Cards clinch!

That's an outstanding look for Tony La Russa.

Ahh, the smell of stale beer and champagne in the press box. Well, maybe the beer is not so surprising, but the champagne sure is.

The Cards clinched a third straight trip to the National League Championship Series by rallying for a win over the Padres on Sunday night, and the celebration was on as reporters tried to get some reaction amid the melee. This is old hat in these parts, except that the Cardinals were spraying beer and bubbly all over a new clubhouse. They didn't have much of a chance to cristen the new Busch Stadium last Sunday, when they lost to the Brewers here and earned a trip to the postseason courtesy of an Astros loss. This time, they did it right.

So it's on to New York, where once again the Cardinals will be the underdog. They'll have Jeff Weaver going in Game 1 and ace Chris Carpenter on the shelf until Game 3, but even in a seven-game series you never know what can happen. Don't count these Cards out just yet.  -- Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

Just for fun, here is a look inside the clubhouse...