Adversity on the road to a title? So what

A recent column by Skip Bayless of the San Jose Mercury News argued which team was more deserving of a World Series berth. In his mind, the Giants have followed a rockier road to the playoffs and should get into the championship based on that alone.

Ask any normal baseball fan and they'll tell you the Cardinals have been dealt the tougher hand to play.

It seems, however, that the most deserving team is the one that plays the best baseball. The fact that the Cardinals have faced more adversity on their hunt for gold in October is irrelevant. It ultimately comes down to who wins more games. Simple.

So go ahead and say it, think it and believe it -- that the Cards deserve to win a title -- the fact is to the victor go the spoils.

Here are your spoils -- your week ahead:

Tuesday

St. Louis has the blues. The blue notes will be without Chris Pronger for the first half of the season and they lost 40-goal winger Scott Young. They'll still make the playoffs though. Before the Blues drop the puck against the Hurricanes they'll drop an American Airlines CD in your lap -- that is, if you're one of the first 12,000 fans. Face-off is at 7 p.m.

Thursday

Central already has played three home games this year and now they're going to have a little thing called homecoming. Central and Sumner kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Saturday

Again with the homecoming thing. This time it's Southeast, which plays defending OVC champion and preseason favorite Eastern Illinois at 1 p.m.

I told you last week that Busch Series was coming to the area. The NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 250 will be at the Memphis Motorsports Park. Hey, it isn't top-level NASCAR, but it's close. For ticket info: (866) 40-SPEED.

The Blues have lost plenty of stars over the years -- many to the Stars. See the Blues take on the Blues at 7 p.m. Immediately after the game you'll have a chance to meet some stars as Blues captain Chris Pronger will host the first annual Goals for Glennon. Fans will have a chance to visit with players and other celebrities at the Top Shelf. For more info: (314) 577-5606.

Sunday

The Seahawks fly into St. Louis to play the "Greatest No-Show On Earth" at noon. Tickets won't be a problem because there's probably a line of scalpers outside the Ed. If the Rams lose this game, fire Martz now.

David Wilson, a junior at Central High School, is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian. His column appears each Monday.