Luke Guthrie likes the way he is swinging the club, but he knows there is room for improvement.

If that happens, he should find himself in the thick of the chase for the NCAA championship.

Tuesday at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., Guthrie put together a run of four birdies in five holes, got as low as 2-under-par and finished the first round of the NCAA Championships at even-par 72 and tied for 19th in the 156-player field. Guthrie, a Quincy native and junior at Illinois, helped the Illini into a tie for fifth place in the 30-team field. After 54 holes of stroke play, the individual champion is crowned and the top eight teams advance to match play.

Starting on No. 10, Guthrie played the back nine in 1-over, suffering a double bogey on the par-4 13th. The hole proved to be a bugaboo for the entire field. The 156 players combined to play the hole in 88-over. There were five birdies made on the 13th, along with three sevens and one eight, which belonged to Illinois’ Chris DeForest. After the quadruple bogey, DeForest rebounded to finish at even-par and give the Illini a major lift.

Guthrie finished the back nine with a birdie on No. 18, and then made the turn with consecutive birdies at Nos. 1 and 2. He posted two more birdies, but closed with bogeys on three of his final five holes. Guthrie and DeForest tied for the low round for the Illini.

Guthrie said his round was solid, but he missed some short putts.

The tournament continues Wednesday with Guthries teeing off at 8:50 a.m. Check back Wednesday afternoon for another update.

Despite a 28-0 record, a Mid-State Six Conference championship and a third straight sectional title, Quincy Notre Dame senior Ian Hinkamper drew the No. 31 seed in the singles bracket of the state tennis tournament. Only one other player outside of the Chicagoland area received a top 32 seed, and that was Belleville West senior Max McLean, who is 17th.

So just how steep are the odds of Hinkamper finishing in the top 12, let alone reaching the championship finals?

Well, he has a 7 in 95 chance.

That’s how many state champions there have been from a school outside the greater Chicago area since the Illinois High School Association began crowning a state singles champion in 1912. Seven. That’s it. There hasn’t been a non-Chicago champion since Moline’s Olivier Beauclercq won the title in 1996. Moline has two titleists as Tom Derouin won the championship in 1992.

The other non-Chicagoans to win state championships are Danny McCain, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, 1995; Dave Parker, Galesburg, 1973; Dan Wikse Rockford West, 1965; John Powless, Flora, 1951; and Bennett Bradley, Decatur, 1947.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols ended the longest homerless streak of his career on Monday, but his numbers still aren’t dazzling. Going into Wednesday’s game against the Padres, Pujols was hitting .267 with eight homers and 26 RBI. Those are paltry numbers compared to Pujols’ career stats.

Without his big bat, the Cardinals have the most victories in the National League with a 30-20 mark and lead the NL Central by 3 1/2 games. Still, fans continue to fret over his numbers. I don’t. The name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back. That leads me to ask this:

Which matters more to you: Pujols’ numbers or the Cardinals’ record?

Each Tuesday on WGEM SportsCenter, Josh Houchins and I ask the listeners to offer their opinions about the best of a certain subject. This week, Tuesday’s Best category was best sports movie character. The response again was overwhelming. Many of the characters you would expect to get mentioned were, characters like Rocky Balboa, Crash Davis, Jimmy Chitwood, Ray Kinsella and Shoeless Joe Jackson. There were a number of characters that made you go, “How could I forget about him?”

Houchins had a boxer at the top of his list, going with Jake La Motta from “Raging Bull.”

I threw the question out in the newsroom and it kickstarted plenty of conversation. Here are some of the answers I received:

Blake Toppmeyer, Sports Writer: Bill Wedman in “Little Big League”

Don O’Brien, Sports Editor: Jimmy Chitwood in “Hoosiers”

Don Crim, Managing Editor: Brian Piccolo in “Brian’s Song”

David Adam, News Coordinator: Rocky Balboa in “Rocky”

Rodney Hart, Reporter: Gus the field goal kicking mule in “Gus”

Steve Eighinger, Reporter: Annie Savoy in “Bull Durham”

Mary Poletti, Reporter: Dottie Hinson in “A Little of Their Own”

Matt Hopf, Reporter: Roy Hobbs in “The Natural”

Doug Wilson, Senior Writer: Nate Scarboro in “The Longest Yard”

Gerri Berendzen, Copy Desk Chief: Prof. Vernon Simpson/King Kelly in “It Happens Every Spring”

Tom Scott, Copy Editor: Jack Johnson in “The Great White Hope”

Phil Carlson, Photographer: Tony D’Annunzio in “Caddyshack”

Now, I made a list for discussion purposes and those characters included Terence Mann in “Field of Dreams,” Willie Mays Hayes in “Major League,” Buck Weaver in “Eight Men Out” and Ebby Calvin LaLoosh in “Bull Durham.”

The one I considered putting atop my list was Wilbur “Shooter” Flatch, played by Dennis Hopper, in “Hoosiers.” But as entertaining as Shooter is, he doesn’t quite compare to the character that drops such classic one liners as “You play ball like a girl.”

That’s Hamilton Porter, the catcher in “The Sandlot.” Here is a taste of what makes Porter so darn funny:

Here’s the bottom line: No one likes a penalty-kick shootout.

Rochester girls soccer coach Chad Kutscher doesn’t, even though the Lady Rockets upset defending Class 1A state champion Quincy Notre Dame by winning a penalty-kick shootout 3-1 Tuesday night in the championship game of the QND Regional after the teams played 120 minutes of scoreless soccer.

“I hate to see a game end like that,” Kutscher said. “I know I’m on the winning end, but I’ve been on the losing end of those, too. It’s wrong. But I guess you have to have a winner at some point.”

So what is the best way to decide a deadlock? No one has come up with a good solution.

Some suggest you let a game play out until there is a winner. If it happens because players are exhausted and winded in the seventh, eighth or ninth overtime, so be it. At least, those critics say, the players are deciding the outcome on the field.

Other suggest you start eliminating players after a certain number of overtimes. For example, after playing two sudden-death overtimes without a winner, each team can play only 10 players on the field for the third overtime. If it goes to a fourth OT, another player sits and both sides go head-to-head with nine players. Yes, it changes the game, but at least the players are deciding it on the field.

What would you do? Offer up your suggestions for how to determine a winner in a deadlocked soccer game other than through a penalty-kick shootout.

For the second time this season, the QND girls soccer team decidedly outshot an opponent without scoring a goal. The Lady Raiders suffered a 0-0 tie with Jacksonville three weeks ago despite outshooting the Crimsons 25-1. Tuesday night, in the Class 1A QND Regional championship, the Lady Raiders suffered a 3-1 loss in a penalty-kick shootout despite outshooting Rochester 28-6 and owning a 14-0 edge in corner kicks. QND still ended up scoreless for 120 minutes.

So how many quality chances to score did the Lady Raiders have? Let us count the ways …

In the first half, QND outshot Rochester 10-1, starting with Kate Genebacher’s header off a Cassidy Foley corner kick with 21 minutes to play. Rochester keeper Rianny Doherty made the save. That became a common theme.

With 15 minutes to play in the half, Shannon Foley had a header attempt off a corner kick from her sister carry over the net. With eight minutes to go, Shannon Foley sent a cross from left-to-right to the far post. Cassidy Foley got her head on the ball and it appeared to be going in before Doherty slipped across the goal line and made the save.

In the second half, QND midfielder Hannah Witte hit the crossbar during the sequence where Doherty was caught out of the net. Witte’s shot appeared to carom straight down and may have crossed the goal line before being cleared. It’s difficult to tell when you have a split-second to go with it.

Midway through the second half, QND midfielder Abby Grawe made a run from the left wing and drew Doherty off the line. Doherty made the initial save, but the rebound bounced right to Cassidy Foley, who quickly shot. Doherty quickly moved to her right to make the save before the ball could be cleared.

In the final 4 1/2 minutes of the second half, QND had two of its best scoring chances. The first sequence started with Cassidy Foley playing a ball long down the middle of the field. QND’s Jordan Frericks ran onto the ball, outmsucled Rochester’s Alison Nowakowski and challenged Doberty one-on-one. Doherty came out to the top of the penalty area and took the ball off Frericks’ foot.

With 1:22 to play, Frericks got another chance. Again, Cassidy Foley played a ball long for Frericks, who gained possession amidst three defenders and ran in on Doherty. Frericks’ shot went high.

In the first overtime, Cassidy Foley cut back against a defender to gain some space and ripped a shot off the crossbar.

In the second OT, Cassidey Foley was up to it again, this time she carried the ball into the box and hot a right-to-left shot that Doherty snared. A minute into the third overtime, Cassidy tried filling in from the other side and laced another hard, low shot.

Four minutes into the fourth overtime, QND had its best scoring chance get thwarted. On a restart from about 30-35 yards out, QND midfielder Alyssa Klene sent a ball into the box. It got batted around and kicked back out to Klene. She sent the ball back in, but Doherty split the two Foleys to grab the high bouncing ball.

Each Tuesday on WGEM SportsCenter, Josh Houchins and I ask the listeners to offer their opinions about the best of a certain subject. This week, Tuesday’s Best category was best cartoon character. The response was overwhelming. We had characters from comic books, cartoon strips, Saturday morning shows and adult cartoons mentioned. The response was overwhelming. We had mentions ranging from Superman and Batman to Homer Simpson to Hong Kong Fooey.

The response from listeners brought back a flood of memories and made me remember how many great cartoons there were growing up in the 1970s and ’80s.

My favorite cartoon and character was Jonny Quest. In fact, Dr. Quest, Race Bannon, Hadji and Bandit were all great characters in their own right. A few years ago, my parents found a DVD collection of Jonny Quest episodes and gave it to me as a Christmas present. I’ve watched them over and over and over again.

Here is the original theme music from the show:

One of my favorite cartoons from my youth was “Battle of the Planets” of “G-Force.” It went by both names. “Battle of the Planets” came out in 1978 with the group of teenage superheroes known as “G-Force.” In 1986, the cartoon re-emerged as “G-Force: Guardians of Space.” Both versions were an adaptation of the Japanese cartoon “Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.” Here is the opening from “G-Force.”

What were your favorites? Let us know.

Not a complete (hat) trick

As a freshman in 2009, Shannon Foley burst onto the scene by recording a hat trick in her third career game and first against Quincy High School — a 5-0 victory at the QND field. She became the second freshman and fourth player to score a hat trick in the city series. Tuesday night, she nearly became the first Foley to do it, not the only Foley on the list.

Shannon’s sister, Cassidy, scored twice in the first nine minutes of the second half, leading QND to a 3-0 victory at Flinn Stadium. She was pulled late in the game, denying her a chance in closing minutes for the hat trick.

Had her little sister accomplished the feat, Shannon, now a junior, would have been completely supportive.

“I would love it if she got three goals,” Shannon said. “That would be awesome for her.”

She even told her sister so.

“She told me when I came out, ‘You need that third one,’” Cassidy said. “I said, ‘I doubt there’s a chance.’”

Rebuilding momentum

Last Friday’s 3-2 victory over East Moline in which QHS scored twice in the final five minutes figured to be the energy boost the Blue Devils needed. Now they are searching for something to enliven them again. QHS (12-6) wrap up the regular season with Senior Night on Thursday against Kirksville. QHS coach Travis Dinkheller is anxious to see how his team responds.

“We told them it’s not the end of your season,” Dinkheller said after Tuesday’s loss. “You can make a loss to Notre Dame the epitome of the season or you can come back and win a regional and make that the epitome of your season.”

A “beast” defensively

Leah Waterkotte continues to be up for any challenge thrown her way, like marking speedy QHS forward Hayley Womack throughout the game. Waterkotte limited her to one shot and no chances in the second half. Her physical, imposing style drew comparisons to some of the more powerful defenders QND has featured the last two decades and had some saying she plays her position like a beast.

Asked she could think of a better comparison, QND midfielder Alyssa Klene shook her hea.d

“I don’t think so,” Klene said. “She’s good.”

So good, in fact, she puts everyone else at ease.

“You know you can push up with Leah behind you to make sure they don’t get past,” Klene said.

Some will say the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is the best in baseball. I’ll argue it’s not. At least not around here. Nothing tops the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry. Nothing. Not Bears-Packers. Not Missouri-Kansas. Not Illinois-Iowa. Nothing.

Thankfully, Tuesday night the rivalry is renewed as the NL Central combatants go head-to-head in a three-game series at Wrigley. The teams will play 15 times this season, the remaining four series all happening on a weekend.

Rogers Hornsby is the single-season record holder for runs and hits for both franchises.

To get you primed for an entertaining mid-week tussle, here are 10 interesting facts about the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry.

1. The first meeting took place in 1885, and the Cubs lead the all-time series 1,084-1,039-17.

2. There have been 11 Hall of Famers who have played for both the Cardinals and Cubs. The list includes Rogers Hornsby, Lou Brock, Bruce Sutter, Dizzy Dean, Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Burleigh Grimes, Roger Bresnahan, Rabbit Maranville and Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown. Leo Durocher, who played for both the Cardinals and Cubs, was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager, most notably for the Dodgers. Frankie Frisch, who was a Hall of Fame player with the Cardinals, managed both the Cardinals and Cubs.

3. Rogers Hornsby owns the single-second record for hits and runs for both franchises. Hornsby had 250 hits and scored 141 runs for the Cardinals in 1922. In 1929 with the Cubs, he had 229 hits and 156 runs.

4. Stan Musial and Lou Brock both recorded their 3,000 career hit against the Cubs.

5. Ford C. Frick Award winners Jack Buck and Harry Caray shared the Cardinals radio booth from 1961-69. They worked together on the Cardinal broadcasts from 1954-59, sharing the both with Milo Hamilton and Joe Garagiola.

Ryne Sandberg won nine consecutive Gold Gloves at second base.

6. The Cardinals have won 17 National League pennants, while the Cubs have won 10. However, since the Cubs last won the NL pennant in 1945, the Cardinals have won nine NL pennants and five World Series titles — 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006.

7. The Cardinals have produced 20 National League MVPs, while the Cubs have produced 10. However, the Cubs have had four Cy Young Award winners, while the Cardinals have had only three.

8. The Cardinals have won more Gold Gloves than the Cubs at every position except one — second base. The Cardinals have won just two as Fernando Vina won in 2001 and ’02. Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg won nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983-91, while the Cubs’ Glenn Beckert won one in 1968 and Ken Hubbs won one in 1962.

9. Actor John Goodman is an avid Cardinals fan, and in the 1991 movie “King Ralph,” Goodman gave a subtle nod to the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry when his character wears a Cubs hat.

10. On May 5, 1960, Cubs right-hander Don Cardwell threw the only no-hitter in the history of the series, beating the Cardinals 4-0. It was Cardwell’s first start after being traded from the Phillies to the Cubs.

Willie Mays, the greatest living baseball player, turned 80 on Friday. He’s still a vibrant part of the game and one of those players, for those of us too young to have seen him play, you wish you could turn back time and watch.

Mays, Stan Musial and Ted Williams would probably be the three players I feel cheated I never got to see play.

I don’t include Babe Ruth in that list for this reason — he’s more than a ballplayer. He’s a cultural legend. I portrayed him in a grade-school play. I’ve studied his career. I’ve collected every classic baseball card with his picture I can find. He’s larger than life, just the way Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays are to those who grew up in the late 1950s and the 1960s.

Mays, though, is a player who dumbfounds me with his talent. The ultimate five-tool player, Mays truly could do it all. He is the standard by which five-tool players should be measured.

To read more about the Say Hey Kid, check out this feature by the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea.