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​The first month of the season has certainly been a productive one for the Cardinals, as they currently stand at 14-7 and have a four-game lead over the second-place Cincinnati Reds. All in all, not a bad April.  More >>

The first picks are predictable, the latter are where the fun can be had.

​I've already gone through the picks the Rams made in the early rounds of this year's draft, and I like what they did. The big question, of course, is Sam Bradford, who will likely make or break the Rams' draft pretty much alone, but the talent the Rams were able to bring in with their early round picks is very encouraging. 
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I've been told premature opinions aren't a big deal, and they happen to every guy sometimes, but I have a sneaking suspicion that's a lie.

​I'll own up to it: last year I tried to do an actual report card on the Rams' draft. I gave actual letter grades to all the picks, in spite of the fact none of them had yet played a snap in the NFL, or even been to training camp. Why would I do such a ridiculous thing, you ask? Because everyone else does it, that's why!  More >>

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"How much did you get? Wow, that's a lot of money, mang. So that means I should be worth like a billion dollars, right?"

​Ryan Howard, St. Louis native and current-hated first baseman for the always-hated Philadelphia Phillies, just signed himself a capital 'E' Enormous contract extension with said Phillies.

Howard's new deal (not to be confused with the New Deal, which was a works project during the Depression that cost slightly less than half what Howard will be making), is set to begin in 2012, the year after his current contract expires. He will make $20 million annually in both 2012 and '13, $25 million each season from 2014-2016, and $23 million in 2017, his age 37 season. There's a $10 million buyout for that final season. That's right, you heard me; the Phillies will have to pay Ryan Howard ten million dollars just to go away.  More >>

​In the end, things probably worked out the way they had to in the first round of the draft. The Rams took their quarterback, and all we can hope for now is Sam Bradford turns out to be who they think he'll be.  More >>

​So I'm sure everyone has heard by now that Ben Roethlisberger has received a conditional six game suspension from the NFL for violating the league's behaviour and conduct policy.  More >>

The Cubs have decided to move former ace and known perpetrator of crimes against Gatorade machines Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen. Big Z has gotten off to a slow start this season, with a 7.45 ERA in four starts and 26 hits allowed in 19.1 innings, and the Cubs' bullpen has been less than inspiring, to say the least. Apparently the thought behind this move is to kill two birds with one stone; bolster the 'pen while giving Zambrano a chance to work through his issues at the same time.  More >>

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Please come back to us, Jo-El!

​I don't know if anyone else has been following the performance of one Joel "El Pinata" Pineiro since he left the Cardinals this past offseason, but I have. Not out of some sort of masochistic impulse to see the Cards' moves turn out badly and self-flagellate, mind you. No, I only follow the performance of ex-Cardinals out of an interest in, um, let's see...informing readers? Yeah, that'll work. That sounds perfectly fine.  More >>

The scene outside Rams Park, as protesters march against the injustice of giving $45 million to a completely unproven commodity.

​Less than a week from the NFL draft, there's been plenty to talk about lately, particularly the revelations coming from the Cleveland Browns' front office regarding talks they've had regarding a potential deal with our very own Rams to move up to #1 in the draft. Which, of course, were then heavily doused with cold water by Mike Holmgren, Cleveland's emperor of football stuff. (That's an official title, by the way.) Nonetheless, speculation will continue to circulate heavily between now and Thursday night, when the draft officially get underway.  More >>

​My father's father died in January this year. His name was Ernest Quentin Schafer, but everyone called him Gent. I don't know why, exactly; the nickname predates my arrival in the world by four decades or so. He was a lifelong Cardinal fan, and he loved Stan Musial.  More >>