Caruthersville grad is an Angel

Need an excuse to watch the NY Yankees and the Yankees-West (Anaheim Angels) square off Saturday?
First I apologize to former KFVS anchor and Angels fan Ryan Tate for calling Anaheim the Yankees-West...

It's worth tuning into the game this weekend because the guy making the start for the Angels (Matt Palmer) is a 1997 graduate of Caruthersville High School. He then took his game to 3-Rivers and onto Missouri State.

Matt made his MLB debut August 16th 2008 as a starter for the San Francisco Giants. He made 3 starts for the Giants and ended 2008 with a 0-2 record in 12.2 innings.

His first start for the Anaheim Angels this season (last Thursday against Detroit) was a victory. He pitched six innings allowing 6-hits, five runs (4-earned) walked three and struck out one.

If you are a stat geek like me...He is the link to Matt's Baseball-Reference page.

MLB: History Of The Triple Play

I was wathcing my beloved Cincinnati Reds last Sunday and saw them hit into the first triple play of the season...Happy, Happy Joy! Joy!

Want to know everything you possibly can about the Triple Play? Follow the link: http://tripleplays.sabr.org/

Tiger: A Bad Sport?

Tiger Woods a bad sport? I won't go so far as to stick him with the "Bad Sport" label...But I think at times he fails to show good sportsmanship...Throwing clubs, cursing and less than inviting facial expressions.

There is no question Tiger has brought golf to another level. I know many people who only watch a golf tournament when Tiger is in the hunt on Sunday.

He has the right to be as fan-friendly or as abrasive as he wants...But as the "unofficial" ambassador for the game (I wish Tiger) would curb himself (just a little). People watch his every move and weather he wants it or likes it...he is a role model.

I'll save the topic of "Athletes as Role Models" for another post, but I will say...I have witnessed first hand how an athlete I considered a "role model" let me down. It was then I realized the mistake I made.

Mark Kizla of the Denver Post wrote an interesting article about Tiger and his actions on the course.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12111710

Chad Campbell's Connection To The Heartland

Need another reason to watch the final round of the Masters? Tune in and keep up with Chad Campbell.

Campbell won the 1997 Hooters Tour stop at the Bootheel Golf Club in Sikeston. He fired a -19 under par 269....rounds of 66-67-67-69.
Campbell held off Eric Meichtry's final round of 65 to finish -18 for the tourament.

The victory was Campbell's first as a pro...Brining in a $15,000 check.

In five Masters tournaments Campbell's best finish was T3 in 2006. He missed the cut in 2003, 2004 & 2007 and finished T17 in 2005.

I dug through the archives and found some video I shot of Campbell playing in the final two rounds of the Hooters event at Sikeston...The audio at the end is all static... I have no idea what happened....Enjoy.

Heartland Native In Position To Win Masters

Are you watching the Masters golf tournament on CBS? If not, I highly recommend tuning in for Sunday's final round. Heartland native Kenny Perry is tied for the lead with Angel Cabrera at -11.

Perry graduated from Lone Oak High School in Paducah, KY then became a Hilltopper...He attended Western Kentucky in Bowling Green.

I have never met Kenny but everything I have read and heard about him suggests he is one of the "good-guys"... A guy easy to cheer for.

More info on Kenny Perry:

PGA Tour

Wikipedia

UT Martin Cuts Men's Tennis: Blame Economy

MARTIN, Tenn. – Because of the ongoing economic crisis, The University of Tennessee at Martin will make a strategic reduction in spending by suspending the men’s tennis program indefinitely. The team will be eliminated at the end of this season in April.
“Primarily due to the high cost of out-of-state scholarships and the relatively small roster size, we have decided to suspend our men’s tennis program indefinitely,” said Phil Dane, the director of intercollegiate athletics. “We would have preferred to maintain the program at a reduced scholarship level, but we could not compete respectably in our conference unless other OVC members did likewise. We sought that cooperation, but could not get support from a majority of the members.”
The athletics director said the university’s decision to suspend men’s tennis was twofold. “As we considered which sport to suspend we could not consider a women’s sport due to Title IX gender equity requirements. Since our only option was a men’s sport, we identified the sport that saved the greatest amount of money, affected the least number of student-athletes, and respected the interests of the greatest number of our stakeholders,” Dane said.
Dennis Taylor has coached the UT Martin men’s tennis team since 1988. He has compiled a 207-216 won-loss record. Since competing at the Division I level as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, the UT Martin tennis team has played in 14 of 16 OVC Championship Tournaments. The Skyhawks’ best finishes were in 1996 and in 2001 when they finished second both times.
“While we deeply regret this decision, this is the best time to make the decision because the current team has three senior members who will be able to complete their tennis eligibility at UT Martin,” Dane said. “The remaining members will be retained at their current scholarship level until they graduate from UT Martin or transfer to another institution.”
The men’s tennis team has a 5-10 record and will play its last match this season at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 11, against Jacksonville State at the Skyhawk Tennis Complex.
Dane said a portion of the savings from eliminating men’s tennis will be reallocated to the women’s tennis program.
“Like many institutions and companies across our country, we are forced to make tough decisions due to the economic circumstances we are facing,” Dane said.

Awesome Dunk!

This is one of the best dunks you'll see from a high school player. Sikeston's Cal Lane is impressive at the B.A. Sports All Star Extravaganza in Poplar Bluff.

Rams Sign Boller

This is interesting.... For the sanity of Rams Nation I hope he never takes a snap. I have watched this guy for years... I always felt confident when the Bengals played Baltimore with Boller at QB. He's not the guy you want in charge of leading your team down the field.

The St. Louis Rams have decided on a backup quarterback, signing Kyle Boller.

The team signed 27-year-old Boller Saturday. He spent all of last season, his sixth with the Baltimore Ravens, on injured reserve with a shoulder injury sustained in the preseason.

He was Baltimore's first-round pick in the 2003 draft. Boller is 10 years younger than Gus Frerotte, the player the Rams had been negotiating with to return. Frerotte was released
with one year to go on a three-year contract before last season, then was 8-3 as the starter with the Vikings.

Eikenberg Resigns As SIU Women's Coach

SIU Women's Head Basketball Coach Dana Eikenberg resigned her position earlier Thursday.
Eikenberg coached the women's program for five seasons. Her best was 2007 when lead the Salukis to the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and was named MVC Coach of the Year.

Eikenberg leaeves Carbondale with a 53-92 record (33-46 in the MVC).

The search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

Todd Richards will have the latest tonight on Heartland News at 6:00pm

Rams Coming To Carbondale?

This is potential big new if it pans out... The St. Louis Post Dispatch is reporting the Rams are looking for a new place to hold training camp and Carbondale is a possible destination.

I will make some calls to SIU to see if this is really a possibility.
If memory serves me correctly...A few years ago the Chicago Bears visited Carbondale when looking for a new training camp home.


Here is the link to the article: http://www.stltoday.com

This is copied from the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

CARBONDALE IN MIX

Add Southern Illinois University Carbondale to the list of potential Rams training camp sites. Team sources told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday the Rams are considering SIU-Carbondale as well as SIU-Edwardsville and Lindenwood as potential camp sites. In addition, the team has not ruled out training at Rams Park this summer.

Despite earlier indications that a decision could be reached this week, team sources said it may take an additional two or three weeks to decide on a camp site.

****Update****
3:00 pm

I talked with Tom Weber (Director Of Media Services) at SIU and he tells me there has been some talk in recent months concerning the Rams holding training camp at SIU, but realistically it probably won't happen in the immediate future. The school is in the process of upgrading facilities, so hosting an NFL Training Camp would not be feasible at the moment.