Bearcats drop pair day one of Crossover

Appeared on bearcatsports.com 2/22/13

ROCHESTER, Minn. – At the first day of the NSIC/MIAA Crossover the Northwest Missouri State softball team lost its first two games of the season falling late to Minnesota State Mankato 3-2 and were shutout by St. Cloud State 3-0.

Minnesota State Mankato rallied in the sixth inning to win 3-2. Jenna Creger received the loss after allowing the three runs. Creger’s record falls to 3-1 as the senior allowed her first runs of the season.

The only two runs of the day came from a homerun hit by Stephanie Price in the first inning. Price’s homerun scored Kristen Uthe who had reached on a single.

“It wasn’t like we were getting beat seven-nothing. We were in both games, but at the plate we weren’t,” said Head Coach Ryan Anderson.

Courtney McKelvogue picked up the complete game win for MSU scattering 10 hits and striking out 10 Bearcats.

Kelly Franks of St. Cloud State pitched a 3-0 shutout against the Bearcats in the second game. Franks struck out 11 of the batters she faced in the game only allowing four hits.

Abbie Vitosh was credited with the loss in the game moving her record to 2-1 for the season.

Vitosh gave up two homeruns against St. Cloud, as the other run was scored off an error on a throw to third by Cantrell.

Candace Miller recorded two of the Bearcats four hits in the loss.

“We have to take care of ourselves and get back to what we know we can do,” Anderson said.

The Bearcats wrap up the weekend Saturday with tough regional match ups against Sioux Falls, Upper Iowa and Concordia-St. Paul. First pitch against USF is set for 10 a.m.

Davis, Jones to play in Texas v. the Nation game

Appeared on bearcatsports.com 2/3/11

Help support senior defensive end Roberto Davis and cornerback Ryan Jones as they play in the NFL Players Association Game: Texas vs. the Nation on Saturday Feb. 5. Bearcat fans can show their support even if they cannot travel to the Alamodome in San Antonio for the game.

Bearcat fans can purchase a ticket, and that ticket will be donated to military personnel or children’s organizations to attend the game in their place. Those attending will be sitting in designated sections to support the Northwest players.

The game features senior collegiate athletes from Texas and around the nation showcasing their talent. The game attracts hundreds of NFL scouts and personnel, and is a great spotlight for Davis and Jones to be evaluated for a potential invitation to the NFL.

San Antonio will be hosting the event for the first time in the game’s five-year history. Prior to Saturday’s game, the series is tied between Texas and the nation at 2-2. Davis and Jones will be playing for team Texas.

Jones was named to the AP All-American team, All-Region team, and was the MIAA Most Valuable Defensive Player.  Davis, a Texas native, was named to the All-Region and All-MIAA teams. Last season Davis led the Bearcats with seven sacks and 10.5 tackles-for-loss.

To donate a ticket you must input “Northwest Missouri State” under the “Business or Organization” section.

To donate a ticket go to: http://nflpagame.com/component/content/article/173

LIVESTOCK FEED, GRAIN PRICES INCREASE AS AREA FARMERS FACE TOUGH DECISIONS

Appeared in the Northwest Missourian

The livestock and grain markets change every day, but the price of livestock is headed for an all-time high with a high demand of grains.

As farmers prepare to decide whether or not to sell their cattle, they will look at how they can make a profit from their herds.

Northwest Senior Jesse Birkenholz works on his family farm near Hopkins raising cattle and hogs. His family also grows corn and soybeans to help feed the livestock.

Because of the price of feed, Birkenholz buys all the family's seed at one time, which pays off in the end.

"It relieves us quite a bit... It's cheaper in the long run," Birkenholz said. "You're going to have more output at one time than buying little by little."

The price of grains are moderate this year compared to last year since there wasn't a bad drought like in 2012, according to Callie Mullins, a Northwest instructor in the department of agriculture.

Farmers would still like to see grain prices fall more. Because of the prices of feed due to last year's drough, shoppers have felt the pinch at grocery stores with rising food, mainly meat prices. 

Farmers have to deal with the fluctuation of the grain market because of increasing crop prices. The constant change of the grain and livestock markets alter the price the farmers sell for to the packaging companies.

The packaging companies are making the most profit since they are avoiding their input into the grain market. If the packaging companies are buying cattle and hogs for a higher price, they will sell the packaged product to retail stores at high prices as well, so they can still make a profit.

The corn market, however, peaked in 2007, and the prices will not return unless the demand for corn rises. For now corn sits around half of what the price peaked at in 2007, according to Mullens.

"On the feedlot side of things, if you look at diets in the early 2000s or late '90s, probably 70 to 80 percent of that diet was corn, so that's quite significant," Mullens said. "Today, it's dropped in most feedlot rations down to 40 percent because it's expensive."

The high price of corn is also leading farmers to find alternative grains for feed. Mullens said farmers use distiller's grains, a by-product of ethanol, more often. It's corn-based and can be sorghum-based, but the starch is taken out, and the by-product still contains fiber, fat and protein.

The distiller's grains can be used for cattle, and can help reduce dependency on the major grains for feed. The distiller's grains cannot be used in the swine market because the hogs have different digestive systems and cannot handle the substitutions for corn and soybeans.

"Hogs are kind of risky because it takes so much corn and so much additive soybean meal to make a hog grow good so you can get the optimum profit," Birkenholz said. "You barely break even with hogs."

With the rise in grain prices, farmers have cut down their pastures to grown corn. It's just another way the farmers can attempt to beat the markets.

THE YEAR OF THE CUB AND A YEAR FOR MR. CUB

Blog posted on EchlinSports.com

When the rings are passed out and the reigning World Series champion Chicago Cubs start parading through the 2017 schedule, there’s no better time to recognize one of their own who didn’t get there.

Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame 40 years ago. While the Cubs are focused on ring sizes and a repeat of their championship, it would be a crime to overlook a cornerstone of eternal optimism for the organization – the team where he played an MLB record 19 seasons without a post-season appearance.

According to former teammate Lindy McDaniel, who also never appeared in a post-season game, Banks smiled publicly, but behind-the-scenes questioned the front office’s effort to create a championship team.

“Of course he’s an optimist if you’ve ever been around him… he says ‘Lindy, I don’t understand why we’re not winning more,” McDaniel recalled. “I said ‘Ernie, we’ve got some really good ball players, Billy Williams, you, and Ron Santo’ but I said we don’t have enough good ball players.”

Lindy McDaniel played for the Cubs 1963-65. He pitched 987 games with out a post-season appearance, an MLB record for pitchers. Banks played in 2,528 games with out a post-season game for the position player record.

McDaniel said the Cubs lacked balance across its roster. One reason Banks would’ve appreciated the 2016 world championship Cubs.

Theo Epstein inherited a farm system full of high-caliber prospects groomed to be champions. Like Buck O’Neil who scouted Ernie Banks before becoming the first African American with the Cubs in 1953, Kris Bryant was drafted in 2013 and grew as a potential modern-day cornerstone in the Cubs system.

Yeah, Banks would have appreciated this team. He passed away January 23, 2015, barely missing the celebration. That’s why it’s so important to show the cornerstone of the organization some recognition in a milestone year.  Though well-known for his personal accomplishments, he never had a chance to celebrate a World Series.

“No one told me that when it comes to Ernie Banks, do not throw him a fastball for a strike,” former teammate McDaniel said, among many pitchers who were victimized by his 500+ home runs.

As a rookie McDaniel witnessed the power of Banks first-hand during his first career start with the St. Louis Cardinals. Banks cranked a fastball thrown by McDaniel for Banks’ fifth grand slam of the 1955 season, an N.L. record later tied by Albert Pujols.

If Cubs fans aren’t allowed the opportunity to celebrate a milestone anniversary of Banks’ 1977 Hall of Fame induction, it could be awhile before they celebrate a future Cubs Hall of Famer. Andre Dawson was the most recent induction in 2010, but other names on the list –Lee Smith, Fred McGriff, Sammy Sosa and Derek Lee—appear remote at best as Hall of Fame possibilities.

Regardless, none of them has the reputation as Mr. Cub.

JOSH JACKSON READY FOR THE STRETCH

Blog posted on EchlinSports.com

Kansas Jayhawks freshman sensation Josh Jackson added the finishing touch to his career-high scoring effort against No. 2 Baylor on a go-ahead dunk with two minutes left in the game.

It was an example of Jackson’s attitude toward seizing the moment against the best competition in the country.

“Steel sharpens steel,” Jackson said after the game.

Game by game Jackson has improved and made strides in all phases. He credits the Jayhawks’ tough schedule.

“I don’t feel like you would get better if you were playing a bunch of guys who don’t really want to compete or want to win,” Jackson said. “It’s even harder being Kansas because everybody just wants to beat you so bad.”

He’s thriving at forward fresh off back-to -back double-doubles against Kentucky and Baylor. He has also scored more than one three pointer in his last four games.  Jackson only had one game with multiple three-point field goals through the first 18 games.  But on free throws he admits he’s working on it.

The timing couldn’t be better as the Jayhawks face adversity with injuries and suspensions. With sole possession of first place in the Big 12 at 8-1, Bill Self said he’s still taking the season game by game without mentioning the 12-year conference streak on the line this year.

“If we hadn’t have won tonight we obviously weren’t out of the race, but we know that it would be even more of an uphill climb,” Self said after the win.

Self said that he can’t be surprised by what Jackson does because of the ability he’s seen for himself. The constant improvements by Jackson could be the secret ingredient to seal KU’s 13th consecutive conference title. With no ceiling on Jackson’s ability, he could help make a deep NCAA tournament run in the unpredictable future.

In the one-and-done era KU hasn’t had a player with a hot hand perform in clutch situations in the NCAA tournament.  In the 2008 championship game, the one-and-done player, Derrick Rose, was on the losing team.   Andrew Wiggins had NBA talent, but never came up big when the Jayhawks needed it. The same goes for Kelly Oubre and Cheick Diallo.

Until now, perhaps, with Jackson.

It’s hard to say if KU will face any more adversity for the remainder of the season. A deep NCAA tournament run is possible, but after the win against Baylor the Jayhawks showed they have the stuff to tie UCLA’s consecutive conference title record.

FIRE SALE IN THE NEAR FUTURE FOR WHITE SOX

Written for fantasy baseball blog pologroundsfbb.com 4/25/14

The White Sox are gearing up for a pitiful year. Expect a fire sale at some point. It’s hard to tell who will be left in Chicago by the end of the season.

It’s early, and the team still sits with the pack in the AL Central standings. I don’t see anything different from last year beside the addition of Jose Abreu.

Abreu looks like the next David Ortiz, as predicted. He’s become the everyday guy at first base, keeping Paul Konerko on the back burner to sub at DH, while Abreu stands at the top of AL homerun and RBI leaders. That reach for Abreu proves successful so far.

Alexei Ramirez has a league leading batting average so far. Drafting Ramirez has paid off for those lucky enough to draft him. It seems to me like Ramirez is always overlooked. He’s been one of the most consistent bats for the White Sox for previous years. His consistency is showing again this season.

Adam Dunn is off to a good start also. He’s up to five homeruns on the season. Looking at strikeouts though, both Dunn and Abreu are tied with 24, putting them within the AL top 10 for strikeout leaders. These guys might be scoring points in recent fantasy matchups, but with history of strikeouts you’ll see the early season surge plateau soon.

Look out for White Sox to deal some players in the next few months.

At a glance, expendables are Adam Dunn and Dayan Viciedo. Adam Dunn is putting together a good start, and Viciedo is a good utility guy where a deal could relieve a lot of money tied to him. Dunn is a good DH, and the Sox still have Konerko that could step into the DH.

Bearcats host annual ‘Pink Out’ against Mo. West

Appeared on bearcatsports.com

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northwest Missouri State volleyball team hosts its annual “Pink-Out” game against MIAA-rival Missouri Western Tuesday. In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month the team urges fans to dress in pink for the 7 p.m. game.

St. Francis Hospital will sponsor a table promoting breast cancer awareness and women’s health at Missouri Western and Northwest’s second meeting this season.

Northwest travelled to St. Joseph, Mo. to start its conference season against Missouri Western. Northwest left with 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-18) victory on the road.

Northwest (11-13, 5-6 MIAA) tries to end their current 0-6 fall to hang on to eighth place in the MIAA. Defensive specialist Tori Beckman continues her senior campaign leading the MIAA with 482 digs and averaging 5.54 digs per set. Beckman totaled 30 digs in the game at Missouri Western.

The Griffons of Missouri Western (12-12, 3-8 MIAA) are looking to move to one game behind the Bearcats in the MIAA standings with a win tomorrow. Sophomore Amanda Boender leads the Griffon defense with 86 blocks on the season and an average of 1.02 blocks per set. Boender ranks seventh in the MIAA for blocks.

Sophomore Brooke Bartosh is ranked seventh in the MIAA with 270 kills. Bartosh set a personal best of 21 kills in the first game against Missouri Western.

Freshman Dallas Gardner is ranked eighth in the MIAA with a total of 556 assists this season.

Missouri Western leads the all-time series record 63-28 against Northwest. The next chapter of this MIAA rivalry takes place in a Bearcat Arena filled with pink.