Westplex Today Sports Page:   August 27, 2008

The Milwaukee Brewers hammered out 16 hits and Ben Sheets pitched in and out of trouble as the Brewers beat the Cardinals 12-0 last night in the first of a two game series at Busch Stadium.  It was the Redbirds' seventh straight loss to Milwaukee and they have posted just a 4-and-10 record against the Brewers this season.  In fact, the four-game sweep by the Brewers July 21^st-24^th plus last night’s debacle could be what keeps the Cardinals from topping the Brewers for the National League Wildcard playoff spot.  

Sheets improved to 12-7 while Todd Wellemeyer fell to 11-5.   Sheets defeated the Cardinals at Busch Stadium for the first time in nearly four years.  The loss dropped the Cardinals 4 ½ games behind the Brewers in the race for the NL wild card, and 9 ½ games behind the Cubs for the NL Central lead.  Milwaukee has won five in a row to keep pace with the Cubs.

Speaking of the Cubbies, Geovany Soto's three-run double capped a seven-run eighth inning as the Cubs outslugged the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-9 at PNC Park last night.  Soto finished the night 3-for-5 with seven RBI, including a solo home run.  Alfonso Soriano also collected three hits and scored twice for the Cubs, who have now won nine straight series.  Sean Marshall picked up the win in relief of starter Carlos Zambrano, who was knocked around for six runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings.  The Cubs, who maintain their five-game lead over Milwaukee , go for the sweep in Pittsburgh today.

So, while the Cardinals may be practically unable to catch the Cubs at this stage of the playoff race, they can’t afford to fall further behind the Brewers, with just over a month to go in the regular season.   That’s why tonight’s end of their two-game series is very important for the Cardinals.   Adam Wainwright will start on the mound for the Cardinals, after making a successful return to the starting rotation last Friday.   Wainwright gave up only one run in 6 innings, in an 18-3 win over the Braves.   The Cardinals may take a degree of comfort in knowing that Manny Parra will start for the Brewers, after suffering losses in 4 of his last 5 decisions.   In his last 10 starts, the Brewers are 3-7.

The Rams have a walk-through at their Russell Athletic Training Center today and will make the trip to Kansas City tomorrow for the preseason finale tomorrow night against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.  The Governor’s Cup game will begin at 6:00 tomorrow night.   Head coach Scott Linehan says he plans to start Trent Green at quarterback and will also be watching the competition between Brock Berlin and Brad Gradowski for the third-string quarterback spot.  Running back Steven Jackson will probably not see any action as he rounds into shape following a 27-day contract holdout.  Coach Linehan cut three players yesterday to reduce the roster to 75.  NFL rosters must be trimmed to 53 players in the next several days.

The Saint Louis U. Billikens will tip off their basketball season in their new home, the Chaifetz Arena, against Missouri-St. Louis on November 14th.  The 2008-09 schedule released yesterday is highlighted by non-conference games against Boston College and Nebraska .  The Billikens will face five teams that earned NCAA Tournament bids last year and will play 11 games against teams coming off 20-win seasons.  Other top games on the schedule include December 2nd at SIU-Carbondale and matchups with A-10 opponents Xavier, Dayton , Charlotte and George Washington.

Phil Laurent cracked a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th inning as the River City Rascals beat the Gateway Grizzlies 6-5 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark last night.  The Rascals are trying to be playoff spoilers to their cousins from the East Side .   With last night’s loss, Gateway dropped to 45-43 overall, the Grizzlies are winless in four tries at T.R. Hughes Ballpark this season, and they trail Washington by a game for the Frontier League's final wild card spot.  The teams continue their three-game series with game two tonight at 7:05 .

It will be a landmark sports weekend on KFAV 99.9 FM.   Friday night, KFAV will air its first regular-season high school sports event in over 12 years, as 8^th-ranked Wentzville Timberland visits Duchesne to kick off our play-by-play coverage of Westplex high school football.   Then, KFAV kicks off its new affiliation with the Missouri Tigers Radio Network Saturday night by featuring the “Arch Rivalry” football game between 6^th-ranked Mizzou and #20 Illinois .   The Timberland-Duchesne game begins at 7:00 Friday night, and our Countdown To Kickoff show begins at 6:45 .   The Mizzou-Illinois football game begins at 7:36 Saturday night, and the pre-game show gets underway around 6:30 on KFAV.

Wentzville Timberland might feel slighted, after not making the top 5 of the Class 5 state poll conducted by the Missouri Sportswriters & Sportscasters Association.   The Westplex teams listed in that poll are as follows:   Zumwalt West is 5^th in Class 6, Union received two first-place votes and is ranked 6^th in Class 4, Borgia is tied for 8^th in Class 3, and Hermann is 10^th in Class 2.

On the national sports scene:   Instant replay will make its Major League Baseball debut Thursday.  Commissioner Bud Selig announced the decision Tuesday.  Replay will be used only on boundary calls, such as whether a home run ball clears the outfield wall or is fair or foul.  The move has been anticipated for much of the season.  A call for Major League Baseball to start using replay arose this year after a number of botched home run calls.   I just hope that instant replay does not slow down an already leisurely sport, by relying too much on it.

FOXSports.com reports that defensive end Michael Strahan has decided to remain retired.  The "New York Daily News" reported on Monday that the New York Giants had contacted Strahan to see if he was interested in returning to the team, but Strahan told FOX Sports he thinks it's best if he just stays retired.  Strahan added that he and the Giants held discussions and the money was enough to agree to a deal, but he ultimately decided that he didn't want to put his body through another NFL season, after helping the Giants upset New England to win the Super Bowl back in February. 

Strahan was contacted after fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora was lost for the season with a knee injury.  The seven-time Pro Bowler, who now serves as a studio analyst for FOX Sports, is the Giants' all-time sacks leader with 141 ½ .  He is also the NFL's all-time single-season sack leader after racking up 22 ½ during the 2001 season.

In tennis:   Four-time defending champion Roger Federer was a straight-set winner in his first-round match Tuesday at the U.S. Open.  The men's second seed disposed of Maximo Gonzalez 6-3, 6-0, 6-3.  Eighth-seeded Andy Roddick will play his first-round match Wednesday against veteran Fabrice Santoro.

On the women's side, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic needed three sets to get by Vera Dushevina 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, while the Williams sisters both advanced in straight sets.  Fourth-seeded Serena topped Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1, 6-4, while seventh-seeded Venus stifled Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-3. 

The LPGA plans to require its members to learn to speak English, accoring to Golfweek.  The new requirement was recently revealed to the Tour's increasing South Korean membership in a mandatory meeting.  Members that don't comply will be subject to suspension.  

Some might think that the LPGA has become overcome with prejudice against golfers from the Orient, but the politically-correct has to realize that the LPGA has to work harder to promote itself in a still male-dominated sports scene, and its golfers have to be able to do its share of the promotion by being able to speak English in interviews and commercials.