Home Ice is the Light at the End of the Tunnel

It's official. The Blues are practically unstoppable at the Scottrade Center.

On Thursday night, they improved to 28-4-4 at home on the season and have lost just once in regulation in their building since a December 3rd loss to the Blackhawks. The one loss was to the Bruins of the Eastern Conference and with the rest of the team's home games being against the Western Conference, that should give Blues fans a big reason to smile. The team finishes a brief three game home stand on Saturday night against Columbus, who the Blues defeated in the teams' only previous meeting at Scottrade by a score of 6-4. Overall, the Blues are 2-1 against the Blue Jackets this season with a decisive 2-1 win in Columbus, a furious comeback 6-4 at home, and a rather deflating 2-1 loss in their last trip to Ohio that was a tenth of a second from at least going to overtime, as that's how much time remained in the period when Colubmus scored their first goal.

The Jackets have picked it up as of late, posting a 5-4-1 mark in their last ten games which includes a current four-game winning streak. However, the club is still just 9-20-4 on the road this season and that figured coupled with the Blues' ridiculous home record doesn't bode well for Columbus. I wouldn't expect the Blues to have much trouble with the Jackets on Saturday night.

Both teams will have a quick turn around as they head back to Ohio for a 5 pm central start on Sunday on the other end of a home-and-home series. With things so tight at the top of the conference between the Blues, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis really needs to pick up both wins since they'll be at an even disadvantage with the Blue Jackets as far as travel goes, and they'll still clearly be the better team. The Columbus game kicks off a seven-game road trip for the Blues and while they showed on the last trip with a 5-1 record that they can win on the road, it still won't be as easy as at home. The following game is in Chicago on Tuesday, against a Blackhawks team that probably won't be too happy about the way St. Louis pushed them around in a 5-1 win at Scottrade just a week earlier. I'm not saying that the Blues will lose in Chicago. I just think they should take advantage of playing weaker teams like Columbus right before that game and Carolina, the worst team in the east, right after the Blackhawks. That would certainly soften the blow of a potential loss in the Windy City.

The Blues need to use their current momentum to keep pressure on Vancouver and Detroit. The Canucks finish with nine of their last 14 games at home after a win over Winnipeg on Thursday, so they have a leg up on St. Louis.  And while the Red Wings still have their injury problems with Pavol Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom, they certainly won't lay down with home ice and the right to avoid a first round series with Nashville on the line. Detroit has been just as dominant as the Blues have at home, so earning home ice through at least the two rounds is quite a prize for whichever team can win the Central Division, even if neither can keep pace with Vancouver.

The Billikens' March to the Tournament Continues

For the first time in quite a while, the St. Louis University basketball season hit a snag.

They dropped a game at Rhode Island, the last place team in the Atlantic-10 Conference. The itself would be bad enough on its own, but how it happened made it even worse. SLU had a 10-point lead with 10 minutes remaining against a team that had won just five basketball games all season coming into the tilt against SLU. The Billikens even lead by two with under two minutes left. But the team settled for three-pointers and jump shots the rest of the way, rather than going to their senior and leading scorer, Brian Conklin, inside. Threes are great when they're falling. A team can live off of them, like Duke did against North Carolina a few weeks ago, when they attempted 38 shots from beyond the arc. However, when they're not going in, a team has to look for other options, especially inside. The Billikens didn't go that route and it cost them.

The Rhode Island loss transformed the Billikens' home finale, senior night against Xavier, from a win that would be nice to have into a game that they probably needed in order to still make the NCAA tournament. The Bills came out sluggish in the first half. Maybe it was jitters. Perhaps it was just a fired up Xavier team that needed the win even more than SLU just working the home team. But whatever it was, the Billikens found themselves 10 points behind the Musketeers at halftime. SLU went from a six-game winning streak and a practical lock to make the tournament to a bubble team in big trouble in just three short halves.

Xavier came out and scored the first point of the second half, getting a free throw to expand their lead over the Billikens to 40-29. The senior, Conklin, then took over for SLU on senior night. The Billikens went on a ridiculous 24-2 run and like magic, an 11-point SLU deficit became an 11-point lead. During that run, Conklin scored 11 of the Bills' 24 points. He would finish with 23 points for the game, picking up 15 of them after the break. Seniors are supposed to carry a team and Conklin certainly did that Tuesday night. Winning at Duquesne would be a nice boost for SLU heading into the conference tournament in Atlantic City and could certainly help their seed. However, earning a sweep of Xavier, one of the league's top tier teams, the Billikens will probably get an at-large bid for the first time in over a decade if they fail to win the conference tournament.

When the Bills make their long awaited return to the big dance, the 12-year old kid in me that ran  circles around my house after SLU knocked of UMass in their last tourney win will probably be in the mood to do the Homer Simpson chicken spin dance. And with my apartment being pretty much completely hardwood floors, I wouldn't put it past me.

Thanks to Rushthecourt.net for the photo.

Blues' Offense Continues to Sputter

Just when it looked like the Blues were turning a corner with what had been a struggling offense, they returned to form on Tuesday night, being limited to one goal in a 2-1 loss at lowly Columbus.

After the Blues managed to score a total of six goals in back-to-back home games over the weekend, four of which came on the power play, they turned in an abysmal offensive effort in Ohio. St. Louis' lackluster offense has been a problem for the majority of this season. However, the amazing goaltending that the team has gotten from both Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott had kept the problem under wraps most of the time. The goalie tandem has combined for 11 shutouts this year, which leads the NHL. It's a good thing that the pair are keeping the opposition off of the scoreboard so often, because in four of those 11 games, the Blues still only managed one goal for 1-0 wins.

Even when the Blues are getting fantastic play in the crease, it often leads to problems later as they have found themselves in shootouts which usually have resulted in them being stoned three times and taking the one point. It's only been recently, twice in the past five weeks, that the Blues have managed to win in shootouts and in both of those games, they still scored just once in the breakaway competition. Getting Andy McDonald back could help this phase of their game, as he has been one of their better shootout players for the last few seasons. T.J. Oshie has had some decent success too, going 3-8 on the year.

The biggest problem for the Blues still has to be the power play. It's not just failing to score on the power play, but they're failing to create power play chances for themselves most nights. They only had one opportunity in Columbus and it ended with more than 14 minutes remaining in the first period. The Blues have to start getting more attacking and more buzzing around the net. There have been times this season when they've done that, it simply has to be more consistent. This especially has to be the case on the road, where they'll be playing the majority of their games for the remainder of the season. The Blues only have 10 games left at Scottrade during the regular season, compared to 16 out of town contests.

This team has an offensive punch, it just needs to get focused. David Perron has really turned it on lately. He made a beautiful pass on a shorthanded break to David Backes in Columbus, resulting in the team's only goal and in the four games before that, he scored six goals. Backes and Oshie have been strong on the forecheck as well. It's really Chris Stewart and Patrik Berglund that need to pick it up. Stewart was dropped to the fourth line today in practice, according to Jeremy Rutherford of the Post-Dispatch. Hopefully that will light a fire under him, because if he doesn't get going soon, he might get going out the door as the trade deadline looms.

Only in Dreams...

I've witnessed a lot of amazing things in sports over the years. I've probably seen about 100 buzzer-beaters live either on TV or in person. But tonight's, was definitely my favorite.

With just over a second remaining, Austin Rivers finally went into his shooting motion. Swoosh! Game, Duke. The Blue Devils had erased a 10-point deficit by going on a 13-2 run in the last 2:10 to knock off North Carolina at Chapel Hill 85-84. I'm not sure if I woke up my roommate, but it certainly took all of my willpower to restrain myself from yelling. I had dreamed last night that Duke would win on a buzzer beater. But I've also seen the Blues hoist the Stanley Cup in my dreams, so I certainly didn't trust that vision. But here I am, having seen it with my own eyes, and I'm still having trouble believing it.

The Tar Heels dominated that game starting around 12 minutes into the first half and continued to do so until two and a half minutes remained in the second. Every time Duke would get a stop, they would turn the ball over, miss a three-point shot, or get to the free throw line just to miss one or both attempts. If the Blue Devils scored, Carolina would answer almost immediately. No matter what Duke seemed to do, they couldn't get the lead below seven points starting at the 17:35 mark of the second half. And then bang! In a 21-second span, Tyler Thornton and Seth Curry both knocked down treys and just like that, it was a two-possession game.

Duke then took a charge, Ryan Kelly bricked a three, but followed his shot just like we're all taught to do from age five and up, and got his own rebound. He faked a pass and nailed a jumper tow make a two point game out of it. Kelly hit another jumper on the next possession that followed a Tyler Zeller 1-2 free throw trip and cut it to one. Zeller got fouled again and repeated the previous trip, going 1-2, setting up Duke to tie it with a two or win it with a three after gathering the rebound. Rivers opted for the latter. With ice water in his veins and his dad, Doc Rivers looking on from the stands, he dribbled behind the three-point line for a couple of seconds and eventually took the biggest shot of his life over Zeller. Rivers with that shot created a three-way tie for first place in the ACC and a goat in Zeller.

From an objective stand point, it should be really difficult for UNC fans to be upset with Zeller. The guy is seven feet tall, so he's not exactly used to guarding out on the arc. He also posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 boards. So sure, he missed a pair of free throws down the stretch and gave up the winning shot, but Rivers was 6-10 from long range on Wednesday. As George McFly would say, making that shot was simply a part of River's density. At the end of the night, it was easy to see that North Carolina was the better team. If Duke had an off night shooting the three, the game would've been a blowout to begin the second half. The Blue Devils took 38 three-pointer shots tonight, making 14. UNC only shot six, making one. Threes are great and can change a game, but they're not nearly as reliable as taking the ball to the basket. Duke will need to work on their inside game if they hope to sweep the Heels on March 3rd when they meet at Cameron Indoor Stadium to close the regular season. But for tonight, they can enjoy a massive win over their arch rivals and Rivers can dream about it for the rest of his life.

SLU Update:
The Billikens embarked on their last tough road trip of the season on Wednesday night, beginning at St. Joseph's with a 72-60 win. SLU will remain in Philadelphia for their Saturday afternoon tilt with La Salle, who lost at Richmond on Wednesday, knocking them out of what would've been a four-way tie for second in the Atlantic-10 standings. That tie currently involves the Billikens, Xavier, and UMass, all of who are 7-3 in conference play, with Temple a half game ahead at 7-2. The game won't be an easy one for SLU, as the Explorers are undefeated at home this season, including non-conference games. However, just two weeks ago the Billikens became the first A-10 team to win at Xavier in six years, so nothing is impossible. A sweep in Philly would certainly set the Bills up nicely, though, as they would then roll home for a couple of home games against Richmond and Fordham respectively, who are a combined 4-18 on the road this year

Thanks to Duke Basketball on WhoSay for the photo.

Super Bowl XLVI

I hate the New England Patriots. I cheered for the Steelers' biggest rival, the Baltimore Ravens, to beat them last week. I think if it came down to it, I would cheer for the Cowboys over them as well. I think the only time I would ever cheer for the Patriots, outside of the result of them winning indirectly helping the Steelers or the Rams, is if in some weird alternate multi-sports universe, they ended up with them playing the Detroit Red Wings in ice football. Which is why, even when the pattern Super Bowl pattern points to the Patriots winning, I'm picking the Giants. I'm ESPN Streak for the Cash picking the Patriots, but only to curse them. The pattern is of course that the regular season winner always seems to lose the rematch in the Super Bowl.

1999 Rams lost to the Tennessee Titans in the regular season, beat them in the Super Bowl.
2001 Patriots lost to the Rams in the regular season, then cheated their way to victory in the Super Bowl
2007 Giants failed to end the Patriots' perfect season in the regular season, but finished the job in the Super Bowl.

The only thing that I expect could save the Giants is, they weren't playing their best football when they beat the Patriots. Their defensive line has been practically unstoppable during the postseason and the last few weeks of the regular season. I feel that won't change in the Super Bowl and that Tom Brady will be pressured for much of the game. Unlike some quarterbacks, like Kurt Warner, who thrive in those situations, Brady gets flustered. It was evident during the AFC title game when the Ravens were all over him in the backfield. This will be the key to the game. New England's defense is incompetent and while Eli Manning isn't nearly as good as his brother, Peyton, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees, he makes the passes he needs to make. Speaking of which:

I expect to see a little more salsa  from Victor Cruz as he dances through the Patriots' weak secondary as well. I'll take the Giants by a score of  31-26. And just for kicks, here's one more anti-Patriots extra as I'm sure Eric Cartman, a Denver Broncos fan, would put it:

"Well, Tom Brady's a bitch, he's a big fat witch,

he's the biggest bitch in the whole wide world,
he's a stupid bitch if there ever was a bitch,
he's a bitch to all the boys and girls.

On Monday he's a bitch, on Tuesday he's a bitch,
and Wednesday to Saturday he's a bitch,
then on Sunday just to be different he's a
super King-ka maya-maya beotch!
Have you ever met Patriots quarterback Tom Brady,
he's the biggest bitch in the whole wide world,
he's a mean old bitch and he has stupid hair."

I really think the hair part works well. Enjoy the game, the commercials, friends, and family. Go Giants!

Billikens Basketball is Back

On Wednesday night, the St. Louis University Billikens did something that no Atlantic-10 team had done in six years. They won at Xavier.

The little kid in me wanted to do what I did as an eighth grader when the Billikens won an NCAA tournament game against the University of Massachusetts. When SLU made it to the second round of the big dance, I had just gotten home from middle school and watched the last ten minutes or so of the game. After they won, I sprinted around my house yelling, slipped on the hardwood floor in the hallway and hit my knee, which hurt quite a bit. I then got up and continued running around the house in circles yelling. I was simply more cautious when I got in the hallway. I was at work, so I didn't do that, but I certainly wanted to run through the halls. SLU went on to lose to Kentucky in the second round and I hate them to this very day for that very reason. I at least got to have reverse revenge on the Wildcats through Duke, though.

What's reverse revenge? It's bragging rights that you didn't know about when you became a fan of a team. I became a fan of Duke because my dad liked them and because my Aunt Missy's father, Papa, was a basketball manager for them many years ago. What I later found out is that one of the most famous college basketball games of all time involved Duke beating Kentucky on a buzzer beater by Christian Laettner to advance to the Final Four. I have enjoyed reverse revenge on the Cowboys via the Steelers and the Brewers and many others via the Cardinals as well. It's not as good as seeing it happen and not needing Wikipedia or Youtube to pull it up, but it works well enough to shut up most people. But I digress.

I've added reasons to hate the Wildcats over the year, like how they ran a good man out of town in Tubby Smith and replaced him with a twice-proven cheater, in John Calipari. Maybe they'll run Calipari out of town if he gets a Final Four vacated there like he did at Memphis and UMass. Kentucky also seems to have a hand in keeping my brackets from winning every year. I still have placed high enough to make the money the last two years, but haven't won. And by money I mean play money because betting real money on such things isn't legal. Now, back to the Billikens!

SLU hasn't had an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament since the Larry Hughes season that Kentucky ended. They went on a crazy run to win the 2000 Conference USA tournament, allowing them to lose to current head coach Rick Majerus' Utah squad, but that was an automatic berth. Everything is coming full circle now for the Billikens. The man who knocked them out of their last tournament is trying to lead them back there and their next big test is on the road against the last team that they defeated in the NCAA tournament: You guessed it. Frank Stallone. No, just kidding, it's UMass like I said earlier. But how often do I get to make references to old SNL bits in a sports blog? I think it's allowed since it's from roughly the same time period as the NCAA tournament game I'm referencing.

SLU's RPI jumped nine spots up to 42 in the country after Wednesday's win over Xavier. If they can knock off the Minutemen on Saturday, SLU would take the tiebreaker against one of the four schools that they are currently tied with for the conference lead before coming home against a very beatable St. Bonaventure team. Due to the Xavier victory, UMass isn't a must-win, but it certainly would be nice for the Bills to keep their run going before coming back home to Chaifetz Arena, where they lose very rarely and springboard SLU's season towards an at-large NCAA tournament berth that they've been anticipating for over a decade.

Quick Picks

I'm 5-3 this postseason and owe being over .500 to the Giants coming through for me in Green Bay last week. That said, I'm going to take the 49ers over the Giants today and get off of that train. The Giants' running game has struggled at times this year and they're now faced with one of the top running defenses in the league. Unless the Giants just crush Alex Smith, I don't see them stopping the 49ers through the air and I see Vernon Davis causing matchup problems over the middle.
49ers 27 - Giants 23

As for the "Teams Ryan Hates Bowl," I'm going to take the Patriots over the Ravens. I know that my high school could score on the Patriots through the air, but I still have zero faith in Joe Flacco. As much as I hate Tom Brady because he dynasty started with a bad non-fumble call hurting the Raiders followed by cheating, I still think he's a good quarterback. The Ravens only hope is to stop the running game, but that's where the Pats' defense is at least halfway competent.
Patriots 28 - Ravens 22