Sports
Westplex Today Sports Page: March 3rd 2010
By Stephan R. Barnard
Mar 3, 2010 - 5:05:33 AM

Zaire Taylor went the length of the floor and converted a buzzer-beating layup to give Missouri a 69-67 overtime win at Iowa State.  J.T. Tiller tallied 17 points and Marcus Denmon added 16 for the Tigers, who have won four-of-five to improve to 22-and-8 overall and 10-and-5 in the Big 12.  Mizzou wraps up the regular season Saturday afternoon at home against second-ranked Kansas.

The Cardinals are gearing up for their Grapefruit League opener tomorrow against the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie.  Yesterday, pitching prospect Shelby Miller threw about 35 pitches in a live batting practice session, with Joe Mather and David Freese among some of the hitters he faced.  Also shortstop Brendan Ryan beefed up his workout regimen as he continues to recover from surgery on his right wrist.  He hit balls off a tee and also tested his throwing arm with more velocity.  The Cardinals remain hopeful he'll be able to play in some spring games and perhaps be ready for Opening Day.  Meanwhile, 22-year-old minor-league lefty Sam Freeman felt a tweak in his pitching elbow over the weekend and will have Tommy John surgery.  He's likely to miss the entire season.

Jay McClement snapped a 1-all tie in the first period and the Blues scored three times in the second en route to a 5-2 win at Phoenix.  T.J Oshie tied the game at one in the first, and Andy McDonald, David Backes and Brad Boyes all lit the lamp in the middle frame to give St. Louis a 5-1 lead.  Chris Mason made 37 saves for the Blues, who kicked off a six-game road trip with their fourth straight win overlapping the two-week Olympic break.  Joel Perrault scored in the first and Matthew Lombardi in the third for Phoenix, which has lost its last three.  The Blues are three points out of the final playoff spot in the West and will skate at Dallas on Thursday.

Illinois ' late-season slide continued with a 73-57 setback at seventh-ranked Ohio State.  The Buckeyes outscored the Illini 36-24 in the second half to pull away and clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season crown.  Demetri McCamey had 18 points for Illinois, which has lost four-of-five to fall to 18-and-12 overall and 10-and-7 in the conference.  Illinois hosts Wisconsin on Saturday.

The NFL announced that the 2011 Pro Bowl will once again be played the week before the Super Bowl.  The annual NFL All-Star Game returns to Honolulu, Hawaii next year after a one-year absence.  The television ratings for this year's Pro Bowl in Miami were the best since 2000.

Saint Louis will host Temple tonight in the final home game of the men's hoop season at Chaifetz Arena.  The Billikens beat Duquesne 69-59 on Saturday to move to 19-and-9 overall and 10-and-4 in the Atlantic 10.  SLU finishes the regular season Saturday at Dayton.

Missouri 's Chelsea Thomas has been named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.  Thomas went 3-and-0 last weekend, including complete-game wins over fourth-ranked Michigan and number-18 Louisiana-Lafayette at the Leadoff Classic.  She also beat Radford with six innings of stellar relief.  Thomas struck out 26 batters while walking just one while being named the tournament's most valuable pitcher.  Today's scheduled twinbill against SIU-Edwardsville has been postponed.  The third-ranked Tigers will now return to action Friday as they host Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri, Missouri State and UMKC this weekend in the Missouri Breast Cancer Awareness Tournament.

The " Mark McGwire Highway" may soon be no more.  The Missouri State Senate approved a measure Tuesday that would change the name of a stretch of Interstate 70 that runs through St. Louis back to its original name, the " Mark Twain Highway."  The freeway was renamed in 1999 to honor McGwire's then record-setting 70 home run season the year before.  The Missouri House must also approve the measure before the name change would take effect.  McGwire told the "Post-Dispatch" that if the name is indeed changed, he was honored to have it for 10 years.

Jonathan Wade apparently won't be back with the Rams next season.  The "Post-Dispatch" cites league sources as saying the team will not make a tender offer to the restricted free agent cornerback nor try to re-sign him for a lesser amount once he hit the free agent market on Friday.  Wade became the team's starting right corner after Tye Hill was traded to the Atlanta Falcons last September.  Wade started the first four games of the season, but then saw his playing time reduced as he fell out of favor.  A 2007 third-round pick out of Tennessee, he played in 47 games in three years.