It was so fun, we had to do it a second time. Now that we know who the St. Louis Blues will be facing in the Western Conference Semifinals - namely, the Los Angeles Kings - here's a guide explaining why we should hate all of their players, aside from the fact that they're standing in between the Blues and the Western Conference Finals.

Besides one team being a 2-seed and the other being an 8-seed, these two franchises aren't all that different, as they both have been around for the same amount of time and neither team has hoisted Lord Stanley's famous silver chalice. And over the years, there have been some interesting series between the Blues and Kings, both in the regular season and postseason (though the Blues swept the Kings in the postseason . . . twice).

But I don't care. Here's a guide to hating the players on this team, as we'll have to do for the next four to seven games (probably closer to seven), in the same mold as was done for the Sharks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals:

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This was published last week, but due to yours truly being a complete moron, it was left off the front page. Whoops. Herp, meet Derp.

And now, your re-posting.

You may find the internet deliciousness after the jump.

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We at St. Louis Game Time are very quick on the trigger against teams that oppose our Local Six. So now that we know the St. Louis Blues will be facing the San Jose Sharks in the first round, why not create a guide explaining why we should hate every damn one of these players? Yeah, let's do that.

Remember 2000? Remember 2004? I remember both. It is SO on like Donkey Kong.

Here's a hate guide that includes every man currently on the Sharks roster, why we should hate him, and a salutation . . . embrace the hatred, let it fuel you and be your guiding spirit:

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I am a bit of a hockey fight aficionado, which you might have known about already. These days, being as such comes with ridicule and praise - praise from those who remember the old days where tough guys were always present and were there to stand up for their teammates . . . but ridicule from those who believe fighting is the ruination of modern hockey. I appreciate the former while tolerating the latter whilst trying to strike them down.

So one day, when I posted (on Facebook or BookFace or whatever the hell they call it these days) the fight report that I do for every game on another St. Louis Blues blog I write for, the first comment came from a long-time friend of mine, whom I used to play pickup roller hockey with back in the Old Town (because the nearest ice facility is about 30 miles away and anyway, we all sucked at hockey, so who cares? And I still live here, so how would it be the "Old Town" anyway? Again, who cares?), and he said the following (with italic emphasis added by yours truly):

"What will Tyler Atwood do when the NHL bans fighting?"

Well, that set me out for a bit. "WHEN the NHL bans fighting"? Sure, the NHL COULD ban fighting, but I had to think to myself about how could they make that work. After doing that for a few minutes, my response to this comment went into a long-winded missive about cheap-shot artists (you know who they are), how they would proliferate (big time), WHY they would proliferate (not having to stand up for their douche-bagged on-ice actions) and how to keep this from being a problem (a strong head of player safety taking complete control of irresponsible cheap shots, which I thought Brendan Shanahan WOULD be, but sadly has turned out not to be thus far as evidenced by the near Colin Campbell-esque level of inconsistency that was always present previously), all assuming we would live in this bizarre part of the time continuum that would somehow NOT allow for fighting to be legal in the National Hockey League. What a damn scary thought THAT is, right?

After all that, I said that I could probably write a whole blog post on the issue. That was about three months ago. Yes, I am a slacker. Thank you for pointing that out. NOW JUMP, TOWEL BOY!

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(Jump added for pure effect only.)

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And THAT is why you should not have a team nickname that does not end in an S, Minnesota.

No one reads these things, right? Well, HONEY BADGER DON'T CARE.

Plus, unlike Brad Lee, I don't hate the Cardinals. See, now I'm acting like a politician, and that's not cool.

Apparently Jaroslav Halak is in goal tonight, but I heard that report was from Andy Strickland, so you can take that how you'd like.

The Wild(s) made a big trade in the offseason in which they got rid of arguably their best defenseman (Brent Burns) and their top playmaker (Martin Havlat) for Dany "Fuckin'" Heatley and Devin "So Taguchi" Setoguchi. Nicklas Backstrom still plays goal for these guys, so they have THAT going for them. Anyway, this team is still probably boring.

If you're not here for this Game Day Thread, some of us will be at Cousin Hugo's for another GTGT that involves food, beer, hockey and people. Otherwise . . . comment on this thread like there's no game tomorrow. Because there is no Blues game tomorrow, because that would be three games in three days. Funny how that works.

Do. This. Shit.

Here at St. Louis Game Time, we have several members who are not averse to traveling to road contests to see our team. Well, if you're looking for a great adventure, one is in the works. But we just need to get the planning right first. And for once, it doesn't involve celebrating the improbable World Series title just earned by my beloved St. Louis Cardinals.

On Saturday, December 17^th, the Blues will square off with the Nashville Predators in the Music City. It promises to be a gritty, gutty Central Division contest involving two teams who came into the season with high hopes. And a group of Blues fans plan to embark on a voyage to Nashville for the game, including yours truly.

Herein lies the problem: I'm the head of the group (appointed as such by Weekend Links Rat, Hartigan, who apparently thinks I am capable of this . . . YOU'RE WRONG!), I've been extremely busy since the season schedule was released, I don't have tickets purchased yet, I don't have hotel accommodations arranged AND we are still open to more people being on board for the trip, if they so choose.

Basically, the only thing we've really accomplished out of this trip is a name for it, as you see above . . . "Epic Dec" (or, for you Twitter wonks . . . #EpicDec). No, we are not making t-shirts or hats for this.

Find out more by jumping, and maybe Towel Boy will jump as well.

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I heard a hockey season started recently. Can anyone confirm this for me? Yes? No? Whatever. We all know . . . it has arrived. BOO-YAH, HOMEY!

The St. Louis Blues have taken their first road trip of the season, swinging out west for a couple tilts with California clubs. Saturday, The Note stops in the Bay Area to square off with the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion. The game will start at about 9pm, and with that in mind, a gathering has been put together for some of us idiots to get together, drink, eat, swear and generally be jackasses around each other while watching the game on the tube. JUMP, TOWEL BOY!

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The first preseason game is tonight, and it feels so grand, doesn't it? In baseball, they talk about hope springing eternal every Spring Training for every team, as they all wipe the slate clean in preparation for a new season. The same thing happens prior to every season for hockey teams, even though such hope does not spring until the fall . . . if that makes any sense.

And as such, hope springs eternal inside many ardent St. Louis Blues fans this time of year, and seriously, as Blues fans we've needed our reasons to get our hopes up pretty much every season since the lockout (our boys haven't won a playoff game since George W. Bush's FIRST TERM as POTUS . . . that, my friends, is a fucking LONG time ago). And this year, it seems the Blues are headed toward a promising campaign.

In general, I am an optimist. I may sound the opposite at times, but I truly do look for the best result possible and hope that it happens every time. But I've been optimistic leading up to the last two Blues campaigns and, well, where did THAT get us?

So while in all reality I AM hopeful for what this Blues team can deliver this season, I decided to go a different route with this piece . . . what if, indeed, the shit hits the fan and everything went wrong again? JUMP, TOWEL BOY! JUMP!

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11) About once a week, I prank-call Dave Checketts and tell him I have a bucket full of million dollar bills at the front gate of the DrinkScotch before giggling and hanging up.

10) I drink . . . heavily.  No, more heavily than during hockey games, if you could imagine that possible.

9) I imagine the Cheveldae-Joseph goalie fight had happened yesterday.  Goddamnit, that was 18 years ago. WHERE IS MY YOUTH?!

8) I actually do work at work.  Yeah, you laugh now . . . .

7) I make up a bunch of stupid lists like this.  Yeah.  Fucking.  Right.

6) I count down the days to October 8^th, when . . . I head to a wedding in Iowa.  Haha, fuck you, schedule-makers.  Assholes, all of you.

5) I count down the days until David Backes is officially named Captain of the Blues.  Because if that doesn't happen, I will probably lead a mob starting at Market Street so as to loot the town Vancouver-style.

4) I FUCKED DETROIT!  Haha, just kidding.  I don't want any nasty-ass diseases.

3) I repeatedly point out how everything is right and awesome with the world now that the Chicago Blackhawks are no longer the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

2) I constantly wish I were in the shoes of Shahid Khan or Mark Cuban so I could make an immediate "Impulse Buy" in St. Louis involving some hockey franchise that's for sale.  After that, I imagine I'm ripping Jim Balsillie's guts out with my bare hands . . . for no reason, really.

1) I watch baseball.  No really, that's happening.  Is it October yet?

* Most of these items did not happen or have not actually happened.

I loved this photo so much that I HAD to be sure it was used again.

St. Louis Game Time proudly presents . . . 2011 Game Time Meet and Drink tour stop NUMBER TWO . . . coming Wednesday, May 18th to . . . THE ALTON SPORTS TAP IN BEAUTIFUL (?!) ALTON, ILLINOIS!

Yes, we had such a good time at the first Meet and Drink that we decided to go for another round, both literally and figuratively.  You're all invited.  We're all invited.  And it's sure to be a good time.

If you aren't familiar with where the Alton Sports Tap is, well, here's a Google Map of where it is.  Basically, it's right off Homer Adams Parkway, and for you folks from the Missouri side of the river, it's about five minutes from the Clark Bridge.

I'll be honest: I've lived 30 miles away from the Alton Sports Tap pretty much my whole life, and I've never been there, so I don't even know what to expect from the place.  But it's a sports bar, so there's that.  And it has the seal of approval from our very own Poor College Student, who of all people is from a closer proximity than ANYONE else at St. Louis Game Time.  And Tim has never swayed me wrong before.

The game of the night will be Game Two between the San Jose Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks, being played in the jewel of Canada's beautiful southwest coast (yes, I just said that out loud, SHUT UP).

I have a feeling we will do at least one more of these Meet and Drinks, so if you can't make it to this one, you still may be in luck!

So join us, won't you?  Food, beer, hockey, people, good times.  Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

It may have been coming for quite a while now, but yesterday's news regarding Dave Checketts' decision to sell his portion of the Blues, the Scottrade DrinkScotch Savvis ScotchTape AppleButter Kiel Center and the Peoria Rivermen still shocked the living hell out of me.  It raised mixed emotions, both as a die-hard fan and as somewhat of a business aficionado.

See, most of you don't know this, but I have a BBA (Business Management, '03, McKendree College, thankyouverymuch).  While my day job is in radio and deals with mostly the marketing aspect of my studies, I have a bit of experience deciphering business decisions such as this one.  And these last ten months have reeked of terrible business practices by Dave Checketts and his ownership group . . . but mostly Checketts.

Oh, and there may have been a spot of Bailey's in my coffee when I wrote the majority of this column this morning.  I am COMPLETELY enraged by the whole thing.  It's not a common or popular opinion, I know.  But when have ANY of you known me to give a shit?

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Now, before you make some snide comment about baseball, fantasy sports or Fantasy Baseball (and yes, I will capitalize "Fantasy Baseball" because I can), let's get a few things straight: 1) Go fuck yourself. 2) Die in a fire. 3) This is for fun, not for money or for keeps. And 4) If you have any questions about any of this, please refer back to Points 1 and 2.

With THAT out of the way, I have a special opportunity for some of you who actually don't mind baseball.  Y'know, people like me.

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Some of us Blues fans wanted to hold out hope that the trade deadline sell-off - while most agree was a springboard to an already-impressive Blues future - was not a bad thing for the 2010-2011 season.  But Tuesday night, after a 6-0 shellacking on the back end of a home-and-home at the hands of the Calgary Flames, not a Goddamn person in Blues Nation is smiling about the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs anymore, and for good reason.  And that's okay to do now.

All I have to say about this season is, just like the title of that old Social Distortion song . . . "I Was Wrong" about it.  DEAD wrong.  Well, motherfucker.  And here's some lyrics, because really, why the hell not?:

"How could someone's bad luck last so long?  Until I realized that I was wrong."

Honestly, I could not muster even FAKE rage at the result.  Not to pull two music references in two paragraphs, but it's too easy . . . I was "Comfortably Numb" about it (Pink Floyd . . . for the win).  Yeah, it sucks, but fuck it, it's sucked for longer than we wanted to believe it did - the season probably ended after that dreadful home-and-home with the Minnesota Wild, and we just didn't want to admit it.

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WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!?!  I THOUGHT THESE TRADES WERE GONNA WORK?!?!  WE'RE DOOMED!!!!! WE'RE NEVER MAKING THE PLAYOFFS AGAIN!  GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /StLToday Board'd

I'm pretty sure most of us Blues fans were realists even after the monster trade that went down just about exactly one week ago from this second.  But hey, a big trade can do a lot to lift the spirits.  Take the 9-3 shellacking of the Ducks from last Saturday, for example.  Yeah, that was fun, eh?  Not so much has been fun since then . . . something about a 3-game losing streak.  I fucking hate those things.

Regardless, because this is the Wild Wild West, the Blues still do technically have a chance to make the playoffs.  Either way, this team is going to turn me into a raging drunk by April if it hasn't already.

Anyway, in an attempt to start turning things around, tonight our troops invade the Rexall Place in beautiful downtown Edmonton to face the lowly Oilers (by the way, that's the first time the words "Beautiful", "Downtown" and "Edmonton" have ever appeared in the same sentence).  Edmonton is, to be blunt, one of the worst teams in the National Hockey League and most certainly the worst team in the Western Conference.  But what they lack in skill, they gain in sweet, sweet youth.  I hear they have Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle and stuff.  Yeah, those guys.  And a few more.

This has been your quick and dirty preview.  If you made it this far to read, I congratulate you.

Also, apropos of nothing, before the game I heard a rumo(u)r that the Blues were trying to deal Brad Boyes to Detroit.  God, that would be fucking hilarious, wouldn't it?  Fuck you, Eklund, even if you didn't start that rumo(u)r.

This is your game day thread.  Do.  This.  Shit.

For the Blues, Monday's tilt with the Blackhawks is huge to their future standing in the playoff hunt.  How big is it, you ask?  For one, it's a pseudo-holiday (I say "pseudo" since I don't get paid to be off work on President's Day), so it's a special weekday afternoon start at 1pm.  Moreover, Blues fans and Blackhawks fans will be pouring into town to see the game.  I have it on good authority that at least one Bostonite - one that is smitten by the Church of #SobeSobe - is going to be in town for the game.

So what do we do?  Simple: a group of us Blues fans on Twitter have banded together to have a Tweetup at a local establishment before and after the game!  Details are available after the jump.

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So we all know what happened last time the Sharks were in town - something about a hit to David Perron's head or something by some guy whose name rhymes with Blow Hornton.  And something about Perron not being able to play since that game.  Also, something about Perron being a faker by some Sharks blogger who likely knows nothing about head injuries.  Seriously, fuck that guy.

The Sharks come into tonight's action a very respectable 5-3-1 on the month.  The key there is that they're probably not letting Dany Heatley drive at any point, which cuts down on injuries to teammates.  Well, that's quite nice of them.

Sorry about the quick-and-dirty-ness of this GDT intro, but as you can see, it's a last-minute thing.  I'm pinch-hitting for PCS, and you'll likely see me later.  Perhaps some folks from Fear The Fin will pop by, and they're generally cool people, so say hello and yell a good Fuck Detroit to them.

Anyway, this is your GDT.  Get to work, fuckers!  And LET'S GO BLUES!

Our friends over at Fear The Fin put up some really cool "Sharks Carols" that you may have seen on Sunday's links.  Well, I came up with one of my own.  If you have any, feel free to share them in the FanPosts or, if you're a staff writer, post it on the front page.

The following is sung to the tune of "Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer".  Well, of course it is.  Enjoy what comes after the jump, kids!

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Snark is intended . . . for a good lot of this.  Read at your own risk. - DK

By the time you read this, there will be less than 36 hours until the puck drops (for real!) at the Scottrade DrinkScotch Savvis Johnny Appleseed Kiel Center.  I'll be there.  I'll have fun.  And if there's not at least one on-ice fight, I'll leave disappointed unless - of course - the Blues win.

But that's not why I'm spitting at you today.  No, I'm going to give my completely biased, totally homer-like preview of my team . . . your team . . . OUR team . . . the St. Louis Blues.  You're gonna enjoy what happens after the jump, trust me.  But it won't be as good as this, I guarantee.

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Tonight, I'm a bit pissed at something.  I don't know why I SHOULD be pissed, but I am.  And the reason why I'm pissed is living proof that I have a long memory.

Like most of you, I am a Cardinals fan.  In fact, I've always identified the Cardinals as my favorite professional sports franchise, despite football being my favorite sport and the Blues being my greatest passion.  And I apparently still have commenting privileges at SBN's Cardinals blog, Viva El Birdos.

But let's get to the point.  Why am I pissed?  Well, let's take a look at something from their GDT for tonight, then get an explanation afterward:

anybody remember a 2-3 month period when this website was populated almost exclusively by comments like "SIGN BEN SHEETS!!!!!!!!"? various fanposts extolled his glory.

in retrospect, that must have been extremely annoying. sorry.

So you say, "Geez, DK, what the fuck is your problem?  Why are you so pissed?"  The answer follows, young grasshopper.

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By Johnny Donutsky

STAUNTON, Ill. – A St. Louis Blues hockey blogger from Illinois received an interesting piece of mail in his letterbox Tuesday afternoon, sparking accusations that at least one Chicago Blackhawks fan was not celebrating his team’s 2010 Stanley Cup victory properly, according to local reports.

Donut King, a perpetually drunk and possibly depraved Blues fan who occasionally writes for blogs such as St. Louis Game Time and The Bluenote Zone, returned home from his regular employment Tuesday afternoon to find in his mail an envelope with his given name and home address handwritten on it. The envelope lacked a return address, but the words "ATTN: LOSER" were found to be inscribed at the bottom of the envelope postmarked Monday, June 14 in St. Louis. 

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I finally got up with the times and got myself a Twitter account.  Link after the jump.

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The year was 1996.  The St. Louis area was abuzz about hockey for probably the first time in my lifetime because of some guy named Wayne Gretzky.  Mike Keenan was our coach, which at THAT time was fun (little did we know).  Brett Hull was still playing for the Blues and was still awesome.  Al MacInnis was blasting glass and goalies' bones, and best yet, it was for the Blues!  Chris Pronger was a young star trying to come into his own.  There was a lot of red on the Blues' uniforms.  The Note was playing the Red Wings in a best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinal series.  And the Blues had a 3-2 advantage after five games, with Game Six in our house - the nearly-brand-spankin'-new Kiel Center.  Sure, it wasn't the Old Barn on Oakland Avenue, but not every story can be perfect.

This story is no different - it's not perfect.  But it has a happy ending . . . this year, anyway.

I was 15 years old, a freshman in high school, and very passionate about my support for the Blues.  The Internet, much to everyone's surprise, actually DID exist back then, but it was operated with a hand crank from a meat grinder . . . something like this:

Mmmmmmmmmm.  Ground beef.

I was barely in the exploration stages of Internet usage - in fact, the parents finally had broken down and purchased our first computer (apart from a Commodore 64 or a Tandy) a mere six months previous, and the dial-up line (yeah, who uses THOSE anymore?) was hooked up shortly thereafter.  Back in those days, people could barely FIND porn on the Internet, much less download and keep it.  Not that I would have been an authority on such things . . . .

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