Sorry for the delay. We had some technical difficulties getting me logged in but here we are.
The Oilers sure are getting hot at the right time. That's not a bad pick out of the West. I think it could be either them or Dallas in the West. But I think whoever comes out of the East will win it all. And it's hard to bet against Boston that's for sure. This will be a fun playoffs, don't you think?
The thing that sticks out most from a non-tactical standpoint is just how he gets along with people. He keeps it light, energetic and fun. Like the time he skated out on the ice wearing a long wig before practice - I think it was last year - while the Blues were in a little bit of funk. He told me it was part of an old Halloween costume.
You know, I had some contact with someone that was working on a 30-for-30 style project on the Rams in the early fall. But I don't think anything ever came of it.
Gordo handles the report cards for the Blues. And if anyone has seen Jeff's report cards from the past - he's no fanboy when it comes to grading the team. So we'll see. But this probably won't be a report card the Blues want to take home to Mom and Dad.
I'll try to remember to ask Armstrong this question in his season-ending media session. I'm guessing they don't mind.
I guess he could get a couple of Norris votes. He began this season age 25, so he's still pretty young. A lot of times, it takes defenseman a little longer to mature. But Dunn sure has matured this season. And yeah, he made some silly plays with the Blues - I don't know if I'd say a lot. He has 14 goals, 50 assists and 64 points this season. All career highs. He's 10th in the league in points by a defenseman and is plus-29. His average ice time of 23:41 is more than Faulk (23:25) or Parayko (23:02) with the Blues.
It was nice of Lou to post that. I was very surprised at the gesture by the Blues - floored might be a better description. As for Binnington, I once told him he had the skinniest legs of any St. Louis athlete I'd ever seen with the possible exception of Isaac Bruce.
Mark W., thanks for your kinds words. Very much appreciated. You'll be in very good hands on the Blues front with Matthew DeFranks.
Travis, very kind of you. And thanks for reading. As I mentioned in my tweet yesterday, it rarely seemed like work.
I never covered the football Cardinals in St. Louis - I was covering Mizzou football and basketball when they left. But I almost left for the Dallas Morning News in 1991 to cover the Southwest Conference. While the Rams were here, I was offered a job with the Minnesapolis Star Tribune to cover the Vikings. After the Rams left St. Louis, got some nibbles from the LA Daily News/Orange County Registers (Rams) and the Kansas City Star (Chiefs) - but nothing major there.
Roy, thanks for the kinds words. I've never watched an episode of Columbo - at least not start to finish It was Fox2 sports anchor and friend Martin Kilcoyne who first called me Columbo. But Isaac Bruce wasn't far behind on that, either.
Yeah, Berube does lean on his top five or six more than the teams you mentioned. But I think it is a function of the Blues lacking forward depth this season, and the fact the Blues were chasing games a lot more often than Boston, Dallas and Seattle.
My plan was to double-major in journalism and political science when I was at George Washington University. I wanted to cover politics and government. When I washed out at GW - didn't have a high enough GPA my sophomore year to keep my scholarship - I dropped out of school for a couple of years and then finished up at UMSL (Missouri-St. Louis) which didn't have a journalism major. Although I'd always been a sports fan, I just kind of fell into writing sports.
Not sure. My last work day is May 5, so it's possible you could get me another time or two. Or not.
I plan to watch as much as I can. The first round action especially is always pretty wild.