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This team encountered adversity from
spring training to getting ready for postseason play. Have you ever
seen a starting rotation so decimated? In the midst of lots of tears
and heavy hearts the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated I believe the
third flag since Tony LaRussa’s arrival. And even though there was
lots of bubbly on hand, as I stupidly stayed up late to watch all of
Al Hrabosky’s interviews, you had to feel that the celebration was
subdued in many ways. These men truly miss their friend Jack Buck.
They also ache for the absence of their teammate Darryl Kyle.
All the experts say that the Birds have
no chance versus Arizona or Atlanta, and they’re probably right.
Speaking as just a baseball fan and not as a Bird backer, just for
this one time I hope they are wrong!
But even if they’re right, this
divisional championship is a fitting tribute to two (and actually
there are more) of the really good guys in sports. People like Kyle
and Buck really make sports attractive. They both recognized that
baseball is only a game. They enjoyed it, respected it and never
took it for granted.
ESPN’s Chris Berman said it best when
he named this clinching as his No. 1 highlight in this week’s Top
Ten!
Go, you Redbirds!!!
And how
’bout those Railers
People thought we had gotten into Greg
Taylor’s stash of Cubs Kool-Aid when we predicted success for this
year’s Lincoln Railer football team. As they came back to smack down
one of our favorite schools, the Jacksonville Crimsons, 21-14, the
boys have magically raised their record to a respectable 2-2. AND,
it very easily could have been 3-1 at this point in the season.
When was the last time you heard the
words "respectable" and "Railer football" used in the same sentence?
I’m just so proud of these young men and their coaches! Don’t be too
surprised to see them win two or three more along the way either.
There is a feeling in the air that this team can still get a lot
better and has not even approached their best football yet.
CONGRATULATIONS, John Oaks and you
football Railers! Let’s get another one this Friday night!
More
Railer action…
The Lady Railers volleyball team
continues to roll. They smoked the best Peoria had to offer and ran
their record to 9-2. Mount Pulaski continues to roll along as well.
Lincoln golf, soccer and tennis are also holding their own. We are
trying to make contact with these teams to promote them as well.
Not
enough time
...for the Illini to fix all of the
problems that they have and make something out of their season.
Saturday’s 38-35 loss to the San Jose State Spartans was very hard
to watch. While SJSU is a much better team than most central
Illinois fans realize, that does not explain why Illinois is a team
playing with little leadership or emotion. This game was a chance to
even the record and prepare for Michigan. Instead of just stubbing
the toe, I fear they twisted their ankle and, even worse, may have
kissed their season bye-bye!
In the preseason we stated a 7-5
projection due to a tougher schedule and breaking in new players
like a QB. But, we never expected a 1-3 start. Ouch! Hopefully
there’s still time to circle the wagons and make something out of
this train wreck. Hey, how ’bout upsetting Michigan on Saturday? And
pass me some more of Greg’s Kool-Aid…
ISU in a
thriller
The weekend did have some other
thrilling moments. How ’bout the thrilling 24-23 outing turned in by
the Redbirds of ISU? Down 17-3 in the third quarter, the last thing
you were thinking of was a win… You were thinking, how about a TD?!
Then it happened. The offensive line opened up some holes for Quincy
Washington; he made some great runs on his own; and 21 unanswered
points later, ISU was on top 24-17.
However, Murray State did not roll over
and play dead. They came roaring back down the field in the game’s
final two minutes and scored a TD with 26 seconds left. A gutsy call
had them go for two and the road win, but Boomer and the boyz
stuffed the Racers out and set off a wild celebration in the twin
cities!
Too bad the refs never want to have any
fun and the Birds were whistled for an excessive celebration
penalty. Murray State used that momentum to recover an onsides kick,
and you just had a sick feeling in your stomach. But Reggie Redbird
had his way as ISU amazingly intercepted a sure TD pass to seal the
squeaker and send their record to 2-1.
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This team is so exciting and they have
a tremendous upside as far as potential is concerned. If you want a
fun family outing, may we suggest ISU sports?
Bear-ly
accepting
When the Bears went up 20-0 over the
Saints on Sunday, the last thing you were probably thinking was how
would they lose it? But sure enough, New Orleans outscored them 29-3
the rest of the way for the win.
[Click here for
photos]
It seems like the team let down after
getting the big lead and never got back into the flow. As they came
out for the third quarter, both offensively and defensively the
units seemed too relaxed. A killer instinct would keep them in an
attack mode, but that was not what was displayed on Sunday. There
never seemed to be much pressure on New Orleans QB Aaron Brooks, and
he picked them apart with all of the time he was given. Special
teams weren’t very special either. The Bears will need to shore that
up to make a good run.
Tough game in Buffalo next week, and
then the carnival comes to town on Monday night Oct. 7! If you want
to cover our kids’ college tuitions, we know where you can get some
tickets… Seriously, there are still tickets remaining for the NY
Jets on Dec. 15 and for Tampa Bay on Dec. 29. Everything else is
sold out!
Catch of
the week
Good nominations in LA Dodgers Paul La
Duca and Marquis "Nintendo" Grissom. La Duca made the greatest catch
I’ve ever seen by a catcher, when he slid into the dugout making a
play last week. Grissom, on the other hand, made two stellar plays
in the outfield trying to keep the Dodgers in the race.
BUT, my catch of the week or catches of
the week, have to go to Scott Rolen. You might call me a homer…
UNTIL you see the plays for yourself… especially the diving catch
Rolen had to clinch the NL Central Division title. It was a great
exclamation point to put on the sentence of this season.
Team of
the week
That’s easy. We’ve been touting the
Lincoln Community High School football team all year long and they
haven’t disappointed us. With the 21-14 win over Jacksonville, they
evened their record at 2-2 and now aim to set their sights even
higher. The LDN unanimously gives the Railers this week’s game ball
as our team of the week!
On a side note: I could easily name the
offensive line my O-line of the week — and I will! I probably should
name Zach Gahr as my special teams player of the week, too. Also,
the Railer defense gets the game ball as the defense of the week.
Too bad the Bears and the Illini
couldn’t use the Railer defensive scheme in their games!
"FANdamonium"
...is broadcast LIVE on Monday nights
from 6 to 7 p.m.! We invite you to join us. Tonight’s guests include
LCC volleyball coach Kevin Crawford and members of his 12-3 Angel
squad! Also, on the docket we hope to have more Railer football
players rejoicing over yet another win. In addition, we’ll ask Greg
Taylor to explain to us how the defending Big Ten champions could be
1-3 and how the Bears lost a heartbreaker to the Saints. We hope to
have time to celebrate the ISU win and the Cards’ Central Division
crown and give a few prizes away as well.
Call us with
your question or comment because you’re the reason that this show
has the highest ratings of any sports show in Logan County! So, set
your Web browser to
www.lincolndailynews.com and hit the link in "Hear it here!" Or
turn your TV dial to No. 15, or No. 5 IF they’ve switched you to
digital, and turn your radio dial to FIX 96.3 FM. We can’t wait to
see you tonight!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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