Really Guys, I'm Flattered

Man, the Minnesota Thunder is going all out to get me as a fan. First there was this:

The Minnesota Thunder announced today the signing of former D.C. United forward Quavas Kirk and former Seattle Sounders midfielder, Youssouf Kante pending USSF approval. Kirk has signed a two-year contract with one option year, and Kante has signed a three year contract.

Then there was this:

The Minnesota Thunder announced today the signing of former DC United midfielder Rodion Dyachenko and Maryland Terrapins defender Rich Costanzo. Dyachenko has signed a two year contract with one option year and Costanzo has signed a three year contract. Both players will join the Thunder when they start preseason training on March 13.

Dyachenko, born in Russia, finished his third season with DC United in 2008, playing in 42 games and logging 1,452 minutes with one goal and three assists. He was selected 31st overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft out of UNLV.

Shit, they are signing so many DC United cast-offs I half expect the signing of Mario Gori at any moment. (I'm contractually obligated to make a Mario Gori reference every 36 months.)

I will say this... if this is a plot to get me to more Thunder games this year, it is a good plot. I'm pathetic enough they had me at Quavas Kirk.

Good

Nice to see my evil thoughts about AC Milan and David Beckham are bearing fruit.

AC Milan was knocked out of the UEFA Cup on away goals Thursday after surrendering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Werder Bremen.

Andrea Pirlo put a Milan team including David Beckham ahead with a 27th-minute penalty and Alexandre Pato made it 2-0 six minutes later, but Peru striker Claudio Pizarro scored twice to eliminate the seven-time European champions and set up a meeting with Saint-Etienne in the round of 16.

Ha. Go Inter.

Last Night

Last nights Blues-Stars game was for all intents and purposes a playoff game. The hitting, especially on the Stars part, was what you'd expect from a team with everything to play for.

However, the Blues played a near perfect road game and got out with the vital regulation win.

Oh yeah.

Dammit. There is no reason why this Blues team, the one on the ice this year, cannot make the playoffs. I want it, and I want to get San Jose in the first round. We owe those bastards from 1999-2000. Never would a table-turning scenario be sweeter.

But, first things first...we got to keep winning. We are sitting three points out and there is still a lot of hockey to play. Here's to hoping the Coyotes phone in the game on Saturday.

I've Got A New Gig

Don't worry fans, this is a supplemental gig, and not a replacement for GASL. But, I've been invited to write a weekly column for St. Louis Game Time, the best St. Louis Blues blog... ever. There was no way I could say no. Not when the prospect of having this much fun was in the offing.

So, every Friday I will be posting over there. Come along for a read.

Big Game Tonight

Blues in Dallas.

What the Blues do tonight will say a lot about what the rest of this season looks like. If fighting for that last playoff spot in really in the offing then a win tonight (and Saturday in Phoenix) is a necessity. Ideally, this would be a regulation win as the stupid three point games are just killing the Blues. Anything less, I fear, my result in the Blues looking to next season.

In one sense that wouldn't be so bad, as I think the Blues will be pretty good next year, but I would love to get Oshie, Backes, Perron and Berglund a taste of the playoffs this year.

Plus, I just miss it.

GO BLUES!

Damn, Patrik Berglund Must Have A Big Extended Family

Really big: Red Wings GM says season-opener tix gone in Sweden

The Swedes are excited to watch some of their countrymen open the NHL season in Stockholm,

Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said Wednesday that tickets for their season-opening games against the St. Louis Blues sold out in less than an hour.

Then again, maybe it wasn't Berglund that was the cause. What could inspire taciturn Swedes more than the chance of seeing Brad Winchester on the ice?

Signs Of Spring

and...



Florida 5, St. Louis 5
Preview - Box Score - Recap
Line Score

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
FLORIDA 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 5 10
ST LOUIS 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 5 12 (END BOTTOM 9)

AC Milan And Beckham Can Go Fuck Themselves

AC Milan...what a bunch of idiots.

The vice president of AC Milan says the club's offer of $3 million for David Beckham was the market rate and it won't be increased.

The Los Angeles Galaxy recently turned down the offer, calling it 'ridiculous.' Adriano Galliani said in Saturday editions of La Gazzetta dello Sport there won't be another offer.

Good. I certainly hope they crash out of all competitions without winning a thing this season. If they don't realize that LA and MLS couldn't possibly sell Beckham for anything less than the per year amount they brought him into the league for, then there is no hope for them. And why Beckham would want to tie himself to such a team is beyond me. (Oh yeah, on AC Milan Beckham can be the 11th best player on his side and no one would notice.... sorry I forgot. When he weekly is only the 4th or 5th best player on the pitch for the Galaxy it's pretty fucking obvious.)

I Like Garber

That makes a grand total of one sports commishes I can say that about. Here is why:

MLS Commissioner Don Garber is getting fed up with the David Beckham issue and whether the English superstar will remain with the Galaxy or move permanently to AC Milan. In an exclusive interview with the Insider, he set a Friday deadline to finalize a deal. Beckham, who has played two seasons with Los Angeles, is currently on loan to the Italian power.

"By Friday, he is either coming back or he is transferred," Garber said. "If it is not resolved by Friday, I will not approve the transfer. This has been going on too long. I understand Milan needs to come to some conclusion on their own and I understand from David's comments that he would like to find a way to stay. The only way that happens is if Milan makes an offer to buy him out of his contract that makes sense for MLS and makes sense for the Galaxy. We've got tickets to sell, games to schedule, sponsors have programs, we have promotions being planned with ESPN and many of our commercial partners, and this just can't continue to drag on. There is no reason for it to drag on. It's either going to happen or it's not going to happen."

Garber has this 100% correct. If AC Milan cannot pay the going market rate for Beckham then they should just shut-up now. The idea that MLS should just eat the Beckham contract is utterly moronic, and Garber is right to say, in effect, "The hell with this shit."

Beckham might just have to live with the idea that he will back in MLS, at least until the summer transfer window opens. But, if he is back in MLS, he can only blame himself and AC Milan.

Blues Goalies: Freaking Disaster Area

First it was Manny Legace shitting all over the Blues season... now it is Chris Mason throwing games away with crappy play.

For everything the Blues organization has done right with their skaters, they have done nothing to supply the Blues with NHL quality goal keeping. Not a fucking thing.

Oh, there are lots of shitty back-ups and "prospects" that all turn out to be failed "projects," but there is never anyone the team can count on game in and game out. Given the importance of the position this failure is inexcusable.

And it is getting old really fast.

Contracted (In A Good Way)

Four more years! Four more years!

In sports, it can take a while to close a book on a trade, whether it was good or bad for a team.

In the case of the Blues' move in December 2007, which brought in Andy McDonald and sent Doug Weight to Anaheim, the book was reopened again on Monday.

McDonald, 31, signed a four-year, $18.8 million contract extension with the Blues, a signature that without the trade might have been unlikely this summer in free agency.

But after playing 49 games with the Blues last season, and 16 more this year before fracturing his ankle, McDonald said he became comfortable with the idea of being in St. Louis.

"There's a number of things you have to consider when you are negotiating a contract and certainly (the young talent in St. Louis) was one of the biggest," McDonald said. "You look at the team, and the potential for success down the road, even this year, and that was a big reason.

"I'm really happy here. I've been treated well, it's a good spot for my family, so there were a lot of real important reasons to stay and so I was really happy to re-sign."

The contract for McDonald, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, will average $4.7 million a season. The actual money being paid is $5.2 million each of the first two years and $4.2 million in the final two years.

You gotta like this. McDonald was going to get plenty of attention in free agency, so even if you might have been able to get him more cheaply it might not have been worth the risk that someone else might throw even more money at him.

Additionally, in terms of this team at this time in its development it makes sense to keep McDonald around. When healthy he would still be the number one center for the Blues, and at $4.2 million he's a perfect number two center when Berglund is ready to move into that number one role.

It also says a lot that McDonald believes so strongly in the young talent the Blues have in the organization.

The Blues are not amkign many missteps as an organization these days. It makes me afraid I won't have enough to bitch about.

I'll take it anyway.

Legace Waived

I have to say it....Legace deserved to get benched in favor of Mason. Manny played so poorly of late it is hard to argue that a demotion wasn't warranted too. To that end:

The Blues placed goaltender Manny Legace on waivers this morning, and they will know this weekend whether Legace has been claimed by another National Hockey League team.

If he is not, Legace -- who turned 36 on Wednesday -- will be sent to Peoria.

Well, maybe Manny can turn this into a good thing. Get down to Peoria, get a lot of ice time, and get back into the groove. The important thing is to have the right attitude about the situation.

Or not.

"It's extremely tough," Legace said. "You play your heart out for a team, and the minute you hit a little bit of a rough patch, they dump on you....

WTF? Whose game tapes has been watching? Manny's play this year has been so poor I've been longing for the return of Roman Turek, and that's just sad. Really Manny, take it from all of us Blues fans. Your entire season has been crap. The performance against Detroit (3 goals on 8 shots against a Red Wings team that was barely efforting) was the most embarrassing performance by a Blues goalie in a very long time. Had Andy Murray been paying closer attention Legace would have been pulled after the blooper reel of a second goal where Manny was completely befuddled.

Look, I know Manny has been a warrior for a team that hasn't been very good. But he is now costing an improving team a chance to win. There is a reason this team has lost so many one goal games, and it is Manny's inability to come up with that one save you need your goalie to make. At their best goalies make the rest of the players feel "Hey, I can do my job because the goalie has my back."

Manny hasn't had anyone's back this season, and everybody knows it.

I Can't Decide

Alright, you tell me. Is the following by Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle the sign of thoughtful analysis or morning drinking? Cards’ kids could trump Cubs’ vets for division title

I still like the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central. Who cares if the Cubs have spent like drunken sailors?

The Cubs have thrown money around the last three winters, and all it has gotten them is more disappointment. Does anyone think Milton Bradley is going to decide a division race?

Besides, the Cardinals have something the Cubs don’t: depth in the minor league system.

Hmmm... minor league system depth as trump card. I'm not sure I buy it completely. for example, the Minnesota Twins have traditionally had a pretty good farm system which has largely kept them respectable (or more than respectable), but I'm not sure any of the teams in their division have the deep pockets the Cubs are showing off. The main division rivals of the Twins (the White Sox, Indians and Tigers) basically have to construct teams the same way the Twins do.

The Cubs, on the other hand, seem to be positioning themselves to take the Yankees/Red Sox model for the foreseeable future. Just ask the rest of the American League East; farm system depth can only do so much.

The Cardinals might win 90 games or lose 90. They don’t have as much money as the Cubs, so they have to count on more kids. Counting on kids is risky business. But if the kids don’t get overwhelmed, they bring an energy to the clubhouse that a Milton Bradley simply can’t.

The Cardinals have done things right in player development, so even with little payroll flexibility, they’ve got a chance to contend.

Check out the National League Central. The Brewers and Astros have gotten worse, and the Reds and Pirates are still building.

The Cubs could still make the playoffs without adding another piece. At worst, they seem to be competing with the Phillies, Mets and Braves for the NL wild-card berth.

Sure, St. Louis fans may want the team to add Manny Ramirez or Adam Dunn or Ben Sheets. They’re all still unsigned, and as the market continues to spiral south, the Cardinals may decide they need one of them.

Then again, if the Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright both stay healthy, the Cardinals could again end up atop the National League.

Neither player is certain to avoid the disabled list. Carpenter has made just four starts the last two seasons, and even though medical reports about his recovery from elbow surgery are positive, it’s impossible to know what he has until he takes the mound.

Wainwright started and ended last season as the Cardinals’ ace. In between, he was sidelined almost three months with a finger injury. He, too, will be healthy on the first day of spring training.

No National League team is better than the Cardinals if those two are healthy.

Sheesh, this seems optimistic, but I'm willing to drink the kool-aid as long as it is the color red.

Fuck Pittsburgh

And the officials.

And fuck senile prick John Madden.

They can't even call a forward pass correctly.

All NFL officials should be executed by gang rape.