Sports
Westplex Today Sports Page: March 9th, 2010
By Stephan R. Barnard
Mar 9, 2010 - 6:53:19 AM

With the start of baseball season less than a month away, Cardinal's fans can buy single game tickets.  Ticket windows at Busch Stadium opened at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.  Single game tickets are also available by phone, on-line, at all Cardinals Clubhouse stores, and at other ticket outlets.  The Card's season starts on the road in Cincinnati April 5th.  The home opener at Busch Stadium will be Monday, April 12th against the Houston Astros.

Number-five Missouri will face 12th-seeded Nebraska tomorrow in a first-round contest in the Big 12 men's basketball tournament.  The tourney will take place at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.  Missouri went 10-and-6 in the Big 12 for the season, while Nebraska was a conference-worst 2-and-14.  If the Tigers win, they will advance to play fourth-seeded Texas A&M on Thursday.

The Cardinals were no-hit for six innings only to take the lead but eventually lose in a 7-6 final to the Red Sox in Fort Myers.  Shane Robinson broke up the no-no with a double off Manny Delcarmen.  Daryl Jones doubled home a pair of runs in the eighth to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead, but Boston came right back with three in the bottom half.  The Redbirds responded with three more in the top of the ninth to lead 6-5, but the Bo-Sox tallied two in the bottom half to pull out the win.  Josh Reddick doubled home the tying run and scored on a a single by Che-Hsuan Lin.  Evan MacLane took the loss.  Chris Carpenter allowed four hits and one run in two innings in his spring debut for the Cards, who fell to 1-and-4 on the spring.  Adam Wainwright will face the Twins today in Fort Myers.

Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols did not make the trip to Fort Myers yesterday.  The two-time reigning NL MVP stayed behind in Jupiter due to discomfort in his back.  The slugger had his back looked at by a chiropractor.  Manager Tony La Russa said Pujols would also be held from today's game against the Twins, but could return to action tomorrow.

The Blues don't skate again until Thursday when they take on the Islanders in New York.  It's the fourth stop on a six-game road swing.  The Blues opened the road trip with wins over the Coyotes and Stars before being crushed by the Avalanche 7-3 in Denver on Saturday.  That snapped the team's five-game winning steak.  The Blues trail the Red Wings by five points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.  St. Louis will wrap up the current trek with games at Columbus Saturday and Minnesota Sunday before returning home for one game Tuesday against Colorado.  The Blues then hit the road again for games against the Rangers and Devils.