THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
MARCH MADNESS
CARDINAL PREVIEW
SPORTS
THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
By Gabriel Kraus
There is nothing like Playoff Hockey! The Stanley Cup playoff season is here and by the first week of May, we are already into round two. The St. Louis Blues had a great season, earning a spot in the playoff tournament. Even though the Blues traded some great players, including Kevin Shattenkirk, their captain David Backes, and goalie Brian Elliot, they earned a spot to face the Minnesota Wild in the first round. The Wild had a better record than the Blues and were second in the Central Division. The Blues came out strong from the start and won the first three games. The Wild came back and won a game, but the Blues’ lead was too big. The Blues won the fifth game to close out the best of seven series. Erik Stall, the Wild’ s starting center, was injured with a concussion during the final game. Thankfully he is expected to make a full recovery. Since the Nashville Predators succeeded in unseating the number one ranked Chicago Blackhawks, the Blues will play the Predators in another best of seven series. Let’ s Go Blues!!!
MARCH MADNESS
By Ryan Lavery
March Madness was a thrill this year! Although there were some tough losses it was a great event to watch. Some upsets were: South Carolina, 77 vs. Florida, 70( Elite 8); Oregon, 74 vs. Kansas, 60( Elite 8); South Carolina, 70 vs. Baylor, 50( Sweet 16); * Xavier, 73 vs. Arizona, 71( Sweet 16).
The Final Four teams were a surprise appearance from South Carolina, also a first Final Four in Gonzaga history, Oregon, and the runners-up last year North Carolina.
The scores were: South Carolina, 73 vs. Gonzaga, 77 and North Carolina, 77 vs. Oregon, 76.
The finals were very exciting with both teams looking for the title. In the end the score was: Gonzaga, 65 vs. North Carolina, 71.
Now that it ' s all over we must congratulate these teams that were honored to participate in this tournament. But we shall especially honor the winners, North Carolina!
CARDINAL PREVIEW
By Lance Lavery
The St. Louis cardinals are coming off of an average season going 86-76 overall. This year they have acquired a few new faces: Cubs free agent Dexter Fowler, Blue Jays free agent Brett Cecil, and a trade from the Braves John Gant. We gave away some key people in our lineup: free agent to the Yankees Matt Holliday, free agent to the Royals Brandon Moss, trade to the Braves Jaime Garcia, free agent to the Royals Seth Maness, and a waiver claim by the Diamondbacks Jeremy Hazelbaker. The St. Louis Cardinals are full of young talent this year like: Aledmys Diaz, Jose Martinez, and Kolten Wong. This team is stacked with power as well as low ERA starting pitching. This could be a World Series caliber team, so Cubs..... watch out!