Parris & Burwell Show Note Friday 10.02.09

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9:02a -- The most wonderful time of the year!  Cardinals almost in playoffs, NHL getting started, NFL season in full affect.  Here are the talking points we had in the opening drive:

1.      Hockey

a.       The St. Louis Blues begin regular season play today at 2 p.m. as they take on the Detroit Red Wings in the first of a home-and-home series in Stockholm, Sweden

b.      The Blues reeled off three straight preseason wins, including a 6-0 victory over Swedish Elite League's Linkoping HC on Tuesday, to wrap up exhibition play at 5-1-and-1

c.       The Blues' home opener is October 8th against the Thrashers

2.      Football

a.       The winless St. Louis Rams head West to face the first-place San Francisco 49ers this Sunday at Candlestick Park

b.      The Rams dropped to 0-and-3 under new head coach Steve Spagnuolo last Sunday when they suffered a 36-17 loss to the Packers

c.       Quarterback Marc Bulger injured his right shoulder in the setback and Kyle Boller will start in Bulger's place if he can't play

d.      San Francisco won both meetings against the Rams last season.

3.      Baseball

a.       Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter got it done on the mound and at the plate to dismantle the Reds 13-0

b.      Carp allowed three hits and struck out six over five scoreless frames for his 17th win

c.       He also drove in six runs with a grand slam, his first career homer, and a two-run double as St. Louis avoided a three-game sweep in Cincinnati

d.      Troy Glaus had two hits, two RBI and scored twice as the Cards won for just the second time in seven games

4.      Football

a.      The 13th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions hit the road for the first time this season tomorrow to take on Illinois

b.      Illinois comes in at 1-and-2 following a 30-0 setback at Ohio State

9:24a-- Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo joined the show. Coach Spags said that although the team is 0-3, they can really learn a lot from such a bad start and even though the injuries and suspensions can bring a team down; on the upside it gives other people a chance to show what they can do. Coach Spags says that it is important for him to not change his coaching philosophy in tough times. The coaches primary concern right now is to get his team it's first win, no matter how that is accomplished.  Click below to hear the entire interview:

9:43a-- It's time for the Pat-Trick! Todays topic is:

Top three reasons the Rams could get their first win this Sunday:

3. Rams defense is facing Glen Coffee, not Frank Gore.

2. Kyle Boller gets to run the offense for an entire game.

1. Steven Jackson averaging almost 5 yards per carry.

Burwell thinks the Rams must play mistake-free football in order to have a shot at winning on Sunday. This means no turnovers and no stupid penalties.

10:03a-- Former St. Louis Blues' Rookie of the Year Bruce Affleck joined the show to talk about the upcoming season. Affleck says that the Blues' momentum from last year may or may not have any bearing on the start of this season and he believes the Blues have a tough challenge right off the bat against Detroit. He thinks that the Blues goaltending core this year is much more clear cut, with both a capable starter and backups. Affleck thinks Eric Johnson is going to have a breakout year, but getting off to a good start is key for his confidence. Affleck thinks Paul Kariya is a finely tuned athlete, but he needs to stay healthy and contribute to the goal scoring in order for the Blues to be successful. He thinks Derek Armstrong is going to emerge as a dark-horse during the season this year.  Click below to hear the entire interview:

10:24a-- It's time for Across the Country! Milwaukee beat writer Anthony Witrado joined the show to talk Cardinals and Brewers. Witrado says that if Adam Wainwright get his 20th win tonight, then he should win the Cy Young although Carpenter may take votes away from him. Witrado says the Brewers must focus on starting pitching in the off season if they want to be competitive next year. Next, Detroit beat writer George Sippel joined the show to talk Blues and Red Wings. Sippel feels Detroit is the considered home team while playing in Sweden because of all the Swedish players on their roster, but it should be a good series no matter what. Sippel says the Red Wings may be in a rebuilding year this year, but shouldn't miss a beat due to their extremely talented young players. He says that Detroit fans don't really hate St. Louis fans, because they don't look at a team as a rival until after a few tough playoff games.

10:43a-- John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle joined the show to talk Rams and 49ers. Crumpacker feels that Sunday's game should be a good one regardless of records. Crumpacker says that the dropoff from Frank Gore to Glen Coffee is pretty significant, but they intend to pass the ball a lot in the fourth quarter.
Time for Parris and Burwell's week 4 NFL picks. They agreed on every pick except for 2; Parris picked the Buffalo Bills over the Miami Dolphins, while Burwell picked Miami over Buffalo and Burwell chose the Denver Broncos over the Dallas Cowboys and Parris had Dallas over Denver.

11:02a-- Cardinals second baseman Skip Schumaker joined the show for a little baseball talk.  He talked about even though he wasn't a guy on the field everyday with the 2006 World Series Champion Cardinals, he learned a lot from then that he can apply to now.  The biggest thing he learned?  To the slow the game down.  We also played some sound from Skip when he joined us back in February at Spring Training and compared that Skip to the Skip now.   How is this Skip different?  Click below to hear that answer and the entire interview.

11:23a-- Cardinals insider Derrick Goold joined the show.  If Adam Wainwright wins 20 games tonight it will be only the 5th time in the history of the Cards that a guy has won 20 games and had so many strikeouts.  Derrick said hands down, the Manager of the Year will be Jim Tracy.

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