J O I N U S O N L I N E S T L T O D A Y. C O M / S P O R T S
SUNDAY • 03.25.2018 • B
BLUES BACK IN GOOD SPOT BLUES 2 COLUMBUS 1
They’re second wild card for now
> 7 p.m. Tuesday vs. Sharks, FSM > Gunnarsson injury is the latest loss for Blues defense. B8
BY JIM THOMAS St. Louis Post-Dispatch
WESTERN WILD CARD Team GP COL 75 STL 75 LAK DAL
76 75
PTS 90 89 89 84
COLUMBUS, OHIO • The Blues
finally climbed the hill. Barely. Out of a playoff position since Feb. 24, they moved into the second-wild card spot Saturday with a season-best fifth consecutive win, cooling off the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in a pressure-filled contest at Nationwide Arena.
The Blues took a 2-0 lead on goals by Alexander Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko, and then Jake Allen and the defense did the rest in holding off a talented and fresh Columbus club. “What we’ve seen is complete desperation on our part,” coach Mike Yeo said. “Approaching every game like the season’s on the line. So the challenge for us ASSOCIATED PRESS
See BLUES • Page B8
The Blues’ Kyle Brodziak celebrates after Alexander Steen’s first-period goal.
CURTIS COMPTON • Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Loyola players celebrate and Kansas State players console each other after the Ramblers won the South Region, in Atlanta, to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1963.
Ramblin’ on Loyola-Chicago’s improbable run heads to Final Four with win over Kansas State LOYOLA’S SEASON NO ONE SAW COMING
100/1 Odds to win South Region at some sports books at start of tourney.
3 Loyola was picked third in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.
5 Coach Porter Moser 0 Wasn’t expected to never had finished better than fifth in 12 seasons.
receive an at-large bid had it lost in the MVC Tournament.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA • Porter Moser stood in front
of the scarf-clad Loyola cheering section, a bit dazed but beaming from ear to ear. “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?” the Ramblers coach screamed over and over. No kidding. Loyola is headed to the Final Four . An improbable NCAA Tournament took its craziest turn yet Saturday night, when Ben Richardson scored a careerhigh 23 points and the 11th-seeded Ramblers romped to a 78-62 victory over Kansas State to cap a stunning run through
J U P I T E R , F L A . • Carson knows Carlos. The Cardinals’ Class AAA catcher (for now) has caught too many of Martinez’s pitches to count. And after framing 55 more
Saturday afternoon, Carson Kelly had some words for those of us who are worried about Carlos Martinez’s curious camp. “He was lights out,” Kelly said after he took off his mask and sat down on one of the golf carts that rove the minorleague side of the Roger Dean Stadium complex. Martinez had just carved
through a lineup of minorleague Marlins for four innings, allowing two hits and one run. Cheap ones at that. One of the hits bounced off an infielder’s glove. The RBI triple that should have been a double pinballed around the outfield longer than it should have. Martinez walked two. He also struck out six and made many baby Marlins look very, very silly.
> 12:05 p.m. Sunday at Nationals, FSM > Mayers makes opening-day roster. B3
CARDINALS PREVIEW | SECTION S
78 KANSAS ST.
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the bracket-busting South Regional. The Ramblers (32-5) matched the worst-seeded team to reach the Final Four, joining Louisiana State (1986), George Mason (2006) and Virginia Commonwealth (2011). Those other three all lost in the national semifinals. Loyola gets its turn on Saturday in San Antonio against Michigan. The Ramblers will try to become the lowest-seeded team to win a national championship, a See NCAA • Page B5
Michigan advances to Final Four • Wolverines hold off Florida State 58-54. B5 Sunday • Villanova vs. Texas Tech, 1:20 p.m. • Duke vs. Kansas, 4:05 p.m. • TV: Both on KMOV (4)
Martinez looks strong ‘right on time’ BEN FREDERICKSON St. Louis Post-Dispatch
LOYOLA
Martinez pitched like a twotime All-Star in an intentionally short tune-up that was designed to launch him into his second consecutive openingday start. He pitched like you would expect him to pitch against a lineup of kids who probably called home to say, “Dad, guess what, you’re not going to believe this, but today I got to hit See FREDERICKSON • Page B2
The days of shame over for Mizzou Tigers returned to respectability BY DAVE MATTER St. Louis Post-Dispatch
COLUMBIA, MO. • His first two
years at Mizzou, Kevin Puryear usually pulled a hoodie over his head when he walked to class, hoping to conceal his identity as much as possible. That’s not easy as a 6-foot-7 African-American at a predominantly white university, but when you win 18 games in two seasons, a stroll through campus becomes a personal walk of shame. Those days are over for Puryear and his teammates. Even though the 2017-18 season ended with a couple of postseason thuds, the Tigers revived their program under first-year coach Cuonzo Martin and his blended cast of newcomers and
See MU • Page B4
SPORTS
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