Today marks the beginning of my favorite week of sports - the first four days of March Madness. This is by far the best format of any championship event out there.
However, there is something else out there on my sports horizon: the St. Louis Blues. I have always been a huge Blues fan, but since the lockout, they have been the league's cellar dwellar. Yet in the last couple years under new management, a dramtaic turnaround is in the works. Earlier this year they were at least 10 points out of the playoffs and in last place in the conference. This wasn't totally unexpected as one of the youngest and most injured teams. Their two best defenseman, and one of their top offensive players are out for the year. Throw in a bunch of other top line players who have missed a handful of games and your starting goalie getting placed on waivers, you have the recipe for a long year with the young guys getting their feet wet in the NHL.
Nevertheless, coach Andy Murray has them playing their asses off every game. Now they are one of the hottest teams in the league, and sit a mere 1 point out of the playoffs with less than 15 games left for all the teams. The Blues youngsters are a blast to watch. TJ Oshie (age 22 and easily my favorite player to watch - picture the tasmanian devil from cartoons on skates), Patrik Berglund (age 20), David Backes (age 24), and David Perron (age 20) have Blues fans salivating at the future of this team. In addition, Eric Johnson (age 20) is our top defenseman and one of the guys out for the year. They may not make the playoffs this year because their upcoming schedule is ridiculously tough, but I will be surprised if this team doesn't make a serious run for the Cup within the next three years. If they can keep these guys together for a while, you may be seeing the beginning of the next dynasty in the NHL.
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