THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Show-Me state got its second new NFL general manager this week when Scott Pioli, longtime vice president of player personnel for the New England Patriots, was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs. This comes on the heels of Billy Devaney being elevated recently to the same post with the St. Louis Rams. Both GMs inherit teams that went 2-14 last year and neither has his head coach locked in for next season. Which of the two do you think will be first to lead their team back to the playoffs?

JIM THOMAS
There’s a lot of hype surrounding Pioli, but a once-in-a-generation type of quarterback like Tom Brady makes a lot of people look like genuises. Even with Denver hiring a new coach and LaDainian Tomlinson showing signs of wearing down in San Diego, the AFC West remains a tougher division than the NFC West. So we’ll go with Devaney and the Rams, barely.

BERNIE MIKLASZ
The Chiefs have an edge with Pioli, who is the No. 1 “catch” of the offseason. There is less work and rebuilding to do in Kansas City, and fewer questions about ownership stability.

BILL COATS
Devaney has a slight edge here. The Rams’ roster, while badly in need of an overhaul, actually is a bit stronger than the Chiefs’ roster. Plus, the NFC West is arguably the weakest division in the NFL — not that the AFC West is filled with juggernauts. So if the right buttons are pushed, the Rams could make a move up pretty quickly.

KATHLEEN NELSON
I’ll give the edge to the Chiefs because the Hunt family seems to have a better football sense than Chip and Lucia. Scott Pioli also comes from a recent winning tradition with the Patriots, the closest thing the NFL has had to a dynasty in the last decade.

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MIDDAY NEWS AND THOUGHTS

STILL GLAD TO BE A CUBBIE? When Aaron Miles signed with the Chicago Cubs on Dec. 31, most folks thought he would be penciled into the starting second base job with Mark DeRosa leaving Chicago. Well not so fast. According to the Chicago Tribune, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said this week that Miles will compete with Mike Fontenot for the job during spring training.

Fontenot hit .360 after the All-Star break last year and showed he can play at a high level. “I think when we all got done, and all the things that got batted around in the last couple of months, we forget how good a player he was last year,” Hendry told the Tribune.

Miles, 32, averaged 134 games played and batted .263, .290 and .317 over the last three years with the Cardinals. But he sure sounded like he thought his future was bright when leaving town. Who can forget the following comments he made to Chicago beat writers: “I’m excited to be a Cubbie. Being a Cardinal was great, and that part is over now. Now I’m ready to be a Cubbie and play the game the right way.”

Well, it looks like the right way might be another stint as a utility player … but this time for the Lovable Losers, not the 10-time world champs. I’m just sayin’.

To be fair, Miles didn’t totally slam the Cardinals on his way out of town. In fact, he told P-D writer Derrick Goold the following: “It was still the toughest decision I’ve had to make because St. Louis was the greatest experience I’ve ever had in baseball. Being with the Cardinals made my career happen. I started in Colorado, but I made a name for myself in St. Louis.”

If you missed it the first time around, you can check Goold’s interview with Miles in the Birdland blog.

THE END OF AN ERROR? Say it ain’t so. Chemistry problems in the Dallas Cowboys locker room? Nah, can’t be. Surely the Cowboys had to be convinced they could control Terrell Owens when they signed him … after he had already worn out his welcome in Philadelphia and San Francisco. What convinced them otherwise? Perhaps it was T.O. calling out golden boy quarterback Tony Romo late this season. But that’s just history repeating itself, as we all know T.O. trashed his QBs in Philly and San Fran — Donovan McNabb and Jeff Garcia, respectively.

But Owens may not be the only problem, reports ESPN’s Ed Werder. He says improving locker room chemistry is the highest priority for the Cowboys this offseason. “I think we all know that chemistry is the problem with this team more than the schemes or anything else,” a Cowboys source told Werder. “Are we going to continue to allow talent to outweigh everything else in the decisions we make with players and putting the roster together? … There’s more to it than talent. It has to be more about the team. … “The big one [Owens] didn’t get discussed yet, but I’m sure it will and real hard.”

This one is about as surprising to me as “Dog bites man.”

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SOMETHING TO PONDER

THE DEVILS MADE HIM DO IT: So the Brendan Shanahan “sweepstakes” are over as the three-time Stanley Cup champion has finalized a contract to play out this season with the New Jersey Devils, the team that selected him No. 2 overall in the 1987 draft. This may prick at the hearts of some Blues fans — the Blues had expressed interest in Shanahan returning to St. Louis — but I think the Blues benefitted by Shanahan’s desire to finish out his career on the East coast.

There’s no denying the impact of Shanahan’s career. He has tallied 650 goals and 1,340 points in 1,490 NHL games. He ranks 11th on the career goal list and 24th in points. Again, unmistakably a star.

Now for the flip side: First, Shanahan turns 40 next week. He’s clearly nearing the end of the road. This is not the same guy who the Blues signed in 1991 in a trade that sent defenseman Scott Stevens to the Devils (where Stevens helped lead New Jersey to three Cup titles.) No, this Shanahan is coming off a 23-goal, 46-point season with the Rangers in 2007 — the lowest total since his rookie season. Shanahan’s last truly great year came in 2005 with the Red Wings, when he put up 40 goals and 81 points. That’s three years ago, or 21 in dog years (and since Shanahan has played 21 seasons, I think the comparison works.)

For my ticket money, give me the Baby Blues and the future on the ice rather than Shanahan and the past. Sorry, Shanny, but I just would hate to see you taking ice time away from the guys that are going to lead this team for years to come.

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STAT OF THE DAY

102 — Points Shanahan put up for the Blues in 1993. 52 goals and 50 assists. Wow!