Sports Blog
The sports blog is updated daily and is intended as forum involving reporters, sources and readers. Please give us your comments, feedback and suggestions concerning content. Thoughtful messages will be posted here, as well as in our print products.
July 8 2009
The art of the throw
I hope it is not just me, but the people at ESPN’s SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight are missing out, which means I am, too.
I watch game highlights and see a brilliant throw from right field to throw out a runner trying to go to third base. I have always loved watching outfielders throw out runners trying to take an extra base.
It could well be remembering some of the game’s best — Tony Oliva in Minnesota, Frank Robinson in Baltimore, Al Kaline in Detroit, Hank Aaron in Milwaukee and Atlanta, Roger Maris of the Yankees, among others in right field.
Posted at 2:57 pm |
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! Comments June 26 2009
When is 50 games not 50 games?
An interesting question was presented to several individuals seated near each other at a recent baseball game — if Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games, how come is allowed to play in the minor leagues?
“It almost sounds like a Bill Clinton thing,” one individual said. “It’s in the definition.”
No kidding.
Posted at 11:46 pm |
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! Comments June 22 2009
Bad news in Butte Valley
Clearly service is being defined by a few people as “serve us.”
The idea is broached often by people when they talk about state and federal governments, but hit close to home recently when the Butte Valley Unified School District board voted to pay itself handsomely with health benefits while programs have been scrapped.
OK, the decision is legal.
Posted at 11:44 pm |
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! Comments June 20 2009
Zen and the art of basketball
Kobe Bryant has made it clear that he would like to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The biggest question for the NBA champion Lakers, however, is not the status of Bryant.
The question is coach Phil Jackson.
Posted at 12:07 am |
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! Comments June 12 2009
Sports in the summer
Though it came with a few clouds and a few raindrops, summertime has arrived in the Klamath Basin.
For the H&N sports department, that means we get to look forward to warm nights at Kiger Stadium, or waking up early to hit Lake of the Woods or Crater Lake to cover some of the most unique, picturesque road races anywhere.
For others, it means spending more time at the lake with a fishing pole, or trying to stay out of the water with a 7-iron. It means loading the dirt bike in the bed of your truck, then going full throttle and taming a dusty track. It could mean catching a Giants game, whether it's at AT&T Park to watch the big leaguers or the South Suburban fields to see your little kids.
Posted at 3:10 pm |
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! Comments June 3 2009
Do the major news organizations focus too much on certain players?
Magic it is, and Magic we only can hope it is.
It would have been neat to see Orlando and Denver play in the NBA Finals and dreaded the constant drivel that would have come from ESPN, TNT, The Associated Press and all of the other national media which would have forced us to stomach in a LeBron versus Kobe series.
There are those, including some I work with, who think I dislike the two players.
Posted at 10:58 pm |
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! Comments May 29 2009
Game times haven't been set
Anyone who reads the newest posting on the Oregon School Activities Association Web site might be abuzz over a note that goes with the pairings and information about this year’s championship game times.
Only inclement weather will force a change in game dates and the five game times that have been scheduled for state title softball games.
It is the rest of note about the games that will be played at Oregon State University in Corvallis that might be of interest: “Game times are set, but have not been assigned to specific classifications.”
Posted at 11:08 pm |
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! Comments May 21 2009
Should Vick be allowed back in the NFL?
Michael Vick’s recent release from prison has rejuvenated the discussion of a touchy subject: Does Vick deserve a chance to play in the NFL again? In short, he does.
Anyone who heard or read the details of the dogfighting ring Vick was involved with knows the gruesome details. Dogs died, brutally most times, while people in Vick’s circle of friends participated or watched. No doubt, it was a crime worthy of prison time. Vick was released this week from a federal penitentiary after serving time for financing the dog fighting ring. He will serve the final two months of a 23-month sentence at his home in Virginia.
I don’t condone the actions of Vick and his associates. But I do wonder, why not the same uproar over the many professional athletes with rap sheets?
Posted at 11:09 pm |
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! Comments May 13 2009
Budget cuts not going to be easy
There are times I think I am a lonely voice in the wilderness.
After talking with several individuals, and overhearing more than a handful of conversations, I think my thoughts about the challenges that face the Klamath County School District are focused on the right ideas.
Obviously, I am interested about how the district will make its cuts in sports.
Posted at 12:13 am |
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! Comments May 9 2009
Should running rules be standard across the board?
District track and field championships began Friday in the Klamath Basin. The biggest story at each meet is which athletes advance to state, but a major subplot for many athletes is the events they and their coaches have chosen.
High school athletes can compete in a maximum of four events each meet, including the relays.
The entire regular season is spent improving on each event and determining which events give them the best chance to compete in, or even win, at state.
Posted at 11:56 pm |
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! Comments May 1 2009
What do you want in the sports section?
The folks who work on the sports desk at the H&N have a lot of hard decisions to make every day.
Which local sports are we going to cover? Which national and college events do we need to make sure get into the paper? How much of each sport do we cover? What stories are going to grab the attention of the most readers? Many times, to run one story, another is left out. We only have so much space, but plenty of things to fill it.
Various thought processes contribute to the choosing of what does and does not get covered. Sometimes we’re told, “you got it right.” Sometimes, readers think otherwise.
Posted at 10:13 pm |
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! Comments April 14 2009
Are athletes overpaid? Are actors?
A lot of people think professional athletes are overpaid.
Yes and no.
There are contracts that make no sense, without question. I mean, how much money does a person really need? But, rookie contracts are not overly extravagant, especially for those players who maintain two homes, one in the city where they play and the other at what we might call their year-round residence.
Posted at 11:50 pm |
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! Comments March 31 2009
Opening Day right around the corner
There really are not too many sports I do not, in some way, enjoy.
In my mind, a good, high-quality 800-meter race is the most exciting single event in sports.
Nothing, though, has a more melodic tone than the four words I consider the most beautiful in the English language — Pitchers and catchers report.
Posted at 5:07 pm |
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! Comments March 26 2009
Sorry Beavs, the CBI is a joke
The Oregon State men will play for the College Basketball Invitational tournament championship in a best-of-three series against Texas-El Paso next week.
Congratulations. Too bad the CBI's a joke.
Up until a few years ago, the NCAA Division I postseason landscape was simple. Sixty-four teams made the NCAA tournament. Thirty-two went to the National Invitation Tournament. The rest stayed home. There were some tweaks here and there — the NCAA adding a 65th team in 2001 to accommodate the then-recent formation of the Mountain West Conference, the NIT expanding to 40 teams a few years earlier this decade — but things were just as simple even two years ago.
Posted at 11:56 pm |
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! Comments March 22 2009
Is your bracket busted?
The first weekend of the NCAA Division men’s basketball tournament kicked off with a bang.
Cinderella showed her face Friday in the form of No. 13 seed Cleveland State, who knocked off heavily favored Wake Forest.
There was double overtime in the Siena-Ohio State game, with Siena moving into the second round for the second year in a row. Another Big Ten school, No. 12 seed Wisconsin, rallied to an OT win over No. 5 seed Florida State.
Posted at 12:28 am |
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! Comments March 19 2009
Too many teams in the postseason?
There was plenty of grumbling in Branson, Mo., over the last few days that the host school, College of the Ozarks, for the NAIA Division II men’s national basketball tournament held an unfair advantage by playing on its home floor.
Morningside College of Sioux City, Iowa, has had a great five-year run in the NAIA Division II women’s national basketball tournament it serves as host for. Other teams in the area have been among the national leaders, too.
There is a whole raft of grumbling going on right now, too, about the NCAA Division I national tournaments that begin this weekend — too many schools from a few select conferences and too few schools from other leagues.
Posted at 4:45 pm |
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! Comments March 9 2009
Hornet girls look to next season
Henley is mere days removed from this girls basketball season. Some of the returning Hornets already have their sights set on next year.
“We’re going to have to come out with more intensity next year. We’re not going to be as deep,” junior guard Cori Wallace said. “We’re going to have to work on other areas to become stronger.”
Wallace and sophomore backcourt mate Rylee Carleton will be the Hornets’ only returning starters next season. That makes them next season’s leaders by default, and they realize the task.
Posted at 5:08 pm |
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! Comments March 6 2009
Funding school sports
How important are sports in schools?
With schools across the state and country dealing with tight budgets, some people are proposing cuts to athletic programs, arguing that too much money is being spent on nonnecessities in education. Some people argue sports teach life lessons to students and keep children in school. Local school districts haven't specifically mentioned any cuts to sports programs.
Should sports budgets be cut? What do students learn from participating in sports? What do they miss? Are sports more or less important than music, arts, drama or other academic areas? Let us know what you think below.
Posted at 11:46 pm |
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! Comments March 3 2009
State tourney seeding needs review
The California Interscholastic Federation seeds its sectional playoff teams through a rating system based on overall record, division record and strength of schedule.
The first two elements are easy for an outsider — or a writer who went to high school in a state without a seeding system — to decipher. The final element makes the same writer wonder whether going to calculus class might’ve been a good idea after all.
At the end of the day, the CIF has a system that works. Upsets, of course can happen, but the best teams have the best chances of winning.
Posted at 11:22 pm |
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! Comments February 27 2009
March Madness on the horizon
The best time of year is just around the corner: March Madness.
The NCAA Division I tournament kicks off March 19 at several sites around the country, and several teams have legitimate chances at taking home the title. Here’s a look at who’s at the head of the pack.
The No. 1 team in the country currently is Pittsburgh, although that is likely to change next week. The Panthers lost to unranked Providence, 81-73, Tuesday night.
Posted at 5:33 pm |
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! Comments February 24 2009
Are you heading to Branson with the Owls?
With its national tournament berth secured, Oregon Tech athletic director Mike Schell spent much of Sunday and Monday making arrangements to get the Hustlin’ Owls to Branson, Mo., for the seventh straight year.
Flights have been booked to Kansas City, and the team then will drive to Branson.
With that done, Russ McMahon, the director of athletic fundraising, has gone to work and is trying to coordinate activities for the OIT faithful, many of whom have had airplane tickets for anywhere from a week to two months, while in Branson.
Posted at 10:45 pm |
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! Comments February 17 2009
Blazers hoping for playoff run
The All-Star break is over, the National Basketball Association is ready for its run to the playoffs and the Portland Trail Blazers loom as a contender of some kind as they prepare for their final 30 regular season games.
At the Oregon Sports Awards recently, several people said the Blazers now are fun to watch, fun to be around, appear to have turned the corner from a long stretch when the team was better known around the country as Jail Blazers, Fail Blazers and worse.
Longtime play-by-play announcer Bill Schonely likes what he sees. So do the media people I talked with at the Oregon Sports Awards.
Posted at 11:37 pm |
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! Comments February 13 2009
Steroids in baseball
Major League Baseball was dealt another blow this week when Yankees star Alex Rodriguez admitted using performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03.
Rodriguez is the most recent of many former and current players who have admitted using performance-enhancing drugs, including but not limited to steroids and human growth hormone (HGH). Andy Pettitte admitted his use of banned substances, as has Jason Giambi. Roger Clemens has denied using steroids, and Barry Bonds said he never “knowingly” used a banned substance. Although, in the case of Bonds and Clemens, it seems mounting evidence would prove otherwise.
MLB commissioner Bud Selig has done a great job of playing the victim through it all, saying Rodriguez and others like him have “shamed the game.” But let’s not forget, they did the shaming under Selig’s watchful eye.
Posted at 11:42 pm |
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! Comments February 11 2009
SCL basketball a toss-up
This is my third season covering Southern Cascade League basketball. This also is the season that makes the least sense.
At the top of the boys race, and in the middle of the girls pack, the results seem to defy logic.
The Chiloquin boys routed St. Mary’s and Lakeview on the road … only to lose to both teams in the Big Gym. Lakeview lost by 23 at home to Chiloquin one night, then took St. Mary’s to overtime the next. The Honkers also managed to trail last-place Lost River at halftime of a home game before winning by 22.
Posted at 7:42 am |
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! Comments February 7 2009
Is NASCAR a sport?
No one can deny the popularity of auto racing, specifically NASCAR, in America. But is it a sport?
A former copy editor and I have had many debates over what makes a sport a sport. His argument was this: if the winner is decided by who is fastest, scores the most (or least, in the case of golf) or goes the farthest (javelin, hammer throw, etc.), it’s a sport.
Activities that have winners decided by a third party via scoring (gymnastics, diving, figure skating, etc.), are not sports, because the judges’ views can be easily skewed. Need an example? The 2002 Olympic pairs figure skating title, which was clearly earned by the Canadian team but awarded to the Russian team after a French judge decided to make the gold medal decision a personal one.
Posted at 12:25 am |
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! Comments February 5 2009
Summitt wins 1,000
I don’t enjoy women’s basketball. Unless Pat Summitt is involved.
I’m a female, a soccer player for most of my life, and a true believer in the benefits athletics have on young women. For the most part, I watch any women’s sport I can. Just not women’s basketball. It’s not my cup of tea.
Enter Pat Summitt and the Tennessee Lady Vols.
Posted at 6:13 pm |
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! Comments January 30 2009
Super Bowl picks
Who do you think will win Super Bowl XlII Sunday?
The NFC champion Arizona Cardinals are making their first Super Bowl appearance after scraping together a 9-7 record.
The AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to become the first NFL franchise to win six Super Bowls.
Posted at 11:47 pm |
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! Comments January 27 2009
Super Bowl a top arena for food
Nothing says party like Super Bowl — so, now, it is time to party.
Sometimes the football actually has been entertaining, but the Super Bowl has turned this country into party mode, with good food, plenty of good advertisements and, generally, a lot of camaraderie with friends and family.
With the big game set for a 3 p.m. Sunday kickoff, those of us who really do not care who wins the game, although sentimental reasons make it easy to root for Arizona, the focus is on the food.
Posted at 11:28 pm |
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! Comments January 26 2009
New scoreboards unveiled at OIT
Oregon Tech unveiled its new video scoreboard Friday night during the Hustlin’ Owls’ 84-65 victory over The Evergreen State College.
“It went pretty well for the first time, but we still have some things to work on,” OIT athletic director Mike Schell said after the game. “They were covered since Tuesday, so we really never had a chance to practice and see how things would work.”
OIT fans appeared to enjoy the new 10-millimeter screens.
Posted at 10:16 am |
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