Ponder This

I once received some sage advice from my old man: "Accept that your team will never win it all." I still remember the context in which it was said, where I was and the conversation that sparked it. We were driving home from Game 4 of the 2001 NHL Western Conference Final at Savvis Center in downtown St. Louis. The hometown Blues had just lost a heartbreaker to the Colorado Avalanche (a game that saw the Avalanche score three goals in 78 seconds and another in overtime to seal it), and the Blues were now facing a grim 3-1 series deficit with a shift back to Denver. My father and I left the arena that night in bleak fashion, realizing the mountain they would have to climb to get back into the series. My dad and I at one of the hundreds of Blues games we attended together. It was only the second time the Blues had reached the third round of the playoffs in my lifetime, with the first coming in 1986, when I was a one-year-old. If you're wondering, yes, they lost that...

Since I was 15-years old, I knew what I wanted to do. I loved English class, I loved to write and there was only one thing I knew I loved more than both of those things: hockey. Anyone who knows me knows my passion for the game and how it has completely controlled my life. I wanted to be a hockey reporter. I wanted to be that trusted face that other hockey lovers would turn to for news, analysis and even some humor when things aren’t going that fan’s way. I turned 30 on Saturday. That means that half of my life was spent with this dream. Now, it’s time to move on to other things. Let's not make too big a deal out of this. I have decided to discontinue my position with InsideSTL / CBS Sports Radio 920 and leave St. Louis Blues media. Believe me, this was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make. I’ve had so many people follow me along this journey and use me as a source for Blues information, whether it be analysis of the team’s play or the ne...