(Get) A Sporting Life

Don't think I'm not paying attention to the St. Louis Blues. Oh, I am : The St. Louis Blues are working on another late-season surge. Paul Kariya scored twice, combining with Brad Boyes for a pair of goals during a 17-second span of the first period, and the Blues extended their winning streak to a season-best five games with a 6-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund and T.J. Oshie added goals for the Blues, who've scored 23 goals during the five-game stretch. Last season, the Blues closed with a 9-4-1 surge to earn a playoff spot. "I'm new to the situation, but I'm aware of what happened last year," said coach Davis Payne, who took over for the fired Andy Murray on Jan. 2. "This is a new (season). We know exactly what we have to do and it's good for us to have that type of experience to know it's possible." Chris Mason made 29 saves for the Blues, who boosted their road record to 18-9-4 in t...

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?

...for example, the world may be coming to an end (see the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl last August? Neither did the good Lord above I'm betting.) The Blues are still the Blues, which means lots of injuries. (The Blues lose players the way I lose stool....in large batches.) Even with all that, the development of the team continues on pace. Berglund looks the probable rookie of the year to me, and Oshie seems to have the make-up of a star if he can stay healthy. Add those rookies with the marked improvement of Backes and Perron, and it really looks like the Blues are going places....just not this season. The St. Louis Cardinals? Well, they re-signed Duncan and Wellemeyer. If he stays healthy, I don't see how Duncan survives the season without being traded, unless Colby Rasmus turns out to be the bust of all busts. It is good to see that Albert wants to start beating the crap out of some baseballs already. We shall see.

This is not the sort of thing you read every day : Now there's word that [Blues prospect Patrik] Berglund has arrived in St. Louis from Europe two weeks before the start of the Blues' development camp, which begins June 23 at Scottrade Center. "He paid his own airfare, his own hotel ... that's telling me that he wants to play," said Davidson, who said Berglund is up nearly 15 pounds to 210. "If he has a good summer and really works, then he's got a chance. So many times when the Blues drafted a European they showed little interest in making the transition to the North American game. It's refreshing to see a Blues European prospect who seems enthused about the possibilities. Hopefully, this attitude will keep the guys from St. Louis Game Time from calling Berglund a pussy.