Month: September 2010

Mid-Week Grades — Sept. 29

Posted by dobrien – September 29, 2010

With the end of baseball’s regular season upon us, we’re doing something different with the grades this week. It’s all about America’s Pastime. WGEM SportsCenter host Josh Houchins and I will break these down on ESPN 1440 around 8:20 or so on Wednesday. If you have a grade, email us at sportscenter@wgem.com or text us at 217-617-9437:

A — Jose Bautista. Obviously, there are folks out there who think the Blue Jays’ slugger is juicing. I think that’s pretty hard to do these days with the increased testing, not to mention the microscope the game is under thanks to the ‘Roids boys of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He’s slammed 52 homers, which is far and away the most in the big leagues this year. He’s hit 39 more homers this year than he did in 2009. It’s the biggest single-season homer leap in Major League Baseball history.

B — San Diego Padres. Back in late March, Houchins and I were looking for a team to track for the most losses in baseball. I think its Houchins’ dream to see some team do worse than the 1962 Mets. Since neither one of us could name more than three Padres at the time, we thought they’d be as good a pick as any to follow. Instead of blowing past the 100-loss mark like we thought they would, the Padres go into the final days of the season in the thick of the NL West and wild-card races. It would be nice to see a bunch of fresh faces like the Padres’ make it to October.

C — Albert Pujols. Read on before calling me crazy. Pujols had another amazing season. He’ll finish with more than 40 homers, 100 RBI and a batting average better than .300 for the 10th straight season. Had his batting average been a bit higher, he could be thinking about a Triple Crown. That’s all fine and good, but Pujols isn’t about individual accomplishments. Despite his and Matt Holliday’s great seasons, the Cardinals’ offense floundered for most of the year, which is a big reason why they’ll be sitting home in October. Awards voters will likely look toward Cincy’s Joey Votto or Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez when it comes to the NL MVP award, meaning Pujols’ monster season was truly for naught.

D — Lou Piniella. After taking the Cubs to back-to-back NL Central titles in 2007 and 2008, things seemed to get away from Piniella. The 2009 team underachieved and he seemed to give up on the 2010 Cubs after it came out that this season would be his last. He left the team last month in order to spend time with his ailing mother. It’s probably best that Piniella left when he did. The Cubs have had some time to check out some of their younger players en route to a losing record. Given one of the highest payrolls in baseball that last two years, Piniella couldn’t get it done.

F — Pittsburgh Pirates. Going into Tuesday’s game at Busch Stadium against the Cardinals, the Pirates had won all of 15 road games all season. The 1963 Mets have the worst road record ever when they went 17-64. The Pirates could beat that with a miserable finish. After today’s series finale against the Cardinals, the Pirates finish the season with a four-game trip to Florida. This season was the once-proud franchise’s 18th straight losing season. They lost more than 100 games for the second time during that span and it’s the sixth straight season the team’s lost at least 94 games. If Cubs and Cardinals fans think their teams stunk, they should try to feel the pain of  a Pirates’ fan.

Two For Tuesday — Sept. 28

Posted by dobrien – September 28, 2010

1. Can people in charge get with the times?

In case you didn’t know it, I’m a fan of Twitter. I regularly use the service to promote things in the paper, this blog or things I may be doing for WGEM on the radio or TV. It’s a great way to interact with people, too. I follow several PGA golfers on Twitter. One of the best is Stewart Cink, who does a great job giving his fans a glimpse into his life through his posts. After winning the British Open last year, he posted a close up look at the claret jug within hours and chronicled the jug’s journey the year he was in possession of it. Unfortunately, Cink won’t be posting any tweets from the Ryder Cup this week. Both captains — Corey Pavin of the U.S. and Colin Montgomerie of the European team — have agreed to not have their players use any social media platforms this week. (I think Tiger Woods can still send text messages, but that hasn’t been broached in the press conferences as far as I know.) Maybe the Ryder Cup doesn’t need any more promotion that it already receives, but not allowing the players to use Twitter or Facebook is a short-sighted. These are adults, not kids. I can understand when college coaches like Illinois men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber slaps the Twitter ban on his players — like he did last season. He knows what’s best for his team and doesn’t want/need any silly distractions. The Pavin/Montgomerie Twitter ban feels like two old guys who aren’t in touch with the times.

2. I’m still not buying the Bears or the Chiefs.

Well, the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs have already hit the three-win mark that I predicted for them going into the season. Both teams are 3-0 and the talk of the NFL right now. Believe it or not, the Bears are the only undefeated team left in the NFC. The Chiefs already have a two-game lead in the AFC West thanks to slow starts by the Chargers and Broncos and could be the only perfect team in the AFC after this weekend — the Chiefs have the bye and the Steelers play Baltimore. If pressed to pick which team will finish with more wins, I’ll go with the Chiefs. They get to play the AFC West and NFC West this year, giving them a lot of opportunities for wins. The Bears will have to play the NFC East. They’ve already beaten the Cowboys, but there are more landmines in the schedule.

QU Review — St. Xavier 45, QU 14

Posted by dobrien – September 25, 2010

Fourth-ranked St. Xavier ruined Quincy University’s homecoming festivites, handing the Hawks a loss in a Mid-States Football Association crossover game at a soggy QU-Stadium.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s stars:

1. Anthony Kropp

The St. Xavier quarterback didn’t quite to do QU what he did to the Hawks last year up in Chicago. After slicing and dicing his way to seven touchdown passes — in the first half — in last year’s 51-0 win, Kropp had just five TD passes in helping the Cougars to a 4-0 start. He was just 21 of 41 passing for 227 yards. Still he pushed his numbers this season to 25 touchdowns against just four interceptions.

2. Mike Maher

The St. Xavier wide receiver came into the game as the nation’s leading scorer regardless of classification and did nothing to hurt his status by scoring two touchdowns to extend his total to 15 this season. He caught 12 passes from Kropp for 141 yards and two scores. Maher didn’t do anything in the return game — three of his TDs are in the kick return game — but it didn’t matter. He and Kropp will be a handful for MSFA teams to handle.

3. Cory Connolly

The freshman defensive end made his presence felt to lead the Hawks’ defense. He had eight tackles, including three for loss. He forced a fumble out of St. Xavier backup quarterback Joe Gill in the fourth quarter, which resulted in the Hawks’ first sack of the season. He also broke up a pass. He has 14 tackles on the season. He’ll need to continue to play big up front if the Hawks’ defense is to improve.

DOBservations

Former QU star LeVar Ammons was at the game as part of the QU Hall of Fame ceremonies that were held this weekend. He still looks like he can carry the rock. … The Hawk defense had its best game of the season against a stout Cougars offense. The defensive line got some pressure on the QB and actually slowed the opposition’s run game. … QU still couldn’t establish a run game in the early portion of the game when it mattered. If the Hawks don’t establish the run, it’s going to be hard for them to win. … Three QBs saw time behind center for QU — Bobby Brenneisen, Trevor Durham and Sam Donatucci. … The game was QU’s first home game of the season. The Hawks have just three more home games. … Indiana State, who the Hawks will face next week in Terre Haute, Ind., suffered a 40-7 loss at Western Illinois.

Big-league brother

Posted by dobrien – September 24, 2010

Quincy University football player Kyle Volstad got the rare opportunity to watch his brother, Chris, pitch for the Florida Marlins on Monday.

In a makeup game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Chris Volstad sparkled. He threw a five-hit shutout against the Cardinals in a 4-0 victory, running his record to 10-9. Playing football — he’s the Hawks’ starting tight end — and volleyball — he’s a middle blocker for QU’s men’s team — in the heart of Cardinals country, Kyle Volstad heard plenty from his QU classmates after his brother’s gem.

“A couple of my friends were like, ‘I don’t like what your brother did to my team,’” said Volstad, who didn’t have any classes on Monday and got to catch the game.

Obviously, Kyle Volstad is proud of what his brother’s accomplished with the Marlins. He was especially proud of him earlier this month when he brawled with Washington’s Nyjer Morgan. After getting hit by a Volstad pitch on Sept. 1 in Miami, Morgan charged at Volstad and touched off a brawl.

“That was really awesome,” Kyle Volstad said of the brawl. “I called my brother that night. We laughed about it. I talked to my parents, too, and we had a laugh. I asked him what happened and he said he did what he had to do.”

Slap of the Week — Sept. 24

Posted by dobrien – September 24, 2010

Where was Jonathan Schoenakase when Braylon Edwards really needed him?

Edwards, the talented but aloof New York Jets wide receiver, picked up a DUI Tuesday, but he didn’t even need to drive. The Jets last week had a team meeting, saying it had partnered with a service called Player Protect to give any of its players a ride whenever they needed it. (Kind of like Schoenakase’s Courtesy Rides deal here in Quincy, but obviously a little more on the up-and-up.)

Obviously, Edwards didn’t pay attention during the meeting or read the flyer. Seems that the Jets are waiting for the NFL to do something about Edwards since the team plans on him playing on Sunday.

It’s dopey moves like Edwards’ that give NFL players a bad rap.

Mid-Week Grades for Sept. 22

Posted by dobrien – September 22, 2010

Welcome to another week of the Grades. Believe it or not, but this Friday night marks the midpoint of the high school football season. Time flies when you’re having fun. WGEM SportsCenter host Josh Houchins and I will have a little fun breaking these down on Wednesday’s program on ESPN 1440. Make sure to listen in around 8:20. If you’d like to text in a grade, shoot it to us at 217-617-9437:

A — Brandon Hanning. Most people would probably give this guy an “F,” but he gets an “A” in my warped mind. He’s the student who dressed up as Rufus, the Ohio University mascot, and attacked Brutus, Ohio State’s mascot last weekend. The best part about the story is that Hanning isn’t even an Ohio U. student and only tried out for the gig so that he could tackle Brutus. I’m guessing Ohio U. will have a better way of filtering its mascots since they’re in the market for a new one after canning Hanning, who gets my highest mark because of his ingenuity.

B — Michael Vick. Eagles coach Andy Reid came to his senses late on Tuesday and said that Vick would be the team’s starting QB. I’ve killed Vick before, but he deserves to be the starter for the Eagles. The team has played well in the game and a half he’s been in. He looks like the Vick of old, which is something I didn’t think could or would happen. Hopefully, he can stay on the straight and narrow.

C — Mark Dantonio. The Michigan State football coach made a gutsy call in overtime in the Spartans’ game with Notre Dame. His call for a fake field goal worked to perfection as the Spartans pulled out a 34-31 victory. After the game, Dantonio had what was termed as a “mild” heart attack. Can’t say that one thing led to another, but I’m sure that the “mild” heart attack was worth it for Dantonio. I know a lot of other people would trade a little pain to watch Notre Dame suffer.

D — Brandon Jacobs. Where the kid from Ohio gets an “A” for his moxie, the New York Giants running back gets dinged for being a dummy. He decided to “accidentally” toss his helmet into the stands during the Sunday night game at Indianapolis. Some Colts fan caught it and wasn’t about to give it back. Eventually, security ripped the helmet out of his hands and gave it back to Jacobs, who didn’t need it anyway since coach Tom Coughlin sat him out for the rest of the game. The NFL fined him $10,000. The league show also have forced him to give the guy his helmet, too.

F — Dallas Cowboys/Minnesota Vikings. I hate doing co-anything, but the winless Cowboys and Vikings deserve it. It’s been comical how bad these two supposed front runners have been early on. The Cowboys have lost to the Redskins and Bears. Both losses are inexcusable, especially the opener to Washington where a fumble by Tashard Choice on the final play of the first half led to an easy Washington TD. The Vikings lost to the Saints in the opener — no shame there — but then looked like dogs in a home loss to the Dolphins. Brett Favre, who fumbled the ball for an easy Miami TD last week, probably wishes he would have stayed home this year.

Two for Tuesday — Sept. 21

Posted by dobrien – September 21, 2010

1. How close were we to a death on the field?

I’m no doctor, but I can’t imagine that getting hit by a flying piece of wood is a good thing for you. Tyler Colvin‘s season ended on Sunday when he was hit by a piece of Welington Castillo’s bat during the Cubs’ win over Miami. Colvin is still in a Miami hospital after having his chest punctured by the bat. Now there’s a growing outrage to ban maple bats like the one Castillo was using. There’s even a product out there — the BatGlove — that could cut down on the number of broken bats that get littered all over MLB diamonds. Hopefully, MLB does something about this sooner rather than later. We’ve watched race car drivers die on the track. I don’t think we’re ready to see a baseball player go down after being sliced open by some wayward lumber.

2. Notre Dame is going to be OK

Since I work most Saturday’s I don’t get to watch too much University of Notre Dame football. However, I got home in time from my duties covering QU’s 67-58 loss at William Penn on Saturday night to check out the end of the ND-Michigan State game. The game went to overtime and Michigan State pulled it out when coach Mike Dantonio called for a fake field goal that worked to perfection. The holder threw a TD pass on the play and the Spartans gave the home fans plenty to cheer about with a 34-31 victory. New Irish coach Brian Kelly took the loss in stride. Loved his reaction when he went to shake hands with Dantonio, who later had a mild heart attack. Kelly’s look was one of “Hey, nice job. You got us on that one.” Maybe it’s blind hope — I’m sure I thought the same things about Ty Willingham and Charlie Weis, too — but I think the Irish are due for big things under Kelly, who’s won everywhere he’s been. Don’t know if the Irish will be national championship good, but they’ll be a force again soon.

QU Review — William Penn 67, QU 58

Posted by dobrien – September 18, 2010

The Hawks fell to 0-3 overall by losing a wild opening game in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest Division contest in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Here’s a look at  Saturday’s stars:

1. Bobby Brenneisen

The junior quarterback had a heck of a game before going down with a hand injury late in the third quarter. He completed 23 of 34 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, it might be a while until Hawks fans see him again. It’s feared that Brenneisen broke a bone in his left (non-throwing) hand after a Hawk offensive lineman stepped on it. Brenneisen wanted to go back into the game, but was held out by the QU training staff. QU coach Bill Terlisner fears that Brenneisen may be lost for at least a month.

2. Kyle Volstad

The senior tight end had one of his best games as a Hawk. He was on the receiving end of two of Brenneisen’s TD passes, catching a 4-yard scoring strike early in the second quarter and a 23-yard scoring strike later in the period. He had four catches for 43 yards, easily maneuvering underneath the William Penn secondary to give Brenneisen an easy target. He also made a huge recovery of an onside kick in the waning minutes of the game, going up high above the crowd to pull the ball down and keep the Hawks’ slim comeback hopes alive.

3. Trevor Durham

After making an early mistake in relief of Brenneisen and having a pass intercepted, Durham did his best to maneuver through the slop and rally the Hawks. He threw for 197 yards in just over a quarter of work. He threw a 15-yard TD pass to Jeacky Charles and hit John Castleberry with an 80-yard bomb that pulled the Hawks within 67-58. If Brenneisen is out for any length of time, Durham will need to perform like he did on Saturday.

DOBservations

Thanks to a lightning strike earlier in the day, the scoreboard at Oskaloosa Community Field wasn’t functioning. In a game that featured 115 total points, a scoreboard would have come in handy. … William Penn set a single-game school record with 540 rushing yards. … The game was the third of five straight for the Hawks against either nationally ranked NAIA schools or NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Schools. “It’s brutal,” Terlisner said of the schedule. “I can harp on that all week. We have another ranked team in St. Xavier next week and then a I-AA team the following week. It’s not like Indiana State is paying us $30,000 to come over there and beat them again.” … The 115 combined points was the most in QU program history. … The 58 points QU scored is the team’s most ever in a loss. … The six combined TD passes by Brenneisen and Durham set a single-game school mark, as did their 498 passing yards.


Hannibal Review — Hickman 17, Hannibal 14

Posted by dobrien – September 17, 2010

Hannibal’s record says 2-2.

Don’t let the Pirates’ record fool you though. If there’s a tougher .500 team in the area, I’d like to see them.

The No. 1 team in Class 4A in Illinois (Quincy Notre Dame) and the biggest school in the state of Missouri (Columbia Hickman) each needed to rally in the fourth quarter to beat the Pirates. QND scored two TDs in the final two minutes of the season-opener at 10th and Jackson to pull out a 36-32 victory. Hickman needed two big plays from senior Dylan Rodes — a 54-yard TD reception and an interception in the final two minutes — to help the Kewpies hold off the Pirates 17-14 on Friday night in America’s Hometown.

“We’re a better team now after playing this team,” Hannibal coach Mark St. Clair said. “Anyone who watched this game understands that these were two tough football teams that played each other. I can’t say enough about the kids and the way they practiced this week and prepared this week. if they prepare like that every single week and get ready to go, we will be awfully hard to beat when it comes time for the districts and our conference schedule.”

Sure, the Pirates could be loading up on cupcakes during the non-conference, non-district portion of its schedule, Hannibal has taken on all-comers. That’s meant tough games with QND and Hickman, not to mention a battle with Jefferson City Helias down the road.

The Pirates have made their opponents take note.

“We didn’t expect them to be this good,” Rodes said of the Pirates. “We knew they were a tough football team.”

One that should be well-tested when the games really start to count in late October and November.

An impressive Kewpie

Hannibal quarterback Kyle Arthaud, left, looks to pass in front of the rush of Columbia Hickman's Alex Keith on Friday night at Porter Stadium in Hannibal, Mo. Keith caused problems on defense all night to help the Kewpies to a 17-14 victory. (H-W Photo/Steve Bohnstedt)

While St. Clair raved about University of Missouri recruit Wesley Leftwich coming into the game, a teammate of Leftwich’s wound up making a bigger difference in the game. The Pirates had no answer on how to block junior defensive end Alex Keith, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder who should be getting major college looks. His head coach, Jason Wright, has compared him to Grant Wistrom and Justin Smith among others.

Keith had two sacks on Friday night and was a general pain in the Pirates’ side all night long.

“He dominated the game,” St. Clair said of Keith. “There is no other way to look at it. He bloked three punts prior to this game, and he didn’t do that tonight. We kept him from doing that, but we didn’t stop him from stalling our offense. We couldn’t get off any play-action passes because of him.”

Keith rose to the challenge Wright gave him coming into the game.

“This isn’t his type of game, so we had to challenge him,” Wright said. “We told him, ‘They will run right at you with option and smashmouth football.’ He’s used to defending the spread and rushing the quarterback. We asked him, ‘Can you put your hand in turn and get nasty and dirty?’”

Unfortunately for the Pirates, the answer was a resounding yes.

Pirate bits
Both St. Clair and Wright used to be assistants for current Truman State head coach Greg Nesbitt. St. Clair assisted Nesbitt at Hannibal, while Wright was on Nesbitt’s staff at Hickman. … The Pirates made it through the game without being called for a penalty. … Wright had high praise for Hannibal’s Mark Nemes: “(Nemes) is an unbelievable kid. He is a special kid. I wish we could clone him and make 10 more and put him out the field.” … Leftwich, who caught a 30-ayrd TD pass early in the third quarter also showed off his punting ability. He had a 64-yard punt early in the third quarter and followed that with a 50-yard boot in the fourth.

Slap of the Week — Sept. 17

Posted by dobrien – September 17, 2010

So Reggie Bush is no longer recognized as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner.

Does this mean this drama is finally over? I hope so.

So Bush took some illegal benefits when he was playing at USC. Color me shocked. Show me a big-time college football or men’s basketball program where this doesn’t happen. Bush knew at the time he shouldn’t have taken any money while he was still in school, but didn’t care much about the NCAA’s rules.

This saga has been going on for too long.

And do you think Bush cares that he has one less trophy on his mantle?

He’s said it was a tough decision to let the trophy down, but deep down, it’s doubtful he cares too much.

He just won a Super Bowl ring, is making millions in the NFL for doing very little for the New Orleans Saints and was smart enough to dump the Kardashian he was dating. He’s going to be just fine.