Bill Hart's Sports Peeps: Inside the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl! (Part 2)

Bill Hart's Sports Peeps: Inside the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl! (Part 2)

HARTSPORTZ! Commentary from the Hartland.

By BILL HART
Commentary

How to get kicked out of a bowl game press conference!

Actually I didn’t, but Marshall’s interim head coach Rick Minter almost got me there.

I’m still young in this game, and having sat through Tressel’s perfect pre-scripted press events in the past did not prepare me for Minter’s debacle. Starting with his five-and-a-half-minute opening statement to his “I’m a victim speech”, everyone should have got up and left.

Top Ten Local Springfield Sports Stories of 2009

Top Ten Local Springfield Sports Stories of 2009

By BRYANT BILLING

Sports Editor

SPRINGFIELD — The books have again closed on another year. The year of 2009 was, unlike its processor, not that historic. But, nevertheless, it was historic for a few certain teams, including both the Shawnee High School and Wittenberg football teams. We’ve again seen triumph and tragedy in sports, and everything in-between. So, as is our tradition, The Springfield Paper has decided to look back at the year that was in local sports and pick the top ten local sports stories of 2009. We hope you enjoy the walk down memory lane!

The Springfield Paper first countdowns the top ten stories of the year, and we then names ‘the’ story of the year. In actuality, there are eleven stories on the list.

First Quarter the Difference in Springfield Win

First Quarter the Difference in Springfield Win

By BRYANT BILLING
Sports Editor

SPRINGFIELD — “It shouldn’t have been close; we should have put them away.”

As he has done after many victories this season, Springfield head coach Darnell Hoskins said went away from Springfield’s 76-65 win over Sidney with a ‘glass-half-empty’ mentality. Sure, Springfield defeated the 5-2 Sidney squad by 11 points, but Springfield had a 16-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and squandered an opportunity for a comfortable win. Springfield led by as many as 19 points in the second half, but Springfield was up by only three points at 68-65 with one minute left in the game. Hoskins said that, while Sidney has talented and dangerous shooters, Springfield’s own sloppiness had the most blame for the closer score.

“We are content, once we build a lead,” Hoskins said. “We don’t understand how to close people out yet, but that’s something that will come over time.”

Mechanicsburg boys dismantle Northeastern 90-57

Mechanicsburg boys dismantle Northeastern 90-57

Indians’ Aaron Brown makes 8 three-pointers on way to 38 points.

By CASEY MATTESON

Sports Writer

MECHANICSBURG — The Mechanicsburg Indians had the scouting report on the Northeastern Jets: Work hard inside against them and ferociously pressure their guards. Mechanicsburg Head Coach Paul Hershberger’s team executed it to near perfection. Behind the hot shooting of senior guard Aaron Brown’s 38 points, including 8 baskets from behind the arc, Mechanicsburg (2-5, 2-3) earned a much-needed OHC victory.

Hershberger was singing the praises of his team afterward, “I had been hoping this had happened all year, with high-intensity defense and shooting 3’s. Our defense fuels our offense and we have hard-nosed kids. They work their tails off.”

Archived Sidney at Springfield Updates (12-29-09)

Archived Sidney at Springfield Updates (12-29-09)

9:06 p.m.: Springfield pulls out the win at 76-65.

9:02 p.m.: Sidney has pulled with 3 at at 68-65 with a minute to go.

8:54 p.m.: Sidney has cut the lead to 7 at 68-61 with 2:41 left in the game.

8:40 p.m.: Springfield leads 58-43 at the end of the third quarter. Sidney is a streaky team, so we'll see if they can get a run going.

8:16 p.m.: Springfield leads 42-27 at the end of the second quarter.

7:44 p.m.: Springfield is up 16-4 at the end of the first quarter.

7:38 p.m.: Springfield is up 14-4 with 2:09 left in the first.

7:24 p.m.: The game just tipped-off.

7:17 p.m.: Live updates of the Sidney at Springfield basketball game will be posted here on PendaSports.com! The game will tip-off in 6 minutes.

Bill Hart's Sports Peeps: Inside the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl! (Part 1)

Bill Hart's Sports Peeps: Inside the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl! (Part 1)

HARTSPORTZ! Commentary from the Hartland.

By BILL HART
Commentary

The Common Peep travels to “Dee-troit”! Yes rock and rollers, Bryant and I traveled north to the Motor City to watch the titanic struggle between Ohio U and Marshall in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

My initial observation was amazement. Hearing all the horror stories about the state of downtown Detroit, I had very low expectations. As we arrived in the area of Ford Field and Comerica Park, it was like we arrived in a different world.

Henry’s Life Has Lasting Lessons

Henry’s Life Has Lasting Lessons

By BILL HART
Commentary

It was saddening for me and many Bengals fans to learn about the untimely death of Cincinnati wide receiver Chris Henry last Thursday, December 17. Henry’s life was complex, and it has lessons that can be applied to many young people, even outside of sports. Before we say goodbye to Chris Henry, we need to look at who he was and why we care.

Santa Hart’s Gift List!

Santa Hart’s Gift List!

By BILL HART

Commentary

Santa Claus visited the Buckeye-Cat Corner sports show at Joe’s U.S. 40 Grille at 1205 W. North St. on Thursday, December 17! Santa delivered a special gift lift for sports franchises across college and professional sports! As an exclusive for The Springfield Paper, we were able to obtain a copy of the gift list from Santa, and we are happy to share it with you! See what your team got!

The Cleveland Browns:

A whole sleigh worth of goodies including:

-Anybody who knows anything about football to run the team, along with a new head coach a new quarterback!

-Oh, and a new right side of the offensive line.

If there’s room on the sleigh, I’d be happy to provide a new running back, as this was high on the list from Browns fans. Extra goodies for Joshua Cribs who has been very good all year!

Archived Shawnee at Springfield Live Updates

Archived Shawnee at Springfield Live Updates

These are archived live updates from the Springfield Shawnee at Springfield boys basketball game on December 19, 2009, at Springfield High School gymnasium. Springfield won 66-46.

At 9:28 p.m.: Springfield won by the final of 66-46.

At 8:39 p.m.: Springfield leads 37-25 at halftime. Rob Moss has 11 for Springfield at halftime.

At 8:12 p.m.: Springfield leads 13-4 at the end of the first quarter.

At 8:05 p.m.: Springfield is up 10-0 with 3:14 left in the first.

At 7:56 p.m.: The game just tipped-off. Quarter-by-quarter updates will be posted.

At 7:33 p.m.: Live updates of the Shawnee at Springfield game will be posted here on PendaSports.com! The game will tip-off in 20 minutes.

Archived Wayne at Springfield Live Updates

Archived Wayne at Springfield Live Updates

From now on, all live updates from games will be archived after the games into one post in order to conserve space.

At 10:11 p.m.: Wayne wins by a final of 60-56. Springfield drops to 3-2 on the season with the loss.

At 9:57 p.m.: Wayne is up 56-54 with 4:13 left in the game.

At 9:47 p.m.: Springfield is up 46-45 at the end of the third! More frequent updates coming in fourth.

At 9:18 p.m.: The game is tied 34-34 at the half.

At 8:56 p.m.: The game is tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter.

At 8:48 p.m.: The game is tied at 9-9 with 2:31 left in the first.

At 8:37 p.m.: The game just tipped off and is underway! Quarter updates will be posted.

At 7:47 p.m.: Dayton head coach Brian Gregory just walked in the door at Springfield. So, nobody big is here. Ha-ha. Game still in 3rd of JV. Won't tip-off for 40 minutes.

Live Updates from the Wayne at Springfield Game

Live Updates from the Wayne at Springfield Game

Live updates from the Wayne at Springfield boys basketball game will be posted here on PendaSports.com tonight. Keep refreshing the page for all the latest updates!

From Billing’s Mind… (December 17, 2009)

From Billing’s Mind… (December 17, 2009)

A sometimes-daily blog from the mind of Bryant Billing.

By BRYANT BILLING
Commentary

Thoughts and prayers to Chris Henry and his family, and here's hoping he makes a speedy recovery. More on this sad situation in tomorrow's commentary.

Springfield/Xenia thoughts. My apologizes for not delivering this edition of “From Billing’s Mind” yesterday when I intended, but, as you’ll read a little later in this commentary, I was held up. But, let’s get to my thoughts from this double overtime thriller:

• Fundamentals are costly. Springfield turned the ball over 26 times and shot 13-26 from the free-throw line. Those type of statistics tell the game story. In fact, Springfield head coach Darnell Hoskins marveled that his team was even in the game due to these shortcomings.

Bill Hart's Sports Peeps: Confessions of a sports-talk addict!

Bill Hart's Sports Peeps: Confessions of a sports-talk addict!

HARTSPORTZ! Commentary from the Hartland.

BY BILL HART
Commentary

Confessions of a sports talk addict part 2!

More sports talk updates for the ultimate fan! In the past, I have written about the mid-day talkers such as Patrick, Rome etc. Here are some more ideas for earlier and later in the day.

Not being an early riser, I catch a little “Mike and Mike” (ESPN) in the morning or “Steve Czaban” (FOX). If you are local in Springfield, you will have a hard time picking up a show early in the morning (6 ish) on WONE (980 AM). However, most if not all of their programs are simulcast on local WIZE 1340, so the signal is better.

Hart to Hart Sports (December 16, 2009)

Hart to Hart Sports (December 16, 2009)

By BILL HART
Commentary

New Colors at Wishigan! Maize and Green! No, they are not trying to copy the Oregon Duck colors. The new “Wolverini” green reflects the color of their jealous fans. It must be the reason, must I hear “Go Ducks” come out of their mouths. Come on now, both Ohio State and Michigan play in the same conference, and even I support the “Wish” in bowl games. If they ever play in another one! You can speculate it can only get better up north, but with reported sanctions coming at “Slick Rick” and players still bailing on his program, it may have not reached the bottom.

Xenia won 64-63 in double OT.

We're going to try it again! Heading to double OT with a tied score of 56-56.

We're headed to overtime with a 52-52 tie.

Springfield leads 39-38 at the end of the third. Xenia narrowed the deficit on a basket off of a turnover with 10 seconds left.

Springfield leads 29-26 at halftime. Akeem Freeman leads Springfield with 8 points; Xenia's Andrew Bolka has 9 points. The game is back-and-forth and tight.

Springfield battles back from an early deficit to take a 16-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. Trey DePriest has 7 points for Springfield.

The game just tipped off.

I'll be posting live updates of the Xenia at Springfield here on PendaSports.com! The game will not begin for over a half-hour; the freshman game ran over.

From Billing’s Mind… (December 15, 2009)

From Billing’s Mind… (December 15, 2009)

A sometimes-daily blog from the mind of Bryant Billing.

By BRYANT BILLING
Commentary

GO X! Just when you though the Xavier Musketeers were down and out, you were proven wrong! Despite the fact that Xavier got their brains beaten out by Kansas State last week in Kansas, the Muskies have come back with a resurgence! Xavier defeated arch-rival Cincinnati Sunday 83-79 in the classic Cross-town Shootout between the two Queen City schools. It was the third straight win in the rivalry for Xavier (6-3). The game was wild, with an all-out brawl breaking-out between the two teams at one point, and it was one of the best games in college basketball thus far this season. Some of you may be asking, ‘Why do I care?’. Well, you should! Because, it looks like, once again, Xavier is the best college basketball team in Ohio.
 Xavier has advanced the Sweet 16 three times in this decade, twice making it to the elite eight, and has, by far, more NCAA tournament wins in the decade than any other Ohio school. With Ohio State losing go-to man Evan Turner until February, there is no discussion about the best team. Ohio State won’t be able to score, or compete, against anyone in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Xavier will most likely rack-up a few wins against big-time teams in the coming weeks, as the Muskies have Butler (Sat. 19), LSU (Sat. 29) and Wake Forest (Sun. Jan. 3) coming up. Xavier would most definitely solidify the title this season if they could beat a Butler team who beat the Buckeyes.

Speaking of the Bucks… does anyone think they have a shot this season without Turner? Come on; Turner was averaging a double-double at 18.5 ppg and 11.4 rpg. You just can’t replace that. As evidenced in their 74-66 loss to Butler, Ohio State lacked any explosive capability at scoring they had with Turner. With two other Big Ten teams ranked in the top 25 and another likely to join at some point, Ohio State has a long road ahead of them. In addition, the Bucks have to face current sixth-ranked West Virginia before Turner’s slated return. Well, at the least, we’ll get to see how good of a coach Thad Matta is now!

Buy or Sell the Springfield Wildcat basketball team? Springfield head coach Darnell Hoskins has talked a lot about trying to get his players to buy into his system. Well, at the very least, he’s gotten me to buy into it. After all, I think few people (me included) thought the Wildcats would be 3-0 at this point in the season. Springfield has showed resiliency under Hoskins and a can-do attitude, something they lacked last year. As Hoskins said in the post-game interview I had with him after the Beavercreek game, the Wildcats have one of the best defenses in all of the GWOC, and they will be a hard team to put away. We’ll find out just how good the Wildcats are this Friday against Wayne. But don’t look ahead; Springfield hosts Xenia tonight a 7:30 p.m.

Housecleaning Time:

Colt McCoy should have won the Heisman trophy, no doubt. For Lord’s sake, he threw for 3,512 yards and 24 touchdowns this season, and had a quarterback rating of 147.4. He also has a 70.5 completion rating on top of that! Oh, and did I mention he led a Texas team through a tough Big 12 schedule to an undefeated season? It’s absolutely asinine that some running back who didn’t even get half the total offensive yards McCoy did won the Heisman. Don’t give my that crap about Mark Ingram’s performance against Florida; he ran for 30 yards on 16 carries against Auburn the week before in a game I watched start to finish! If anything, Ndamukong Suh should have received the trophy over McCoy, Ingram, or whoever that hippy is who won’t rush for one yard against Oklahoma. I just don’t understand how any non-biased reporter could vote Ingram as the overall best college player over McCoy. Oh wait, I do. These so-called non-biased reporters vote with their conferences. Real nice!

Brian Kelly lost all respect from me. Not that it surprised me or anyone else that he took the Notre Dame job (sources I have say he was the only current head coach in all of ‘major’ college football who was interested), but it was a surprised me that he kicked his beloved Cincinnati team to the curb before their biggest game in school history. Sure, you say, he has to begin recruiting. But, don’t play dumb to the fact that it will be incredibly hard as it is to have a winning season with the Irish next year with Clauseen and Tate packing it up. It would have been two more weeks, and, if Kelly beat Floor-ida, he would most likely be able to bring anyone he wanted from the Cincinnati area to South Bend recruiting wise for the next several years due to that legacy. Now, he couldn’t get a blind girl from Cincinnati to play for him in South Bend now.

Oh, and a big congrats to Notre Dame for hiring another offensive-minded coach. It’s worked so well for you in the past!

Prediction to bank on: the Bengals won’t win a playoff game.

Until tomorrow: the rest, they say, is history!

Sports Peeps: Postgame Bengals Thoughts: Vikings

Sports Peeps: Postgame Bengals Thoughts: Vikings

Bill Hart's "Postgame Bengals Thoughts" is a weekly Bengals commentary for Bengals fans from a self-admitted Bengal fan. Get it each Sunday after the Cincinnati's game!

By BILL HART
Commentary

Sports peeps, here we go!

The Bengals got beat by a REAL football team. Next week, the Bengals play another as they face San Diego. The Chargers are not a physical squad like the Vikings, so the game will be a another type of challenge. Not having to face ex-Buckeye DB Winfield next Sunday alone is a plus.

The obvious: The Bengals cannot use a game plan that Tressel sent them. Every time Palmer calls an audible at the line, the ball is coming between the tackles. There are first graders that have figured that out. The passing game suffers from a combination of poor protection, a quality third receiver and game plan.

A very young team with many rejects from other squads has performed well and will until faced with a very talented opponent. Example “Screw up in the clutch” Graham’s out-of-bounds kick-off and Huber’s shanked punt. Graham has to go.

Where do we go from here? Win two out of the last three games. Very doable. Most importantly keep, the core and develop it. Don’t hit the slide and the gutter like the Browns a couple years ago. Remember next year’s schedule will be a lot tougher. The NFL giveth and taketh away.

Most importantly, let’s try to remember this year has been a remarkable turnaround. Enjoy it and realize we aren’t the Saints, Vikings or Colts…yet.

Springfield Battles Back in Fourth for Win

Springfield Battles Back in Fourth for Win

By BRYANT BILLING
Sports Editor

BEAVERCREEK — Springfield found themselves down by nine points at 47-38 heading into the fourth quarter last Friday, December 11, at the Ed Zink Fieldhouse in Beavercreek. It had been a long night for all — there were a total of six lead changes at that point in an exhausting game already, and the game, which was slated for a 7:30 p.m. start, didn’t even tip-off until 8:46 due to long freshman and reserve games — so it was easy to assume that Beavercreek would control the fourth quarter and get the game over with. Well, we’ve all heard the mantra about assuming, and it proved right again. The Wildcats (3-0, 1-0 GWOC Central) battled back to outscore Beavercreek 26-12 in the final period of play to go away with a 64-59 victory over the Beavers (0-3, 0-1).
 “Our kids our resilient,” Springfield head coach Darnell Hoskins said after the game. “Our style of play has a great deal to do [with our coming back]. You might break it once, you might break it twice, but you know what? There may be four or five times where you don’t, and that’s where the momentum swing happens.”


The game went back-and-forth in the first quarter. Beavercreek was out in front 8-7 with five minutes left in the first, but their lead was far from permanent. There were five lead changes in the first quarter alone, as both teams traded baskets. A bucket from Springfield senior guard Rob Moss with 1:14 left gave the Wildcats a 17-16 lead, which they carried to the buzzer in the first. Beavercreek retook the lead on a three-pointer with 5:47 left in the second at 21-20, and they would keep hold of it for awhile. The Beavers finished the first half on a 12-4 run, and Beavercreek went into the locker room with a 33-24 lead.

“After the half, nothing changed,” Hoskins said. “I told them when we came into the locker room, ‘Nothing’s changed from what I told you in the beginning of the game. We’ve got to come out with a high energy… and impose our will on this game’.”

Springfield battled back immediately to impose their will in the third quarter, scoring the first nine points of the quarter in less than two minutes. Rob Moss tied the game at 33-33 with a field goal with 6:14 left in the third quarter, but the Wildcats’ shooting went dry for the rest of the quarter. Beavercreek responded with a 7-0 run to go up 40-33 with 3:50 left, and the Beavers maintained a 47-38 lead at the end of the third stanza.

Beavercreek led 48-43 with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter, but it was the last time the scoreboard would favor them in the game. Two back-to-back baskets from Rob Moss with 3:32 left in the fourth tied the game at 48-48, sparking a big momentum shift in the game. The Wildcats took a four point lead at 53-49 after Moss added another bucket and Latrell Leslie hit two free-throws with 2:41 left. Beavercreek came back to tie the game at 53-53 with 1:35 left, but Leslie broke the tie at the line, hitting a free-throw thirteen seconds later. Trey DePriest made a put-back with 1:11 left to give Springfield a three-point lead at 56-53, and Beavercreek was forced to start fouling again. Leslie went 8-8 from the foul line in the final minute, and Beavercreek never came within three points for the rest of the game. Leslie’s final two foul shots with ten seconds left in the game gave Springfield the 64-59 win.

“On three separate occasions, we were down nine, and we fought back through,” Hoskins said. “So, I’m extremely proud of our kids’ resilience; they fought back when they were down… that says a lot about the guys that are in this locker room.”

Springfield won the game through the play of their guards late in the fourth quarter. Rob Moss scored three big baskets in the fourth to initiate the momentum swing, and 5’9 senior guard Latrell Leslie went 11-12 from the free-throw line in the fourth to secure the win.

“They’re seniors, and that’s what you come to expect from a senior,” Hoskins said with a grin. “Both of [them] are tremendous kids, and I have the upmost confidence in them to make plays down the stretch. Whatever I ask of either of those guys, they don’t blink… that’s one thing I admire about both of those kids. I had no recourse about Latrell going to the line. He’s a senior; I know he would step up stick ‘em.”

Moss finished the night with 21 points on the night for Springfield, and he shot 10-15 from the field in the game, in addition to producing five rebounds.

“He wants this season probably worse than anybody else,” Hoskins said of Moss. “I’m really excited for him because he stepped up and made some huge plays on the defensive end of the floor, which allowed us an opportunity to sneak a win out.”

Springfield will host Xenia Tuesday night, December 15, and will continue GWOC Central conference play against Wayne this Friday, December 18, hosting the Wayne Warriors. Wayne, who is led by former Springfield South assistant coach Travis Trice, is currently 3-0 and 1-0 in the Central.

“I think we’re the deepest team in the league,” Hoskins said. “We’re going to hang our hat on our defense all year long.”

The game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. Springfield also hosts Xenia this Saturday, December 19, for a 7:30 tip-off.
___

Scoring by Quarters:

Team 1 2 3 4

Springfield- 17 7 14 26

Beavercreek- 16 17 14 12

Individual Statistics: Player, FT Made, FG Made-Attempted, Total Points. Springfield- Rob Moss 0 9-12 21, George Walker 1 4-5 12, Latrell Leslie 11 0-1 11, Akeem Freeman 0 1-4 8, Trey DePriest 1 3-8 7, Tony Ferrell 1 1-3 3, C.J. Hookfin 0 1-2 2, Denzil Lassiter 0 0-3 0, Kris Moss 0 0-0 0, Byron Thompson 0 0-5, 0. Beavercreek- Ben McGriff 6 3-7 18, Lloyd Adkinson 1 8-9 17, Will Hudson 2 1-3 7, Matt Stukenburg 0 2-4 7, Jalen Camper 0 0-0 3, Ryan Malone 0 0-0 3, Corey Rose 2 0-3 2, Ryan Sedlar 0 1-3 2.

Three Pointers: Springfield 4 (Freeman 2, R. Moss, Walker); Beavercreek 6 (McGriff 2, Camper, Malone, Hudson, Stukenburg).

Team Statistics: Team- Two-Point FG Made-Missed, Three Point FG Made-Missed, Free-Throws Made-Missed, Turnovers, Rebounds. Springfield- 19-45 (42.2%), 4-16 (25%), 14-25 (56%), 9, 27. Beavercreek- 15-28 (53.6%), 6-11 (54.5%), 11-13 (84.6%), 23 29.

Junior Varsity: 40-34 Beavercreek.

Skyhawks Erase Big Lead at Stripe, Win 71-68

Skyhawks Erase Big Lead at Stripe, Win 71-68

By NICK FRAZIER
Sports Writer

LEBANON — The Fairborn Skyhawks walked into the locker room at halftime Friday night trailing Lebanon by fifteen points. They had lost their first two games, the last one in a rout. The first half was a frustrating mix of missed shots, defense played with the hands and not the feet, and maybe a bit of lethargy. What did head coach Nathan Chivington tell his team? “The game’s not done.” Chivington was grinning as he faced the media after the Skyhawks came all the way back to defeat Lebanon 71-68. Fairborn made fifteen-straight free throws after allowing the Warriors thirteen in the first half.

The coach added, “We talked about how it needed to be more than just individuals playing defense. That we needed to have good help side defense. David Choi took a charge, good help side…that was a big play. We started realizing that if we started doing things as a team we could chip away at the lead.”

In that second half, the Hawks seemed to find their hustle. Kendrick Williams and Bronson Marlett drove the lane instead of settling for jumpers. David Choi used strength and position to get six offensive rebounds and the team started winning the fifty-fifty plays. When the fourth quarter began, it was 55-44 Lebanon. Blake Davenport (22 points) put Lebanon up 66-62 with 2:06 left. Tyler Wlazlo made two free-throws, then Choi drew the critical charge from A.J. Walter. Marlett tied the score at 66, and then Brad Hall got in on the free-throw parade with two to give the Skyhawks the lead. Williams was fouled by Davenport, who said something to try to throw him off. Williams coolly hit both tosses. When Wlazlo finally missed two shots at 16.7, the Warriors had a chance, but Davenport had two shots roll out. He fouled Williams, who put in his twenty-ninth point, then missed the three at the buzzer to give Fairborn the victory.

Williams rebounded well from the Trotwood game, and he had lots of help. Jamil Huffman had 9 rebounds, Marlett added 10 points, and Wlazlo was money at the line. The Skyhawks hope to build on the momentum with two games this weekend with Xenia and Wayne. See you at the game!

Lady Skyhawks Stop Lebanon 57-41

Lady Skyhawks Stop Lebanon 57-41

By NICK FRAZIER
Sports Writer

LEBANON — The Fairborn girls basketball team lost both Sarah Lilley and Candice Alexander for the year during preseason, but it hasn’t stopped the Skyhawks from getting off to another great start. Last Wednesday, December 11, the team travelled to Lebanon and throttled the Warriors 57-41 in the first GWOC South game for both teams. Fairborn moved to 4-0 while Lebanon fell to 1-3.

Junior center Jamie Veney was guarded by Lebanon’s 6’2 C.C. Latham, so she stepped outside right away and hit a three pointer. On the ensuing possession, she put back a miss to make it 5-0 inside the first two minutes. That set the tone for a dominating first quarter. Brooklyn Pumroy had 7 points and the defense was tight. Lebanon was down 18-4 before they got started, but they played better in the second, narrowing the Skyhawk lead to 12 at halftime.

In the third quarter the ladies went to the paint. Pumroy and Veney drew successive fouls on Latham to open the period, but failed to convert the free throws. In spite of that, Fairborn expanded the lead to 42-19 on Pumroy’s three with about two minutes left. Hayley Stegmiller had eight of Lebanon’s eleven points during the quarter. If the Warriors had any hopes of a comeback, they were dashed by Madison Musick’s three at the start of the fourth. The Fairborn fans held their collective breath when Veney grabbed her leg with six minutes left, but it turned out to be only a cramp. Nevertheless, Coach Steve Hannaford inserted his second team to finish out the game. Veney led the Skyhawks with 17 points and Pumroy had 14. Musick added seven in the fourth to finish with 9. The coach felt that Lebanon had an off night, but that his own team played very well. He was happy to have a week between games, allowing his shorthanded team to rest and his staff to scout. That next game takes place this Wednesday, December 16, at Baker against Sidney. Look for the story right here on PendaSports.com this Thursday. See you at the game!

Fairborn won the JV game 41-38 led by Maria Monroe’s 12 points and Alex Smith’s 9.

Sports Peeps: Cleveland/Pittsburgh game a throwback to better days.

Sports Peeps: Cleveland/Pittsburgh game a throwback to better days.

HARTSPORTZ! Commentary from the Hartland.

By BILL HART
Commentary

Sports peeps, here we go!

Quite the game between the “also-ran” Squeelers and the “never-ran” Brownies. I know you haters are thinking there wasn’t much technically right with the game. Quinn still looked like Terelle Pryor, and Pittsburgh never seemed to realize the Browns were blitzing from the corners.

The real force that night was the “big-chill” weather. But, the 20-below wind chill on the lake in Cleveland brought out the “whiner peeps”. You’ve probably heard the comments about how bad weather takes away the quality of the game! Come on, man! This game was THE throw back to the real NFL. Forget the weak attempts at throw back uniforms that the pampered peeps put on in their domed stadiums and crystal palaces, Thursday was classic old school ball.

Looking over everyone’s shoulders were the ghosts of seasons past when weather wasn’t considered an enemy of the game. Weather was a factor to be considered and conquered along with your opponent.

All the fans sipping their white wines in San Diego and latte’s in Seattle probably don’t give much thought to the tough guys who brought the NFL to life. Somewhere in their hazy past, they need to remember their family who used to make the steel and build the products of the rust belt.

First our government sold our industry out. Then, fans moved to the sun and softness of the California earthquakes, fires and floods, or to the hurricanes of Florida. The real game is being diluted as much as our language and culture.

For a brief moment, the country saw what made the NFL great. Two teams slugging it out in temperatures that made the football feel like a rock.

Our only hope is that the pampered fans of the west coast, the beach boys of California and Florida, and the dome crawlers of Indy wake up to the fact of what made the league great!

If not, start rooting for a world class soccer team!

Casey Sounding Off: College Football!

Casey Sounding Off: College Football!

A new form of commentary from sports writer Casey Matteson! Be sure and check back for more!

By CASEY MATTESON
Commentary

1. I am a die hard Buckeyes fan, so here's to hoping the defense can stop that Oregon Ducks offense in the Rose Bowl. With all of the time they have to prepare, Tressel and the boys usually come out with a surprising game plan. It keeps Bucks fans wondering why they don't see that type of offense all fall.

2. I hate the way college football does the coaching hiring. Brian Kelly just abandoned his Bearcats for his own personal gain. Those players did everything that was asked of them (including winning EVERY game in a BCS conference) and he just cuts them loose. Although Notre Dame is the most tradition-laden job in the land, he still has a lot of rebuilding to do. Also, I think it is better to be in a conference than not in one at all. Let me explain. If Notre Dame goes 10-2, what do they have to show for it? MAYBE a BCS bowl birth (maybe not), but no championship of any kind. But look at OSU: they go 10-2, go to the Rose Bowl AND will get rings for winning the Big Ten. You can still lose a couple of games and be playing for a championship if you have a conference. Some conference champs have 3 or more losses sometimes, but they won their conference so they get a BCS birth. Notre Dame would not get a BCS birth with that many losses.

3. A couple of years ago when OSU played LSU for the national title, LSU had 2 losses. What an unfortunate case that we have 5 teams that are undefeated and three of them still can't win a national title. Do you remember that was the year that West Virginia just had to beat Pitt to win the Big East and play OSU in the national title game? They had one loss at the time and they would have been a lock to play for the national title. Cincinnati wins the same conference, the Big East, for the second year in a row AND goes undefeated, but can't even play for the title. What's wrong with this picture?

4. I had predicted at the start of the season that Colt McCoy of Texas was going to win the Heisman Trophy. Not a bad pick, huh? Considering Tebow and Bradford both were returning to try to repeat as the winner, that was a bold prediction. Now all McCoy has to do is win it.

5. I think that the smaller bowls should put bids out to be a part of a BCS play-off system to keep interest. They could have a 16-team playoff system and instead of Bowling Green playing Middle Tennessee State, or two 6-6 teams, (or whoever) in the Papa Johns Bowl you could have Oregon play Texas to see who has the right to play the winner of, say, Ohio State and Alabama. Then you could have the next round as your already existing BCS bowl games. You just seed all of the teams 1-16 and match them up. Those kids are not in class during December, so they would have plenty of time on their hands. Any thoughts on my genius idea?

6. I don't think 6-6 teams should be allowed to qualify for a bowl game. Think about it. A team goes 6-6, plays in a bowl game and loses, did they have a successful season with a sub-500 record?

That’s it for now!

West Liberty-Salem Boys Score Hoops Win

West Liberty-Salem Boys Score Hoops Win

TIGERS DEFEAT TRIAD 54-43

By CASEY MATTESON
Sports Writer

NORTH LEWISBURG — West Liberty-Salem out-battled Triad on Friday night in the OHC opener for both schools with a 54-43 victory. Triad came out and scored the first six points of the contest. Then WL-S showed up and answered with their own 6-0 run. However, they kept on scoring. After WL-S (1-2, 1-0 OHC) led 11-8 at the end of the first period, the Tigers stepped on the gas. The visitors ended the half with a 14-3 run to lead 28-16.

The strong start by Triad was not lost on WL-S head boys basketball coach Aaron Hollar. “ They were ready to play from the beginning. Luckily we hung in there well enough,” said Hollar.

The second half began with another 6-0 run, but this time it was Hollar’s troops. They built a nice 19-point lead at 45-26, when Triad (1-2, 0-1) started to wake up. Triad finished with a 17-9 fourth period to make the score respectable.

Moral victories are not what Cardinal’s head coach John Millice is looking for. He was pleased with the way his team finished the game, but he wondered aloud where the effort was beforehand. “We didn’t have passion, we lacked motivation, didn’t shoot well, and had way too many turnovers. The effort was great in the fourth quarter, though. Our guys just put their heads down and played hard.” Millice did want to give credit to his opponents tonight, “WL-S did a great job. They set good screens, rebounded well, are well-coached. They did a lot of things well tonight.”

Hollar believed the way his team came out hot after the intermission was what made the difference in this game, “ The start of the second half was huge for us.” He continued, “It feels great to get a ‘W’ after two tough losses”.

Unofficially, WL-S’s Andy Daulton led all scorers with 17 points, including four three-pointers. Collin Link had a big second half and finished with 11 points. Triad had balanced scoring.

Both of these squads will be in action this Tuesday with Triad at Catholic Central and WL-S hosting Mechanicsburg. The rematch for this game is slated for Jan. 15 at WL-S.

Springfield wins by a final of 64-59! The Wildcats stage a miracolous 4th quarter comeback to defeat a solid Beavercreek team. The article will be posted soon.

Beavercreek leads 47-38 at the end of the third quarter. Springfield scored the first 12 points of the quarter, but then cooled off.

Beavercreek goes on a 12-2 run in the final four minutes of the quarter to take a 33-24 lead at the end of the first half.

Springfield is ahead 17-16 after one. There were five lead changes in a fast-paced first quarter.

The game just tipped-off! I will be posting updates at the end of each quarter here on PendaSports.com!

There is still two minutes left in the JV game. The varsity game will tip-off at 8:40.

All set up and awaiting the tip-off of Springfield and Beavercreek at Beavercreek. The games are running behind, and the varsity game won't begin until after 8.

What We're Covering Tonight

What We're Covering Tonight

By BRYANT BILLING
Sports Editor

Welcome back to your best source of local sports new: PendaSports.com! I think you for again reading our page and hope you find interesting material.

What we're covering tonight:

• Bryant: Springfield at Beavercreek Boys Basketball. Be sure and check back on this blog frequently for updates of this game.
• Nick: Trotwood Madison at Fairborn Boys Basketball.
• Casey: West Liberty-Salem at Triad Boys Basketball.

Check back Saturday for articles on all of these games!

Fairborn Falls Short in Hard Fought Opener

Fairborn Falls Short in Hard Fought Opener

By NICK FRAZIER
Sports Writer

BELLBROOK — The Fairborn Skyhawks met with some adversity even before tipping off the season Saturday night at Bellbrook. Junior center Anthony Hillsman sat at the end of the bench in street clothes and on crutches with a broken foot. Last year’s GWOC leader in field goal percentage, Hillsman will miss several weeks. The Skyhawks missed his presence inside in dropping a 71-59 decision to the Golden Eagles last Saturday. Fairborn’s backcourt of Kendrick Williams and Bronson Marlett got the Hawks off to a 9-3 lead to start the game, but that’s when Bellbrook began to assert itself under the boards. The game got very physical very quickly and Bellbrook had pulled to within one at the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter the Golden Eagles pushed their advantage in strength and size to lead by as much as seven, but Williams had eight points in the quarter. The halftime score was manageable at 32-26.

The third quarter saw a change in tempo as both teams hit some jumpers. A three by Bellbrook’s John Thacker, his third of the game, gave the Eagles an 11 point lead, but Williams answered with one as the quarter ended. The Skyhawks seemed to still have a shot at winning. Williams, who had 30 points in a breakout game, drew Fairborn back to within 7 with another trey at the six minute mark but the Bellbrook inside game proved too strong at the end. The Eagles hit 10 free throws in the last minute to seal the win.

Coach Nathan Chivington was happy with his team’s effort and feels they will adjust to Hillsman’s absence as the season progresses. Williams led the Skyhawks in scoring last year as a freshman, and he certainly stepped up in this contest. The whole squad will need to do so when the Hawks meet mighty Trotwood Madison in their home opener and then travel to Lebanon this Friday, December 11.

Bill Hart's Sports Peeps!

Bill Hart's Sports Peeps!

"Sports Peeps" is a new weeky column from The Springfield Paper sports columnist Bill Hart written especially for PendaSports.com! Be sure to check it out each and every Thursday!

By BILL HART
Commentary

Sports peeps: Again, Ocho Loco proves he has had too many hits to the head. As you’ve probably heard, he got fined 30 grand by the powers to be of the NFL for wearing a sombrero on the sidelines. As luck would have it, this is the same time the story came out about Chrysler repossessing his car.

The car cost about 50 grand, and he put 20 grand down and then did not pay much else. Higher math dictates that the 30 grand he is giving up to the NFL would have paid off the car. Moral to the story is that we will see the clown filing for bankruptcy in the future.

Perhaps you heard his interview when he said he could play until he’s 40 or even 45. With his math skills, he probably does not even know how long that is.

Bottom line? Who cares as long as he catches passes and the Bengals win. If the team is not losing penalty yards because of his antics, then do we really care about his stupid excesses?

Warren Sapp comments sum it up from a team aspect.: “In the NFL players do not care about another player’s wife, kids or money.” If that is the case, Bengals fans are safe from the “Loco Ocho”.

In Bryant Billing’s World it’s warm and fuzzy and misinformed!

Why would the “Big B” even remotely consider the Big 12 to be any better than the ACC? Scratch Texas, Oklahoma and maybe Nebraska off the list, and you have another MAC or WAC conference. Teams in the Big 12 are so well known that one person in 12 might be able to name half of the conference’s schools.

Last season no one in the Big 12 could spell defense (let alone play it) except for the top 2 teams and this season Nebraska almost won the whole deal because they put together one.

In Bryant’s defense (he has one), his youth is a factor and when he gets older and wiser a clearer picture of football hopefully will emerge.

Who is the genius who scheduled the Brownies for all the special games this year? Surely last year when all this was probably set up someone in the NFL had to have enough sense to know that the Browns would have a QB problem. We all knew that Derrick Anderson was not a real “All Pro” quality quarterback and on top of all of that Cleveland would be breaking in a new NFL head coach.

What did we get? A never ran (Browns) versus an also ran (Steelers) on Thursday night football.

Will Sports Talk overtake right wing talk radio? Colin Cowherd, one of ESPN’s talking sports heads, believes it has. His comments about overtaking Mr. Right Rush Limbaugh in certain big city markets may not be far off.

The real question is which drivel do you like: The continual doomsday pounding by the political hosts, or how many hydrants did Tiger Woods really destroy by the sports guys?

Here’s my take on the mid-day guys who are nationally syndicated. Jim Rome’s entertaining about 10 % of time. Too much emphasis on “smack talking” and too little about sports. Might as well call it the “juvenile delinquent sports show”. He is much better on the tube.

Cowherd’s “The Herd” is entertaining when he travels a bit. He did do a show recently from Columbus. However, he’s too arrogant and again misses the big picture with his opinions.

Dan Patrick, former Dayton guy, is entertaining with his babble with the “Danette’s,” his studio crew. Refreshing in that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Again just uses the sports platform to give you a break from day to day hassles. We all want his job!

Remember one thing. I have not hurt the careers of any of these guys!

From Billing’s Mind… (December 10, 2009)

From Billing’s Mind… (December 10, 2009)

A daily blog from the mind of Bryant Billing.

Welcome back after a week’s break without any “From Billing’s Mind” commentaries. I’m sure you haven’t been able to take it! I’m still in the process of updating this blog, so keep checking back! But, on to the topics!

I told you all! Since we last talked, Brian Kelly has talked with Notre Dame officials at an off-set location. HA! For the Cincinnati fans you know (Who am I kidding? You don’t know any!), be sure and rub it in. It’s not like this is a surprise. Kelly is a young coach who has built up every program he’s ever been at and won championships. He’s been steadily working his way up the latter, and now he has a chance to coach a “big-time” football team. Whether or not Notre Dame is a “big-time” program is up for discussion tomorrow. What I did tell you all is that it wouldn’t be Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. Stoops called a press conference last week to dispel any rumors of the sort, and then issued a statement through Oklahoma on the same day saying that he has no interest in Notre Dame. And, why would he? He’ll make $30 million dollars over the next six years leading the Sooners, and has coached a National Championship team and a Heisman Trophy winner over his 11 seasons. In fact, this season was Stoops’ worst at Oklahoma - and the Sooners still finished with a winning season at 7-5.

If Kelly takes the Notre Dame job and leaves Cincinnati before the bowl game, he’ll start down the road of classlessness that three other coaches before him have done. I hope he learns from history and walks into the Superdome and takes his but-whooping from Florida like a man, and not run off to South Bend. Well soon find out; the latest news report on 700 WLW in Cincinnati is that we’ll hear an official announcement today!

Oh, and since we last talked, Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh in the Big East championship game to earn their bowl bid. In short, Pittsburgh choked. This game shows the total lack of defense in that pathetic conference and shows why Tim Tebow will throw for no less than five touchdowns against the Bearcats.

Things I got right: Whitewater blasted Wittenberg last Saturday, Texas beat Nebraska fair and square (there was two seconds left on that clock!), and Alabama beat Florida handily! Okay, I got that wrong.

Another thing I didn’t expect was a 2-0 start from the Springfield Wildcat basketball team. Yes, in case you haven’t heard, the Wildcats beat Springboro 61-51 last Tuesday to improve to 2-0 on the season. I honestly didn’t think Springfield could beat a rebounding Hamilton team and a Springboro team who had a stout outing in the 2008-2009 season. Head coach Darnell Hoskins has kept true to his system of multiple substitutions, and he has me buying into it. Springfield has shut both teams down on defense and used their own miscues to win. Be sure and read the game article from the Hamilton game tomorrow, when I finally post it!

Well, I’ll get back into the full swing of things tomorrow. Until then: the rest, they say, is history.

Urbana Holds Off Northeastern 61-54 in Opener

Urbana Holds Off Northeastern 61-54 in Opener

By CASEY MATTESON
Sports Writer

URBANA —The host Urbana Hillclimbers defeated Northeastern 61-54 in non-league action in the season opener for both schools last Friday, December 5. In a game that Urbana (1-0) appeared ready to blow out on several occasions, NE (0-1) kept hanging around and even tied the score beginning the fourth quarter. Although it was a struggle at times, a victory in the first game of the season was what pleased UHS head coach Jeremy Dixon.

“It was ugly, but anyway we can get a win on opening night we’ll take it,” said Dixon. He continued by discussing the performance of his team: “Our guys were nervous, but this was a very well-rounded team win. We had nine guys who played significant minutes and played well.”

Urbana came out with relentless man-to-man defensive pressure, and it appeared early that NE, which lacked quality point guard play, was going to fold under that pressure. However, despite building an early cushion in the opening quarter, the Climbers trailed 14-13 after that first quarter.

On the strength of some accurate three-point shooting in the second stanza, including two by lone senior Shane Ober, UHS built a 33-25 halftime lead. Dixon’s scrappy group came out strong to begin the third quarter, but NE kept answering by making runs of their own behind the Jets’ post player, Reid Adkins, who scored a team high 19 points.

Ultimately, for UHS it was the guard-play and clutch shooting that did in the Jets. Bret Buchanan hit from long-range twice in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory down the stretch. The catalyst, however, was point guard Anthony Marino. With his penetration and slick ball-handling skills, Marino scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in the final period when his team needed it most.

In addition to Marino’s points, UHS received 10 points from Brad Massie, nine points from Buchanan, and Ober contributed eight. The Climbers connected on seven 3-pointers on the night.

Troy Pulls Away From Tecumseh

Troy Pulls Away From Tecumseh

By BRYANT BILLING
Sports Editor

TROY — “I think we have to get better all-the-way around. Defensively, offensively, it doesn’t matter; we’ve got to get better.”

Tecumseh head coach Roger Culbertson’s words after a 65-55 opening-season loss to Troy last Friday, December 4, were probably some the same thoughts most coaches had about their own teams across the state after their first game. But, they were nevertheless true. The Arrows (0-1) had their share of chances to win the game — they came within three points of Troy in the third quarter and four in the fourth quarter — but they saw each potential comeback thwarted by a surprisingly efficient Troy offense.

“They hit some shots tonight,” Culbertson said of Troy. “They shot a high percentage (55% from the field). We’ve obviously got to do a better job of contesting shots; we’re trying to stress that this year defensively.”

The Arrows had to battle to keep the game close from the start. Senior Zach Rapp of Tecumseh kept the Arrows in the contest early, scoring six points on three baskets in the first four minutes for Tecumseh, including one with 4:27 left that tied the game at 5-5. Troy pulled out to a four-point lead at 16-12 at the end of the first quarter, though, on the strength of two free-throws from 6’6 senior forward D.J. Martinez and senior guard Seth Lucas. Troy opened up the second quarter on an 8-2 run to lengthen their lead, and they would never be down by more than three points for the rest of the night. Troy’s Marcus Foster hit a basket with seven seconds left to give Troy a double-digit lead at 35-25 heading into the locker room at halftime.

Tecumseh came out battling in the second half, but every time the Arrows narrowed deficit, Troy would come right back and enlarge it. A basket from Tecumseh junior forward Brandon Beidelschies with 3:27 left in the third quarter narrowed the gap to three points at 39-36, but Troy responded with a 7-0 run over the next minute to go back up by ten at 46-36. Tecumseh had narrowed it to four points at 50-46 mid-way through the last quarter, but Troy finished the game out by scoring 15 points in the final four minutes compared to Tecumseh’s nine, which lifted the Trojans to 1-0.

“We did a poor job offensively tonight,” Culbertson said. “At times, our offense slows down, but it’s not them, it’s more of kids getting open and being able to get a shot.”

Another factor that hurt Tecumseh tonight was the battle of the boards. The Arrows were out-rebounded 24-16, eight of which was due to, in part, Troy forward D.J. Martinez. Martinez also added a game-high 22 points.

“[He] hurt us inside,” Culbertson said. “We had a hard time stopping him. Karson [Williams]’s not really a good match-up for him, because he’s taller, faster, and quicker than [he]… a kid that strong, tall, and lengthy is not an easy catch.”

All in all, there’s still plenty of time for Tecumseh to work out the kinks of their game.

“We’ve got to learn from this game, and get better because of it,” Culbertson said in conclusion.

Zach Rapp led Tecumseh with 17 points, while Dustin Holmes added 10 points for the Arrows. Tecumseh travels to Tippecanoe this Friday, December 11, for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
___

Scoring by Quarters:

Team 1 2 3 4

Tecumseh- 12 13 17 13

Troy- 16 19 15 15

Individual Statistics: Player, FT Made, FG Made-Attempted, Total Points. Tecumseh- Zach Rapp 1 5-5 17, Dustin Holmes 1 3-4 10, Erik Smith 5 2-5 9, Karson Williams 1 3-7 7, Mike McKee 1 1-3 6, Chase Culbertson 1 0-0 4, Brandon Beidelschies 0 1-2 2, Justin Greear 0 0-0 0, Kyle Pierson 0 0-0 0. Troy- D.J. Martinez 4 9-13 22, Marcus Foster 4 0-0 10, Brad Armstrong 0 1-1 5, Lance Carter 0 1-3 5, Blake Hicks 2 0-0 5, Cody May 1 2-4 5, Seth Lucas 0 2-5 4, Zach Martinez 2 1-1 4, David Wilson 1 1-3 3.

Three Pointers: Tecumseh 5 (Rapp 2, Culbertson, Holmes, McKee); Troy 5 (Foster 2, Armstrong, Carter, Hicks).

Team Statistics: Team- Two-Point FG Made-Missed, Three Point FG Made-Missed, Free-Throws Made-Missed, Turnovers, Rebounds. Tecumseh- 15-26 (58%), 5-14 (36%), 10-21 (48%), 12 16. Troy- 18-31 (58%), 5-11 (45%), 14-22 (64%), 12, 24.

Junior Varsity: 65-53 Tecumseh.

Hart to Hart Sports December 9, 2009

Hart to Hart Sports December 9, 2009

Bill Hart's weekly commentary on everything sports. Get it every Wednesday in each edition of The Springfield Paper!

By BILL HART
Columnist

Da Bucks and da Ducks! At least THE Ohio State University is not playing the rainforest knock-off ‘OSU’ from Oregon, but instead Oregon themselves. The Ducks have the ugliest uniforms in college ball, but will present a formidable challenge to Ohio State’s defense. It’s ironic (or moronic) that the “D” faces high tech offenses while the fans get to suffer through Tressel’s low tech play calling. Sports Editor Bryant Billing and I will be traveling to at least one pre-bowl practice in Columbus in the coming weeks. We will have the super-secret plan from Tressel on how the Bucks will get back on track with a Rose Bowl victory. Then again, we probably won’t have it.

Heinz Ward must be the one suffering from too many concussions! Oh wait, it can’t be. Heinz the diver has perfected the art of catch and duck. The tactic is not available to QB’s in the NFL, specifically Benny Rothlisberger. Ward’s not-so vague slam on Roethlisberger’s toughness was as big as the cheap shot he laid on Bengals LB Rivers last year. How many teams in the NFL would love to have Roethlisberger at the helm? Certainly many more teams that would want cheap-shot artist Ward at WR.

An open letter to 700 WLW. Not that it matters to the all powerful Clear Channel Radio monopolists (WLW owners), but the Cincinnati powerhouse radio station’s anti-Buckeye UC promos make me want to root against the Bearcats. If you haven’t heard them go to their usual depths of cheap-shotism, here’s an example. With the Buckeye fight song playing in the background, Mr. Radio plastic guy congratulates OSU for a Rose Bowl appearance. He goes on to point out that UC still outranks the Bucks in the national polls, so OSU is still the second best team in Ohio. I guess that’s what happens when you haven’t been there before. As Buckeye fans go, UC needs a lot more wins and rankings to stay out of our rearview mirror. One good year does not make a dynasty, and should we bring up their bowl trashing last season? Losing to paper tiger Virginia Tech 20-7 gives them no bragging rights.

Having said all that, it will be good to have two Ohio teams playing on New Year’s Day. As of now, the Bearcats are projected to play Florida. Unless Brian Kelly comes up with a defense before he goes to South Bend, Tebow definitely won’t be sobbing after that game.

Quick Hitters: Speaking of that, did you see Florida QB Tim Tebow crying after the Alabama beat-down? Don’t have to worry about OSU’s Pryor doing that. We all cry for him!

Ndamukong Sue, Nebraska’s monster defensive lineman, ought to win the Heisman. He won’t because he’s not the prettiest at the dance. He is a BEAST.

Keep watching Vince Young and tell me that is not a look at Terrelle Pryor’s future. When the light does come on for Pryor, we need to hope it is a 100 watter. Not a 25 watter.

Will Tebow cry before or after he gets drafted by the Browns?

Springfield won 62-5y in overtime. Sorry for the lack of updates - my phone went dead. The game article will be posted here tomorrow morning!

Springfield is up 41-34 at the end of the third quarter. It's still anyone's game!

Springfield leads 31-23 at the end of the second quarter. Hamilton made a basket at the buzzer to shorten deficit to single digits, and 11/23 points are FT's.

Springfield leads 15-6 after the first quarter. The Wildcats' shot selection is much better this week than it was in their foundation game against Graham.

The game is about to tip-off! I will post quarter updates.

I will be posting live updates of the Hamilton at Springfield game tonight here on PendaSports.com! We're currently in the third quarter of the JV game.

Troy wins 65-55 final.

Troy leads 50-42 at the end of the third.

Troy takes a 35-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. A late three-pointer from Troy put the lead out to double-digits. Still anyone's game!

Troy leads Tecumseh 16-12 at the end of the first quarter. Troy has been winning the battle inside, which has helped them.