St. Louis cheers the Palins

As a Blues fan, naturally I had to watch the carnage as Sarah Palin dropped the ceremonial first puck before the Blues took on the Los Angeles Kings in St. Louis. Surely she'd get booed right out of Scottrade Center!

Except, well, she didn't ...

I saw a few comments on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's website urging the fans to be classy and not boo Palin, as they did in Philadelphia, and it appears most fans took it to heart. The cheers weren't loud, so probably those who otherwise might have voiced their displeasure just decided to stay silent. Maybe they didn't want to boo her in front of her husband and daughters, who were on the ice with her (Willow and Piper were wearing Blues jerseys).

Oh, well. Perhaps Sarah leaves town thinking St. Louis loves her, but remember, that's the same city where Barack Obama drew 100,000 last week. Hey, at least Palin can look back on those few cheers through the long, cold Alaska winter, as she fades into well-deserved obscurity ...

UPDATE (11:42 pm 10/24/08): The Blues had their worst game of the young season tonight, losing to L.A. 4-0. They looked listless and slow, and they made some really egregious mistakes, giving up the puck in their own zone way too many times.

Naturally, I blame Palin.

America's Hockey Mom strikes close to home

Well, maybe not close to your home, but for me, as a longtime, hardcore St. Louis Blues fan, this one hurts:

St. Louis area activists in both parties are telling Political Fix that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will head this way [to St. Louis] after Friday morning’s rally in Springfield [Ill.].

Rumor has it that [t]he GOP vice presidential nominee will stop by Friday night’s Blues hockey game, and drop the puck. No word on any other possible public events locally, if the above report is correct.

Palin performed the ceremonial face-off in Philadelphia on October 11 (shown below), and she was booed most vociferously. Here's hoping she gets the same treatment in my old hometown of St. Louis.


UPDATE (3:41 pm 10/23/08): I just noticed the Obama/Biden sign being displayed by a spectator in the upper right corner of the picture. That's a nice touch. Ha!

Holy crap!™

Richard Zednik of the Florida Panthers discusses his neck injury for the first time during a news conference at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. (J. Pat Carter, AP / February 21, 2008)

This is the guy who had his carotid artery nearly severed by a skate almost two weeks ago. The video is not for the squeamish. Day-amn ...



(yes, I know there's apparently a sports theme at Blast Off! today ... but I'm getting waterlogged in America's Taint™ and I guess I just miss sunny south Florida. Now back to politics ... I think.)