Midwest Sports Fan Blog

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols did not make the cross-state trip for Monday’s game against the Boston Red Sox because of discomfort in his lower back.

The three-time National League MVP did not play Sunday against the Florida Marlins — a scheduled day off — and is not expected to play against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, a game also being played in Fort Myers.

“We’ll definitely give him tomorrow,” said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. “Even if we were home, I don’t think he’d play. We’ll see how he feels on Wednesday.”

Pujols first experienced discomfort in his back on Sunday. Joe Mather will take his place at first base against the Red Sox.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

The Blues will have at least one new player on the roster Thursday night in Dallas.

D’Agostini, 23, will report to the Blues for their game Thursday. I’m told he would need waivers to report to Peoria, and the Blues won’t risk losing him in that process. NHL rosters can now be expanded above the usual 23-player limit.

D’Agostini was drafted in the sixth round (190th overall) in the 2005 NHL draft. He has played in 94 career games with the Canadiens, including 40 this season. He recently missed 13 games with a concussion, but has been on the club’s active roster since Jan. 31.

A third- or fourth-line grinder, D’Agostini has two goals and two assists this season this season and is a -12.

The Blues give up Palushaj, 20, who was a second-round pick (144th overall) in 2007. Palushaj signed with the Blues last year and had a tremendous training camp with the Blues last September.

Click here to read the full article – By St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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In preparation for his first Olympics, Blues defenseman Erik Johnson ordered 10 hockey jerseys with the Team USA logo on the front and his last name on the back. He bought them for his family members to wear proudly in Vancouver, and he couldn’t wait to receive the shipment.

That distinction belongs to Jamie Langenbrunner of the New Jersey Devils.

“Erik called me one night,” Blues equipment manager Bert Godin said, “and said, ‘Hey, I ordered some jerseys for my family to wear out in Vancouver, and they all came in with C’s on them. … Can you take them off?’ I said, ‘Maybe they know something you don’t.’ He was like, ‘I don’t think so … let’s take them off.”

Johnson, 21, slipped on his first Team USA jersey at the age of 16, when he left his hometown of St. Paul, Minn., and joined the U.S. national development team in Ann Arbor, Mich. He’s played for his country in two under-18 World Junior Championships and an under-20 World Championship.

But on Tuesday, Johnson will take his international career to the highest level when the U.S. opens Olympic play against Norway. It was 58 years ago in Oslo, Norway, that Johnson’s great- uncle, Ken Yackel, helped the Americans capture a silver medal at the Winter Olympics.

Click here to read the full article – By St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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Fans saw the same old story at Scottrade Center on Tuesday. The Blues followed a familiar plot line all the way to the finish.

For one night, anyway, they could just enjoy the spectacle. They deserved such a show, given their admirable loyalty to a team falling well short of expectations.

Playing before a packed Scottrade Center, the Note rolled to a 3-1 third period lead over Detroit. Paul Kariya, of all players, scored twice — once on a deflection and once on a put-back.

(Those were his first home-rink goals in more than 15 months. How disappointing is that?)

Naturally, Blues fans had an uneasy feeling about this situation. The game was going too well. Surely disaster loomed.

Their team had suffered one come-from-ahead loss after another on home ice, each defeat more maddening than the one before.

Click here to read the full article – By Jeff Gordon of St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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Today marks one month since Davis Payne became head coach of the Blues, and it’s been a busy month.

Payne has stressed the need for more practices, but with three days between the Blues’ last game and their matchup Wednesday against Chicago, the team decided that rest was more important.

The players were given Sunday off, and when they returned Monday, they were notified that practice was optional. Nine players were on the ice for less than an hour.

The point of the optional was “making sure they took today for what they needed, whether that was a mental break or a physical break,” Payne said. “I think it serves us well with all the hockey we’ve played and certainly all the hockey we’re about to play.

“We’ve been grinding pretty hard in the month of January. These opportunities are tough to find with the way the schedule is. We thought this was an important time for guys to recognize the importance of recharging their minds, making sure we’re fresh for (today’s practice) to prepare for our Wednesday game with Chicago.”

Click here to read the full article – By St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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More than 15 minutes after the final horn, thousands of Kansas State fans lingered in the stands to savor a hard-earned victory.

No floor-rushing celebrations, no hopping on the scorer’s table, just a loud, sustained ovation.

Even against the nation’s No. 1 team, Kansas State and its fans, many wearing fake beards in homage to high-scoring Jacob Pullen, expected to win.

Jamar Samuels scored 15 of his 20 points in a dominating first half and the Wildcats (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) withstood a gut check rally to knock off top-ranked Texas 71-62 on Monday night.

“Teams rush floors when they do something phenomenal,” said Kansas State forward Curtis Kelly, who had 17 points and eight rebounds against one college basketball’s best front lines. “It’s flattering. They knew we were going to win. They didn’t have to rush the floor because they believed in us.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig admitted at baseball’s quarterly meetings that he agonized over the statement he put out in reference to Mark McGwire’s admission that he took steroids during a good portion of his career.


Selig was unwilling to take his commissioner hat off and give his reaction to McGwire’s statement as a baseball fan.

“Look, I am the commissioner,” Selig said. “My public statement, which I wrote over and over and over, says exactly how I feel on the matter. I just don’t want to add to that. I painstakingly went over it. I went over and over it while I watched the Packers game Sunday night. They gave up so many points and scored so many that I had about five hours to re-write it about 100 times.”

Selig said he found out McGwire was going to speak up about his steroid use before the public did.

“I knew beforehand, but not much,” he said. “I’ve talked a lot about it to [St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa] and [Cardinals owner] Bill DeWitt. We’ve talked about it since they made him their hitting coach.”

Click here to read the full article – By Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com

As expected, the Kansas City Chiefs have officially hired Romeo Crennel to be their new defensive coordinator, a source close to the situation tells ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Crennel, who replaces Clancy Pendergast, reunites with general manager Scott Pioli and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who all worked together in New England during their Super Bowl runs. Weis was hired by Kansas City last week following his ouster as Notre Dame’s coach.

The Chiefs informed Pendergast early Wednesday that they would be terminating his contract one year after hiring him from Arizona, sources close to the situation told Schefter. Potential landing spots for Pendergast could include Atlanta, which did not renew the contract of defensive backs coach Emmitt Thomas.

Crennel will not start work for Kansas City for a couple of weeks because of a prior commitment — he’ll be the head coach of the East Team in the East-West college football all-star game on Jan. 23 in Orlando, Fla.


Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

Coming out of a timeout late in the first half, Kansas coach Bill Self called for a substitution. The player who was supposed to enter the game didn’t hear him, leaving the Jayhawks with four players on the court for about 15 seconds.

“It was great because it was probably our best offensive possession of the game,” Self said with a smile. “I was really proud of our team how they totally baffled their defense and were able to make a great play.”

Self can joke now, but he knows his team needs to pull it together with the Big 12 season just around the corner.

Cole Aldrich dominated inside with a double-double and six blocked shots, and No. 1 Kansas overcame a lack of focus in the first half to wear down Belmont 81-51 on Tuesday night.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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All that Miami speed was no match for the big, bad Badgers.

John Clay had 121 yards rushing and two touchdowns, powering Wisconsin (No. 25 BCS, No. 24 AP) past Miami (No. 15 BCS, No. 14 AP) 20-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl on Tuesday night.


Clay ran through, over and around the Hurricanes to help the Badgers (10-3) earn their first victory over a ranked opponent this season and claim a big win for the Big Ten.

“That’s Wisconsin football, just wearing a defense down,” said Clay, who was selected bowl MVP. “The third quarter, fourth quarter, I could just see them sucking wind and holding their waists.”

Scott Tolzien threw for 260 yards, and Montee Ball added 61 yards rushing for a Wisconsin team touted as too big and too slow for the dynamic Hurricanes. None of that seemed to matter when the Badgers were powering the ball down the field.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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