(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...

I saw this late, late last night and almost couldn't believe it: Blues get Kariya, sign Jackman After saying that the budget was tight and that the high-priced free-agent forwards were probably too costly, the Blues stretched out and landed one of the top veteran forwards available in left winger Paul Kariya. Kariya, 32, signed a three-year contract for $18 million with the Blues late Sunday night, giving the Blues' offense a drastically different look now with Keith Tkachuk and Kariya in the fold. "We hope so," said an exhausted John Davidson. "Put it this way: When you looked at the Blues a week ago, and then you look now, we're a little better hockey club. This should send vibrations through the organization that, 'Man we're getting better.'" ... Davidson said the Blues worked on the Kariya deal "all day." The team had Al MacInnis, Doug Weight, Tkachuk and owner Dave Checketts speak with Kariya. "I think he felt wanted,...