids drafted. Has it slipped that much in the old home town?

Jeff Goff got it right. With their last pick DC takes a GK. But they go with Robles out of Portland. Buzz Carrick has him ranked as the #2 keeper, but says he's a little under-sized. What?? DC can't go a season without an undersized keeper?

First prediction foiled. We are into Round 4 and John DiR is still on the board. I'll have to send the crystal ball in for repairs.

DC, as they often do, take a local kid, Ricky Schramm, Forward, Georgetown, at #37. (Not so bold prediction to follow.) He won't make the team.

If DC wants to draft a keeper they might go for Providence's Chris Konopka next. (But they might just try to sign a keep as an undrafted free agent.)

DC uses 32nd pick for Jay Needham, Defender, SMU. Probably a good pick. Seems unlikely for John DiR to go to DC. One day they WILL pick a Bill.

Hmm...DC has two picks in the third round, and I think DiRaimondo could go at this level. I also think John could be a back in MLS...DC could use that. A thought.... I'm not alone on John (From Buzz Carrick ) Nice two way player though and I liked him much better wide in midfield and better still at right back where I think he could be tremendous . Not real big but he knows how to play tactical defense.

DC uses the 24th pick on Forward Brad North out of Northwestern. I'm wondering if this is way off the board. The MLS DraftTracker doesn't even have a bio for Brad. Although I got this one from Northwestern . Looks like he is a big enough kid (6-1, 185), and he scores Game winners...a plus. In four years at NW netted 27 goals with 8 assists. Good luck to him, but the pick feels like a flyer.

From ESPN's mock draft (by Jeff Carlisle): 9. FC Dallas -- Bryan Arguez, D/M, U.S. U-20 national team While the selection of Arguez fails to address the Hoops' needs on the right side of the field, the Miami native is too good for head coach Steve Morrow to pass up. Arguez is described as a player with great tools who is incredibly comfortable on the ball. And with the likes of Richard Mulrooney to learn from, Arguez's transition into the pro ranks should be made all the easier. One wonders if Chicago going off the board for its two picks allowed Arguez to drop to DC at 11.

My first impression is that ESPN is doing a better job with this draft coverage than MLS has ever enjoyed. That being said, I think the time has come to expand the TV coverage to two hours instead of just one. I feel sorry for any Houston fans who tuned in hoping to see their first round selection, or really ANY discussion of teh MLS Cup champs. They got basically zip. As was noted on TV the first six picks were from ACC schools. Pretty impressive really, especially when you consider the next player taken after the ACC run was a kid from a NCAA Division II school (Fort Collins anyone?) DC's first round pick was a young defensive midfielder, Bryan Arguez. I'm not sure if this says anything about what they think will happen with Carroll, unless you want to say they aren't worried about getting immediate help. We shall see. Over at DCenters the take on Arguez is: What do people say? Buzz Carrick rated him as the #3 Midfielder in the draft, noting he's a good linking...

In about 15 minutes the MLS draft coverage will begin on ESPN2. I'll watch it, but I'm not expecting much. Few people are evidently. From the WaPo : Today, United's decision-makers will have their work cut out for them during a four-round draft that, to many observers, does not have nearly as many potential impact players as in previous years. "The talent has gotten a little more diluted; we've taken some young kids out of it [by signing them in previous years] and it shows," United Coach Tom Soehn said. "Having said that, there is always someone you feel you can develop." So the chance for impact players seems non-existent. However, United has roster holes...lots of them. Steve Goff also speculates that DC may have to spend a pick on a goalkeeper as Nolly (who they got back in the Freddy Adu deal) has been trying to peddle his wares across Europe like a $50 whore. And of course, twenty years from now, we will all get misty as we think back on t...

Here is some thoughts from Ian Plenderleith : When Major League Soccer adjusted its restrictive salary-cap regulations at the end of last year so that teams could sign big-name 'marquee' players, the move became instantly known as 'The Beckham Rule'. The reason was obvious - whenever fans talked about raising the league's profile in the US and beyond, they said it would need a name such as Ronaldo or David Beckham to make an impact. With the latter's LA-based soccer school, his oft-professed desire to one day play in the US, and his association with Hollywood by proxy (celebrity wife, the film Bend It Like Beckham), Beckham's signing with the league and the LA Galaxy began to seem inevitable the longer he spent languishing on the Real Madrid bench. This is a huge marketing and publicity coup for MLS, despite the moans of detractors that the league is in danger of becoming like the star-studded, but doomed, North American Soccer League of the 1970s. Such a co...

I was sent the following by a friend, who might start posting here regularly if we can come up with a suitable nom de guerre : I was pleasantly surprised by the signing. I held my breath when I heard it because I was fearful that the $$ would be stupid. I really like having the third year option contingent on incentives being met. When I occasionally go over to Viva El Birdos I usually find myself nodding in general agreement with lboros. Tonight I think he's off the reservation with his opportunity cost criticism. I really don't know WTF he is talking about : bad idea imho, for reasons explained here. the $13m guarantee is not the issue; in this market, that's not such a terrible bet to place. the big problem with this signing is the opportunity cost. mulder, when he returns, will take starts/innings away from other pitchers who might well be better than he is. he also further muddies an already murky rotation picture. we won't know for 6 to 7 months whether he is capa...

There is an automated news aggregator for all things St. Louis called the St. Louis Star . But I think the folks over there need to do a little fine tuning. Today the headline is: Celtic sell midfielder Pearson to the Rams Celtic have sold midfielder Stephen Pearson English Championship promotion hopefuls Derby County for 750,000 it has been confirmed. Which begs the question, what position would you make a Celtic midfielder in the NFL? (Besides place kicker, that is.) I say free safety. That way he could come in late and kick the shit out of people.

Well, lets hear it for the Billikens...I guess. It is hard for me to get up for a 4 point win at home against a .500 team. It is nice to rebound from humiliating loses to the like of St. Bonaventure and Duquesne,and it is nice to see the Bills can play defense, when they feel like it...but this wasn't how this was supposed to be. We went into this season being told that finally Sodeberg had the guys he needed to play up tempo basketball. And they can indeed play that way...as long as the competition is limited to NCAA Division II schools. (You've been warned Missouri-St. Louis!) In reality, this team cannot play up tempo against most folks. So, yet again, we will be treated to half-court, take the air out of the ball, and limit the other team's possessions ball. And that's fine, but that wasn't what we were sold on. How difficult is it to recruit some guys who can actually shoot the ball? Want a scary stat? Saint Louis was 11-for-28 from 3-point range, one off its ...

I really thought my first post would be on the SLU/Rhode Island game, but Lo! (and Behold!) I'm gonna talk about the LA Galaxy and the coming of one Posh Sp...I mean David Beckham. The (rumoured so long we never thought it was really gonna happen) move of Becks from Real Madrid to MLS will take lace after Real's season ends. Beckham should suit it up come August. The deal is a reported $250 million over five years, so Dave and Vicky will find something to do during all his down time. Well, when it comes to sheer money MLS is no longer a minor league, particularly when you compare this deal to A-Rod's ($225 million over 10 years). Mark Mulder may have gotten his $13 million over two years, but Beckham will make $100 million during the same period. Good Lord. From ESPN : Former England captain David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and sign a five-year deal for MLS team Los Angeles Galaxy, he told Reuters on Thursday. "This week Real Madrid asked ...

If you are getting this news here for the first time I'd be surprised, but they say over at the PD : After a winter that included his marriage, and courtship by more teams than he ever expected, lefthanded starting pitcher Mark Mulder elected to re-sign with the Cardinals for two years with a team option for a third, the Post-Dispatch learned Wednesday. The 29-year-old lefty, who will spend the first half of the season rehabbing a surgically repaired shoulder, chose to return to the Cardinals over two aggressive suitors, the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. Mulder made the decision Wednesday, just a few days after general manager Walt Jocketty visited Arizona to meet in person with Mulder’s agent. It was during these conversations that the Cardinals upped their initial offer to a contract that guarantees Mulder $13 million. The contract includes a team option for a third season, the salary of which will be determined by the incentives he reaches in 2008. The contract could pay...

Hey, hey! We got something going on the road?!? A goal from Hinote?? A pretty highlight quality assist from Backes?? Dallas Drake the game winner?!?!? These are not the Blues I knew last year. Stopping a hot New Jersey team and beating Brodeur are special things. The Blues have won 8 or their last 11. 8 wins in 11. The Blues. I'm not joking. Hey boys! Go out tonight for a cold one. You deserve it.

Well, it has been a long time since the following could have been said about a Blues victory: (From the PD) But perhaps for the first time this season, the Blues won a game they didn't necessarily deserve. The truth of the matter is that good teams have ways of winning such games. The Blues were good enough consistently that I took it for granted there would be a certain number of these over the course of the season. Ever since the lockout ended, however, if the Blues were a step slow (like they were last week in the first game against the Blackhawks) they lost. So this is encouraging. I'll admit it is a baby step (Columbus has had their own difficulties) but I cannot complain about the direction. Hey! Let's hear it for Lee Stempniak's seven game point streak!

It is good to see Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn make the Hall of Fame in style. (Although I'm not sure how anyone could vote against either of them.) I was surprised to see Mark McGuire's name get on around 25% of the ballots. I had though he might pop up on 10% or so. I wonder if this presages him actually making it in a few years from now. There did seem to be a group of voters who think McGuire is a Hall of Famer...just not a FIRST BALLOT Hall of Famer. I think it is a silly distinction, but there it is.

Good win on the road against a tough Gillingham side. Gilingham FC 1 - 2 Swansea City Minute Player Score 8" Nugent 0 - 1 10" Sancho 1 - 1 10" Nugent 1 - 2 Now that is what I call an interesting first 11 minutes. Yellow Cards: 14" Di Michele, Gillingham FC We remian in 8th this week. Lots of work yet to do. Pos Name Played Points Won Drew Lost For Against Diff. 1 Brentford FC 29 66 20 6 3 38 6 32 2 Nottingham Forest 29 65 19 8 2 47 14 33 3 Port Vale 29 65 20 5 4 43 12 31 4 Huddersfield Town 29 63 18 9 2 49 11 38 5 Barnsley FC 29 61 19 4 6 46 18 28 6 Gillingham FC 29 55 16 7 6 43 16 27 7 Doncaster Rovers 29 48 15 3 11 39 28 11 8 Swansea City 29 46 14 4 11 37 30 7 9 AFC Bournemouth 29 46 15 1 13 36 36 0 10 Hartlepool United 29 44 13 5 11 38 22 16 11 Milton Keynes Dons 29 44 14 2 13 32 24 8 12 Scunthorpe United 29...

As predicted, we had an easy time of it on the road at Watford. Watford 0 - 3 Man City Minute Player Score 58" Beasley 0 - 1 59" Carrière 0 - 2 87" Beasley 0 - 3 Yellow Cards: 16" Spring, Watford 32" Foster, Watford 64" DeMerit, Watford 66" Francis, Watford 83" Alexandersson, Watford On a down note Tristan was injured and will be out a couple of weeks. We stay in 3rd this week, with a big home fixture against Aresnal up next. Pos Name Played Points Won Drew Lost For Against Diff. 1 Chelsea 33 83 26 5 2 71 13 58 2 Manchester United 33 73 22 7 4 67 16 51 3 Manchester City 33 67 21 4 8 57 18 39 4 Liverpool 33 66 21 3 9 55 29 26 5 Blackburn Rovers 33 58 18 4 11 46 25 21 6 Arsenal 33 57 17 6 10 53 32 21 7 Fulham 33 57 17 6 10 42 34 8 8 Aston Villa 33 56 16 8 9 41 30 11 9 Bolton Wanderers 33 53 15 8 10 37 22 15 10 Tottenha...

Head on over to BBTF for some computer projections for the 2007 season. (Curtain call for El Birdos .) I loved this comment by someone of BBTF: Huh, those aren't bad projections from Rodriguez or Duncan at all--that would still probably make Duncan a pretty bad player, given that he plays the outfield like he's trying to solve a Rubik's Cube while being strafed by World War I biplanes

Ever since MLS got going, while I was living in the DC area, I was always worried that my old hometown of St. Louis would be granted an expansion franchise. I was a DC United fan...but could I root against the team from back home?? I'm not sure. Then today I read this: Collinsville may develop stadium for MLS expansion team Collinsville Mayor Stan Schaeffer acknowledged Saturday that Collinsville is the Metro East site that is under consideration as the potential home of a Major League Soccer franchise in the St. Louis area. Schaeffer said he was encouraged by a meeting Friday. "The city and the investment group, the economic development office and our corporate counsel have been crunching numbers,'' he said. "It hasn't looked good to this point, but it's looking better. "I know it's going slowly, but we would like to have a handle on the ancillary economic development and see if that's adequate enough for us to make a move." The propo...

I knew I shouldn't have gotten excited about the Billikens this season. I KNEW IT...and I did it anyway . St. Louis University's season went from bad to worse on Saturday night. In the wake of a bad loss to St. Bonaventure, one of the two worst teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Billikens lost 73-63 to the other one, Duquesne at Scottrade Center, leaving it unclear who in the conference they can beat the way things are going now. Some of the few fans who remained in the building booed at the final buzzer. For SLU, this was the week that stunk. "To start with the obvious, I can't personally imagine a tougher start to our conference season than this,'' Billikens coach Brad Soderberg said. "When expectations are high and you start out this way it's very, very difficult to swallow." After starting the season 9-2, the Billikens have lost three of four games and, even with a 10-5 record and half the season to play, have seen their NCAA hopes now ...

I swear to God, I'm not a paranoid by nature, but the officiating in the NHL is doing its best to make one out of me. From the PD : The club lost its bid Saturday to set an NHL record for consecutive first periods without allowing a goal. Nashville's Vernon Fiddler appeared to kick in the puck 2:08 into the period. Though the net came of its moorings on the play, neither of those reasons stopped officials from calling it good after a lengthy review. "I have to see the replay, but as far as I know, I made the first save ... it rolled down my leg and a stick never touched it," Legace said. "The puck was on the line and his toe went (forward). That's kicking in my book." It should be kicking in everyone's book. Chances are this team will not be making the playoffs, but the NHL has to do everything in its power to keep them from having other accomplishments as well. Typical. Of course it is frustrating to lose to Nashville again, particularly since a...

Pretty easy time of it this week. Man. City 3 - 0 Sheffield United Minute Player Score 7" Beasley 1 - 0 74" Samaras 2 - 0 85" Beasley 3 - 0 Yellow Cards: 26" Gillespie, Sheffield United 27" Miller, Manchester City 52" Ifill, Sheffield United 55" Beasley, Manchester City 65" Isaksson, Manchester City Red Cards: 85" Ünal, Sheffield United This win put us into 3rd, just behind Manchester United and Chelsea. I don't think I can catch Chelsea but I have an outside shot at becoming the top dog in Manchester this season. Pos Name Played Points Won Drew Lost For Against Diff. 1 Chelsea 32 82 26 4 2 71 13 58 2 Manchester United 32 70 21 7 4 62 16 46 3 Manchester City 32 64 20 4 8 54 18 36 4 Liverpool 32 63 20 3 9 54 29 25 5 Arsenal 32 57 17 6 9 53 31 22 6 Blackburn Rovers 32 57 18 3 11 46 25 21 7 Aston Villa 32 55 16 7 9 41 30 11 8 Fulha...

Tough home fixture this week..but we nipped it in the end! Swansea City 1 - 0 Doncaster Rovers Yellow Cards: 22" Coppinger, Doncaster Rovers 25" Cissé, Swansea City 55" Rigoglioso, Doncaster Rovers 56" Ricketts, Swansea City 90" Predic, Doncaster Rovers 93" Ahmed, Swansea City With this win Swansea jumps all the way to 8th in the table! Next week we go on the road against a Gillingham club that is in 6th, but 12 points ahead of Swansea in the standings. Crunch time! Pos Name Played Points Won Drew Lost For Against Diff. 1 Nottingham Forest 28 65 19 8 1 47 11 36 2 Brentford FC 28 63 19 6 3 35 6 29 3 Port Vale 28 62 19 5 4 40 12 28 4 Barnsley FC 28 61 19 4 5 46 15 31 5 Huddersfield Town 28 60 17 9 2 46 10 36 6 Gillingham FC 28 55 16 7 5 42 14 28 7 Doncaster Rovers 28 45 14 3 11 38 28 10 8 Swansea City 28 43 13 4 11 35 29 6 9 AFC Bournemouth 28 ...