Month: September 2011

Slap of the Week — Sept. 30

Posted by dobrien – September 30, 2011

I’ve only been to an NFL game as a fan on a few occasions. Been to a few Rams games and to one Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium.

My lone Kansas City experience was a Bills-Chiefs game on a Sunday night and I had to stand for the entire game. Seems that’s what Chiefs fans do — stand for the entire flippin’ game. I was dead after the game. Felt like I had just played in the game. It makes no sense to stand for an entire game. It’s not that exciting. People don’t stand all the way through Major League Baseball or National Basketball Association games. Why is it done at National Football League games?

Looks like there’s one team out there who has fans like me in mind. Last weekend, the Cleveland Browns kicked a guy out of the game for standing too much. Seems like the team has a no tolerance policy for habitual “standers.” Most people are probably on this guy’s side and think it’s dumb that he was kicked out, but I think the team was right to eject him. Think of the hundreds of people who had to stand just to see what was happening because of this guy.

If there’s an exciting play, stand up. If the team’s about ready to score or has a big defensive stand where people are making some noise, stand up. If it’s second-and-8 from your own 32, please sit down.

Shouldn’t there be a Rams Rule for this?

And if those weren’t enough.

St. Louis “Ram Rules” Round Two from JoeSportsFan.com on Vimeo.

Sports Writers on the Web — Sept. 29

Posted by dobrien – September 29, 2011

Here’s this week’s edition of whig.com’s most popular vlog — The SportsWriters on the Web.

This week, I chat with Sports Writers Matt Schuckman and Blake Toppmeyer about what’s on deck for the Quincy High School and Quincy Notre Dame football teams. We also look at big weekends that lie ahead for the Quincy High School boys soccer and volleyball teams.

Mid-Week Grades for Sept. 28

Posted by dobrien – September 28, 2011

It’s the final day of the regular season for the 2011 Major League Baseball season. Schuckman loves to say that opening day is the best day of the year. If that’s true, then is the final day the worst? Anyway, here’s a special MLB Year in Review edition of the Mid-Week Grades. If you have a grade, send it in to us at 217-617-9437. We’ll pour over these around 8:20 on Wednesday’s program:

A — Justin Verlander. No player has dominated the game like Verlander has this season. It started early in the season with a no-hitter and the Detroit Tigers’ ace never let up. He’s the reason why the Tigers won the AL Central. It looks like he’s going to lead the AL in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He’s deserving of not only the AL Cy Young but the AL MVP as well. Detroit doesn’t have enough to win the World Series, unless he can pitch four games every series.

B — Ozzie Guillen. He went down in a blaze of glory before Monday’s game, using his own colorful language to explain that he wanted more money and not more years from the White Sox in a new contract. Unwilling to give him that, the White Sox accepted Guillen’s resignation. He’ll probably wind up in Miami, which will at least make the Marlins a bit more interesting. I really like Guillen. He may have driven some White Sox fans crazy, but he did deliver a World Series title in 2005, something the folks across town would die for.

C — Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers stars get to share the grade because some of the pundits out there are debating the merits of Kemp winning the National League’s MVP and Kershaw the NL Cy Young Award. Those seamheads say that the Dodgers duo shouldn’t be able to win the awards because the Dodgers have a losing record and aren’t in the playoffs. It’s a silly discussion. Both are worthy candidates for each and probably should win.

D — Pittsburgh Pirates. At the all-star break, the Pirates looked destined to not only have their first winning record since 1992, but looked like they might make a push for the playoffs. They wilted in July after the all-star break and even though they made some late moves at the trade deadline, getting former Cub Derrek Lee and former Cardinal Ryan Ludwick, they fizzled out and wound up with their 19th straight losing season. That least there looks to be some hope for the team in 2012.

F — Houston Astros. Playing spoiler to the St. Louis Cardinals’ playoff hopes is about all the 2011 team will be able to hang their hat on. The Astros lost at least 100 games for the first time in franchise history. The team traded away most of its good players and basically played with a Triple-A lineup for the last two months of the season. It’s hard to imagine the Astros making much of a difference in the National League Central for at least the next five years.

Two for Tuesday — Sept. 27

Posted by dobrien – September 27, 2011

Here’s what’s on my mind this Tuesday morning.

1. Thanks, Boston and Atlanta

Had it not been for the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves tanking in September, Major League Baseball wouldn’t have had any races in the final two weeks of the season. While all of the divisions were wrapped up early, the wild-card races will go down to the wire after Boston and Atlanta frittered away the big leads they had in the wild card. At this point, I’d be surprised if either team is playing this weekend when the division series start play.

2. Bad pro football is back in the Show-Me State

Maybe the 2010 season was a fluke for the St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams rose up last year after horrid 2009 seasons. The Chiefs won the AFC West, while the Rams were in the NFC West race until the final week of the season. Three weeks into this season, both teams are still searching for their first wins. Both teams have been hurt by injuries, which have slowed them. The Chiefs’ only winnable games come the next two weeks when they play Minnesota and Indianapolis. The Rams schedule lightens up in the second half of the season, but it might be too late to make a comeback by then.

Getting to Know — HLGU’s Fernanda Miaci

Posted by dobrien – September 24, 2011

In this week’s edition of “Getting to Know,” I break it down with Hannibal-LaGrange University women’s soccer player Fernanda Miaci. The junior from Brazil is rewriting the school’s record book. She already owns the school’s scoring record and will be HLGU’s all-time leader in goals with her next tally.

We talk about what it’s like coming from a big family — she’s has seven brothers and sisters. We also touch on what soccer is like in Brazil, especially on the days that the men’s teams plays in the World Cup, why she chose to come to HLGU and how much she knows about Mark Twain.

Slap of the Week — Sept. 23

Posted by dobrien – September 23, 2011

Can we just scream out “UNCLE!” already?

Raise your hand if you’re sick and tired of reading and hearing about all of the realignment that is — or might not be — coming to big-time college football. It seems like it’s something new every day.

Earlier this week, the Mizzou Tigers were heading toward the Southeastern Conference — where they would be mid-card performers at best in football. Officials at Texas and Oklahoma huffed and puffed and stuck their chests out. Finally, the Big 12 Conference fired commissioner Dan Beebe on Thursday, the fall guy for all of the league’s woes.

I’m not against conference realignment. I wish my alma mater, Eastern Illinois, would get out of the Ohio Valley Conference and join the Summit League/Missouri Valley Football Conference.

I would like to put all of the talk on the backburner and let people enjoy the games that are going on.

Sports Writers on the Web — Sept. 22

Posted by dobrien – September 22, 2011

In this week’s edition, I chat with H-W Sports Writers Matt Schuckman and Blake Toppmeyer on a variety of topics. We talk about how the Quincy High School football team intends to bounce back against Moline; if Peoria Central will pose a threat for Quincy Notre Dame; take a sneak peek at Macon-Clark County and get Schuck’s prediction on Western Illinois’ Missouri Valley Conference Football opener at No. 2-ranked Northern Iowa. (Hint: Schuck doesn’t think it’s going to be pretty.)

Mid-Week Grades for Sept. 21

Posted by dobrien – September 21, 2011

Lots of the kids are getting their mid-terms this week, we always have our grade book open here every Wednesday for you to chime in on what’s going in the sports world. As usual, WGEM SportsCenter host Josh Houchins and I will go over these grades around 8:20 on today’s program on ESPN 1440. To submit your grade, text us at 217-617-9437. Here we go:

A — Quincy University women’s soccer team. So much for flying under the radar. Dave Musso hoped his Lady Hawks would be able to sneak up on some people this year. After all, Becky Fleming, the program’s best player in nearly two decades, had moved on. Not only has QU shot back into the national rankings, but they’ve taken control of the Great Lakes Valley Conference race thanks to its huge 2-1 victory over Wisconsin-Parkside last week. If the Lady Hawks, who are now third in the nation, can continue to fly high, they have a great chance to host the NCAA Tournament for the first time in this string of NCAA appearances.

B —Larry Merchant. The veteran announcer made my weekend when he talked smack right back at Floyd Mayweather following Mayweather’s win over Victor Ortiz on Saturday night. After being disrespected repeatedly by Mayweather in the post-fight interview, the 80-year-old Merchant fired off the zinger of zingers saying, “If I was 50 years younger I’d kick your, (tail).” It was good to see that Merchant wasn’t going to let Mayweather bully him around.

C — LPGA Tour. The tour got a great shot in the arm over the weekend when 16-year-old American Lexi Thompson won her first title over the weekend. She whipped the field at the Navistar LPGA Classic, but the win didn’t get her an LPGA Tour card. She wasn’t even allowed to start the Q-school process until LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan allowed her to go through it even though she doesn’t meet the tour’s minimum age requirement of 18. Even after the win, Whan said Thompson has to go through Q School. She passed one phase earlier this summer, winning the qualfying tourney by 10 shots. On a Tour that’s lost on the American golf scene thanks to its foreign influence, Whan should be welcoming Thompson with open arms. She’ll probably glide through Q school anyway, but why not let her in. She’s already proven she can win.

D — Atlanta Braves. If the Braves don’t qualify for the playoffs, their 2011 swoon will go down as one of the worst in MLB history. On Sept. 4th, they led the NL wild card race by 8 1/2 games over the Cardinals and 9 1/2 games over the  Giants. With a week to go in the season, both the Cardinals and Giants have playoff pulses thank to the Braves, who were 7-12 this month going into Tuesday’s play.

F — Kansas City Chiefs. After making the playoffs last year, all of the sudden Chiefs fans are hoping the team goes into the tank to get into the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. They’ve been outscored 89-10 through two games, lost one of their top defenders (Eric Berry) and one of their top offensive threats (Jamal Charles). You can’t blame Chiefs fans for being a bit anxious. Since they don’t have a competitive baseball team any more, the Chiefs are all that the town’s got. (Sorry, Sporting Kansas City fans.)

Two for Tuesday — Sept. 20

Posted by dobrien – September 20, 2011

Time for my weekly appointment with the two-fer:

1. At least they didn’t roll over

On the award-winning WGEM SportsCenter program, host Josh Houchins and I buried the St. Louis Cardinals’ season on Aug. 17. The Redbirds were seven games behind first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central Division at the time. We knew at the time that the Birds’ division title hopes were dead. Milwaukee will eventually wrap up the Central later this week. But thanks to the wild card, the Cardinals have something to play for down the stretch. That day, they were six games behind Atlanta. A week later, they were 10.5 games out of the wild card. It looked like the Birds were dead. Fast forward nearly a month and the Cardinals have life. They’ll go into today’s three-game set with the Mets at Busch Stadium down just 2 1/2 games to the Braves. I’m still not sold that the Cardinals will pass — or even catch — the Braves, but you have to give them credit for not bagging it when they faced that double-digit deficit.

2. Can we please get on to Mayweather-Pacquiao already?

I don’t watch boxing. I can tell you that the Klitschko brothers are bad dudes and that the only bout the common Joe like me wants to see is Floyd Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather picked up another win over the weekend, and is now angling for his next fight. Let’s hope that it’s Pacquiao. The outspoken Mayweather says he won’t fight Pacquiao unless Pacquiao takes a blood test to show he’s not on steroids. The Pacquiao camp says he’ll take the test. Many think that Mayweather is just posturing and really doens’t want to face Pacquiao. More than half the people on a USA Today poll think that Mayweather is all bark and no bite when it comes to Pacquiao. Both men would get rich off a fight. Estimates are is that they’d split upwards of $100 million. I know I’d pay to see it.

QU Review — QU 55, Concordia (Mich.) 7

Posted by dobrien – September 17, 2011

The Hawks made it a happy first homecoming at Flinn Stadium on a overcast Saturday afternoon by drilling the first-year Cardinal program.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s stars:

1. Jarrod Sargent

The true freshman from Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin made the most of his first college start. He was on the receiving end of two touchdown bombs by fellow SHG alum Bobby Brenneisen. Sargent had all of one catch on the season before Saturday, but had scoring grabs of 53 and 62 yards. With senior John Casselberry out because of injury, Sargent slid right into the lineup and the Hawks’ offense didn’t miss a beat.

2. Cory Connolly

He was a menace on defense again. Though he made only two tackles, the sophomore from Aurora harassed Concordia QB Scott Galland for much of the first half. He was in the right place at the right time in the first quarter, picking up a fumble and returning it 9 yards for a touchdown. It was his first touchdown since the eighth-grade. He’s developing into one of the best defensive ends in the Mid-States Football Association.

3. Leon Spears

He only made one play, but it was a big one. The sophomore returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, setting the tone for a big day for the Hawks. His performance came on the heels of a rough day against Marian last week when he fumbled two kickoffs and muffed another.

DOBservations

The Hawks’ 55 first-half points established a school record, topping the 49 they put up in a 77-21 victory over Taylor at QU-Stadium back in 2003. … This was one of the few breaks in the Hawks’ grueling Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division schedule. They’ve already played Marion, ranked No. 4 in the NAIA, and still have games looming with No. 1 St. Xavier and No. 2 St. Francis (Ind.). When asked if getting a gimmie like Saturday’s made up for the three tough games, QU coach Bill Terlisner said: “I’m sure we probably would have had to play those three monsters in (MSFA) crossover games anyway. That’s one thing I’m not going to miss about the Mid-States is not getting nice scheduling.” … Spears’ kick return for a touchdown was QU’s first since Kehan Rahming did it in a game against Geneva (Pa.) in 2004.