Ramblings from St. Louis: Keith Tkachuk hits 1,000 points and the Rams Still Stink
–Congratulations are in
order for Blues forward Keith Tkachuk, who scored career NHL point 1,000 with a goal in the Blues’ 4-2 win at Atlanta on Sunday.
We keep waiting for the 36-year-old Tkachuk to fade into the background and for his days as a top-six forward to come to an end, but “Walt†keeps coming back for more and despite a recent scoring slump, has 16 points in 22 games. He will be a free agent after this season.
Speaking of the Blues, goaltender Chris Mason may be aligning himself for more playing time in the future. Mason got the win on Sunday and has won his last three starts. He has stopped 106 of the last 109 shots he has faced. His goals against average this season is 2.29, compared to Manny Legace’s 3.19.
–Things were looking rosy for the Saint Louis University Billikens when they upset then-ranked Boston College by a 53-50 score at home on Nov. 22. But since then, SLU has dropped a pair of road games at Nebraska (71-57) and Detroit Mercy (62-57). Next up is a date at Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Tuesday. While SIUC’s 2-3 record doesn’t look too glitzy, keep in mind that two of the Salukis’ losses came against Duke and UCLA. Simply put, if SLU wants to put key wins on its resume in order to entertain NCAA Tournament hopes, a triumph in Carbondale is paramount.
–The St. Louis Rams have been just plain offensive on offense this season. The Rams rank dead last in the NFL in touchdowns scored (12) on offense and overall (13). It was more of the same on Sunday in a 16-12 defeat at the hands of Miami. All of the Rams points came off the foot of Josh Brown via field goals. The Male Sheep have gone eight straight quarters without a touchdown.
–Rams quarterback Marc Bulger, who suffered a concussion the week before against Chicago, had a passer rating of 22.2 and threw three interceptions. The Rams picked a bad year to have a bad year — Detroit and Cincinnati seem to have dibs on the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Bulger is clearly on the downside of his career. He was exposed way too much in Mike Martz’s system and the hits are starting to take their toll. Despite already giving big money to Bulger in 2007, the Rams have to draft a quarterback next spring.
–Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel will apparently have a void to fill on his coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Dave Christensen has reportedly accepted the head coaching job at Wyoming. He’s expected to stay on board as the Tigers prepare for Saturday’s Big 12 title game date with Oklahoma in Kansas City.
