FanHouse St.LouisBlues

The Detroit Red Wings defeated the St. Louis Blues, 4-3, in shootout Monday night to bring an 0-4-1 skid to a halt. It was perhaps their ugliest win of the season, as they allowed 33 shots to the last-place Blues while mustering just 21 of their own.

The win should provide a boost to a team struggling under the weight of injuries to key players such as Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom and Brad Stuart. Their troubles in recent weeks have been reminiscent of last season's awful, injury-plagued month of February, their worst of the season. Last night may have been what the team needed to snap out of it.

While St. Louis Blues fans can get free food for attending home games, it appears that they won't be able to get free beer, despite a promotion that hyped such a thing.

We all know the way to most men's hearts is through their stomach. Free beer? How could that not work? You could get men to do many embarrassing things for free beer, or at least mundane household chores.

Thinking along those lines, the St. Louis Blues planned a section of discounted tickets for Tuesday night games where by the buyer would get free watered-down room-temperature stadium beer.

Unfortunately, the PC Police must have seized upon this, because now the promotion was canceled before it even began. Phooey!

Shortly before lunchtime Thursday, the St. Louis Blues sent an e-mail to fans announcing "Tuesdays on Tap," a promotion offering unlimited free beverages, including beer, for certain tickets to five upcoming home games.

At 4 p.m., Blues executive Peter McLoughlin told the Post-Dispatch, "This one is not happening."

Asked why, he said that it was a "business decision."

A business decision? Bah! More like those screeching harpies over at MADD heard about the Rob Ramage sentence and got their panties in a knot. "Oh, noes!!! How can a team give away alcoholic beverages? The world will slip into chaos!!"

On a more serious note, how could any major league sports team think that giving out free UNLIMITED beer would be a good thing? A (single) beer? Fine. A whole bunch of them? That's just asking for trouble, lawsuits, and potential DUI-related accidents. Let's face it, most people can't handle their alcohol, and many aren't smart enough NOT to drive after downing a few brewskis.

Erik Johnson, the first overall pick in the 2006 Entry Draft, had spurned the temptation to turn pro and earn some instant cash. Instead, Erik lived his dream to play with the University of Minnesota, and had given hints that he intended to stay there for a few years.

Well, the lure of the NHL must have finally got to the boy as he's signed on with the St. Louis Blues.

I talked to Erik today (Wednesday) and he told us he's not going back to the University of Minnesota and I got a big smile on my face," Blues President John Davidson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

According to the Post-Dispatch, the contract will be for three years, with a base salary of $765,000 and an $85,000 signing bonus. The contract will also be loaded with incentives that could bring him anywhere from $2 to $3 million per season.

Widely considered the #1 prospect in the game today, Blues fans hope Johnson can bring them the same kind of 2-way defensive dominance that Chris Pronger or Al MacInnis brought to the club during the good old days.

While Johnson had offers to join the Blues right after being drafted, it was best for all involved that he went back to university. Why burn up a year of his contract to be overwhelmed at the NHL level, playing on a bad team? Now that Erik is one year older and more mature, he should be much more able to adapt to the NHL game.

The first step in Erik's development will be joining Team USA in the upcoming World Championships in Moscow. This will give fans their first chance to see how Erik does against some of the best in the world.

You can read more on Erik Johnson at Hockeysfuture.com