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Friday, Sept. 27

Lady Railers return home victorious

By Rick L Hobler

[SEPT. 27, 2002]  There’s no place like home.

But, this year, so far, the road has also been kind.

The Lincoln Lady Railer volleyball team returned home Thursday night after being on the road for a long, tough 21 days. The road has taken them to such faraway places as St. Francis Borgia in Washington, Mo., and to more familiar venues such as Taylorville, East Peoria, Mount Zion and, of course, Bloomington-Normal. The road has been paved mostly with victories: first place and undefeated at the East Peoria Tournament; second place at the ever-tough Borgia Tournament; double wins in Bloomington-Normal; victories over three potential postseason sectional opponents, Mount Zion, Champaign Centennial and Taylorville; and their first Central State Eight conference victory, also over Taylorville. Their homecoming record stood at 14-2. All this, I’m sure, made the bus rides home seem much shorter.

But victory at home is even sweeter. Especially when you knock off another potential postseason opponent. Especially when it’s a scrappy opponent like Rantoul. Your gym, your fans, your house, new (substantially improved) uniforms. Victory number 15.

It’s all good. But it wasn’t pretty.

The theme for the night was "dig a big hole, climb out; dig another hole, climb out again." In game one the Railers started out by digging their biggest hole of the season. Think BIG hole, like in 3-12 in favor of Rantoul. The Railers seemed out-of-sync. Perhaps they were thinking too much about the absence of teammate Michelle McFadden, who was ill. Or perhaps they weren’t thinking enough. Twice during the Railer drought, coach Howe called for her one-minute timeout. She needed only about three seconds each time. Each time she walked into the huddle, she said only a couple of words and then sat down. My lip reading from 50 feet away seemed to indicate that the key word used in the huddle was "think." As in, would everyone please start doing so before it’s too late?

After the second timeout the Lady Railers responded 4-12, 5-12, 6-12, 7-12, with Missy Aper at the service line and Samantha Conrady looking awesome at the net. As Kari McFadden and Samantha Conrady rotated through the service line, the Railers found themselves back to even. Hole filled. The Rantoul Eagles would score no more, thanks to some crucial side-out plays by Mindy Crawford and Megan Hoffert. The serving of Christina Xamis, including two aces, and a final ace by Missy Aper finished the deed, and the Railers survived game one by the final score of 15-12.

[to top of second column in this article]

In game two of the match it was the same theme, but with a smaller hole to climb out of. This time, the Railers found themselves down 0-5 when coach Howe again signaled timeout. Same discussion, same result. The Railers came alive on six successive service points by Missy Aper and smart net play by Samantha Conrady. "Sam" hit two massive kills and then finessed two gentle tips into open spaces for points during this Railer run. The Railers led 6-5 and never looked back. Brooklyn Robbins, Maria Benitez and Kari McFadden all did an excellent job of making sure the ball rarely hit the floor on the LCHS side. Kari McFadden had some kills that caused Rantoul players to flee for cover. Brooklyn Robbins tirelessly and accurately set the ball for everybody. Samantha again had another good service run, and Christina Xamis finished off the Eagles with a couple of late aces. The final score read 15-7.

The match statistics looked like this: kills — Samantha Conrady 9, Kari McFadden 8; blocks — Megan Hoffert 4, Samantha Conrady 3; assists — Brooklyn Robbins 22; service points — Missy Aper 11, Samantha Conrady 6; service aces — Christina Xamis 3, Aper and Conrady, 2 each; digs — Kari McFadden 7, Robbins 6.

As always, it was a team effort and a never-say-die attitude that resulted in the "W" for the Railers. The Railers, once again, just refused to lose.

I thought that this was the best overall match that I have seen Samantha Conrady play. I’m sure she will have many more. Missy Aper’s serves and winning passion came through at crucial times. Coach Howe’s critical timeout calls and to-the-point instructions were crucial to the turnaround in each game. I even heard some louder than usual noise from the Railer fans! It was a great team effort.

Welcome home! Keep playing like this and your postseason will also be at home.

The Lady Railer junior varsity won easily 15-1, 15-1 against Rantoul. The freshman team was also victorious, by scores of 15-3, 18-16.

The Lady Railers go back on the road Monday night to play an always-tough Olympia team and then return home on Tuesday night as the Lady Railers go for conference win number two against Glenwood.

Rest up this weekend, Michelle, get better, and, as always, GO RAILERS!

[Rick L. Hobler]

High school volleyball

[SEPT. 27, 2002] 

At Stanford

Olympia def. Pontiac 16-14, 15-11.

Olympia:  Service points, Missy Crabtree and Kelsey Long 7; kills, Stasia Prater 5; blocks, Kristen Goebel 4; assists, Jamie Ahlers 12.

Records:  Olympia 12-5 overall, 3-1 in conference.

Junior varsity:  Pontiac def. Olympia 9-15, 15-13, 18-16.

Freshmen:  Olympia def. Pontiac 15-11, 15-9.

At Mount Pulaski

Mount Pulaski def. Hartsburg-Emden 15-3, 15-6.

Mount Pulaski:  Service points, Mallory Clements 9; kills, Mary Olson 11; blocks, Olson 4; assists, Clements 25.

Records:  Mount Pulaski 12-1; Hartsburg-Emden 12-4.

High school golf

[SEPT. 27, 2002] 

Boys

At Springfield

Brookhill - Par 31

Illini Central 152

3. (tie) Ryan Tucker 37

Girls

At Atlanta

North Greens - Par 38

Lincoln 213, Olympia 265

1. Freesmeier (L) 48; 2. (tie) Fleshman (L), Froschauer (L), Robinson (L) 55; 5. (tie) L. Horath (L), Ashley Phelps (O) 60.

Articles from the past week

[SEPT. 23, 2002]  Regardless of how far the Redbirds go this year in the playoffs, this division title is one for the ages.

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!!!

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!

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.

...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…

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.

[to top of second column in this article]

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?

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!

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.

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!

...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]

• Quick mutterings, Sept. 16
• We win! We win! We win!, Sept. 9
• More...

NL Central is center of potential

By Brandt Wilson

[SEPT. 19, 2002]  In 2000, the National League Central added Ken Griffey Jr. to its impressive resume of sluggers, which already included Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Brian Giles, Jeff Bagwell and Geoff Jenkins. Now Big Mac is gone, Griffey hasn’t stayed healthy, Bagwell’s numbers are down, and Jenkins hasn’t quite met his potential. While Sosa and Giles are still solid, the NL is now the division budding with young talent and just waiting to explode. Young phenoms such as Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman thrill us with monstrous home runs, disciplined hitting and even sensational defense. As September rolls by and the playoffs draw near, the NL Central seems to be wrapped up. But as we look at the future and current stars in this division we realize the best years are yet to come.

Let’s start with the division-leading Cardinals. Even though their farm system may be thin, they have the best young player in the game in Albert Pujols. Pujols surprised everyone last year when he came out of nowhere to play 161 games, hit 37 home runs and drive in 130 runs. The young star has proved to everyone that last year was not a fluke. So far, through 142 games, he’s all but matched those numbers, hitting 32 home runs and driving in 115. This young outfielder will be a mainstay for the division leaders and will give NL Central pitching fits for years to come.

J.D. Drew showed promise when he came up in 1998. However, injuries have limited Drew the past four seasons, and he has yet to show people what he can really do. Last year, in only 109 games, Drew had 27 bombs and 73 RBIs, while his average was well above .300. His defense and arm are also above average. However, nagging injuries this season have caused his numbers to drop. If J.D. can play a full season avoiding injury, he could put up Pujols-like numbers, and the Cardinals could potentially have an outfield of Pujols, Edmonds and Drew, all with 30-plus HRs and 100-plus RBIs. And they’ve won the division two years in a row and look to be running away with it this year. It’s hard to imagine how powerful that offense will be with a healthy J.D. Drew in the mix.

Now turn to the Houston Astros. Once famous for the killer "B’s," Biggio, Bagwell and Derek Bell, Houston has a new killer "B" in town. That of course is Lance Berkman. In just his third full season, this switch hitter is putting up impressive numbers. He has a career average of .306 and is already approaching the 100-homer mark in his career. He’s on pace to hit 50 home runs this season — no small task even in Minute Maid field, a ballpark notorious for the long ball. Berkman has also made some eye-popping plays in center field, which is not even his natural position. He is a phenomenal athlete with tremendous power. If Richard Hidalgo and Daryl Ward ever reach their full potential, Houston could also have a pretty solid run-producing outfield.

But the young stars on this team don’t swing a bat, they bring the heat. Roy Oswalt, Wade Willer, Carlos Hernandez and Peter Munro are four of the best up-and-coming pitchers, not only within their division but in the entire National League. Roy Oswalt is only 25 but has shown the poise of a veteran. In his second full season, he is proving he can get just about anyone in the league out. He has a 2.83 ERA and is just one win away from the magical number 20. Twenty-game winners are rare in this day and age; 20-game winners this young are even more rare. His 190 K’s in 216 innings will almost guarantee him third place in the Cy Young voting, behind a guy named Schilling and a guy named Johnson. If Oswalt were to win the award, he would become the youngest since Doc Gooden won it in 1985 at the age of 20. Wade Willer has also turned some heads. He has proved this year that he was not just a "one-hit wonder" by posting a 3.58 ERA and 13 wins through Sept. 14. Hernandez and Munro are young and inexperienced, but with the leadership of Oswalt and Miller they are well on their way to completing what could potentially be the best staff in the division.

Who better than to lead the Cincinnati Reds into the opening of their new ballpark in 2003 than Ken Griffey Jr., right? Not so fast. Cincinnati fans aren’t turning their heads at leaping catches and monstrous home runs by the future Hall of Famer. Instead they’re turning their eyes on two promising outfielders who were taken in the same draft in 1998.

[to top of second column in this article]

Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns have Cincinnati talking about more than Junior’s injuries and Skyline Chili. Had it not been for Pujols last year, Adam Dunn had a good case for Rookie of the Year. He put up monstrous power numbers between A, AA, AAA and the Big Show. In just 66 games he hit 19 homers and drove in 43 runs. He has struggled in his first full season, not putting up near the numbers everyone thought he could. But he has proved to be a very patient hitter, drawing 122 walks in 490 at-bats. That ranks second only to Barry Bonds in the NL. Dunn is only 22 years old and the sky is the limit.

Austin Kearns has a pretty good case for NL Rookie of the Year this season. The youngster from Lexington, Ky., has 13 HRs and 56 RBIs in 372 at-bats. Like Dunn he is only 22. Like Dunn, he was taken in the 1998 draft, a draft that is turning out to be a pretty good one for the Reds. Dunn, Griffey and Kearns will be the big three christening the Great American Ball Park in 2003. Dunn and Griffey could hit at least 40 HRs each, and Kearns could be right behind them. They match up evenly with the Big Three in Houston and in St. Louis IF they stay healthy.

The Chicago Cubs have perhaps the most young talent of any team in the NL Central. With exception of Mark Prior, the results just aren’t there yet. Hee Seop Choi, Bobby Hill and Corey Patterson have yet to reach their full potential. Roosevelt Brown is running out of time, and Kerry Wood still hasn’t recovered from his injury in 1999. Prior is solid — 147 strikeouts in 116.2 innings is enough said. However, questions remain with the others. While Dunn, Berkman and Pujols seem to have reached their full potential, these young stars may still be a year away.

At one time a staff anchored by Kris Benson in Pittsburgh looked extremely promising. But injuries and salary constraints left Pittsburgh with only a new stadium and a lot of empty seats. Pittsburgh looks forward to September not because the pennant race heats up but because football season begins and they can take their mind off their miserable Pirates. However there may be a small light at the end of the tunnel. Josh Fogg and Kip Wells put up honest numbers this year with a 4.32 and 3.61 ERA respectively. These two combined to win 24 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates. If Benson can bounce back from injury and Wells and Fogg pan out, this pitching staff could be better than average. They’re going to have to be because the Pirates aren’t going to score any runs.

Now we come to the Milwaukee Brewers. Richie Sexson? Maybe. Geoff Jenkins? No, his time has passed. Alex Sanchez? Who? With 37 SBs and a .289 average, he might be a diamond in the rough. He’s not a Pujols or Berkman, but the Brewers aren’t the Cardinals or the Astros either. Sanchez has showed promise, but Milwaukee has a way of breaking promises. See Jenkins, Sexson and Sheets. Maybe if they brought back those old royal blue and yellow jerseys with the glove and ball on the hat they would attract more free agents. It’s just a thought.

So in the years to come, fans of the NL Central will be entertained by the likes of these young stars. In one year, chances are the Central will be a race much like the AL West is today. Houston’s strong young pitching, Cincinnati and St. Louis’ powerful outfield, and Chicago’s potential could make for a very exciting race… in 2003.

[Brandt Wilson]

[Click here if you are thinking, "I’d like to read more of Brandt’s thoughts."]

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