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By Randy Gardner

I had to write my column Tuesday right after I ate because I knew that I would lose my appetite because of the severity of disappointment that myself along with Blues nation feels. Could there be any greater let down in the sports world in St. Louis than the epic failure of the Blues first round playoff series with the Blackhawks?

As may know I am a huge hockey fan and thought this was the Blues year especially after the first two games here at home and heading to Chicago up 2 games to 0. How can a team with that much talent let four games slip through their hands? The team played tough throughout all of the games but you could just feel the loss coming in the air.

The team was totally deflated after every Chicago goal after game 2. I know that we should be celebrating a huge season for the team as they did a great job all season,  but in all sports, it’s what you do in the postseason or playoffs that really counts.

This is what separates teams and franchises from the good ones and the great ones.

Hopefully the nucleus of this Blues team will stay together and they will have another strong run next year. For now t, I will just sit and sulk as I watch all of the other playoff contenders battle it out for the cup.

Staying with the hockey world, I think it is so cool that the teams shake hands after each series at center ice. The most anticipated hand shake was between David Backes and the Blackhawks player who almost ended his career with a head shot.

During the handshake, Backes said it was okay after he said sorry about the hit. I have not read anything specifically about what was said but by my lip reading skills on the TV, that is what happened. Only in sports can someone hurt someone else and then shake hands after the game. This is what team sports teach kids and to all who don’t believe that sports are a major part of life. Take a poll from individuals about how important they were in teaching life lessons.

Other Sports Could Learn Lession from Soccer

Lastly, if you are a soccer fan then you know that Championship Sunday is coming up. In this league, the last three place teams get demoted to essentially the minor leagues and teams that finish first down there come up.

How cool would this be in all of our major sports, I think this would make players play just a bit harder. I think that the lower pay scale should follow the team if demoted also. This would make games a bit more interesting and players have a bit more of a stake in the success of the team and franchise.

They do not have any playoffs either in soccer—just the best record at the end of season wins. This is an interesting concept. Check it out. Blues fans keep your head up, it is not the end of the world even though

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