Points From Safety

As of right now the magic number of points needed by Notts County to avoid relegation is: 35

The teams most in danger of making the drop are:

Plymouth
Walsall
Swindon
Bristol Rovers

The Magpies could still have something to say about the promotion races if they can win their games in hand.

Bye Bye Winchester

Just heard on NHL Radio, Brad Winchester to Anaheim for a third round pick.

I'm pleased we got back a third rounder for Brad. Actually, I'm shocked by the third rounder.

Hmmm...do we have enough bodies left for four lines?

Bye Bye Boyes

Well, you cannot say the Blues are standing pat: Blues deal Boyes to Buffalo

The Buffalo Sabres came calling about Brad Boyes, and with an abundance of right wingers, the Blues were ready to listen.

Late Sunday night, they sent Boyes to the Sabres for a second-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft.

The Blues' recent acquisition of Chris Stewart from Colorado created a logjam on the right side, and with Boyes' drop in goal-scoring the past two seasons, general manager Doug Armstrong pulled off the swap less than 24 hours before today's 2 p.m. trading deadline.

"When we got a call on Brad, I looked at our roster today and also looked at it moving forward," Armstrong said. "With the addition of Stewart and knowing (David) Perron is coming back at some point (from a concussion), it was necessary to make the move now while it was available.

"You just have to manage your assets. With Stewart, Perron and T.J. Oshie (on the right side), we had to create space. We had too many right wingers."

Not to mention this gives the Blues approximately a gazillion dollars worth of cap space next season, which could come in handy dealing with restricted free agents like Oshie and Berglund.

Still, Boyes has been a good warrior and I'll be sorry to see him go. I thought something might have been up as Boyes has been getting a few shifts of the top line of late. Yes, they have needed to shuffle things up as the Blues have had a punishing schedule of late, but it still felt like they were showcasing Brad. Good luck to him in Buffalo.

The Blues acquired Buffalo's second-round pick, which could give them as many as three second-round picks in 2011.

The team received a conditional second-round pick from Colorado in the Erik Johnson trade, but that might not be used until 2012, depending on where the Blues finish in this year's standings. The club also has two third-round picks, after receiving one from Tampa Bay in the trade involving Eric Brewer.

Armstrong said the accumulation of draft picks doesn't mean the Blues will take all of those selections to the draft in June. He indicated that the picks could be used in trades.

"Part of getting these draft picks is that it gives us good options to move draft picks for NHL players," Armstrong said. "The potential allows us to maybe do some of that tomorrow. Now we have picks in play that we didn't have. There's not a 100 guarantee we will use these picks at the draft."

It's funny. The Blues and Armstrong have gone from "I think we are done" after the trades of Brewer, Johnson and McClement, to "LET'S MAKE A DEAL!"

Today could be interesting.

Words That Go Well Together: "Card's Pitching Prospect" & "Wow"

Encouraging words from Cardinals camp:

Saturday's most significant moment for the Cardinals front office may have taken place on a rear field while the intrasquad was going on inside the main stadium.

Righthanded pitcher Carlos Martinez, the most promising arm the club has signed since renewing its commitment to scouting and player development in the Caribbean, threw for the first time before general manager John Mozeliak and farm director John Vuch...

...Martinez's fastball 'sits" in the mid-90s, with the ability to touch 98-99 miles per hour. The teenager exhibited a loose but hurried arm action Saturday in a somewhat pressurized setting. At one point Cardinals bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist told Martinez to slow down. At another point Martinez interrupted his session to gulp water. "You could tell he was amped up," Vuch said. "But he was good."

Until Saturday, Mozeliak's exposure to Martinez had been limited to video. But even before Martinez took the mound, Mozeliak saw the new man in camp throwing in the outfield and uttered "wow."

A lot of the pitching prospects coming out of the Cardinals farm system the last few years have lacked that "wow" factor, so it is nice to get some sizzle there. Scouts seem to think highly of Shelby Miller as well, so maybe this isn't a fluke.

A boy can dream.

Behold! The Power Of The Blog!

Tremble mere mortals!

Tonight the Blues are playing the Edmonton Oilers, a minor league hockey team from someplace in Canada. The Blues are featuring these are their top two lines:

First Line: Steen - McDonald - Backes
Second Line: Stewart - Berglund - Oshie

OK, it isn't exactly the lines I put forward, but Stewart and Backes were indeed broken up. Just as I suggested.

The result? With 4 minutes left the Blues are up 4-0.

A Friendly Piece Of Advice For The Blues

I've watched the pairing up of David Backes and Chris Stewart (centered by Andy McDonalad) on our top line for four games now and, while it works just fine, it is a luxury we cannot afford. Our second line, Oshie and Steen centered by Berglund, lacks a little muscle. My suggestion is for Steen and Backes to swap spots.

This would give us:

First Line: Steen - McDonald - Stewart
Second Line: Backes - Berglund - Oshie
Third Line: D'Agostini - Sobotka - Boyes (This line has been excellent.)
Fourth Line: Three of the various other guys.

Now, this won't help us win games this year as our defense is simply too young to keep pucks out of the net consistently, but we should be better offensively.

And maybe, just maybe, we could be fun to watch. I don't think that is too much to ask considering we will not be watching the Blues in the playoffs. Again.

Confirming What We Already Knew

The Cards are screwed: Wainwright set for Tommy John surgery

St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will require Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow and he will miss the entire 2011 season, the club confirmed this morning.

General manager John Mozeliak made the announcement at about 10 a.m. St. Louis time after a discussion with the pitcher and the team physician. All parties had been waiting on the results of a second opinion requested Wednesday evening from Dr. Lewis Yocum in the Los Angeles area.

"We have confirmed that Adam Wainwright will require Tommy John surgery. So obviously, he'll be out for the year," Mozeliak said. "Not a real surprise to us, but certainly a disappointment and a finality to this process. As we look to the future now we certainly beleive that we have a strong starting rotation on this club. And now we're going to have to try and fill it in terms of a fifth spot."

The surgery date has not been set, but Wainwright will have the procedure done in St. Louis by Cardinals physician George Paletta.

Mozeliak said that the recovery is usually 12 to 15 months.

"You're losing an ace," Mozeliak said. "It's not something you can replace over night."

Or in a week, or a month, or a season... We get the picture.

I never thought I'd say this, but will we end up missing Blake Hawksworth?

Maybe...

Mozeliak and manager Tony La Russa both repeated Wednesday's opinion that their first step will be to fill the spot from within. Kyle McClellan shifted into the starters' workout group on Wednesday, and other candidates have been identified, from Raul Valdes to Lance Lynn. La Russa said he has six or seven candidates in mind for the opening, and it's possible that a committee could form to fill that spot through the season until one seizes the job.

McClellan and Ian Snell are two of the pitchers with starting intent or starting experience who will throw to hitters today at camp.

*sniff* Can you smell the rash of under three inning starts? Hint: it smells like a mix between urine and desperation.

Alright, I may be overreacting here, but we are one more injury to the starting pitching away from panic mode.

Roster-itis

Steve Goff has been going over the roster possibilities for DC United:

GoalkeepersIn camp: Steve Cronin, Bill Hamid, Chase Harrison, Pat Onstad, Joe Willis....

If the season began today, the starter would be: Onstad. He's fit and carries decades of experience. He didn't have a great 2010 in Houston, but until Hamid is cleared and regains match rhythm, Onstad is the most realistic option.

My take: This is worrying. Onstad should be a steadying influence, but you cannot like to see DC's Plan A discarded so early. Cronin's injury could be a killer in the early season, particularly if Hamid isn't 100%.

Defenders
In camp: Rodrigo Brasesco, Marc Burch, Dejan Jakovic, Perry Kitchen, Chris Korb, Devon McTavish, Ethan White, Daniel Woolard, Jed Zayner....

If the season began today, the starters would be: Zayner on the right, Jakovic and the Kitchen -- whom the club has fallen head over heels in love with -- and Burch on the left.

My take: It's good to hear they like Kitchen so much. Hopefully there is good reason to be besotted. I'm not sure about our depth here. If we pick up an injury or two will we be wanting Julius James back?

Midfielders
In camp: Branko Boskovic, Fred, Junior Carreiro, Stephen King, Dax McCarty, Kurt Morsink, Andy Najar, Santino Quaranta, Conor Shanosky, Clyde Simms, Brandon Barklage....

If the season started today, the starters would be: In a four-man midfield with two deep central midfielders, it would be Simms and McCarty, with Najar and Boskovic on the flanks, or McCarty and Boskovic centrally, with Najar and Quaranta wide. With five in midfield, you could see Simms and McCarty supporting Boskovic or Najar, and then Boskovic or Najar and Quaranta on the wings. Morsink is the first option off the bench in a holding role, and Fred, in his second stint with DCU, promises an element of flair in attack.

A good solid group which should represent the strength of the tem going forward. I'm hoping that Barklage gets to stick. He looked pretty good last year before he got banged up, but the influx of talent will make it an uphill battle for him.

Forwards
In camp: Blake Brettschneider, Charlie Davies, Joseph Ngwenya, Chris Pontius, Josh Wolff, Sergio Villarreal....

If the season started today, the starters would be: Davies is on his way to a starting job. Today? Perhaps not. Three weeks from now, yes, probably. If Olsen goes with five in midfield, Davies would serve as the front-runner. In a four-man alignment, a Davies-Pontius partnership carries promise. Quaranta and Najar are also options up front.

My take: Could be better, but, since Davies signed, could be a hell of a lot worse.

It's weird to have 30 man rosters in MLS. I'm used to bare bones skeleton crews. Real depth will be novel!

Game Over

And, no, this is not a post about the truly woeful (and damn near unwatchable) Blues. (I'm so pissed I cannot speak rationally about them.)

Nope. This time it's the Cardinals whose chance for a successful season has just vanished. Read and weep:

St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright has flown back to St. Louis this morning to have his right elbow examined this afternoon after he experienced discomfort in the joint.

General manager John Mozeliak said he believes it is a "significant injury" and the early word is "not encouraging."

Tommy John surgery is one alternative to repair the damage for which Wainwright is being checked.

"After his bullpen on Monday, he did feel something in his right elbow," Mozeliak said. "I can say just based on the initial evaluation from our training staff, things do not look encouraging. But before we jump to any conclusions, we'll just wait until the re-evaluation this afternoon."

Mozeliak said there would be an update Wednesday afternoon.

It won't be an "update," it will be a confirmation. In all the years I've followed baseball I've never once seen this set-up not lead to season ending surgery.

Wainwright only has himself to blame, really. He jinxed himself:

A checkup in November, however, assured him and the Cardinals of the joint's stability and structure, and even a few weeks ago, as spring training started, Wainwright insisted that he wasn't concerned about the joint.

"My ligament is intact and strong," Wainwright said in a Feb. 10 Post-Dispatch story. "It's not like it's ready to pop."

Great.

The Cardinals will not actively suck, but their margin for real success is razor thin. It will mostly depend on people like Ian Snell, but the reality of the matter is neither Wainwright or Chris Carpenter are replaceable.

Depressing for fans (and I'm sure no picnic for Waino.)

FA Cup: Manchester City v. Notts County

I suppose I should just be thankful this is a game I get to see. It isn't too often any League One side finds itself on American television. That it is a match the Pies have almost no chance of winning should probably be beside the point.

Not that that will be a comfort if City thumps them well and good.

Still, the game is 43 minutes old and Notts is playing great. They are down 1 nil, but it could easily be 1-1 (Notts hit the post early on, and they just had a glorious chance in the 44th minute as I type this.) Gow, in particular, looks great.

Keep it up you Pies!

UPDATE:

After 62 minutes: Man City 2 - 0 Notts County

Notts is still playing pretty well, but set pieces have killed them. I'm just hoping they can find the back of the net at least once.

UPDATE:

The bottom has fallen out. Man City 5 - 0 Notts County

Its too bad, the score line in no way reflects the actual game. It really flatters Man City.

Well, That Was Fun

In a reverse Airplane! moment, I think I picked the right time to buy the Center Ice package, about 5 minutes before last night's Blues game. Goals galore as Stewart has 2 in debut:

There was an obvious purpose behind the personnel moves management made before the Blues played host to Anaheim on Saturday at the Scot - What's the Latest - trade Center. You might wrap it up in one word: offense.

And the early results can be trusted, the desired effect was accomplished. Put it this way: if the Blues had generated any more offense, "Towel Man" would have needed shoulder surgery.

With three players enjoying two-goal games, including newly acquired forward Chris Stewart, the Blues overwhelmed the Ducks 9-3 in front of a sellout crowd.

"The last nine-goal game I was in, we lost 9-1 in Colorado," said a smiling Stewart. "It's definitely good to be on the other side."

Considering the Avs went out last night, with Johnson and McClement on the ice for them for the first time, and tamely submitted 4-0 to the Sharks, I have to believe there are some unhappy fans in Colorado today. They should probably relax. The trade was meant to benefit them in the long term. There is little doubt they otherwise are sending up the white flag this season.

On the other hand, the Blues did get immediate help, and it showed. Even when the Blues have played well this season they have rarely been able to open up a lead on anyone. Granted, it helped last night that Anaheim had their goaltending provided by Girl Scout Troop #3156 (hey gals, I want my Samoas!), but there is little doubt Stewart provides much needed firepower.

We shall see how things go. Blackhawks next on Monday.

United Roster Moves

The brain trust in D.C. is keeping busy.

Julius James has been waived.

Pat Onstad has un-retired to take a place in the United net.

Fred has been reacquired for a draft pick.

Of these moves only the James release makes me slightly uneasy. I'll be the first to admit James is not the first name that leaps to mind when you think of stalwart central defenders. That being said, he did play the best in that position of the players we had around last season. It's good that D.C. is confident in their new signings, but we have all seen players new to MLS struggle.

Fingers crossed.

Bye Bye EJ

Sheesh. This is getting to be a habit with the Blues:

Jay McClement and Erik Johnson are going to Colorado.

Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk are coming to St. Louis.

Fans of both teams think they got screwed.

Well, I don't know about screwed, but it certainly seems it the Blues who have taken the far bigger risk here. Of the four players involved only Johnson has the potential to be a dominant player in this league. If he develops into what the Blues originally saw in him we may be kicking ourselves for years.

In Stewart the Blues finally have added some offensive help. He's a big strong kid who has feasted on the Blues in the past. I will be interested in getting more of a look at him. Shattenkirk is a rookie who is having the customary ups and downs rookies have in this league. Still, after moving EJ and Brewer in consecutive days the Blues were smart in adding a D-man.

Losing McClement hurts me. Silent Jay was my favorite Blue in this group, a role he took over when Stempniak was traded. (Note: If you are a Blues player who would liked to be shipped out just drop me a line and I will make you my new favorite player. A call from the GM will quickly follow I'm sure.)

I sure hope this works.

Bye Bye Brewer

Eric Brewer has been traded to Tampa:

The Boston Bruins weren't the only contender in the Eastern Conference to beef up on the blue line Friday.

Tampa Bay acquired defenseman Eric Brewer from the St. Louis Blues for prospect Brock Beukeboom and a third-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft. Brewer, who has been captain in St. Louis since the 2007-08 season, had 8 goals and 14 points in 54 games for the Blues.

The 31-year-old Brewer is averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time per game this season, a total he has achieved in seven of the previous eight seasons.

Brewer was going to be a free agent after this season, and the Blues have more than enough defense in the organization already, so it makes some sense to get something for him if you can. Beukeboom is only 18 and a long way from suiting up for any NHL team, but he does extend our prospect depth at the position.

Now, if this signals the Blues are giving up the ghost this year I'm not sure. All the talk had been moving some of our defensive depth in order to get some scoring help. This move obviously didn't do that. Wait and see seems to be the order of the day.

Arsenal v. Barcelona

Thoughts after 30 minutes, Barca up 1 nil:

• Barcelona looks to be in a different class from Arsenal.
• Nasri needs to be subbed off sooner rather than later.
• Arsenal looks to be not only outclassed but frightened.
• Messi missed an easy chance. He won't miss a second.

We shall see what the next half hour will bring.

It's Official: Charlie Davies To United

Things continue to look up on my soccer front:

After several days of negotiations, the MLS club announced Wednesday that it has acquired the former U.S. national team starter from French club Sochaux on a one-year loan. United will also have the option to purchase his contract at the end of the season.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources close to the situation said United agreed to pay Davies about $300,000 [UPDATE: I'm now told it's around $180,000] and include several incentives. To claim him, United exercised its position at the top of the MLS allocation order, which is utilized when prominent U.S. players decide to play in the league.

United will formally introduce the 24-year-old forward at a 2 p.m. news conference at RFK Stadium (live video on the team's Web site). Davies, who has been practicing with the club for the past two weeks, will then fly to Oxnard, Calif., for the third stage of training camp. He will wear uniform No. 9, his national team designation.

Before agreeing to the deal, United spent two weeks evaluating Davies, who 16 months ago was severely injured in a car accident in the Washington area while on national team duty. He has not played in a first-division game since, spending the first half of this French season with Sochaux's reserve squad.

"He simply looks terrific," United General Manager Dave Kasper said.

This is a crucial singing for DC. When you looked at how the roster was set up without Davies on it, there was little sense anyone would be troubled by it. A healthy Davies, however, changes everything. Finally Quaranta and Najar will have someone they can link up with consistently. Last year watching Allsopp and Cristman flail about was disheartening. It was reverse alchemy. Solid gold chances were reduced to half-chances, and half-chances never materialized at all. Getting Ngwenya and Wolff may have been a baby step in the right direction, they at least have some MLS track-record, but Davies represents a huge leap forward.

If Pontius and Najar can remain healthy and each continues his progression United could be dramatically improved.

Just To Have Some Good News On Here

Well, not everything is lost:

Notts County eased any relegation fears with a comfortable win over Colchester.

The U's David Mooney went close early on as his 25-yard chip beat Magpies goalkeeper Stuart Nelson, only to clip the post and bounce wide.

Notts then wrested control of the game and went ahead when Alan Gow set free Craig Westcarr, who poked the ball past Mark Cousins and tapped home.

It was 2-0 soon afterwards when Nathan Clarke deflected Connor Clifford's corner into his own net.

It wasn't that there was a credible relegation fear really, but there were a couple poor performances of late. The Pies may be only 4 points above the drop zone, but because of all the crappy weather this winter they have four games in hand on both Swindon and Walsall. Notts have only one game in hand on Dag & Red, but they are 7 points back. As for Bristol Rovers, the less said the better.

Next up is the FA Cup replay at Manchester City. That could get ugly, but the payday should be a nice one and I will get to watch it on TV.

Now, if they could just get into the promotion hunt...

Great...Just Fucking Great

There will be no Pujols deal. Sounds like Albert got the ten years, but wanted more cash.

We haven't played a single game, but the season is lost already.

AND, Albert will most likely walk at season's end.

St. Louis Cardinals = St. Louis Zoo

At least potentially:

The countdown to Albertageddon has reached its final hours. The build-up yielded some excitement Tuesday night, when SI.com reported that Cardinals management had upped its contract offer to Albert Pujols – to eight years and more than $200 million.

Other reporters, including Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch, reported that the Cards had extended no such offer – yet.

I hate trying to read tea leaves, but that is all the fan has with the negotiations having been placed into super secret agent mode. Not hearing any real news makes it easy for the excitable fan (like me) to fear the worst:

Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports: “Baseball is about to get its version of The Decision. Barring a dramatic change, Albert Pujols’ noon deadline Wednesday to work out a contract extension with the St. Louis Cardinals will pass without an agreement. Which turns the next nine months into a frenzy without the histrionics of LeBron James’ free agency but with every bit the far-reaching implications: the sport’s best player choosing his next destination and perhaps crushing the city that so loves him. Pujols won’t let the process turn into the charade in which James indulged, of course. He’s not that myopic. What happens around him, however, is not under his control...

Great. That is all we need, for this to drag on and loom over the entire season being a non-stop distraction. I know plenty of players play out the last year of their contract no problem. Does anyone really believe Albert Pujols could do so without it descending into a chaotic mess?

Brought To You By The No. 7

Blues to honor those who have worn No. 7

The Blues finally have figured a way to recognize the most significant sweater number in their history, No. 7, and some of the players who wore it.

Because the number has been shared by more than one such prominent player, No. 7 has never been retired. But the franchise will honor four of its most prominent players, and the No. 7 they shared, on March 7, appropriately enough, at Scottrade Center.

In a ceremony before a game with Columbus, the Blues will recognize Red Berenson, Garry Unger, Joe Mullen and Keith Tkachuk for their accomplishments.

That is all well and good, but why must we discriminate? If we are gonna celebrate some number 7 wearers, let's celebrate them all!

Such as:

Ricard Persson and his one career playoff goal scored while he was a Blue, or

Cliff Ronning who successfully lied about his height for almost four full seasons with the Blues, or

Nelson Emerson who was memorably outscored by Denny Felsner in the 92-93 playoffs.

Good times. Good times.

Rabid Milanese

Tottenham beats AC Milan 1-0 at San Siro

Peter Crouch's late goal gave Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win at Serie A leader AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday.

Crouch scored with 10 minutes remaining after Aaron Lennon had broken clear from his own half.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic thought he scored an injury time equalizer, but his overhead kick was ruled out for a push on Spurs captain Michael Dawson.

The Milan players' frustration boiled over at the final whistle and Genaro Gattuso appeared to headbutt Tottenham assistant coach Joe Jordan - a former Milan player - before both sets of players began scuffling.

Milan captain Gattuso, who had earlier shoved Jordan during the match, was also booked in the 75th minute and will miss the return leg at White Hart Lane.

It was an unseemly end to a match in which Tottenham again impressed at the San Siro, having recovered from 4-0 down to 4-3 against Inter Milan in the group stage earlier in the season.

This writeup is decidedly kind to Gattuso who throughout the second half was a raving maniac. By my count Gattuso could (should) have picked up two red cards and two yellow cards over the course of 25 minutes of play. Even if the red's were made yellow he still could have been sent off twice over. It was a joke that he was allowed to finish the match on the pitch.

However, the ref set the tone when he didn't red card Flamini for his flying two-footed studs up "tackle" on Vedran Corluka. Corluka was knocked out of the game by the play and can count himself lucky if his leg isn't broken.

After that, Gattuso seemed to decide it was a no-holds-barred encounter. Elbows flew, temper tantrums were thrown, players were pushed, coaches were pushed, and Gattuso flopped around like a landed guppy whenever the mood struck him. It was an embarrassing performance. To top it off for Milan it was Gattuso who was dispossessed of the ball which led to the Tottenham goal. Gattuso barely broke into a jog to try to get back in the play. He obviously was saving up his energy to assault nearly 60-year old bench coach Joe Jordan after the match.

The only good thing is Gattuso did pick up a yellow which will keep him out of the second leg. Maybe Milan will be allowed to play soccer.

One can hope.

Stan Is Still The Man

Our once and future King: Musial receives Medal of Freedom in White House ceremony

The greatest St. Louis Cardinal of all time today accepted the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, who called Stan Musial "an icon, untarnished, a beloved pillar of the communty, a gentleman you would want your kids to emulate."

Obama cited Musial's great career statistics and added, "Stan matched his hustle with humility."

"He was the first player to make, get this, $100,000, even more shocking was that he asked for a pay cut when he didn't perform to his own expectations," the president said.

"You can imagine that happening today."

Obama also said that Musial was "worthy of one of the great nicknames in sports -- Stan the Man."

Well done Mr. Musial.

Frustration With The Blues

Great post over at Thrashing The Blues:

Saturday night's loss to the Minnesota Wild(s) was mortifying in so much that the team didn't even appear to put forth an effort until the end of the game. That's been the case often this season; or, possibly worse, the Blues forget that they have to play three periods of hockey and blow good games in the third period. You know, like they did on Friday night, again to the Wild(s).

The Blues are 3-4-3 over their last ten games, a record only surpassed in badness by the slumping Dallas Stars (3-6-1) and the free-falling Colorado Avalanche (1-9-0). Their away record is 8-13-5; teams aren't intimidated by the Blues, despite the fact that they're third in the league in fighting majors. Of course, why should teams be intimidated - most of these fighting majors seem to come in the final seconds of games that the Blues have already lost. No one's intimidated by frustration. No one cares if, after you've lost a game, you want to rough up some guys from the opposition's team to "send a message." Heck, the only message that sends is one of "hey, we can't bring it when we need to, but by God, we will jump you when it doesn't matter!" Ooooooooo. Scary.

I was so disgusted by the turn of events on Friday I couldn't even bring myself to watch the game on Saturday. That means I had it bad. I never get to see the Blues being up here in fucking Wild territory, so I usually never miss the chance. However, Friday pissed me off so badly I simply wasn't recovered enough to put myself through it again the very next night.

"But, what if the Blues had won? Wouldn't that have put things right?"

Theoretically, yes. But the reality of the situation is this Blues team had zero chance on Saturday.

Thrashing points us to the reason why:

I love my team. I love the fact that the Blues don't back down, and that they're rough and tumble. I love David "All that is man" Backes, and Barret Jackman, and Cam Janssen, and everyone on the team who plays a good blue-collar brand of game. This is why I'm a Western Conference girl, and I can't stand Eastern Conference teams. I've always felt that they lack grit and character, and only throw down when things get out of control - look at last week's Habs/Bruins game, or the Pens/Islanders brawl. The teams only fought when they didn't need to anymore. That's what the Blues are starting to do, and it's embarrassing.

All true, but it is even worse then that. In Friday's game Mikko Koivu went after the head of recently concussed Andy MacDonald away from the puck, and right in front of a blind official who pulled off his best Sgt. Schulz impression instead of doing his job. However, officials being asshats is to be expected. It happens to (most) every team. What Blues fans shouldn't have expected was for Koivu to be unmolested for the rest of the game.

This team seems to lack accountability amongst themselves. As a result you get more brawls brought on by frustration. You also get more losses.

Prelude To A Signing?

This could be interpreted in a good way for Cards's fans: Cardinals, Pujols extend contract deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals and representatives for Albert Pujols(notes) have agreed to a 24-hour extension to reach a new contract out of respect for Stan Musial.

The Cardinals Hall of Famer will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Washington on Tuesday and general manager John Mozeliak said Monday the club did not want to distract from Musial's special day. Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and Mozeliak will accompany the 90-year-old Musial to Washington.

Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, originally set a Tuesday deadline, the first workout day for pitchers and catchers in Jupiter, Fla. Mozeliak said the new deadline is noon ET Wednesday.

It sounds like they didn't want the news of a new deal for Pujols to compete with, and more than likely overwhelm, Stan the Man's big day in Washington.

Or is that just wishful thinking?

A Modest Proposal For A Pujols Contract

I know it is a scary proposition, but I believe the Cards should give Albert a 10 year deal. However, the deal has to make financial sense for the team in 2018-2022. Here is how I would break it down:

Year: Salary: Running Total:

2012 - $35m - $35m
2013 - $35m - $70m
2014- $25m - $95m
2015- $25m - $120m
2016- $20m - $140m
2017- $18m - $158m
2018- $16m - $174m
2019- $14m - $188m
2020- $12m - $200m
2021- $10m - $210m

If something like that isn't good enough... well, it makes being a fan of any team not named New York or Boston an exercise in futility to the point of being retarded.