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He gave unselfishly of his time. He
didn’t try to embarrass his athletes; he tried to teach them and to
let them have fun. And in this day and age when some coaches are not
the best teachers in the classroom, Reiley went to great lengths to
make science understandable and enjoyable.
How do I know these things? Because
Derrick isn’t just another coach I know; he is my friend! I spent
time with him both on the practice and game courts as well as in the
classroom.
You can also tell a lot about a coach
when you see who comes around to tell him goodbye. Judging from his
farewell party, he will be sorely missed.
Derrick is one of the really good
people in sports. Guys like him make it worthwhile to guys like me.
Now he’s moving to Streator to try his
hand in administration as an assistant principal. I know he will be
successful, but I’m going to really miss him, and so will a lot of
others.
Wishing you
God’s best as you go, Derrick!
w w w w
So far the
Cubs are something like 3-1 under new management. BUT, will it
continue?
We tried
praising the White Sox. We tried shaming them. Now they’ve sunk to
new lows. They were swept in a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers!
I’m not sure you can sink any lower than that.
I wish I could find out who is sending
my columns to Tony LaRussa. Whenever I get on him and say that he is
no Whitey Herzog, the next thing I know the Redbirds are out there
manufacturing runs. Take yesterday’s game in San Diego for instance.
The Cardinals scored on a sacrifice fly, an error by the catcher and
a perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt by Redbird hurler Bud
Smith.
Since I bash him when I don’t like what
he does, I’d better praise when I do. Tony, I liked the way we
played this weekend. With the way the Astros are sizzling, those
games against the Padres may loom larger in the future.
 [to top of second column in
this article]
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Congrats to Bud Smith for finally
getting his first win. He had been close the last few outings, but
it’s nice to get in that win column. That is especially true when
you look at the Cards DL list. It seems to grow every week.
Inside
sources say that St. Louis as a team is still caring a heavy burden,
and who can blame them? They have been able to avoid a collapse, but
for how long? I know they’re professionals, but mourning the loss of
your friends and family takes a lot out of you. We’ll see how they
manage the dog days.
Did you see
the play that Texas pitcher Kenny Rogers (not to be confused with
the singer) made against Minnesota? I would say that it has a shot
at play of the year!
w w w w
The Illini hoopsters have signed Brian
Randle out of Peoria.
Brian Cook recently served as a
counselor at the prestigious Nike camp in Indianapolis.
w w w w
Plenty
of good seats are still available...
You can get Bears season tickets at
(888)-79-BEARS (23277). They also have mini-packs of four and six
games. Single-game tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. July 20 via
Ticketmaster.
ISU football and basketball tickets can
be purchased at (309) 438-8000.
Illini
tickets are available at 1 (866) ILLINI-1. And tickets for the big
Illini-Mizzou game at the Dome in St. Louis may or may not be
available at (618) 222-2900 or (314) 241-4400!
w w w w
I’m still feeling blessed about the
cooler weather the last few days. I hear the heat is coming back as
early as today. Does anybody know any swimming teams or ice hockey
teams for old guys like me?
Hope
everybody is enjoying their summer. Have a great week, sports fans!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
[July 8 Mutterings: "Sports
firecrackers from the Fourth"] |
