2010 OVC Baseball Tournament Is set

For the 16th-consecutive season the Southeast Missouri baseball team advances to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament under head coach Mark Hogan. The program has never missed the postseason since Hogan took over his alma mater prior to the 1995 season. It's the longest streak of consecutive OVC Tournament appearances in league history.

Sunday the Redhawks slammed the breaks on a seven game skid with a 10-0 win over EIU in the season finale. The two will renew the rivalry in the opening round of OVC Tournament Wednesday afternoon at Pringles Park in Jackson, TN.

Depsite losing 2-of-3 to the Panthers over the weekend there is reason for Redhawks fans to get excited...Senior Jim Klocke has dominated EIU throughout his four year career at SEMO.
Klocke is hitting .386 (a double, five home runs, 17 RBI) has a .750 slugging percentage and a .491 on-base percentage in 12 career starts against EIU pitching.

2010 OVC Tournament Bracket.... SEMO is the #4 seed, Murray State #3 seed.

Wednesday, May 26
Game 1 - #4 Southeast Missouri vs. #5 Eastern Illinois, 3:00 p.m.
Game 2 - #3 Murray State vs. #6 Eastern Kentucky, 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 27
Game 3 -Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11:00 a.m.
Game 4 - #2 Jacksonville State vs. Highest Seed of Games 1/2 Winners, 3:00 p.m.
Game 5 - #1 Tennessee Tech vs. Lowest Seed of Games 1/2 Winners, 7:00 p.m.

Friday, May 28
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Lowest Seed of Games 4/5 Losers, 11:00 a.m.
Game 7 - Winner Game 6 vs. Highest Seed of Games 4/5 Losers, 3:00 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 29
Game 9 - Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 12:00 p.m.
Game 10 - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 30
(if necessary) Game 11 - Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 10, 12:00 p.m.

Former SEMO Star Now A Cornbelter

Congrats to former SEMO star Asif Shah...It looks like he has made the final roster of the Normal Cornbelters.

The 'Belters are the newest addition to the independant Frontier League. They play their home games at the Corn Crib and are managed by former Houston Astros skipper Hal Lanier.

You can see Asif and his new team when the 'Belters play a three game series at Rent One Park in Marion against the SI Miners May 28-30.

Shah originally signed with the Miners in October of 2007 but never played an inning for the team. He was cut prior to the 2008 season.

For the uninitiated the Frontier League consists of a pair of six team divisions.

East Division:
Kalamazoo Kings
Lake Erie Crushers
Oakland County Cruisers
Traverse City Beach Bums
Washington Wild Things
Windy City ThunderBolts

West Division:
Evansville Otters
Florence Freedom
Gateway Grizzlies
Normal CornBelters
River City Rascals
Southern Illinois Miners

The Miners open the season Thursday night at 7:05 pm against River City.

NCAA Hoops Preseason Top 25...Yep!

Wow... Are you ready for some basketball? A Preason NCAA Top 25 mens Hoops Poll is ready to disect. Kind of early don't you think? Maybe a bit premature but it's a list and sports fans love debating lists.

Releasing a preseason hoops poll this early is like predicting who will be chosen in the 3rd round of next years NFL Draft....A total guess.

I'm a big fan of Sporting News College Basketball writer Mike DeCourcy. The guy is a great writer and knows his stuff.

On the surface his poll looks solid. If you root for some of the bigger teams in the area I think you'll like it as well.

DeCourcy's Preaseason Poll:

1. Michigan State
2. Duke
3. Purdue
4. Kansas
5. Ohio State

6. Kansas State
7. Syracuse
8. Villanova
9. Kentucky
10. Pittsburgh

11. Memphis
12. Missouri
13. North Carolina
14. Gonzaga
15. Illinois

16. BYU
17. Baylor
18. Georgetown
19. Wisconsin
20. Washington

21. Butler
22. Florida
23. Virginia Tech
24. Tennessee
25. Wichita State

2010 OVC Softball Tournament Is set

The 2010 OVC Softball Tournament is locked in and ready to roll but there is one problem... For only the third time this decade Lana Richmond's SEMO Redhawks did not qualify. They failed to make the tournament field in '07, '08 and 2010.

SEMO last won a OVC Tournament Title in 1999 advancing to Tuscon, AZ to play in the NCAA Tournament. The Redhawks finished with a record of 2-1.

1999 Tucson, AZ
Game 1 - Kansas 5, Southeast Missouri 1
Game 2 - Southeast Missouri 2, East Carolina
Game 3 - Kansas 3, Southeast Missouri 1


BRENTWOOD, TN (OVC) - The 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament field is set. UT Martin earned the top seed and the right to host the three-day event that will take place May 13-15. Jacksonville State earned the No. 2 seed and along with the Skyhawks will receive a first-round bye. Morehead State is the third seed followed by Eastern Illinois, Murray State and Tennessee Tech.

Tournament action is set to begin on Thursday with the first game getting underway at 11:00 a.m. CT. The entire tourney will be available on OVCSports.TV.

2010 Ohio Valley Conference Softball Tournament Schedule

Thursday, May 13
Game 1 - #3 Morehead State vs. #6 Tennessee Tech – 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - #4 Eastern Illinois vs. #5 Murray State – 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 - #2 Jacksonville State vs. Game 1 winner – 4:00 p.m.
Game 4 - #1 UT Martin vs. Game 2 winner – 6:30 p.m.

Friday, May 14
Game 5 – Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser – 11:00 a.m.
Game 6 – Game 1 loser vs. Game 4 loser – 1:30 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 winner – 4:00 p.m.
Game 8 – Game 6 winner vs. Game 5 winner – 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 15
Game 9 – Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 winner – 11:00 a.m.
Game 10 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner – 1:30 p.m.
(if necessary Game 11 follows at 4:00 p.m.)

*All time Central

UFL Prepares For Second Season

Most of you probably are still unaware of the newest pro football league (United Football League). Friday the schedule for the leagues second season was released.

I am not paid by the UFL to promote their product I simply like football. It's worth devoting some of your time to following. The NFL should not fear the UFL ever becoming a major competitor.

I do think Roger Goodell should resurrect the idea of a developemental league (NFL Europe) and work out a deal to make the UFL it's minor league. It would have to be less expensive than NFL Europe.

The UFL currently consists of five teams:

Florida Tuskers

Hartford Colonels

Las Vegas Locomotives (2009 Champions)

Sacramento Mountain Lions

UFL Omaha