Back from Arizona and the West Regional, and turning my attention to the Blues…

1. THE BLUES ARE NO FLUKE: Teams can get hot and look better than they really are. I don’t think that’s the case with the Blues, who have won their last five games including an invigorating  weekend sweep of Columbus. But this is nothing new. This isn’t just a random streak.

Here’s the deal: depending on how you calculate it, the Blues have been the best team in the league since Jan. 3. Let’s take a look:

NHL Winning Pct. Since Jan 3:

- St. Louis, .684

- New Jersey,  .671

- Detroit,  .667

The Blues are tied with Detroit for the most points (52) in the NHL since Jan. 3 but the Red Wings have played one more game than the Blues.

The Blues are proving their newfound brilliance over time. They’ve stretched the success out, and made it last. They’ve moved into 8th place in the Western Conference. This has been a magical run, but it isn’t a mirage. This is a really good hockey club. They just needed a goaltender to step in and make the big saves, and Chris Mason continues to do that.

2. AND THE KIDS SHALL LEAD THEM: During the 5-game winning streak, here are the Blues’ leading scorers:

- Patrick Berglund  4-3-7  +5

- David Perron  2-5-7  +4

- T.J. Oshie  3-3-6  +4

We’ve been fortunate to watch some entertaining performances over the last decade in St. Louis and Missouri sports. The Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf, Albert Pujols, the Cardinals’ October 2006 run to the World Series, Mizzou reaching the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight this month. But watching the Blues’ kids take off and lead this team into playoff contention has been a lot of  fun. It’s right up there for entertainment value. Oshie, Perron and Berglund have energized and electrified this franchise. You just want to keep watching them, to see what they’ll do next. When you have highly skilled young players who play with grit and charisma, you’ve hit the jackpot. And they’re only getting started. How good will these young guns be next season, or two years from now? Wow. And the Blues welcome cornerstone defenseman Erik Johnson back next season? What a bright future.

3. JUST ONE GUY’S OPINION, BUT TOM IZZO IS THE BEST COACH IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL: There are a lot of superb coaches in college hoops. And if you want to make a case on behalf of Roy Williams, Coach K, Rick Pitino, Bill Self, Jim Calhoun, John Calipari, Billy Donovan, Ben Howland or some others out there, it’s perfectly understandable. But I believe Izzo is No. 1 He reinforced that notion Sunday in leading Michigan State to a smackdown of Louisville in the Midwest Region final. Izzo has now taken his Spartans to the Final Four for the fifth time in the 11 years, and all of Izzo’s players who have stayed at MSU for four years have been to at least one Final Four. Other coaches consistently land more heralded recruits, some have won more national titles, some have done a remarkable job of maintaining a high level of success after inheriting an iconic program. But here’s the bottom line: does any coach squeeze more out of his talent than Izzo? I do not think so. He finds these rough-edged talents, builds them up and makes winners out of them. He gets good recruits and molds them. (Great recruits? Maybe a few. But we aren’t talking North Carolina, Duke, Kansas or UConn here in terms of year in, year out recruiting hauls). If you want no-retreat, no-surrender competitors, you’ll find them at Michigan State. This is no accident.  The players are conditioned during Izzo’s grueling, bruising “War Drills,” and that gives them hard shells. And when March comes around, you can usually count on Michigan State being up there as the toughest, roughest most tournament-ready squads in the field. It’s happened again. Izzo Power.

4. TIGER WOODS, THE MASTER STALKER: Let’s say you are playing the final round of a PGA event. You’ve carved out a reasonably comfortable lead. And all of a sudden, you feel him getting closer … you feel the heat… you sense his presence… wondering when the hammer will drop… and you are virtually helpless to do anything about it; you just know that he’s coming after you, and he will ruin your day.  Sean O’Hair was the latest to succumb to the frightening force of nature known as Tiger Woods. It happened Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hills, when O’Hair had a five-stroke lead disappear into the Tiger’s jaws. Woods has been tuning up since returning from major surgery, and it was only a matter of time until he returned to form. Woods now has his first victory in the bag for 2009, and the Masters is right around the corner. Now the others on the Tour have to live with the reality of what this means for their professional lives. They’re in the defense mode now. Woods is Joe Montana in the huddle, with 2 minutes left on the clock and his team down by 4 points. Woods is Bill Russell in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Woods is Gretzky curling behind the net, controlling the puck, about to pounce, late in a tie game of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Woods is Michael Jordan, calling for the ball in the final seconds of the deciding game in an NBA Final. You know he’s coming, and you think you’re prepared, but you can’t stop it.

5. STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: Question for the folks who run Lambert Field: why are arriving bags from five different flights being funneled onto one carousel, creating a terrible logjam of passengers in a tight physical space, when several other baggage carousels are open and unused? Thousands of people are about to visit town for the NCAA Women’s Final Four basketball championship, and is it too much to ask if we suggest a better way of doing things to make a positive and welcoming impression? … one of the coolest things about this season’s Missouri basketball team were the parents of the players, and seeing them stand together to root for their sons. The Moms and Dads of Mizzou basketball are warm, friendly and a wonderful reflection on their kids and the personal quality of Coach Mike Anderson’s program…  does anyone really believe that Padma Lakshmi chows down on Hardee’s hamburgers? Please … then again, Padma was marrried to Salman Rushdie, and a lot of people wouldn’t have believed that, either … don’t get me wrong; I certainly appreciate Padma eating the burger for reasons that have nothing to do with food … music talk: you may have seen the UK band White Lies on Letterman last week. But if you didn’t, and you appreciated Joy Division or Echo and the Bunnymen, then you’ll probably like White Lies… I’m a honk for North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, but gosh was he exposed by Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin on Sunday … the closer we get to the NFL Draft the more I’m thinking it will be hard for the Rams to pass on Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry with the No. 2 overall pick. Coach Steve Spagnuolo needs to build a defense, and right now the Rams don’t have a player to build around. Curry can be that guy. Quality offensive tackles will be available in the second round. I reserve the right to change my mind pending any new info or developments that surface between now and the draft.

Thank you for reading and please excuse my late-night writing typos if there are any.

-Bernie