respublica

Winning ugly

What was with the Texas Longhorns last night?  Playing for the chance to make it to the BCS title game in January, the team came out and somehow managed to look as though they don't belong there.

Let's see.  Quarterback Colt McCoy, talked about as a possible Heisman candidate, was sacked 9 times, saw his offense gain a mere 12 yards rushing, and threw three interceptions.  This was against Nebraska who came into the game 8-4

Texas needed the refs to add one second to the clock at the end of the game in order to get a field goal kick accomplished or they would have out of any title game chances.

As it is, does anyone else think Boise State or TCU or Cincinnati might just be sitting home thinking they are more deserving a team to meet Alabama come January 7?

SI's pre-season basketball rankings

Sports Illustrated's college basketball pre-season preview came out last week and no where is Missouri listed on the magazine's picks for top 65 teams.

This seemed odd and annoying, especially after the Tigers made it to the Elite Eight last year.  

Some of the top 65 teams are schools you would be sure Missouri would beat this year.

Mizzou is  now 4-0 and playing in the title game of the South Padre Island Invitational against Richmond, a team which beat Mississippi State yesterday.

So how did Sports Illustrated see this tournament coming out?  They predicted Mississippi State would be playing against Old Dominion or Missouri. 

At least they got the "or Missouri" right.

As a very partisan fan, these predictions are why I always keep this particular issue of SI, just to look back in March to see how well the experts did.

Is Mississippi State on SI's pre-season list?  Yes.  Old Dominion?  Yes.  They're gone.  Is Richmond?  No.  Missouri?  No.  They're both still playing.

As for the Big 12, SI has 6 teams in its top rankings.  How about Baylor?  Nope.  Baylor really came on last year, made it to the Big 12 Conference Title game and the Championship game of the NIT.  Today they are 5-1.

Here's a prediction:  Expect to see Mizzou in the field of 65 come tournament time.

State Volley-ball finals feature two local teams

The Freeburg girls volley-ball team won the Illinois state championship today by beating Chicago Christian of Palos Heights in class 2A.

Breese Mater Dei was state runner up to Joliet Catholic.

It's good to see downstate teams compete so well.

Jeff Cooper looks away from Collinsville

Jeff Cooper, metro east attorney and pro soccer owner hopeful, has decided to band together with owners in Atlanta, Raleigh, Minnesota, Montreal, and Vancouver to look into the possibility of creating a new pro soccer league.

MLS has consistently turned away from offering a franchise to St. Louis.

If a new league is formed, what does that mean for the plans in place to build a soccer stadium complex in Collinsville?

Cooper:  "Right now we're really focused on expanding the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park [in Fenton]."

Illinois high school Girls state champions-Fall 2009

Girls

Golf

Class A

1st-Metropolis Massac Valley

2nd-Bloomington Central Catholic

Class AA

1st-Homewood Flossmoor

2nd-New Trier

Tennis

1st-HInsdale Central

2nd-Deerfield

Cross Country

Class 1A

1st-Winnebago

2nd-Decatur St. Teresa

Local teams-Freeburg 5th place

Class 2A

1st-Springfield

2nd-Yorkville

Class 3A

1st-Palatine

2nd-Orland Park Sandburg

Volley-Ball

Class 1A

1st-Lanark Eastland

2nd-Mt. Pulaski

Class 2A

1st-Freeburg

2nd-Palos Heights Chicago Christian

Class 3A

1st-Joliet Catholic

2nd-Breese Mater Dei

Class 4A

1st-

2nd

Illinois high school Boys state champions-Fall 2009

Boys

Soccer

Class 1A

1st place-Elmhurst Timothy Christian

2nd-Waterloo Gibault

Class 2A

1st-Arlington Heights St. Viator

2nd-Peoria Notre Dame

Class 3A

1st-LaGrange Lyons

2nd-Lake Zurich

Local teams-Triad (Troy)-3rd place class 2A, Edwardsville-4th place class 3A

Golf

Class 1A

1st-Effingham St. Anthony

2nd-Mt. Carmel

Class 2A

1st-West Chicago Wheaton Academy

2nd-Normal University

Class 3A

1st-Arlington Heights St. Viator

2nd-New Trier

Boys Cross Country

Class 1A-Teams

1st-Sterling Newman Central Catholic

2nd-Canton

Class 2A

1st-Belvidere North

2nd-Normal University

Class 3A

1st-Naperville Nequa Valley

2nd-Wilmette Loyola Academy

Football

The game of the week

St. Louis Rams v Detroit Lions

Who will win?

No, make that, how long will the game go before someone is able to score?

The Result   Rams 17   Detroit 10   But not before a 4th quarter tie that looked like it could go into overtime.

World Series start time tease

Here's a small bit from this week's Sport's Illustrated:

"At least East Coast fans will be less sleep deprived this year.  Weeknight games are at 7:57 ET, the first pre-8 p.m. starts since 1971."

Wow.  Fans get three extra minutes of sleep this year.  Can't decide if that short report was tongue in cheek or serious.

Was Al Gore in Boston today?

Just have to ask.

Getty Images/Elsa

How late will the baseball playoff games go?

Does Major League Baseball understand that they are in danger of losing the next generation?

The Yankees/Angels game is a perfect example.

The game was played in New York on a cold and rainy night.  It went 13 innings and ended at 1:07 EST.  Many of the fans in the stands had left out of pure physical misery.  Folks at home, unless they were on Pacific time, went to bed.

It's so important to play in prime time.  That's where they see the money.  But for fans there comes a point in the evening when getting some sleep is far more enjoyable than watching two teams play far into the night.

Football can be played in cold and rain.  It's almost tradition.  But baseball?  It's hard to pitch with cold hands, hard to swing the bat in the cold much less in a cold rain.

Ridiculous.

How many American kids get excited about baseball anymore?

The Dodgers and Phillies in cold Philadelphia tonight?  How many care?