What an introduction to college football for Mines freshmen Nick Russell and Jamie Dale. The two drove Mines to an opening-game victory over Haskell on Saturday. Russell showed a good throwing arm and Dale brings some big-time quickness to the backfield.

I know Mines hasn’t had a lot of success in recent years, but judging by their opening night performance this team should be fun to watch because they can make plays.  Russell tossed four touchdowns and should have had five and Dale went over a 100 yards in the game.

I also have to mention that I not only saw a pair of punt returns for TDs in this game by Dale and Dustin Meneley. Meneley also added a kickoff return for touchdown to open the second half.

It was a fun game to watch and it was quite the intoduction to Hardrocker football for me.

Jeff 

Yesterday, I was treated to watching Rapid City Central and Aberdeen Central at O’Harra Stadium. It was the first time that I was able to see a game there.

What a great atmosphere for a game. At first I was a little disappointed to see that the stands were only half full for a city this size. But, as Padraic assured me, about 75 percent of the fans were parked on the hill, watching the game from in their cars. Some were grilling, as I could tell from the smell of charcoal. It was a good turnout for what turned out to be a good game for the home team.

As for the game itself, Central came out with some jitters on the first Golden Eagles drive. But, the defense gelled and gained strength as the game went on. It was not much of an offensive game, but Central did make plays when it counted, including key catches by Oakley Erck and Dmitri Fahey. The 51-yard grab by Fahey was a spectacular grab that rivaled some catches I’ve seen live, prep or college.

Congratulations Central. It was a good win.

- Russo

My mind has definitely been on football lately. With the first week of high school football in the books and college football in full swing, I can’t wait for the NFL opening kickoff. What caught my attention recently was Bengal’s wide receiver Chad Johnson legally changing his name to Chad Javon Ocho Cinco. As my oldest son would say, really?

Yes it’s true. Johnson legally changed his name, which is a reference in Spanish to his No. 85. Apparently he did it because he’s having fun. I could think of a hundred other things to do to have fun.

Johnson, or Ocho Cinco, is a talented receiver. He’s proven his ability in the league. But as of late, he’s been more of a problem for Cincinnati. He wanted to be traded, was going to sit out training camp and now, complains about injuries.

In my opinion, Ocho Cinco better have a good season and perform on the field. I think Coach Lewis and his teammates are getting tired of his antics. It’s okay to be an entertaining player, but don’t go overboard. Sure, some may get a kick out of his name change, but I’d rather see him make some great catches. If he doesn’t play well this year, I would say it’s time for him and the bengals to go their separate ways. Am I fair to say that?                                                                                                                                                  

 -Jerome

Today marked the final time that the Boston Red Sox will play in New York’s Yankee Stadium, and the last regular season clash between what are arguably the most heated rivals in professional sports was a fitting conclusion for The House That Ruth Built.
In a performance worthy of the Bambino, Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer and added a game-winning single to lead the Yanks past Boston, 3-2.
Next year, the Yankees move across the street to a new stadium, and the old Yankees Stadium is headed for a future as a parking lot.
On this day, ESPN reported that 55,092 watched as the Yankees finished 484-285-4 against the BoSox in regular season games. The Yankees also have six wins in 10 post-season games against Boston in the Bronx.
Also mentioned in the ESPN report were other notable events in the history of Boston at New York: Ted Williams made his major league debut on April 20, 1939 in The Bronx, and in 1949, the Yanks downed Boston on the final two days of the regular season leading to the first of their record five-straight World Series titles.

-Jim-

With the NFL nearly ready to start playing meaningful games a lot of the big questions that are being asked deal with injuries. However, one that I find most amusing is whether or not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning can be effective early on if they don’t play in the preseason. First, even an extremely rusty Brady can easily top what Matt Cassel has been giving the Patriots in his absence, and I believe he will still be very effective especially when you consider he has targets like Wes Welker and Randy Moss to throw to.Manning has been running the same offense with the same two wide receivers and tight end for years now. Add in a strong running game and it still seems like a formula for success to me.I know both quarterbacks have their health issues but you are talking about two competitors who both have Favre-like game streaks.Come week one I think both Tom and Peyton will do just fine.Jeff

I don’t know about anyone else, but there was more than gold on the line when the Team USA men’s basketball team defeated Spain.

Team USA consists solely of NBA players. The NBA is basically the United States’ league, with the exception of a team in Canada. We call the winner of the league the World Champion. How arrogant that must seem to other countries when we could do little more than win the bronze at the 2004 Olympics. (Whether you believe we’ve always had the best athletes is a moot point. We still brought home the bronze.)

The world is catching up in basketball. There’s no denying it. But it is good to know that we are still the best in basketball. At least we have one justification to call the NBA champion a World Champion.

- Russo

Now the New York Giants Michael Strahan is considering doing a Brett Farve and coming out of retirement.  The one major difference here is that the Super Bowl Champion Giants are reportedly happy to have Strahan thinking about coming back, especially in the wake of the season-ending knee injury to defensive end Osi Umenyiora, while Green Bay had “moved on” to a new starting QB after Farve announced he was hanging up the pads for good.

There’s the old joke about retirement from pro sports being easy because some guys have done it dozens of times.

Some have managed to hang it up seemingly early and been able to stick with it, Barry Sanders and Tiki Barber to name of few.

Others have gamely continued well past their ability to compete and have tarnished a sterling career with an ungraceful exit.

I’m thinking of pitcher Jim Palmer, boxers George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard, and the NBA’s Bob Cousy among just a few who should have stepped away and stayed that way.

I’m thinking it’s way better to be thought of as having retired too early, than too late.

What say you?

Jim

The latest news coming out of New Haven, Conn. about nine year-old Jericho Scott, the right-hander who has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph and throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more.
When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.
Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho’s team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it. They say Jericho’s coach, Wilfred Vidro, has resigned.
“He’s never hurt any one,” Vidro said. “He’s on target all the time. How can you punish a kid for being too good?”
The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching.
“I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”
No wonder other countries like China etc. are gaining on the world stage.
This might be the saddest, strangest story I have heard in awhile.
What would the Yankees, Red Sox or Mets pay to have someone too good?

-Lenn

I stayed up to watch the US men play Spain for the gold medal early Sunday and was rewarded with a great basketball game. What a show. From Dwyane Wade’s ridiculous first-half (21 points on 7-for-7 shooting) to Rudy Fernandez showing that he has all the tools to be one of the next great Euros in the NBA to Kobe Bryant once again proving that no matter who he’s playing with, or where, he’s the alpha dog on the floor, it was a hugely entertaining game.

Random thoughts …

1. Fernandez was unbelievable. He went head to head with Bryant and the only thing that stopped him was foul trouble. From ridiculous pull-up 3’s to great passing vision to a where-did-that-come-from!? dunk on Dwight Howard (probably the hardest guy to dunk on in the world) he was a revelation. Nate McMillan, Portland’s head coach and a Team USA assistant, was twice as happy after winning that game, seeing that he’s got another great young piece to add to the Trail Blazer puzzle.

2. Wade showed that when healthy he is truly unstoppable — particularly in the international game. He’s not a great shooter from NBA 3-point range, so defenders can lay off a bit and give him long 2’s (the worst shot in basketball). In international play he has no problem knocking down a 20-foot triple, making the fact that he has the world’s most explosive move to the basket all the more deadly.

3. Juan Carlos Navarro and Ricky Rubio. The two Spanish guards had even bigger roles to fill with starter Jose Calderon out of the game. Navarro, a 6-footer who played last year in the NBA in Memphis is headed back to Europe to play next season, but he showed that a healthy dose of skill and a little bit of cool can get it done against even the greatest athletes in the world. The number of runners and floaters he nailed kept Spain in the game. It’s a shot every guard in the world should have in their repertoire. Rubio, a 17-year-old hyped to be a top-3 pick in the NBA when he becomes eligible, will certainly be good, but any GM that burns a lottery pick on him is playing with fire. He’s got great vision and feel for the game but he’s a below-average athlete and shooter. Maybe you can overcome one or the other at the NBA level, but not both.

4. Kobe. Sheeesh. When the game came down to it in a tight 4th quarter, there was only one player the US was getting the ball to — and he delivered. His confidence in himself is amazing. The confidence the world’s other great players have in him might even be higher. No more really can be said.

- Padraic

A couple of weeks ago, I was called “un-American” for my “less than patriotic” views on the 2008 Olympic Games. I expressed in a column in our dead-tree product, that I had not found too many people who were overly excited about the Olympics. I was among them. At the time I wrote the column, Michael Phelps’ quest for eight gold medals did not excite me, nor did the expected domination of U.S. Olympic Softball, U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball and U.S. Track and Field.
A couple of individuals took the time to tell me how far off-base I was, which I am known to be. After all, the writers pointed out, the Olympics are all about fair play, good sportsmanship and national pride, something professional sports could learn something from I was told.
So I thought I would take this time to offer my apologies to all those I offended with my column. It was not my intent to slight the Olympics, or all they stand for.
Looking back, I can see that Cuban taekwondo contestant Angel Matos’ kick to the face of a referee, U.S. tennis star James Blake’s calling out an opponent after a critical call in a match, the Spanish basketball team appearing in an advertisement showing the players making slit-eyed gestures, Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian being stripped of his bronze medal after leaving it on the floor in disgust during the medal ceremony, U.S. gymnastics coach Martha Karolyi’s constant whining when meet officials delayed the start of Nastia Liukin’s routine to accommodate television are the height of the Olympic ideals.
I guess there is a new standard for fair play and good sportsmanship.
Andrew