Rod's Christmas Thoughts

It's two days before Christmas and it's time to look back and look ahead. For the Pierre Governor boys basketball team, looking ahead is going to be a fun time. That win over Huron on Tuesday night should be a confidence builder for them as they look now to create a winning streak next week in Rapid City. Sophomore Lane Severyn has scored in double figures all 4 games. 12, 28, 12 and 17 are not bad numbers. Zach Hanson has also reached double figures in all 4 games. If they can keep that up and get some help from Scott Cichos and Travis Adney and the others, the Governors will be a force to be reckoned with as the season progresses. And notice that the offensive numbers are slowing rising for the Lady Governors. From 34 to 22 to 39 to 41. Now if they can increase that succession and scored 45-50 points every game, they play good enough defense that they should win a few games in the near future. But it won't be easy with the Rapid City schools coming in for games next week. The Governor wrestlers are in the midst of a two week off period as they prepare to travel to Yankton to face the Bucks once again in an ESD Conference dual on January 4and then go to Bismarck for the big tournament up there the first weekend of January. The Governors are tied for 4th in the Coaches Association rankings and that is where they should be. The Governors also have the Pierre Area Coaches Association Athlete of the Week for a third consecutive week as Dusty Paulsen was selected by the coaches. And the Lady Gov gymnast travel to Rapid City to face Rapid City Central and Stevens on Tuesday. This will be a good chance for the Lady Govs to establish themselves. Rapid City Central has scored higher that Pierre but Stevens hasn't so far this season. And Tuesday's meet will be a preview of the Region meet that Pierre will host in mid February. That 33 thousand dollar "Pit" is paying big dividends in scores as the Lady Govs have been above the 132 point barrier thier first two meets. That was the score the Lady Govs were posting at the end of the season last year. 2011 should be a good one for Pierre Riggs High Sports. And may I take this moment to thank all of the fans who listen, tune in and sometimes offer suggestions. Merry Christmas to you, one and all.

Rod

Rod's Sunday

The Pierre Governor wrestling team won all 4 matches it wrestled on Saturday and won the championship of the Watertown “Dual “ Invitational wrestling tournament. The Governors opened the day with a 52-15 win over Milbank. The Govs then downed Watertown 42-20 and Milbank 51-20 to set them up against Mitchell in the title match won by the Governors 45-17. The Governors had Tanner Monfore at 103, Caleb Stoltenburg at 119, Dusty Paulson at 125 and Chancy Riggle at 215 all go 4-0 on the day for the Governors who travel to Rapid City to compete in the Rapid City Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

The Pierre-Ft. Pierre Capitals boys hockey team split a pair of games in their two game series with Huron over the Weekend. After opening with a 5-2 win over Huron on Friday, the Capitals had the tables turned on them Saturday as Huron defeated Pierre-Ft. Pierre 5-1. On Friday Lucas Lindholm scored twice to lead the Capitals offense. James Gilkerson, Andrew Leif and Max Hanson also scored and Cody Bishop made 36 saves in goal. On Saturday, Huron jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Josh Rogers scored tan unassisted goal in he Capitals lone goal in the 5-1 loss. Huron had a pair of power play goals in the game and Bishop made 29 saves on Saturday. The Capitals are 1-1-0 in league play and 4-1-2 overall on the season. The Capitals JV’s posted a 7-1 win over Huron on Friday but were shutout 3-0 on Saturday.

Steph Paluch scored 5 points and Katie Lingle did not score in SDSU's loss to North Dakota State in basketall on Saturday night. Michael Tveidt scored 13 points in NDSU's win over South Dakota State in the men's game. And Pierre's Sam Willard scored 22 points to lead Pacific in a 20 points loss to Texas A & M on Saturday

Rod's

Rod's Friday Thoughts

The Pierre Lady Governors gymnastics team scored 134.450 to win a triangular with Stanley County and Huron last night. Stanley County broke the 130 mark. For scores like this in the first meet of the season, it can only mean good things for gymnastics this year for the two squads. And both teams have mostly underclassman so it bodes well for the future.

The wrestling season begins tomorrow for Pierre and Stanley County and majority of the area squads. The 12 team Stanley County Invitational begins at 4 pm this afternoon at Parkview Gym in Ft. Pierre Gregory is the two time defending champ and they are back. Stanley County looks to be improved and could give the Gorillas a run for their money. That tournament wraps up tomorrow. Also tomorrow, the Governors will open their season at the Watertown Dual Invitational. The Governors have quite a few guys back from last year's team and some big things are expected from them. They will wrestle Milbank, Watertown and Yankton in their pool and then wrestle their place match against one of the other pool teams. Either Huron, Aberdeen Central, Mitchell or Canby, Minnesota. Pierre finished 2nd in this tournament last year.

The Governor and Lady Governor basketball teams along with Stanley County, Gettysburg and a couple other teams will be playing in a basketball jamboree tomorrow at Riggs High Gym beginning at 10 am and wrapping up about 3 pm. Fans can get a sneak peak of this year's teams. Just bring a can of food for your admission and the Lady Governor parents will also be having a walking taco feed during the hours of the jamboree. And tomorrow night, 3 former Pierre basketball players will converge on Frost Arena in Brookings. Steph Paluch and Katie Lingle of SDSU play at 5 pm against North Dakota State. Then at 7:30 pm, Michael Tveidt and his NDSU men play the Jackrabbits, who are unbeaten to this date. Michael has never lost to SDSU in his collegiate career so far so this promises to be a battle.

And the Central South Dakotans for Nebraska group will be gathering tomorrow night at Pub 34 to watch the Huskers play Oklahoma for the Big 12 championship and anyone who would like to join them is invited to do just that. The game starts at 7 pm.

Rod's Monday Thoughts

College Football this Saturday should be an interesting day to say the least. Nebraska vs. Oklahoma in the final Big 12 championship game. It's the only way that that things could have ended for the Huskers and the Sooners. Throughout the 70's and 80's it was the most anticipated game of the year. The Big 8 championship and alot of times the national championship was determined on who won this game. Both teams are 10-2 on the season so no national championship implications but a trip to the Fiesta Bowl is on the line for the winner. The loser will go to either the Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl or Cotton Bowl. Probably the latter. If Nebraska wins, they will do it against the odds. Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe and the Husker nation have a hate-hate relationship. Husker head coach Bo Pelini's team has been up against it every game this year. Most they could overcome. The Texas A&M game and the officiating they could not. And the Huskers will be up against it again against the Sooners. Nebraska will get no breaks in the game. From the Oklahoma defense and offense to the officiating to whether quarterback Taylor Martinez will be able to start or will backup Cody Green get the start at quarterback. The game will depend on the Nebraska defense. If they can play anywhere near where they did last year at Texas, when the Big 12's love of the Longhorns allowed a second to be put back up on the clock on Texas could kick the game winning field goal, the Huskers have a chance because their offense is a little better than last year.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom. Hail Zigy! The wicked coach is gone

This past Sunday I drove to the farm as I usually do and happened to see my brother Wes. If you know him, you know he bleeds purple. He is ten times the Vikings fan I am. So I mentioned to him that Syndey Rice had decided to grace the Metrodome with his presence, my response from Wes was "WHO CARES"! Aparently thats what most fans were thinking. Thats why Brad had to go.

But why didnt this happen sooner? Arent all these owners great businessmen, and should be great judges of leadership? Did it have to take so long to notice that Brad Childress wasnt much of a leader? This isnt the first time something like this has happened in the world of sports. You would just think that if someone had made 600 million so they could spend 600 million to own a team you would hope they were better at reading people. Think about that the next time you buy stock.

And if you were Brad Childress what were you thinking? You knew you were on thin ice after your team had such a poor start, then after your owner spent some money to get you a wide reciever you cut him because he complained about food. If you are going to be out on the ice you better know when to go back to shore and Childress didnt.

Just a thought, could Randy Moss have his hand in getting two coaches fired this season? Keep an eye on things with the Titans.

How long will Farve hang around? That is the next burning question.

Congratulations to the Highmore Harrold Pirates on their sixth place finish at the State B Volleyball tourney. This was my first season covering volleyball and after I got the hang of things I really had a blast. Hope you guys enjoyed our coverage.

Rod's Monday Thoughts

Well, I hate to admit it but Zigi Wilf is a owner who cares about the team and the teams fans after all. He fired Brad Childress this morning as head coach and named Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazer as the interim head coach for the rest of the season. Actually, Zigi had little choice but to do what he did. He wants a new stadium or in two years, the Vikings might have Los Angeles in front of it instead of Minnesota. So if you want something, you have keep the fans happy, after all they are the ones that are going to pay a huge bundle for the new digs. The Viking fan base said "fire Childress" and after yesterdays destruction at the hands of the Packers, Zigi did what he had to do to keep his new stadium construction hope alive.

Rod's Sunday Thoughts

College Football from yesterday. Sioux Falls crusied in a 33-6 win over Northwest Oklahoma State. The NAIA will be glad to see USF leave to Division II and give someone else a chance to win a national title. North Dakota State loses 3-0 to Missouri State, a team that averages scoring around 40 points a game this year but also gives that up. And the weather was perfect in Missouri. Hard to figure after watching the Bison beat up SDSU last weekend. But NDSU does make the playoffs and will play Robert Morris, an 8-2 team this season, next Saturday. Augustana will host Grand Valley State on Saturday in the Division II playoffs on Saturday. It will be a test for Augie. Nebraska got hosed by the refs in last night's 9-6 loss at Texas A & M. But what else is new in this the last year of the Huskers in the Big 12. Nebraska has to play against the refs, the Big 12 and their opponent every week. But the officiating crew that worked the game last night has been horrendous in the previous games they have officiated. I try hard not to say anything by the refs because it is a very difficult job to do and my hat is off to all those who officiate in our area, but last night was obvious. 16 penalties on the Huskers. 2 for A & M for 10 yards, who had entered the game the most penalized team in the league.

College Basketball yesterday. Michael Tveidt scored 10 points in limited time on the floor in NDSU 40 point rout of Valley City State. I understand that Michael, who has scored in double figures in all four of NDSU's games this year is hobbled by some sore feet. USD lost at Marquette yesterday by 13. Not sure how Louie Krogman did but it was an improvent over a 20 plus point loss to the Golden Eagles last year.

Volleyball from yesterday. Congratulations to Arlington. They did something very few thought would happend. The defeated unbeaten Warner in 4 games last night to win the the State B title. Impressive to say the least. Perhaps had Highmore-Harrold played anyone but Arlington in the opening round, the Pirates might have been playing in the evening instead of the afternoon brackets. Sioux Falls Lincoln beat Roosevelt in the AA championship last night. 5 beating 1 would have to be considered an upset. And Sioux Falls Christian won the A title. I guess since 4 of 5Sioux Falls high school teams finished first and first (Lincoln and Christian), Roosevelt second and Washington 4th, they will are the volleyball queens of the state just like thier boy counterparts are in their sports.

NASCAR. Can Denny Hamlin hold on to the lead to win the Sprint Cup championship? Can Jimmy Johnson win his 5th title? Or will Kevin Harvick come from third to win? I don't know and frankly my dear, in the words of Clark Gable, I don't give a damn! I will be watching the Vikings and Packers and rooting for a tie.

Brian's Thursday Thmack Talk

Well, the fall sports season comes to an end this weekend with the State Volleyball Tournaments, and although we don't have a lot of teams to cheer for in our neck of the woods, I do think that we have two bona fide sleepers that could really make some noise in their respective tournaments. First of all, in Class B, where Highmore-Harrold goes in as the #6 seed for the second straight year. They finished 6th in VB last year, but remember when these girls rose to my personal challenge in the State BB tournament? I wonder, if I were to pick the Lady Pirates to finish 8th in this tournament, would they rise to the challenge and overachieve again? :o) Obviously, with Warner in the field, the Monarchs are the next best thing to a foregone conclusion - they've actually only lost 3 sets all season, 2 to district arch-rival Northwestern - although they will still have to earn their championship. I do think, though, that the second best team in the field will be the #3 seed and H-H's first-round opponent, Arlington. But who knows? Highmore is on quite a winning streak, and I expect them to play some of their best ball of the season this weekend. Be sure to follow Highmore-Harrold with Darren on 94 Country this weekend!

In Class A, Mobridge-Pollock goes into the tournament as the #7 seed for the second straight year. Not much is usually expected from a team seeded that low, but let's not forget the Tigers pulled the first-round upset over #2 SF Christian last year, and I think their chances are pretty good of duplicating the feat against Elk Point-Jefferson in Thursday's final match. I will have the pleasure of following the Lady Tigers on Star99, and for the sake of a little horn-tootin', I will also have an opportunity to announce all State A matches over the Public Broadcasting webcast on sports.sdpb.org, so I'm looking forward to that. Here's hoping the girls can feed off of the excitement that the boys gave us on the gridiron a week ago, despite the heartbreak (congrats on a great season nonetheless, guys - you made a lot of folks proud around here!!!).

Folks, if you still are among the many who haven't gotten into volleyball yet, please pay attention this weekend. I promise, you will be on the edge of your seat more often than not.

A couple of other quick notes:
** From the files of "It's About Time" -- Ron Gardenhire is the 2010 American League Manager of the Year. Five times he's come in second in that voting, but he won easily this time, and very rightfully so, with all the injuries that the Twins had to endure this season. From a 44-40 record at the All Star Break to a 49-17 record after the Break (before losing 11 of their last 12 or something like that). The man tends to make all the right decisions just about all the time. Now, if only he can make just a couple more to get that team to go deeper into the postseason in 2011.....

** And finally, oh, what I wouldn't give to be in West Lafayette, Indiana, Thursday night, when Purdue hosts SDSU in women's basketball. OUR three girls - Katie Lingle, Steph Paluch, and Sam Ostarello - all together in one game, all of whom many of us watched for four years of varsity ball, growing up right before our eyes. Now I know how Archie Manning feels. And for me personally, among the 3 of these young ladies -- I don't care who you are, that's an awful lot of KGFX Player of the Game t-shirts right there!! Talk about making us all proud......

Have a great weekend, and good luck again to the Pirates and Tigers!!

Rod's Tuesday Thoughts

Well, Well, Well. The Vikings fans are jumping ship and having a cow because Zigi will not fire Chilly! Brett Favre is proving that he is human and his taking chances late in games is really backfiring on the Vikings this season. And still, Chilly is the head coach of the Vikings. And probably will be for the remainder of the year. Why you ask? I think I can answer in two words. Contract Extention! You remember, the one that Chilly signed at the end of last season! Zigi is a businessman and I don't think he wants to buy out Childress's contract until at least until the end of the year. And I don't think he wants to be paying two head coaches in the same season. I might be wrong but the Vikings have bigger problems than a coach who usually outcoaches himself in close games. They have an aging roster. The Williams boys in the defensive middle of the line comes to thought. Jarred Allen, where are the quarterback sacks you should be making? Injuries to the recieving corp leaving Favre no one to really throw to. And while Adran Peterson isn't fumbling the ball as much as in the past, only 51 yards rushing against the Bears, a team he has owned in recent years, is a telling tale that perhaps AP is beginning to beleive that maybe he should play someplace else! Not to mention grandpa Favre who should have probably packed it in a couple of years ago. Or at least after last season. Oh Vikings fans, I feel for you. I have been there. I have been a Bears fan as long as I can remember. And I think it is funny as all get out that the Bears are 3 games up on the Vikings in the standings. And have beaten all of the NFC North teams at home this year. They won't have a chance in Minneapolis and will probably get beat in Detroit too. The Packers game on the other hand at the end of the year could be for all the marbles and the Packers have not beaten the Bears all that often in recent years at Lambeau. Ironic, isn't it.

Darren Boyle's Weekly words of wisdom...........A letter to Zygy

Mr Wylf, the time has come to rid Viking fans of your head coach. I know that means that the season is lost, I know that means the team will be in disarray, but it still needs to be done. Yes it means you paid $19,000,000 for an aging qb. But that qb was the reason you extended your coaches contract anyway.

Over the history of the NFL there have been tons of coaches who have been fired, some more than once. And there are several coaches who dont have the best won-lost record that stayed employed for alot longer than they probally should have. The one thing an owner has to look at is can a coach have a team ready to play every week. Eric Mangini is the best current example of a coach who is still employed even though his record isnt the best, in fact they are not a good football team, but Mangini keeps his team motivated and they can come out an suprise a team, like the Browns did to the Patriots last week.

On the flip side of that look at the Dallas Cowboys, a team that looked terrible against the Packers last Sunday night. The players gave up on the coach, and Jerry Jones was left with no other choice but to fire Wade Philips, and look how the Cowboys responded, with a big win over the NY Giants.

The Vikings performance against the Bears looked to me like they have given up on their coach.

Look, a coaching change mid season is never a good idea. But an owner has to look at the entire picture. And right now Zigy Wylf knows he owns a team that isnt going to make the playoffs, the fanbase is ticked off and his qb says this is his last year. Time to get ready for 2011 with a clean slate. Time to fire Brad Childress

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom...........THE CHILDRESS CHRONICLES

If you have read my posts over the last couple of years you have often had to deal with my frustration with the Minnesota Vikings. You have read the ramblings of a long suffering fan who knows that as soon as things start to go well something always goes wrong. Honestly, that is why I just havent been able to completely jump on the purple bandwagon the last few years. Now the events over the past couple of weeks have reinforced my fears. Now the team is in free fall and there is only one person to blame, Brad Childress.

Remember a few years ago when Zygy Wylf bought the Vikes? He wanted to start off with a clean slate so he brought in Childress who at the time was the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. The previous season the Eagles were in the Super Bowl with this "high flying offense" that had trouble scoring points. That should have been our first clue that we as Viking fans were doomed.

You have read my rants over the years, about how this coach was supposed to be this great developer of talent. How he drafted and traded for all these young qb's who just couldnt make it, so we had to see guys that were past their prime like Brad Johnson and Gus Ferotte on the field most of the time so the Vikings could win just enough games to get into the playoffs, or at least close enough to the playoffs to keep Childress from getting fired. That doesnt get you a contract extension though.

That is why Brett Farve was recruited folks. That is why Childress personally called Brett after a terrible performance by all his qbs in the first exhibition game of 2009 against the Colts. That is why Childress was willing to let Farve dictate when and how he joined the team. Brad Childress needed Brett Farve to come in and help the Vikings get to at least the second round of the playoffs. Childress had to get that new contract.

But like a true gambler, he just doesnt know when to cash out. This season he allowed Farve to wait until the last possible minute to decide to play this year. Other players expected the same treatment. Thats why Sydney Rice waited so long to have his hip surgery. Thats why Percy Harvin skipped at least two weeks of traing camp following the death of his grandmother. Childress had let the inmates run to asylum.

Childress knew he had to get some control back.. Thats why after the loss to the Packers he was so critical of Farve. And just this week, he released Randy Moss, a player who they gave up a draft pick to get just four games ago because Moss threw a tantrum in the Viking locker room last Friday over food that was catered in.

Now the coach has lost the team. What happens next will be good drama at least. How long does Childress let Farve continue to play? Does the defense quit playing so Childress gets fired and Leslie Frazier gets the head coaching job. What does Zygy Wylf do? Supposedly he wasnt too happy that Moss was cut without his imput.

All this adds up to another long season for the fans of the purple. Hopefully Brad Childress can find a good realtor, and the Vikes hire Bill Cowher or John Gruden before the Cowboys do.

It has been another good run through the football playoffs for the Gettysburg Battlers and the Sully Buttes Chargers, as they have made it to the semifinals. Both teams have a big challenge this Saturday. Gettysburg goes to Canistota, and the Cgargers go to Harding Co. I get to make the trip to Buffalo and call the SB vs. HC game with a 5:00 central time kickoff on KPLO.

Good luck to both teams.

Brian's Tuesday Tweet.....

Say it ain't so! In a year where it seemed like, perhaps aside from the top two in the State, parity was coming back to somewhat of a reality in Class 11AA, still - somehow - the Final Four comes down to all four Sioux Falls schools! Washington and Roosevelt have clearly been the best two teams throughout the season, so the blowouts they registered Monday night are really no surprise - much to the chagrin of Pierre Governor fans. But two teams the Govs probably should have beaten during the regular season, Watertown and RC Stevens, couldn't get it done in close losses to O'Gorman and Lincoln. There have been a lot of good teams outside of Sioux Falls this season, but for whatever reason, those SF schools just seem to have a way of making plays when plays need to be made, and I'm guessing that was the case in those two close games Monday. Can't wait to read the Argus sports page about their Dream Final Four - well, actually I can. Looks like Washington and Roosevelt are destined to meet in the Dome again, though. As for the Govs, 7-4 is a fine season, but it may be a season that they will leave wondering what might have been.

In 11A, the Final Four is decidedly a Sioux Falls Metro event as well. It'll be Dell Rapids hosting West Central and Harrisburg hosting Canton on Saturday. Four obviously good teams, with Canton maybe the most obscure - and the team my family and I root hard for. West Central may have benefited from a windy night to hammer a pass-happy Sisseton team in the first round, but they still went out and easily handled St. Thomas More on Monday night, so apparently nothing has changed for the perennial power. Can they pull the upset over unbeaten Dell Rapids, though? Well, I'm sure they can, but unbeaten Dells beat West Central, 37-22, in Hartford just a few weeks ago. Harrisburg probably has too many weapons for Canton to overcome in the other semifinal. Should be some quality football in 11A and AA on Saturday, but not a lot of local interest, unfortunately.

But now in 11B, a Saturday semifinal might have a lot of local interest, and rightfully so. The powerhouse of Tri-Valley will not go to the Dome for a fourth straight year, after they were upset (I use that term loosely) by Flandreau Monday night. Flandreau is a very good #8 seed, though, and they will provide a lot of problems in the semis for Aberdeen Roncalli. But of course, it's the other semifinal that will have us all watching. In Week 3, Mobridge-Pollock went down to Winner and flattened the Warriors, 26-10. The defending champs have shown some vulnerabilities this season, and even still in the postseason, and I've got a sneaking suspicion that this is just simply Mobridge's year. Keep in mind, their only loss was back in Week 1 against Linton, the #1 team in North Dakota, and a reliable source tells me, even that never should have happened. For the final eight, 11B was the most balanced, and we should get ready for a great championship game between.....mmmm.....Flandreau.....and.....a very good Big Dakota Conference team. ;o)

There seems to be a somewhat quietly stacked Final Four set up in 9AA. It'll be Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan hosting Chester Area in one semifinal, and I think the eventual champion comes from this game. The other semi has Leola/Frederick hosting Viborg/Hurley. V/H brings perhaps the best 9-man player in the state, depending on who you ask, in quarterback Cory Jacobsen, but Leola/Frederick has gone unbeaten for the second regular season in a row. Still, for some reason we just don't hear a lot about them, and we really don't know just how good they can be. I have a hunch they'll be good enough to contain Jacobsen and meet up with Chester in the championship. Chester is a #4 seed, but they are going to be a dangerous opponent for top-seeded Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan.

In 9A, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Hanson upset Avon in the Dome last year, and they will meet again, but this time it'll be Saturday in the semifinals. Early this year, I was thinking Avon lost a lot, but even though they lost to Hanson in their first game of the season, they really haven't missed a beat since. Clearly the consensus favorite for the 9A title will be the winner of this game, but I'd like to think that people might underestimate what the other two teams have to offer. Harding County hosts Sully Buttes in the other semifinal Saturday, and not that I know for sure, but I'm thinking there are two distinctly different styles here. Harding County seems to always be a bruising, hard running team, and they have man-handled almost everyone on their schedule a little more this year than in most years past. Harding is usually big and strong, but Sully Buttes probably has more team speed than anyone left in the 9-man postseason, and the Ranchers might not be able to tackle what they can't catch up to. This one's gonna be a fun one! Harding Co. has a somewhat weak schedule, but they did shut out both Philip and Wall - easily, I might add. In fact, they've only given up two scores all season. The Chargers will play well, but I wonder if this isn't the best Harding County team they've ever had. Whoever wins this one, I will definitely be pulling for in the title match.

The 9B Final Four will clearly have the four best teams in the class, which will include three unbeatens. The exception to the rule will be Gettysburg, and if you ask some of the Battler faithful, they'll probably say they should have been unbeaten as well. But even with two losses, the Battlers are probably playing as well as anyone. Get this - as I covered their 46-36 win over Colome Monday night, I had the Battlers in a total yardage advantage of 547 to 427!! A fun game indeed, but now the 4th seeded Gettysburgers draw the top seed Canistota, and I think everyone is aware just how tough of an assignment this will be. One look at the season schedule for the unbeaten Hawks says an awful lot -- a tough win at 9A power Hanson, and blow-out wins over 9AA semifinalists Chester and Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan, and also a tough White Lake/Plankinton team -- it seems Canistota is probably the best 9-man team in the state, regardless of class. Hopefully the underdog will put it all together on Saturday. The other semifinal pairs two unbeatens - Dell Rapids St. Mary and defending champion Hitchcock-Tulare, in a rematch of last year's title game. This will be a great game, but you might just have to go with the home team, and that'll be DRSM this time around. Still, good luck to anyone that tangles with Canistota this season.

So that's a look ahead to the high school semifinals, and what should be a fun day of football come Saturday. In the meantime, for what it's worth, I apologize for not having much to say lately. I guess it's just been really hectic around here lately.....either that, or we just can't stay off of Facebook long enough to say what's on our minds. As for a couple of other tidbits, is it me, or is it just really, really stupid that the World Series ends in November? Congrats to the Giants! And also, wouldn't it have been nice if the Vikings would have have given up a third round draft pick to get Brad Childress, and then gotten rid of HIM after only three games? Think about that for a while.

Don't forget - volleyball postseason starts Tuesday night - good luck everyone! Peace out....and Rock the Vote!

Rods Friday Thoughts

Pierre will host Sturgis on Tuesday night in the first round of the high school playoffs. It will be a rematch of last year's first round game that Pierre won when Sturgis missed on an extra point attempt in overtime. Sturgis is led by Clint Wilson, a hard nosed running back that the Governor defense will have to key on. The Scoopers were not one of the teams on head coach Joe Kramer's wish list to play. And the 8th seed is not the best the Governors could do. If the Govs win on Tuesday, barring any upsets, Pierre would then play Sioux Falls Washington in the quarterfinal round at Sioux Falls a week from Monday. The Governors got the 8th seed because of Brandon Valley's win over Watertown last night. It gave the Govs a share of the ESD Conference title but also set the Govs with a not so desirable setup in the post season.

Darren Boyle's Weekly Words of Wisdom.......

I am tired this morning. Why, you ask?. Its because I was suckered in by the boys in purple again. I dont normally stay up to watch the entire Monday night game, but for some reason I has to see if the Vikings offense would finally wake up. They did, and put on quite a show for folks that were willing to sacrifice Tuesday's productivity. Its too bad the game ended the way it did.

I am crabby this morning. Why, you ask? its because I was suckered in by the boys in purple again. Usually when the Vikings look as bad as they did in the first half of a game, I assume that things wont get better. Last night it got better, long enough, for me to start believing that they could come back and win. OOPS!!! Looks like with the Moss trade the Vikings have their deep threat, and that opens up the rest of their offense. The defense rose to the occasion and kept the team in it until the end when you know who threw the pick six so I could go to bed. Get ready for twelve more games just like that one folks.

Heres a prediction for you, I would say that when the Cowboys and Vikings play Sunday, whichever coach loses is going to be looking for work. If the Cowboys lose, Philips will be fired immediately and Jason Garrett will be promoted. If the Vikes lose, Childress will be gone at the end of the season. Dont know if there is an assistant capable to take over during the season in Minnesota or if Ziggy has the guts to pull the trigger. But it will happen.

Dont forget about our coverage of high school volleyball tonight on 94 Country as I will be in Murdo, as Jones County will host Lyman. First serve will be around 8:00. Dont worry, I will be in a better mood by then.

Rod's Saturday Sports results

RAPID CITY, S.D. - The Pierre Lady Governor volleyball team lost a 4 game match to Rapid City Central on Saturday. The Lady Govs lost the match by scores of 29-27, 24-26, 25-16, 25-16. Amber Olson had a match high 17 kills to lead the Lady Govs offense as the Lady Govs and Cobblers split the first two matches before Rapid City took control to win the last two. On Friday night, the Lady Govs were swept by top ranked Rapid City Stevens 25-16, 25-14, 25-16. Pierre is now 4 and 10 on the season as they return to ESD Conference action later today when they host Brookings at Riggs High Gym. Brookings won the first match between the two squads. Varsity match time is scheduled for 6 p.m.



RAPID CITY, S.D. - The Pierre Lady Governor tennis team finished 12th scoring 226 points as the State High School girls tennis tournament wrapped up play on Saturday. Sioux Falls O’Gorman won to defend the team title as the Knights edged out runner up Rapid City Stevens by 8 points. Watertown finished a distant third. Megan Vockrodt had the highest finish in singles play for the Lady Govs as she lost in the semi finals and then settled for 4th place. Vockrodt and her doubles partner, Diedra Beck finished 6th in the number 2 doubles losing in the consolation championship match while Molly Burke and Alexi Gusso won the number 3 doubles consolation championship match for a 5th place finish for the Lady Govs top finishes of the tournament.



ABERDEEN, S.D. - The Pierre Lady Governors finished 4th and the Governor boys had a 3rd place finish at the ESD Cross Country meet run Saturday at Aberdeen. Aberdeen Central won the girls team title while Brookings won the boys team title. Rachel Propst led the Lady Gov effort with a 9th place finish in a time of 15:49. Courtney Ziebart had a 20th place finish while Allison Mientsma was 25th, Aspen Iverson 26th, Libby Gortmaker 37th and Ashley Zimmerman 39th for the Lady Gov best finishes of the day. Jenna Grossenburg of Yankton was the individual medalist with a 4 second victory in a winning time of 15:09. In the boys race the Governors had 2 runners finish in the top 10 with Weston Christensen finishing 6th in a time of 17:14. Aaron Propst was 7th for the Governors while Stephan Nielson finished 14th and Tyler Propst 15th. Roman Spaid had a 22nd place finish, Dylan Rath was 27th and Jebben Keyes was 30th for the Governors top efforts of the day. Nathan Hauge of Brandon Valley won the individual title in a winning time of 16:24 and 5 second victory. The Governors and Lady Governors will run in the 5 Star meet in Huron on Friday for their next action.


MITCHELL,S.D - The Pierre Lady Governors finished second at the state high school soccer tournament on Saturday losing the championship match to Rapid City Stevens 4-0. The Governors boys finished 6th losing to Rapid City Central 2-1 in the 5th place match.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom....My return complete with a "Smokey and the Bandit" reference.

Its been awhile..... Sorry, but I have had much to do and the farming season is quickly coming to an end so I have spent some long days in the tractor. And besides, I am a grampa now and that job totally ROCKS! So now its time to get you up to speed on some of my thoughts.

One of my favorite movies ever is "Smokey and the Bandit" Yes, Burt Renolds was cool back then, Jerry Reed wrote a cool theme song, and Jackie Gleason was a perfect Buford T. Justice. Could you imagine if anyone else played that part? The chase scenes were classic too. But the reason I still watch that movie whenever it is on tv is Sally Field, she made the movie for me cause I thought she was hot..... And as I have seen her other work over the years I have thought she was still a very attrractive woman. But just the other day, I saw her in one of her tv commercials and for the first time she looked old. I looked up her stats and I found out she was 64. 64 really? Not that she isnt still a stunner but 64?????. Then I thought of Brett Farve and his performance over the first two games this season and I came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, Brett is getting old. And as you see his body language on the sideline maybe he knows it too.

So the season rides on Sunday's game with the Lions. I dont care that it is only week three. Look at the schedule, a bye week in week 4 then they have the Patriots, Jets, Packers (twice) and the Cowboys coming up and if they dont get in the win column this week they may not for awhile. They should have beat the Dolphins and maybe this game wouldnt be as big, but they didnt, so it is. I have a bad feeling bout this game.

If the Vikings go 0-3 does Brad Childress make a qb change? Waht other changes should he make? Will he keep his job through the season if things dont improve soon? Will Michael Vick sign with the Vikings next year, and will he bring Tony Dungy along to coach? And 0-3 start and you will see rumors like these start to fly. I am just trying to get a jump on everyone. I have a bad feeling about Sundays game you know.

Two good football games this weekend. On Friday night Chamberlain and Platte-Geddes-Dakota Christian will renew their longstanding rivalry. Right now both teams would be in the playoffs but a loss for either team would hurt their playoff chances, it will be a 7:00 kickoff on KPLO. Saturday night, Stanley County and Mobridge will hook up in Ft. Pierre as they jockey for position in region 4 of class 11B. it should be a good game and we will kickoff @ 7:00.

Brian's Monday Quarterback

Well, Weekend #1 is past in high school football -- actually the SDHSAA calls it "Week 0" -- and judging by the scores from some of the games that were played, I think we may be in for a very interesting season. First of all, perennial 11A power West Central starts the season 0-1 after being upended by Harrisburg, who is also always tough, 21-19. If I'm not mistaken, that is the first regular season loss for West Central in the last 3 or 4 years. The defending 11A champions went down too, when Sisseton beat Milbank 42-20. Another team that is always good, Aberdeen Roncalli, also lost -- 28-14 to Redfield. And then the reigning 9AA champion, while they still won, did not do it as easily as they did at the end of last year. Howard averaged a whopping 59 points in four playoff games last season, but couldn't even muster half of that in beating Parker, who hasn't been very good lately, 28-8. I guess the point is, as seniors come and go, player turnover could be a big issue for a lot of teams this season (see Aberdeen Central), so maybe we'll see a little changing of the guard in some classes this year. I mean....Sturgis 27, Brandon Valley 13?? Are you kidding me?

However, as some things change, some may still be the same, or better for that matter. 11B champion Winner started strong, 34-0 out at Hot Springs. And the 9A champs, Hanson, but a mercy hurtin' on Marion as well. Closer to home, Herreid/Selby and Sully Buttes have reasons to be excited this season too, and they did not disappoint on Friday. Meanwhile, the Stanley Co. Buffalos went down to Martin and sweated out a 14-3 victory over Bennett Co. Both teams moved the ball in this one, but crossing the goal line was the hard part. The Buffs are expecting improvements from last year's 5-4 squad, but we'll see just where they're at when Winner comes to town this coming Friday. Region 4 in 11B still seems to belong to Winner, but Mobridge-Pollock looks to be very good again this season, even though they lost to Linton, ND, in a barn-burner, 34-28. As usual, Linton is no slouch, though.

On Saturday, I had the rare opportunity to take in a Governors game - rare because I'm usually following the Buffs on the same nights - and although the Govs lost to SF Lincoln, 29-22, I thought it was a very good game for Week 1. Lincoln looked like they were really executing their game plan well on offense, and while the Govs showed some real grit in coming from 22-6 down to tie at 22 in the fourth quarter, Lincoln responded for the winning score. But for what it's worth, the winning pass and catch on a fake field goal attempt were a little luckier than the rest of the winning drive for the Patriots. However, even though I'm rarely one to complain about officiating -- it's just fun to do sometimes, though, you know? -- I can't let this one go. If a receiver turns around to catch a pass and has to reach back around (or THROUGH) a defender who not only runs right into him before the ball gets there, but doesn't even turn his own head so much as to smell his own armpit....well, if you weren't there, I'll let you guess what blatant penalty was not called. By the way, if this potential game-changing play didn't occur inside the 5-yard line on a long pass play, I probably wouldn't even bring it up. At any rate, I'm just sayin'.......

Speaking of officiating, although I won't complain on this point, and also of fake field goals, Lincoln made good twice on fake kicks to complete passes. This brought up a topic of debate in my section of the stands about whether the holder on a place kick can have his knee on the ground as he takes the snap, only to get up make some other play. After all, if a high school (or college) player has possession of the ball, is he not in fact down by rule? Well, thanks to modern technology, I was able to Google the point as we continued to watch the game, and supposedly, there is an exception written in to the rule in question that does allow the holder to have his knee down, if a kick is simulated. On that note, however, this begs the question as to why two separate officiating crews called the holder down for that very reason on fake field goals, not once, but twice last year. Sometimes you wonder just how much different officials interpret different rules of the game. But hey, as a whole, those officials deserve a lot of credit for the job they do, so I want to make sure they know they have my appreciation. My only advice is to look up pass interference in the dictionary and pay special attention to the picture next to the definition. :oP

A couple of other tidbits:
My favorite NFL defensive player on my favorite NFL team -- if you don't know me well, that would be Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- now has insurance on, of all things, his HAIR! Actually, it's Polamalu who has helped Head and Shoulders sell so much shampoo ("Isn't it? Isn't it??"), so it was H&S who took out the one million dollar insurance policy on Polamalu's hair. As the AP says: "The insurance was obtained through Lloyd's of London, which did not reveal what must be done to Polamalu's hair for anyone to collect on the policy." Now, I don't know much about Lloyd's of London, but I do know for a fact that this is not the first head of hair they have ever insured. In a prime example of meaningless trivia that I tend to never forget, back in the 80's when Twisted Sister was popular for about two years, their lead singer, Dee Snider, also had a million dollar insurance policy taken out on his hair. See folks? Growing up watching MTV wasn't a TOTAL waste of time!

In baseball, as I have written this post, I have been watching the MLB Network's bonus coverage of the Dodgers-Phillies game in which Hiroki Kuroda flirted with a no-hitter. I always like it when they cut in to a Dodger broadcast because I get to listen to Vin Scully, who in my opinion is the greatest baseball broadcaster of all time. But I'm noticing something on this night that I've never noticed before that makes me think Scully is that much better than everyone else at what he does. For four innings I've listened to this broadcast, and I've realized the one thing that Scully does not have is a color analyst! How rare is that?!?! It's a FOX Sports broadcast - no color guy, no sideline reporter, just Vin Scully - and there is nothing boring about this broadcast at all! Heck, he probably does a full pregame and postgame show, too. I guess at age 81, you just let the man do it his way or no way.

And finally, Manny Ramirez is coming to the White Sox, which makes me think of a Metallica song called......"SO WHAT!" Metallica always introduces that song with a certain gerund word in the middle of the title phrase that also fits well in this case. :o)
That's enough for now......Peace!

Rod's Sunday Sports

Volleyball:
Pierre def. Douglas 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17) to improve to 1-1 on the season. Rachel Hartman had 7 kills and Kaitlin Severyn had 6 kills to lead the Lady Govs. Sarah Lihs had 25 set assists. Pierre host Aberdeen Central on Tuesday night on RIVER 92.7 - FM. Match time is scheduled for 7 pm.

Football:
Sioux Falls Lincoln defeated Pierre 29-22 in the season opener for both teams. Lincoln quarterback Alex Schultz threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns. Jared Nielen threw for 55 yards and 1 touchdown while throwing 2 interceptions. Adam Deneke scored on a 68 yard touchdown run for Pierre as he rushed for 158 yards. Terelle Walker ran for a 66 yard touchdown and rushed for 95 yards. Nielen hit Travis Adney for a 19 yard touchdown. Pierre host Watertown Friday night at 7:30 pm on RIVER 92.7-FM.

Tennis:
Pierre finished 7th with 75 points at the Rapid City Invitational Tennis tournament. Sioux Falls O’Gorman won the team title. Molly Burke finished 4th at number 1 singles. Eileen Leong 4th at number 2 singles. Diede Beck won the third place match at number 4 singles. Emily Dix finished 4th at number 6 singles. In Doubles play, Leong and Dix finished 6th at number 1. And Burke and Alexi Gusso finished 5th at number 3 doubles.

Soccer:
The Pierre Governors and Sioux Falls Washington played to a 1-1 tie yesterday in Pierre while Washington defeated the Lady Governors 2-0.

Rod's Saturday Sports

Golf:
Pierre finished 4th yesterday at the Huron Invitational with a team score of 340. Willie Welch fired an 82 for the Governors best score of the day and only place winner.

Cross Country:
Pierre boys finsihed third at the Watertown Invitational. The Lady Govs finished 3rd. Indivisually, Libby Gortmaker and Courtney Ziebart finished 7th and 8th for the best finishes of the day for the Lady Govs. For the Governors, Steve Gordon, Tyler Probst, Aaron Probst and Stephen Nielsen finished 8th, 9th, 10th and 12th individually for the best finishes.

Soccer:
The Pierre Lady Govs lost to Sioux Falls O'Gorman 2-0 last night while the Governor boys got another win with a 2-0 shutout of O'Gorman. The Govs play Sioux Falls Washington at 11 a.m. this morning. The Lady Govs play Washington at 1 p.m.

Volleyball:
Yankton def. Pierre, 25-22, 23-25, 26-24, 25-14 in the season openere at Yankton. The Lady Govs host Douglas this afternoon. Varsity match scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Don't forget the Governors open the football season tonight hosting Sioux Falls Lincoln at 7 pm on RIVER 92.7-FM.

Andy Shoe's Scuttlebutts

I just got back from another baseball trip to Minneapolis and I can report that I had a great time. First I recommend taking the train when ever possible when you go to a game. You can board at the Mall Of America and go early enough to walk around and have supper. I ate at Smally's 87 Club and if you are a Twin's fan then this is the place to eat. Lot's of memorabilia and Roy himself will pop in from time to time. My wife and I met Roy and he was a real nice guy. Afterward we decided to walk around the downtown area and then to the stadium. I know everyone has heard about Target Field, and how nice it is, but let me tell you all it is worth every penny to go there and see a game. We had excellent seats and to tell the truth un-like The Metrodome there really isn't a bad seat in the stadium. The games we saw were even better with the Twin's winning over Oakland on Sunday's game and then Tuesday nights eleven inning thriller culminating with Jim Thome hitting a two run walk off home run to beat the hated White Sox. Wow what a thrill I can honestly say we had a great time and I will look forward to our next trip.

Rod's Sunday Sports

The Pierre Lady Governor tennis team opened the 2010 season by knocking of Sioux Falls Washington,5-4, Roosevelt 6-3 and Lincoln 5-4. Diede Beck and Megan Vockrodt went a perfect 6-0 on the day sweeping all three of their singles and doubles matches. Emily Dix went 3-0 in singles and Molly Burke and Lexi Gusso went 3-0 in doubles. Next action for the team is Friday and Saturday at the Rapid City Invitational. Results:

Pierre 5. Washington 4
Singles
1. Tina Erickson d. Molly Burke(P) 6-3,6-1;
2. Berkley Darr d. Eileen Leong(P) 6-3, 6-3;
3. Mikki Gebauer d. Alexi Gusso(P) 6-1,7-5;
4. Diede Beck(P) d. Dina Pater 6-2,6-2;
5. Megan Vockrodt(P) d. Shaylee Heinert. 6-2,6-2;
6. Emily Dix(P) d. Annie Wheeldon
6-2,6-4;
Doubles
1. Erickson/Gebauer d Leong/Kayla Inman 6-4,7-5;
2. Vockrodt/Beck d. Darr/Pater. 7-5,6-3;
3. Gusso/Burke d. Heinert/Wheldon.6-3,6-2.

Pierre 6 Roosevelt 3
Singles
1. Brittany Kortan d. Molly Burke(P) 6-7,6-3,10-6;
2. Kara Bunkers d. Eileen Leong(P) 3-6,6-3, 10-6;
3. Abby Siegenthaler d. Alexi Gusso(P)6-3,3-6,10-8;
4. Diede Beck(P) d. Kasey Shagen 6-7(3-7),6-3,10-3;
5. Megan Vockrodt(P) d. Mackenzie Vanderwoude 6-2,6-2;
6. Emily Dix(P) d. Mckayla Johnson 6-1,6-3;
Doubles
1. Bunkers/Siegenthaler d Leong/Kayla Inman 6-7(7-9)6-3,10-8;
2. Vockrodt/Beck d. Kortan/Shagen. 6-4,7-5;
3. Gusso/Burke d. Vanderwoude/Johnson 6-1,6-3.

Pierre 5 Lincoln 4
Singles
1. Joey Bosch d. Molly Burke(P) 6-3,6-1;
2. Gracie Chang d. Eileen Leong(P) 6-3,1-6, 10-8;
3.Adrienne Green d. Alexi Gusso(P) 6-1,6-1;
4. Diede Beck(P) d. Tessa Crosby 6-4,6-3;
5. Megan Vockrodt(P) d. Gabi Schmidt. 7-5,6-2;
6. Emily Dix(P) d. Allie Lahren 6-4,7-6(7-5);
Doubles
1. Bosch/Chang d Leong/Kayla Inman 6-3,6-3;
2. Vockrodt/Beck d. Green/Crosby. 6-2,6-3;
3. Gusso/Burke d. Schmidt/Lahren. 6-2,6-4


The Pierre Governor boys soccer team tied with Brookings 1-1 yesterday to open up the season with a win and a tie. The Governor Junior Varsity team also tied with Brookings yesterday 3-3 to open their season with a tie and a loss. The Pierre Lady Governor junior varsity soccer team defeated Brookings yesterday 2-0 yesterday. The varsity contest between Brookings and Pierre was not reported.

Rod's Saturday Sports notes

Pierre finished 5th at the West River Invitational Golf tournament that played it’s final 18 holes yesterday at the Meadowbrook Golf Course in Rapid City. The Governors fired a 36 hole total 676, one shot behind Sturgis for 4th place. Watertown won the tournament with a 619, 9 strokes better than runner up Rapid City Stevens. Josh Weismantel of Watertown was individual medalist with a 36 hole score 147. Zach Smalley of Pierre had a two round total 156 to finish in a 3 way tie for 6th. Other Pierre scores: Willie Welch 166, John Breckenridge 176, Kieren Gray 179, Hans Leong 183 and Tyler Smith 195.

Pierre boys soccer team defeated Yankton 4-1 last night. The Pierre JV’s were beaten 2-1. In the girls match, Pierre and Yankton played to a 2-2 tie. Yankton won the JV match 4-2. Pierre is at Brookings today.

Rod's Thursday Ramblings

We are now in the fall sports season as the Pierre Governor golfers are golfing at the Spearfish Invitational today. Tommorrow they move to Rapid City for the Rapid City Invitational. Monday they go to Willow Run Golf Course in Sioux Falls for the Warrior Invitational and then on Tuesday they are back at Hillsview Golf Course for the only home meet of the season. That is 40 percent of the season golfed in the first 6 days of the season. The season is only 6 weeks long as the State AA golf tournament will be golfed at Huron October 4 and 5.

The Governor and Lady Governor soccer teams open their seasons this weekend as well as they play at Yankton tomorrow and Brookings on Sunday. Martyn Beeny is the boys first year coach. Sydney Zanin is beginning another season guiding the girls squad. The soccer season, like the golf season is only 6 weeks in length as well as the state soccer tournament is the first weekend in October as well.

Pierre volleyball has 45 girls practicing, freshman through senior for new head coach Kacy Kienholz although some of the girls played for her two years ago when she coached the first time around for Pierre. They are practicing this week from 7:30 am to noon. Alot of conditioning, skill drills and the like going on at Riggs High Gym. The girls open their season a week from tomorrow night at Yankton and then have their home opener the next afternoon against Douglas. Coach Kienholz knows that the climb to get to the state tournament won't be easy with Huron and Mitchell much improved and Aberdeen Central, the defending state champions, probably still the team to beat.

While I have not been to football practice this week because it is in the morning, fans will get a sneak peak of the Governors Saturday morning at 10 a.m. when the annual Gatorade Scrimmage is held at Phil Trautner Stadium at Hollister Field. Coach Kramer told me earlier this week that the team is way ahead of where they were last year on the offensive side of the ball. That's good news with Sioux Falls Lincoln coming to town a week from tomorrow night.

And the Lady Gov tennis team has today and tomorrow for their final pre season practices before opening the season in Sioux Falls on Saturday against the 3 Sioux Falls public schools. Coach Jeff Bloomberg told me earlier this week that Lincoln looks to be the best of the three this year and that is Pierre's final match of the day about 3 p.m. on Saturday.

And from the Minnesota Vikings training camp, ESPN is making it a priority today to say that Brett Favre and coach Brad Childress don't see eye to eye and that is the reason Favre took so long supposedly to report to camp. Favre is quoted as saying that Childress does not know a thing about offense! And Percy Harvin was taken by ambulance to a hospital from the practice field today. Childress says Harvin was able to speak, but was disoriented for a few minutes after he passed out at practice. Childress says Harvin may have had a migraine headache attack, and he was taken to an unspecified hospital. And the soap opera known as Vikings football continues.

Brian's Twins Tweet

Oh, the ups and downs of a baseball season, especially for teams like the Twins! Consistent play for the first two months of the season had the Twins 11 games over .500 with a fairly firm hold on the top spot in the AL Central, but then the struggles of June and pre-All Star July came around, and the Twins were about as far from a sure thing as my chances of making a couple bucks on an evening trip to Deadwood. It's amazing to me, though, how the All Star Break was apparently all the Twins needed to get the ship righted this year - kind of like back in 2001 when the Twins were a surprise team with a 5-game lead at the break, only to show early in the second half that they really didn't have a chance of holding anyone off, as Cleveland won the division after a hot start to the second half of the season.

This time around, going into another big series against the White Sox at home tonight, the Twins stand 22-8 since the All Star Break, which I believe is the best in the Majors. And if anyone forgot in the first half, that Joe Mauer is still pretty good, isn't he? The pitching seems to be back to the level it should be too, and as long as that holds out, the division will once again be the Twins' to lose. I could go on and on about the if's of the rest of the season that could carry the Twins to the postseason again, but let me now explain why there won't need to be any IF's, and just tell you why the Twins are a stone cold LOCK to win the AL Central.

I've noticed this fact for a while, and maybe I haven't been listening too closely, but I haven't heard anyone, be it the TV or radio announcers or network analysts or anyone, mention the disparity among AL Central teams and their records against the other teams within the division. Check this out -- against other teams within the division, the Royals are 16-22, which is fairly respectable for them. The Tigers, though, are also 6 games under .500, at 19-25, which is a big indicator of why they have fallen off the AL Central map lately. The White Sox actually aren't much better, still under .500 at 22-25....that ain't gonna get it done, Ozzie! The Indians haven't been too bad - they're 21-20 within the division and have given the Twins some fits at times, as well as everyone else.

But then far above all others, there are the Twins, who have a beautiful 31-17 record within the division -- 14 games over .500!! That would be a 6 1/2 game lead over Cleveland for the division lead if that's all that counted, 8 1/2 games over Chicago, and a full 10 games over Detroit and KC. Teams are supposed to beat each other up within their own division, but the Twins have clearly been the cream of the crop. In fact, in comparison with the White Sox, who are currently 3 games back, the Twins have better records against the AL East and AL West than Chicago does as well. Ironically, the Twins, who have historically been one of the best teams in baseball in inter-league games, slipped to 8-10 this year, while the White Sox ripped off a 15-3 mark, including 10 straight wins in mid-June. That's really the only reason we have a race at all in the AL Central! But since there are no more inter-league games this season, I'll just offer 3 words: Game...Set...MATCH!!

Okay, here are some more words. Yes, we still have a month and a half of the season left, and yes, if Chicago has a good series at Target Field in the next 3 days, then the race is still on. But if the Twins should happen to sweep the Sox to go up 6 games....well, at the risk of being a jinx, I'll just let you fill in your thoughts from there. The Twins have 12 home games and 12 road games left against division teams this season. Assuming they take care of business in those 24 games, the rest of schedule could be quite favorable. The Angels come to Target for a set this weekend, but the biggest games have to be the 7 games left against the Texas Rangers. Texas leads the AL West, and right now, probably for the first time all season, is behind the Twins in the potential seeding for the postseason, but only by a half a game. Those could be fun games to watch, but for what it's worth, the Twins did sweep 3 from Texas at home at the end of May. Whatever happens against the East and West teams from here on out, the Twins' success within their division, similar to the middle part of this past decade, is why you can already put the Twins in the postseason once again this October. I won't encourage you to call Vegas and put a large sum of money down on that bet, but if you did do something like that, I'd probably ask you to borrow a couple o' bucks. And you can put THAT on the board. YYYES!!

Rod's Tuesday Ramblings

The fall sports season for South Dakota high schools has arrived. The Pierre Golf team will open the season on Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday of next week. Thursday and Friday they will golf at Spearfish and Rapid City. Monday in Sioux Falls and Tuesday they will host their lone home meet, the Pierre Invitational. The Lady Gov tennis team is preparing for their season opener on Saturday. 3 dual matches against the 3 Sioux Falls public high schools. Coach Jeff Bloomberg has 16 girls back from last year's team. The Lady Governor volleyball team is practicing at 7:30 a.m. in the mornings this week preparing for their season opener a week from Friday at Yankton and then their home opener the next afternoon when they host Douglas. The Governor football team has 53 or 54 guys out this year for second year head coach Joe Kramer. Alot of skilled players, mainly backs and ends are back who played alot for last year's 7-4 team. The one skilled position that will see a new face is quarterback where junior Jared Nielen is the first player to have a chance to play himself into a starting role. The offensive and defensive lines are the question marks right now. Those are the areas where graduation hit. A public scrimmage will be held Saturday at Phil Trautner Stadium at Hollister Field at 10 a.m. The annual gatorade scrimmage. And the first Competitive Dance team that Pierre will field along with the third year of Competitive Cheer will open their season in Pierre with the Pierre Invitational on Saturday, September 4. I will be talking more with the coaches the rest of this week and next.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom.

I must be sitting on a tractor too much. If you have ever drove a tractor much you know how your mind can wander. I was listening to the radio and going back and forth and heard the "news" that Brett farve was telling his Viking teammates that is was going to retire instead of coming back for another year in purple.. My first reaction was "yeah right, he will change his mind". I started to think back of the beating he took in the NFC Championship game and in particular the late hit that wasnt called in the second half. (By the way, if someone on the Vikings team doesnt go for Drew Brees' knees when they play in the season opener I will be totally bummed.) I thought of how many times over the years Farve has said he was going to hang it up, only to play again. But after awhile I started to think of the future, and how much worse the Vikings will be without #4. I thought of the quarterbacks available on the market over the offseason, Donovan McNabb for one, who could have been signed if Farve wouldnt have left them hanging. But the thought that I couldnt get out of my mind is comparing Brett Farve to LeBron James. If Farve really does retire, dont you think by stringing along Viking fans and stabbing them in the back is worse than what LeBron did in Cleveland? LeBron made no indication that he was going to return to the Cavaliers next year, he made it clear over the last couple of seasons that if a winning team wasnt built around him he was gonna leave and after their loss in the playoffs he decided to join a couple of his friends in Miami. Farve, on the other hand, got the Vikings close to the super bowl and strung his teammates and fans along all off season just to bail out on them. Go ahead and tell me that Farve made it clear that he wasnt sure if he would come back, the surgery on his ankle didnt mean anything and he just likes to play catch with high school kids. I will tell you it is another kick in the teeth for Viking fans. Maybe next time I am out farming I will wonder how the offensive genius Brad Childress will do developing a qb. At least I know it wont be tomorrow since it rained.

Rod's Tuesday Take N Things

We are between seasons here in central South Dakota. The Legion Baseball season in done. The Teener baseball season will be done in a week and a half as will the amatuer baseball season. Then, it's quick turn around time with football and the fall sports taking over. The Pierre Post 8 Legion baseball team finished their season with a 29-27 record. Congratulations to coach Sullivan and the team for making the State Legion Tournament. Until someone figures out how to beat Rapid City Post 22, making the State Legion Tournament will be the main goal of teams other than Post 22, who has won the State Championship tournament now 37 times in the last 50 years. All 37 of championships under current Post 22 head coach Dave Ploof. The 13-14 Teener state tournament is this weekend in Huron. Pierre plays two games in the tournament that has everyone entered into it's field. Pierre plays Sioux Falls West at 1 p.m. on Friday and then Rapid City Blue at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Depending on how they do in the two games, they may or may not advance to the 8 team quarterfinals later in the day on Saturday. The 15-16 B Teener State tournament is in Brandon this week. They have a final tune up for that tournament this evening in the second night of the Pony All Star games at Hyde Stadium. The A Teener State tournament is next weekend, August 13 thru the 15 and the Pierre Rattlers will play their first game in the State A tournament in Yankton on Saturday at 5 p.m. when they play the 3 time defending Class A State Champion Renner Monarchs. They will play a second game on Sunday at either 11 a.m. or 1 p.m.

And as far as the high school sports fall season getting ready to begin, there was a nice turnout of parents and athletes for the General Sports and Fall Sports meetings last night at Riggs High Gym. About half of the gym packed and the General meeting, scheduled to start at 6:30 pm didn't get going until about 6:50 p.m.

Brian's Weekend in Review

I must say, and I think many will agree, it's been a tough time to be a Twins fan lately. The highs and lows of a baseball season are always part of the game, and part of any team's season in any given year, but hopefully, after the Twins' rousing come-from-behind win over the, um....White Sox (for lack of a better term that I might get my hands or mouth slapped for) on Sunday, maybe a win like that can prove to be a major turning point for the rest of the season. When the Twins have made the postseason in the seasons of the recent past, they've done it with great second halves, and now that we're past the All Star Break, well, now is the time to get going again. I am hoping, though, that there is still a difference-making pitcher out there somewhere, since Cliff Lee was stolen from us, that can take the spot of either Blackburn or Slowey, and maybe those guys can get some confidence back in the bullpen. If not, let's just plug Duensing into the rotation and let him do his thing. This 3-team race should be fun the rest of the way, though, that's for sure.

If I may, this thing about LeBron James and crew in Miami now, where it seems that there is very little doubt who runs the show in the NBA.....as if we needed another reason NOT to watch the NBA anymore!! I'm very respective of players who are able to make some of their own decisions based on their longevity with a team and/or the league, like no-trade clauses in their contracts and such, but for crying out loud, how can a major sports league just sit back while its stars sit up on their pedestals and tell the world, "This is how things are going to be from now on"? I don't know, maybe it's all legit, but it seems clear to me that the players are much bigger than the league, or the "business," you might say. If any blue collar worker went in to tell the boss what's what, that person would get thrown out on to the streets. I guess maybe that's why they needed an hour long press conference on national TV to make the announcement. God forbid the league office raise a stink about anything that was probably the highest rated show on television that whole week! Okay, so the Heat have the money to pay all 3 superstars, and then Mike Miller as well, (and I'm pretty excited for him, all things considered), but you know, not even the Yankees have ever been able to make everything go their way without trying build it themselves. At least the Yankees go out buy people, rather than having people come to them saying, "Okay, you can lease me for 60 months with half the team's net worth due at signing." Put the Heat and the Lakers in the Finals next season...........WHO CARES?!?!?!!?

On a lighter note, this weekend in Pierre, we welcomed the State USBC Bowling Jamboree, a weekend of gatherings and seminars and honors and fun for bowlers from all over the state who came to participate. The featured guest of the weekend was a young lady by the name of Kelly Kulick, who is a professional bowler originally from New Jersey. For those of you that don't follow bowling as a sport, Kulick made a name for herself in January by beating all the guys in winning one of the Professional Bowling Association's major tournaments, the Tournament of Champions. In the championship match, Kulick defeated Chris Barnes, who is widely considered as one of the top 3 bowlers on tour, if not the outright #1, 265-195. Kelly has won several other tournaments also this year and has really put together an incredible run. In fact, her 2010 has been so good, that her previous stop in her travels, before coming to Pierre, was out in Los Angeles last Wednesday, where she was nominated for two ESPY awards. She lost out to skier Lindsey Vonn as the Female Athlete of the Year, which Vonn is certainly worthy of, but she got hosed on the vote for Outstanding Bowler of the Year, for which there should have been no doubt - kind of like when Jethro Tull beat out Metallica for the Best Heavy Metal Performance of the Year at the Grammy's some years back. Proof positive that voters in these awards shows, even in sports, can be downright clueless sometimes. Anyway, after meeting and talking with Kulick, who was really less upset with not winning those awards, and more upset with the fact that the entire show featured virtually nothing on bowling in general, despite the great things that she and others have accomplished this season, it was clear to me that this young professional athlete was one who had her head on straight - someone who didn't feel she was bigger than the game. Take notes, LeBron! Whatever the case, if your children need a sports role model to look up to - someone who has been successful by beating the odds and who hasn't let that success go to her head, watch the Pro Bowlers Tour, and keep an eye on Kelly Kulick, among others. In addition to all of her on-lane accomplishments, Kulick also pulled off a spot-on rendition of Terri Clark's "You're Easy on the Eyes" during Friday night karaoke at the Lariat Lanes. :o)

As for the Honors portion of the Jamboree weekend, congratulations go out to the State Tournament champions from around our area, who were recognized and presented with their championship awards Saturday night at the Ramkota. Several youth bowlers from Pierre won various events at the State junior tournament in Rapid City in April, including Brianna Dufour, Allison Bruce, Slater Pauly, Annie Hanson, and Jared Erickson. Also receiving awards were the State Womens Doubles champions, Laretta Swanston and Cindy O'Connell, who bowl in Philip, and the State Womens Singles champion, Heather Hloucha, and the State Womens Scratch All Events champion, Danita Allen, both of Chamberlain. Senior tournament division champions Vicky Stanek of Timber Lake and Linda Koeck of Miller were also recognized. And, two Pierre bowlers were also given awards for registering the highest league averages in the State - Nick Coolidge for the youth (220) and Cally Hall for the women (224). Congrats to all!!! It's still hot, but league bowling registrations for the upcoming season are only about a month away.

Andy Shoe's Scuttlebutts

I have always dreamed of going to watch the College World Series in person. It's a thing that every little league player wants to play in but if you can't play there then at least go and watch. Last month I got to fulfil that dream of watching when I went and watched a semi-final game between Clemsen and South Carolina on a hot Saturday evening. I arrived at the game around a half hour early and then made my way to the gate. Before I reached the entrance a young man stopped me and asked if I had tickets. I told him I did, at that he asked me if I wanted to upgrade my tickets. Of course I am not condoning the practice of scalping tickets but I did want to get a little closer to the game and so I asked him if he had something closer then the tickets I had purchased. He told me he had front row seats and for a little extra cash I could have them. It was too good to pass up and so I found myself in the front row on the first base line. I was so close I could feel the dust from the field and could hear the players chattering at each other. I was in heaven I thought, with the exception of the heat and when I say heat I mean it was one hundred six degrees and very humid. Don't get me wrong I am not a fair weather fan I will go out and watch a football game in a blizzard so I don't think a little oven like heat will keep me away from a chance to watch a great game like a College World Series game. The game was great a back and forth battle that featured great pitching and even better fundamental baseball with some big hits during the game. I was more thrown back about the stadium. I think it is a shame that Rosenblatt Stadium is going to no longer be the home of the CWS. What a place, and the fans could never have a better place to watch the game. It is a real "Field Of Dreams." With it's dark blue exterior, multi colored seating sections, giant scoreboard and carefully groomed field it is everything and more for a serious baseball fan. The fans vantage point is great anywhere on the field. You literally can not find a bad seat in the place. I know what you are thinking, it easy for me to say when I was sitting in the first row but at the conclusion of the game I took a little walk around. I went to the corner bleachers in right field thinking that would be the worst place to watch a game but I was surprised to find that even there you could see the entire field with out missing any of the action. The people in Omaha and the entire Midwest have something to be very proud in the fact that the college baseball world converges to the prairie for a couple of weeks of great baseball. I feel lucky to be one of the small few that had a chance to watch a game form the Omaha Jewell that they call "The Best Show On Dirt." I only hope the fans will show up when they open the new field for the 2011 CWS. If you are planning to go down for the games next year I highly recommend that you take some time and go to the old market down town Omaha and see for yourself the best of Midwest hospitality. If you think about it get there Saturday morning and take in a great old fashioned farmers market. I could go on and on about my experience, but I will just say that now I can put a check by "See a great game in great place," on my bucket list. Next I plan on going to Target Field in Minneapolis for a Twins Game so I will report back about that experience as well. Until Next time then I encourage you to get out and watch some baseball weather it be your local Little League or a trip to a Major League field somewhere, just get out and see a game.

Rod's Wednesday Take N Things

I did not go to the Post 8 Legion game last night. I did listen to the game a bit and it sounded like Pierre played a complete game in their 7-0 shutout of the Rapid City Post 22 Expo's. Pierre plays 5 games this weekend and considering how they played in their last two games vs. Rapid City Post 320 in the rain out Tuesday and then last night, they should do ok.

No, I went golfing last night at the Dunes in Ft. Pierre. Played the back 9. Shot a 41 which was not bad for me. I can only remember hitting three really bad shots the whole round. I had a 6 on the par 5 18. Otherwise I had 3 5's and 5 4's. It was the best I have played I thought this year. The back 9 at Dunes is wet from all the rain that we have had and there was some standing water here and there but for the most part I did not have to squish around and I only lost 1 ball. That was on the 15th hole, a par 5 that runs east to west. I lost the ball on the drive. I was going to keep it low because the sun was directly causing a hazard. Well, I hit it high, lost the ball, heard it hit somewhere, but it wasn't in the fairway so I took the stroke penalty and made a 5 on the hole. The greens on the back 9 at Dunes were soft and I left a couple of divits that I fixed. On the front 9 at Dunes, the greens seem to be harder and when the ball hits on the green on the fly doesn't seem to leave the mark. Still, I had a pretty good round and am looking forward to my next round hopefully this weekend.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom

Big news in the NBA this past week with the beginning of the free agent signing period. It has been known for awhile that LeBron James was going to be a free agent this season along with Dewayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer and others. Many have talked about the possibility of two perhaps three of these free agents getting together to sign with one team to persue a championship. In fact, Dewayne Wade proposed a "summit" for potential free agents to see who would like to play with whom. To be sure this has been the most anticipated free agent signing periods in any sport. And it will reach its peak Thursday night, as LeBron James will make his choice of team known on ESPN at 8:00 central time. Get this, LeBron's people approached ESPN with the idea of having a special program for his announcement, with one BIG condition. LeBron's people sell the advertising with the $$ going to the Boys and Girls Club of America. Kudos to whoever came up with the idea. Kudos to ESPN for letting it happen. To be sure, I will be one of the millions watching. It is not often that you get know in advance when a great moment in sports is going to happen. One of those great moments will happen Thursday night. Maybe we will get to see Brett Farve is one of the ads, maybe he will be @ Sears doing some more waffling. Will he have a ESPN special to announce that he isnt going to retire again? Believe it or not I feel sorry for Farve and the Vikings, they got screwed back in January, but I digress. One thing to think about as you speculate where King James will sign. President Obama made his feelings known recently. The President has been on a roll as he has picked the Saints to win the Super Bowl, and the Lakers to win the NBA finals. Now he believes LeBron will sign with ..........The Chicago Bulls.

Rod's Wednesday Take N Things

Wouldn't you know it. Once again weather struck and cost Pierre Post 8 an American Legion baseball victory last night. After losing to Mitchell 10-6, Pierre was playing a team that stands between them and a trip to the state tournament at Hyde Stadium. Rapid City Post 320. And Pierre was hitting the ball with authority. They scored 3 runs in the first inning off of Zach Cimburek, a pitcher Post 8 was seeing for the third time this season, and a pitcher who had shut them down in the previous 2 matchups. After allowing Post 320 a run in the top of the first, Pierre answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-1 lead. Post 320 answered with a run in the third and another in the 4th inning to tie the game. But Pierre came back in the bottom of the 4th. They scored a run to take a 4-3 lead and they had the bases loaded with 1 out, when lightning struck to close to the field. The umpires (Paul Titze and Terry Keller) motioned both teams to their dugouts. After covering the mound and home plate area with tarp, the players came out and took it off. It looked like the game was going to continue. But alas, the clouds filled in, it started to rain and the game was called. Pierre did not get the win because it was not an official game. For a 7 inning game to be official, you have to play 4 complete innings. Post 320 got bailed out by mother nature, and much like the game against Bismark last month, Pierre was stopped by the weather just when it looked as if they were making a move. So, Pierre will not play Post 320 anymore this regular season. And the next time they meet, if they do, will be on the Post 320 home field and a trip to the state tournament will probably be on the line in a couple of weeks from tomorrow night.

Post 8 still has alot of baseball to play though til the Region tournament. They have the Post 22 Expos, a team that beat Pierre back in late May, tonight in Pierre. They have 5 games this weekend and 6 next week with doubleheaders on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Tuesday will be a triangular with Sturgis and Spearfish at Sturgis. Thursday at Aberdeen and Saturday afternoon at Huron. And although the Post 8 record is 18-19, there is still plenty of baseball to get things going the right way.

Brian: just talkin' baseball

The Twins played their 81st game of the season today (Saturday), so while the All Star Game might be the event that divides the season into the first and second half, I guess now is an even better time to look at the season so far, since it is exactly half over, at least for the Twins. Watching the Twins game today on FOX, I noticed when the graphic game up with the National League standings. I was aware of who all was in first place, but it never really hit me how neat of a story they all were until I noticed them all grouped together. The Braves lead the NL East, which really isn't anything new, but where all the experts expected the Phillies to run away with the East, maybe only to be contended by the Mets, the Braves are actually quite a story in that regard. But if the Braves are a good story, then seeing both the Reds and Padres in first place in their respective divisions pretty much speaks for itself. The Padres, like the Braves, are an amazing 15 games over .500, which kind of reminds me of the 2001 Twins, who got off to such a hot start only to fizzle a little after the All Star Break. I remember they had a five game lead at the break, which was pretty amazing for a team that no one expected anything from. Things didn't work that year for the Twins, but that season still set the stage for the impressive run of postseason appearances that they have had ever since. Maybe the Padres will fall like that later this season, maybe they won't. Funny thing is, I remember predicting that the Twins might make a trade deadline deal with the Padres for closer Heath Bell, figuring the Twins would be in contention and the Padres would not. Well, Rauch has done nicely for the Twins in place of Joe Nathan, but the Padres won't need to move anyone right now, that's for sure. As for the Reds, they lead the NL Central, and for me, they've done it very quietly. People always know what the Cardinals and Cubs are doing, but the Reds have just played good ball all season, really without any superstars to speak of.

In the American League, of course it's business as usual in the East -- Yankees and Red Sox on top, although the Red Sox have been pretty amazing lately, considering how slow they started. I guess that's no different than what the Yankees have done for about the last five straight years. Go Rays and Jays! - please?? In the West, the Angels were expected to be on top, as usual, but thanks to a slow start, they're still four games behind the Rangers, who are a very impressive 16 games over .500, which is a bit of a surprise, as far as I'm concerned.

And so that brings us to the AL Central, and for me it has been awesome to see the Twins start as strong as they did, but they did struggle quite a bit in June, which has helped the Tigers, and even the White Sox hang around. Now, after the Twins blew it today against the Rays, the Tigers have pulled back even with the Twins for first place. The pitching had better come around again, and if it does, I think we're in for an exciting second half of the season. Four words for the Twins: Go get Cliff Leee!! The most frustrating thing for me as a Twins fan this year? They've been in first for most of the season, but they have yet to go as many as 12 games over .500 to this point. By contrast, as mentioned, teams like the Padres and Rangers are 15 and 16 over, and I don't think one would have to argue too loudly to make people think the Twins are better than both of those teams. Okay, so the Rangers offense is pretty scary, but the Twins did sweep three from Texas a few weeks back.

A few other thoughts:
**Twins fans - if you didn't before, do you find yourself nowadays just dropping whatever you're doing when Jim Thome comes up to bat?
**Tigers fans - Joel Zumaya has a special arm, but if he doesn't change something for the rest of his career, he's really going to have a "special" arm before long.
**A lot has been made of the 4 no-hitters thrown so far this season. Two perfect games (ok 3, to be fair to Armando Gallaraga), which have been amazing, but the two non-perfect no-hitters have been about as ho-hum as they can be. By that I mean, how many guys can you allow on base before your no-hitter starts to lose its luster? Ubaldo Jimenez walked six batters in his no-no in April, and Edwin Jackson walked eight in his last week. Yielding no hits is great, but when you have to pitch half the game from the stretch, is it really that great? Incidentally, I had neglected to make Roy Halladay active on my fantasy team the day he threw his perfect game. :o( No worries, I'm still running away with the league. :oP
**A lot is also being made of Stephen Strasburg and whether he should make the All Star Team or not. The kid is 2-2 without a win in his last 3 starts, after a no-decision today. He's gonna be great -- he's already great -- but do we really have to debate this subject? I'd say not even close. Maybe they should play a "Futures Game" like they do during the NBA All Star Weekend, and then Strasburg would be worthy of trip to Anaheim next week.

Speaking of All Stars - here are my votes for who should be starting (some not so conventional):

AMERICAN ----- NATIONAL
C - Joe Mauer, Twins ----- Miguel Olivo, Rockies
1B - Miguel Cabrera, Tigers ----- Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2B - Robinson Cano, Yankees ----- Dan Uggla, Marlins
3B - Michael Young, Rangers ----- Scott Rolen, Reds
SS - Alex Gonzalez, Blue Jays ----- Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
OF - Josh Hamilton, Rangers ----- Cory Hart, Brewers
Carl Crawford, Rays ----- Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
Vernon Wells, Blue Jays ----- Chris Young, Diamondbacks
DH - Vladimir Guerrero, Rangers ----- Aubrey Huff, Giants
P - David Price, Rays ----- Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies

HONORABLE MENTION
1B - Justin Morneau, Twins ----- 1B - Joey Votto, Reds
Paul Konerko, White Sox
2B - Dustin Pedroia (inj.), Red Sox ----- 2B - Martin Prado, Braves
3B - Adrian Beltre, Red Sox ----- 3B - David Wright, Mets
OF - Shin-Soo Choo, Indians ----- OF - Ryan Braun, Brewers
Alex Rios, White Sox ----- Marlon Byrd, Cubs
SP - Andy Pettitte, Yankees ----- SP - Josh Johnson, Marlins

Plenty of food for thought here, but it's not like we've given you much to read lately anyway. Happy Birthday, America! And way to go, Brock Lesnar!!
- Radiooo

Rod's Tuesday Take N Things

The Pierre Post 8 American Legion baseball team has won 3 of their last 4 but are still 1 game under .500. It seems that when they are hitting, they are not pitching. When they pitch, they don't hit. As witnessed by Sunday night's 12-10 comeback win over Orient where they spotted thier host an 8-0 2nd inning lead. Or last night, when they lost to Mitchell 12-11 in 8 innings in the second game of the doubleheader. They used 4 pitchers in game 2 last night. They have two games at Huron tomorrow night before going to Fargo for a tournament this weekend where they will be playing 5 games.

Rod's Tuesday Take N Things

OK, I was wrong yesterday when I said that by later today, the Big 12 Conference as we know it would be no more. All reports circulating yesterday said it was a done deal. Texas was off to the PAC 10 and the others in the Big 12 South would follow. So Texas said no to the Pac 10 and all of a sudden the Big 12 (minus 2) is happy and staying in tact. I can only hope that the other 9 Universities in the Big 12 (minus 2) enjoy Texas telling them what and what not to do. And kuddo's to Nebraska and Colorado for calling Texas's bluff and making their move. Nebraska to the Big 10 beginning in 2011-2012 and Colorado to the PAC 10 in the 2012-2013 school year.

Congratulations to a pair of Pierre youngsters. Peyton Zabel and Sydney Palmer. They competed on Saturday at the Minnesota Twins Pitch, Hit and Run competitons at Target Field in Minnepolis. Zabel won the 9- to 10-year-old boys division championship, and Palmer was the runner-up in the 13- to 14 year- old girls division.

And, The University of Nebraska wrestling summer camp will be coming to Ft. Pierre and Parkview Gym next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The Guest Clinician will be Nebraska head wrestling coach and Vermillion native Mark Manning. Registration for the camp begins at 8:15 am with the camp for 7 year olds through 6th graders for the coming school year being run from 9 am to 11 am and the camp for those entering 7th grade through 12th grade next school year being held from 1 to 3 p.m. all 3 days. Registration fee is $65 for the younger wrestlers and $80 for the older group. Former national champion Jordan Burdiss is also expected to be on hand. For more information or if you have any questions on the camp you can contact Stanley County head wrestling coach Craig Heller at 605-280-0674.

Pierre Post 8 baseball is in Rapid City tonight for a doubleheader against Rapid City Post 320. The "B" Teeners are hosting Gettysburg at Hyde Stadium in a doubleheader and the Rattlers amatuer team puts their 11-0 record up at Miller tonight.

Also last night, the Pierre School Board hired several teachers and coaches. Scott DeBoer, a Huron High School grad is going to be the new Governor sophomore boys basketball coach. Shawn Schnabel will be a new assistant coach at the 9th grade level. In girls basketball, Cally Swanson will be an 8th grade girls basketball coach.

Rod's Monday Take N Things

The Pierre Post 8 American Legion baseball team was rained out of their doubleheader with Spearfish yesterday and this Friday's scheduled doubleheader at Sturgis has been cancelled due to the fact that Sturgis has 5 players at a football camp. Sturgis also has others on the JV or split squad team playing in a tournament that weekend so they did not have 9 guys available. Pierre may play in a triangular with Spearfish and Sturgis when they play on July 13, but their is nothing official on that at the present time.

The Pierre Rattlers amatuer team is 11-0 on the season and not ranked in the South Dakota Amatuer Baseball Association poll. Brookings Cubby's, a team they beat last weekend in the championship of the Brookings tournament, is ranked 2nd in the Class A poll. But of the 11 wins, only 2 have come against Class A opponents. And only one of those, Brookings, is from South Dakota. They also defeated Jamestown, North Dakota. The Rattlers go to Miller tomorrow night for a single 9 inning game. They are home Saturday hosting Rapid City and Refield Dairy Queen, a team they beat in the semi finals of the Brookings Tournament.

And today and tomorrow will be the final days of the Big 12 Conference as we know it in college sports. Missouri Board of Regents members had a behind closed door meeting last night Texas board members will meet tomorrow. Expect Texas to go the Pac 10 along with Colorado. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and Texas Tech should follow in line. Texas A&M will probably go with them although it has been reported that A & M has been looking towards the Southeast Conference. With Nebraska and Colorado leaving the Conference it leaves Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State along with Missouri and Baylor as the only schools left in the Big 12. And you cannot do a viable conference with only 5 schools in Division 1 college athletics.

Andy Shoe's Scuttlebutts

I have been working on something for the local baseball program for a while now. I came up with an idea of having an opening day celebration at the Legion Memorial Field in Mobridge. I hope it will be a huge success and lots of people will come out and support youth baseball and softball in this town. Over the past couple of years I have seen the decline in youth baseball become an almost bottomless pit of despair. What has happened to America's past time? Where are all of the die hard baseball players? I know that I am getting up there in age, but I can't believe that video games and television have that much of a strangle hold on our youth. I think there was time when every town in the Midwest had a program that they could be proud of and today it is hard to get more then nine boys or girls per team. I am proud of the way major sports are starting to step up with programs like Play 60 from the NFL or the RBI league from MLB to mention a few. No it is not for the lack of motivation from outside the home that the blame lies, it is a direct effect of letting the television be the babysitter. I know that with times being on the rough side in our economy that the idea of a single provider house hold is an old concept but I would say that instead of having kids at home watching TV or playing video games send them to baseball or softball practice. Get the children of America active! If you are paying attention to what is going on with the next generation then you will know that an entire generation is suffering from the effects of childhood obesity. If nothing is done soon the repercussion's could be catastrophic. I know that sometimes I can get a little melodramatic about things, but I know also that I am a member of a growing group that is concerned about what may be without some intervention.

I digress, Opening Day is what I am here writing about today and I want all reading this to make an effort to show up for the event. It will be held Sunday June Thirteenth at around five forty five in the evening at The New Legion Memorial Field. It is located in the same spot on Twelfth Street, but if it has been a while since you have watched a game there it will be an eye opening experience. Come and see all of the youth ball players introduced from T-Ball to Legion. See all of the people who are involved with the summer youth program and meet the people that donated so much time to help improve the complex. There will be a ceremonial first pitch and of course two great games featuring the Mobridge Teeners taking on the Selby Area Teeners then The Mobridge Legion team taking on The Linton North Dakota Legion team. I hope we will have a crowd there that we can be proud of.

Rod's Monday Take N Things

Don't give up on the Pierre Post 8 baseball team, not just yet. Despite an 0-6 start, yesterday's doubleheader against Rapid City Post 22 was the first time the entire team has been together. And there were bright spots. In pitching, Stephen Nielsen retired the two batters he faced in the 7th inning of the first game. Nolan Merrill was solid thru the 5 innings he pitched in the second game. And offensivly, hopefully Alex Deneke's home run will get him jump started. Plus, Post 22 is pretty dog gone good. They aren't on the schedule anymore until the Region Tournament. That is less than two months away, but basically a season away yet. Pierre plays Winner 4 games. Two tomorrow night at Hyde Stadium beginning at 5:30 p.m. and then a week from Wednesday a double header at Winner at 5:30 p.m. In between, a tournament at Yankton. I would say a sweep of Winner in both meetings and a 2-2 weekend this weekend would be a good week of baseball for this team.