Zach Keene does it right.

Notice the word “does.” I didn’t say “did.” Even though the Illini West School Board decided not to retain Keene, voting 4-3 during Wednesday’s meeting against rehiring him as the varsity girls basketball coach, he will be coaching again. Soon. Very soon. A program in need of a leader — it doesn’t matter if it is a boys or a girls program — will turn to Keene in the blink of an eye. It may not even take that long for another school district to snap up an accomplished coach, a passionate teacher and a good person.

The administration at Illini West High School thought highly enough of Keene to recommend he be rehired.

The school board disagreed.

That’s unfathomable and inexcusable.

Why entrust your superintendent, your principal and your athletic director with the responsibility of evaluating coaches if you are going to ignore their evaluations? It’s a waste of their time, talent and experience. Moreso, it’s a complete slap in their face. This should have been nothing more than a rubber stamp situation. Take the recommendation, confirm it and move forward. Instead, the Illini West School Board set itself up for scrutiny. My colleagues — Sports Editor Don O’Brien and Sports Writer Blake Toppmeyer — were working the phones today in an attempt to get answers.

I’ll be curious if any board members speak out. My guess is they won’t, and the “it’s a personnel issue” will be how it is handled.

I realize there are legal ramifications that come with speaking out about personnel decisions, but it certainly would be refreshing for someone who voted against rehiring Keene to stand tall and admit why they voted no. Was it personal? Was it vindictive? What exactly was it? We’ll probably never know. It can’t be for lack of success, not after upsetting state-ranked Havana to win a regional title and finishing off another winning season. It makes you scratch your head.

What I do know is this: The move created shockwaves.

From emails to text messages to newsroom conversations, the most used word today is “What?” No one outside of the program saw this coming. Heck, no one inside the program or the school could see it coming either.

In seven seasons coaching at the Hancock County school — Keene started when it was still Carthage and guided Illini West since the convergence of Carthage, Dallas City and LaHarpe — Keene compiled a 141-68 record with four regional titles and a third-place finish at the Class A state tournament in 2006. Beyond the court, he did more than coach. He taught. The Illini West girls basketball players took part in community events, participated with Christmas charity work and understood the importance of civic pride. They became more than basketball players under Keene. They were students and community leaders.

This isn’t the first coach blindsided by a school board, and Keene won’t be last.

I wrote that last sentence without hesitation and then paused for a moment. It’s happened enough that we expect school boards to do the wrong thing, abuse their power and let personal vendettas play out.

That’s extremely disappointing.

Two episodes into “Duck Dynasty” — the newest series on A&E — and I’m completely hooked.

Just how bad is it? Since I did not DVR the first two episodes because I didn’t even know the series had started, I found myself surfing the channel guide after I finished work Tuesday night to see if they were showing replays. I got lucky. They were showing the first two episodes back-to-back. I don’t remember what time I actually got to bed, but it didn’t matter. I was too engrossed in the duck call making magnets.

After watching the Robertson family hunt frogs, build duck calls, create a “research” facility, teach the grandkids lessons and play football, I didn’t want to wait until Wednesday night at 9 p.m. for another episode. I wanted to watch it then and there.

OK, I just realized that sounds obsessive compulsive. That was a little scary.

But the truth is I’ve become captivated by the show because of the personalities. Yes, there is an outdoors element to the show. The Robertson family runs the Duck Commander duck call business and has turned their father’s duck call design into a million dollar operation. The show gives some behind-the-scenes looks at the call operation, but it mostly focuses on family life and the personalities. That’s the hook.

I see some of the personality of my brothers, my dad and my uncles in the Robertson clan. I know how important family is to the Robertson’s and how invaluable it is to the Schuckmans. There is a bit of envy, too. I wish I could calls ducks as well as the Robertsons can. My dad does. My uncles do. My brother is pretty good at it, too. I’m not. I’m getting better and I’ve learned you don’t have to be perfect to get a duck’s attention, but hopefully I’ll get to the point where I’m not ashamed to call around other duck hunters.

Maybe I just need to get a Duck Commander call and contribute a little to the Dynasty.

My track record in fantasy baseball isn’t stellar. I’ve played in the same 10-team, head-to-head league since 2007 and only once have I reached the semifinals. Here’s how my team has finished historically.

2007 — tied for fourth in the division, sixth overall

2008 — last in the division, 10th overall

2009 — third in the division, tied for fifth overall and a first-round playoff ouster

2010 — second in the division, fourth overall and losses in the semifinals and the third-place game

2011 — tied for fourth in the division, tied for eighth overall

I’ve come to the realization loading up on pitching, even if you trade some of it for hitting, doesn’t serve you well. So I tried to add more hitters to my lineup while keeping a solid starting rotation intact. Monday was draft night, and like most years, I walked out of the war room pleased with some of the moves I made, but unsure if this is a team capable of winning a fantasy title.

Let me note that this is a keeper league where each team is required to keep at least five players on its roster and as many as 15.

Help me decide if this team is set up to win or will this be another run-of-the-mill squad. All opinions are welcome.

Here is my roster:

C — Carlos Ruiz, Philadelphia

C — Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs

1B— Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels

2B — Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati

3B— David Freese, St. Louis

SS — Zack Cozart, Cincinnati

MI — Alcides Escobar, Kansas City

CI — Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay

OF — Michael Bourn, Atlanta

OF — Alex Gordon, Kansas City

OF — Matt Holliday, St. Louis

OF— Nick Markakis, Baltimore

OF — Hunter Pence, Philadelphia

DH — Justin Morneau, Minnesota

SP — Roy Halladay, Philadelphia

SP — Matt Cain, San Francisco

SP — Ricky Romera, Toronto

SP — Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati

SP— Matt Harrison, Texas

SP — Jhoulys Chacin, Colorado

SP — Ryan Dempster, Chicago

RP — Jonathan Papelbon, Philadelphia

RP — Andrew Bailey, Boston

Leading up to the start of the Major League Baseball season, I will ask a baseball-related trivia question. It’s spring training for the baseball minds, if you will. Feel free to chime in with your answers or if you have a good question you think might get baseball fans looking at old cards or surfing the Internet for the answer, feel free to offer it up.

This week’s theme is the Chicago Cubs.

Q: Which Cubs player who hit for the cycle accomplished the feat in natural order, going single, double, triple and home run?

Here’s a hint: Only seven players in National League history have hit for the cycle in natural order.

On July 17, 1966, in the second game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, Cubs outfielder Billy Williams went 4 for 5 with four runs scored and two RBI while hitting for the natural cycle. He singled to right field in the first inning off Art Mahaffey, doubled to center field to lead off the third inning off Don Dennis, tripled to right field off Dennis in the fifth and hit a leadoff homer in the seventh off Hal Woodeshick.

Williams was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.

Now, let’s stay with ivy-covered walls for the next question.

Q: What was the original name of Wrigley Field when it was built in 1914?

Check back for the answer.

Leading up to the start of the Major League Baseball season, I will ask a baseball-related trivia question. It’s spring training for the baseball minds, if you will. Feel free to chime in with your answers or if you have a good question you think might get baseball fans looking at old cards or surfing the Internet for the answer, feel free to offer it up.

This week’s theme is the Chicago Cubs.

Before we get started with the Wrigley Field residents, let’s catch up on the last duo of doubleheader questions.

Q: The Padres’ Nate Colbert, who shares the record for most home runs hit in a doubleheader with five dingers, was in the stands the first time it was accomplished. Who did it and where?

Colbert, a St. Louis native, was in the stands May 2, 1954, when the Cardinals played host to the New York Giants. That’s the day Stan Musial hit five home runs in a doubleheader. His three-run shot in the eighth inning of the opener led to a 10-6 victory. In the nightcap, he hit two home runs, the second of which went over the pavilion roof in right field and was hit off Hoyt Wilhelm.

Q: Which two teams played a doubleheader at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1997, the first major league games ever played in the Aloha state?

On April 19, 1997, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres played a doubleheader at Aloha Stadium and followed it up with a single game on April 20 that was broadcast nationally on ESPN. The Cardinals swept the doubleheader, winning 1-0 and 2-1.

Now, it’s time to move on to some Cubs trivia. Here is the first question.

Q: Which Cubs player who hit for the cycle accomplished the feat in natural order, going single, double, triple and home run?

Here’s a hint: Only seven players in National League history have hit for the cycle in natural order.

Check back for the answer.

Leading up to the start of the Major League Baseball season, I will ask a baseball-related trivia question. It’s spring training for the baseball minds, if you will. Feel free to chime in with your answers or if you have a good question you think might get baseball fans looking at old cards or surfing the Internet for the answer, feel free to offer it up.

This week’s theme is doubleheaders so I’ll offer up two questions per day.

Let’s get to the answers from our last doubleheader.

Q: Who was the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter during a doubleheader?

On May 10, 1981, the Montreal Expos’ Charlie Lea beat the San Francisco Giants, tossing a no-hitter in the second game of the doubleheader. It was the only no-hitter thrown by an Expos pitcher at Olympic Stadium.

Q: Who threw a no-hitter during a Father’s Day doubleheader?

On June 21, 1964, Jim Bunning (pictured at right) made it a memorable Father’s Day as the Phillies pitcher tossed a no-hitter against the Mets, winning 6-0 in the first game of the doubleheader it was Bunning’s second career no-hitter. He also no-hit the Red Sox in 1958 while pitching for the Detroit Tigers.

Let’s wrap up our doubleheader questions with one final double dip.

Q: The Padres’ Nate Colbert, who shares the record for most home runs hit in a doubleheader with five dingers, was in the stands the first time it was accomplished. Who did it and where?

Q: Which two teams played a doubleheader at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1997, the first major league games ever played in the Aloha state?

Check back for the answers.

Leading up to the start of the Major League Baseball season, I will ask a baseball-related trivia question. It’s spring training for the baseball minds, if you will. Feel free to chime in with your answers or if you have a good question you think might get baseball fans looking at old cards or surfing the Internet for the answer, feel free to offer it up.

This week’s theme is doubleheaders so I’ll offer up two questions per day.

Let’s get to the answers from our last doubleheader.

Q: Who was the last pitcher to win both games of a doubleheader?

On July 21, 2007, while pitching out of the bullpen for the New York Yankees, Luis Vizcaino became the last of about 30 pitchers to win both games in a doubleheader. Vizcaino did not start either game, and because it was a day-night doubleheader, the Elias Sports Burear does not recognize him as the winning pitcher in both games of a doubleheader. However, the Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays played two that day, and Vizcaino won both.

In the opener, the Yankees won 7-3 with Vizcaino replacing Kei Igawa in the sixth. He worked one inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. The Yankees, who were tied at 2 when Vizcaino entered the game, scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to make him the pitcher of record.

In the nightcap, the Yankees staked starter Matt DeSalvo to a three-run lead in the first inning, but he didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. After two other relievers, Vizcaino came on in the sixth and worked 1 1/3 perfect innings. The Yankees scored five times in both the sixth and seventh innings, winning 17-5 and making Vizcaino a footnote in the doubleheader.

Q: Who was the last pitcher to start both games of a doubleheader?

On July 20, 1973, White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood became the last pitcher to start both ends of a doubleheader. In Game 1 against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Wood didn’t make it out of the first inning. He allowed six runs — five were earned — and four hits while walking one and striking out one. He faced only six batters.

After that, the White Sox brought Wood back to start the second game. This time, he lasted a little longer. Wood went 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs — five were earned — and five hits while striking out one and walking none. It dropped his record to 18-14 and he finished the season with a 24-20 record, leading the league in victories. He finished fifth in the Cy Young Award voting that season, after finishing second and third the two years prior to that.

Wood won 20 or more games three times in his career and lost 20 games twice in a season.

Now it’s time for more doubleheader trivia.

Q: Who was the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter during a doubleheader?

Q: Who threw a no-hitter during a Father’s Day doubleheader?

Check back for the answers.

Leading up to the start of the Major League Baseball season, I will ask a baseball-related trivia question. It’s spring training for the baseball minds, if you will. Feel free to chime in with your answers or if you have a good question you think might get baseball fans looking at old cards or surfing the Internet for the answer, feel free to offer it up.

This week’s theme is doubleheaders so I’ll offer up two questions per day.

Let’s get to the answers from our last doubleheader.

Q: Nine players share the record for most hits in a doubleheader with nine. Who was the last player to do it?

On Sept. 5, 1961, the Los Angeles Angels’ Lee Thomas tied the record by collecting five hits in the first game and four in the second game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals. Thomas hit three home runs in the second game and tied an AL record with 19 total bases. However, the Royals won both games.

Q: Two players share the record for most RBI in a doubleheader with 13. Which St. Louis Cardinals player did it?

In 1972, the Padres’ Nate Colbert collected 13 RBI in a doubleheader against the Braves in which he hit five home runs. Twenty-one years later, Cardinals outfielder Mark Whiten matched Colbert’s RBI record. On Sept. 7, 1993, playing in a doubleheader at Cincinnati, Whiten slugged four home runs and drove in 12 runs in the second game of the twinbill. Add in his lone RBI in the first game and he matched Colbert’s mark. That paled in comparison to his mammoth performance in the nightcap.

Later, Cardinals teammate Todd Zeile joked with a writer from Sports Illustrated that “you can’t even do what he did in batting practice.”

Now, on to the next set of questions.

Q: Who was the last pitcher to win both games of a doubleheader?

Q: Who was the last pitcher to start both games of a doubleheader?

Check back for the answers.

The continued talk of conference realignment among Illinois high schools raised an interesting question.

What would Quincy High School do?

Here’s the root of that question: The Springfield State Journal-Register reported this week Taylorville and Lincoln could be looking to leave the Central State Eight Conference. Taylorville, which is experiencing an enrollment decline, may look to rejoin the Apollo Conference, an alternative the Taylorville School Board’s athletic committee is investigating. Taylorville was a member of the Apollo from 1981-93 before leaving to join the newly-formed CS8.

The State Journal-Register also reported Lincoln representatives sent a letter of interest to the Corn Belt Conference. Although not actively pursuing additional members, the Corn Belt has received inquiries from four schools — Lincoln, Peoria Notre Dame, Chillicothe IVC and Streator — according to the Champaign News-Gazette.

On top of that, Moline Dispatch reporter Daniel Makarewicz tweeted that East Moline athletic director Mike Tracey told him talks between the Western Big Six Conference and the Mid-State Six Conference about a merger of any sort  have hit a “lull.” That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Anytime those two leagues have discussed expansion, merger or a scheduling agreement, a snag in the works has kept it from happening. Until any serious headway is made, consider talks between the two leagues as nothing more than bluster.

That brings us back to the question of the week.

What would Quincy do?

If Taylorville and Lincoln both leave the CS8 — odds are it is more likely Lincoln stays in the CS8 — would the league show any serious interest in inviting Quincy to join? Let me state this as clear as I can: No school administrators, athletic directors or principals have suggested this may happen. This was a question posed to me by colleagues, fans and even a couple of interested coaches.

So here’s my take … Quincy would be foolish not to inquire whether there will be actual movement by the CS8 schools, and if there is, whether the league will look to replace either or both. Should Taylorville and Lincoln both leave, the CS8 would be left with seven schools. That is still enough for the league champion to receive an automatic football playoff berth and for football scheduling to be manageable. Plus, without expansion, it keeps the seven remaining league schools within a 42-mile radius.

But if the CS8 is willing to listen and QHS is willing to look, it could make a for a pretty good fit. Some opponents would complain about the travel — Quincy to Rochester would be the longest trip and that’s 120 miles one way — but the CS8 schools would make that trip only once every other year in football and once per year in basketball. Sports such as volleyball, soccer and baseball would have some scheduling quirks to figure out, but that is doable.

What would the advantages for Quincy be? Less travel. It’s 160 miles one way to the Quad Cities. And stability. There have been rumblings of Galesburg looking to leave the WB6 for the Mid-Illini Conference as well as chatter at times of northern conferences looking to align themselves with the Quad Cities schools. Besides, the Blue Devils play several of the Springfield-area schools in several sports already. To me, that makes it a win-win situation.

That situation may never exist. It’s all purely speculation and talk right now. What Taylorville and Lincoln decide will ultimately put the wheels in motion, and until those schools figure out their future plans, this is nothing more than a fun conversation that started with an interesting and simple question.

Thanks for asking it.

Leading up to the start of the Major League Baseball season, I will ask a baseball-related trivia question. It’s spring training for the baseball minds, if you will. Feel free to chime in with your answers or if you have a good question you think might get baseball fans looking at old cards or surfing the Internet for the answer, feel free to offer it up.

This week’s theme is doubleheaders so I’ll offer up two questions per day.

Let’s get to the answer from our last question.

Q: Who is the only catcher in big league history to catch more than one perfect game, and whose perfect games did he catch?

There have been 20 perfect games thrown in major league history and caught by 19 different catchers. The only one to catch two perfect games was Ron Hassey.

From 1978-1991, Hassey caught for six different ballclubs and was a lifetime .266 who retired after hitting 71 career home runs. Known primarily for his defense and ability to handle pitchers, Hassey was the exclusive catcher for Bob Welch during a three-year stint with the Oakland A’s. In 1990, Hassey caught Welch when he won 27 games and the Cy Young Award.

His real claim to fame, though, is catching two no-hitters. In 1981, while playing for the Cleveland Indians, Hassey caught Len Barker’s perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1991, while playing for the Montreal Expos, Hassey caught Dennis Martinez’s perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now it is time to play two. Here are today’s doubleheader questions:

Q: Nine players share the record for most hits in a doubleheader with nine. Who was the last player to do it?

Q: Two players share the record for most RBI in a doubleheader with 13. Which St. Louis Cardinals player did it?

Check back for the answers.