Westplex Today Sports Page:   November 12, 2008

In baseball:   One of the smallest players in the Major Leagues has won one of the largest prizes.

Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants is 5-11 and 160 pounds, and he looks more like a batboy than a premier starting pitcher.   However, Lincecum happens to have a high-voltage right arm that can throw a baseball 97 miles an hour, and he shocked Major League batters by posting an 18-5 record and striking out a whopping 265 batters last season.   For his Herculean efforts, Lincecum has won the National League Cy Young Award.

Lincecum won the award by a surprisingly wide margin over Arizona ’s Brandon Webb and Milwaukee ’s CC Sabathia.   Lincecum also had an earned-run average of 2.62, and his dominance allowed him to become only the fourth pitcher in baseball history to win the Cy Young Award in only his second season in the big leagues.   And, Lincecum’s success is even more surprising, considering that the Giants finished 18 games below the .500 mark.

Cardinal fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Monday, for that’s when the National League Most Valuable Player will be announced.   Cardinal slugger Albert Pujols is a favorite to win his second MVP award.

In college basketball:   the Missouri Tigers won their final exhibition game before they start their regular-season schedule.   Mizzou beat Missouri Southern 87-59 last night in Columbia .   Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll, the players that will have to carry the team this season, combined for 35 points and 12 rebounds in last night’s effort.   The Tigers’ full-court trap defense forced 31 turnovers from Missouri Southern, to create lots of easy transition baskets.   Mizzou opens its season at home Saturday afternoon against Prairie View A&M at 3:30 .

Some of the men’s basketball programs have begun their seasons.   5th-ranked Duke is off to a good start, after it walloped Georgia Southern 97-54 in the 2K Sports Classic Benefitting Coaches Vs. Cancer tournament.  

In hockey:   The Blues are in Buffalo to take on the Sabres tonight, eager to stop a 5-game losing streak and a losing skid of 8 out of their last 9 games.   The Blues have dropped into last place in the Central Division of the NHL’s Western Conference, after a 4-1 start.   The Sabres have the 2^nd best overall record in the Eastern Conference, but they have not won at home against the Blues in 13 years.   The opening face-off is set for 6:00 tonight in Buffalo .

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings got together last night for the first time since the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup last season.   The Penguins got a bit of revenge by edging the Red Wings 7-6 in overtime.   Jordan Staal had a hat trick in the 3^rd period to help tie the game, after the Penguins trailed 4-2 after two periods.

In pro football:   The Rams get back to work today, to prepare for the San Francisco 49ers.   The 49ers will enter Sunday’s game steaming mad…or, at least offensive coordinator Mike Martz will be fuming.   Martz, the former head coach of the Rams, is mad at the officials that were overseers of the 49ers’ upset bid against the Arizona Cardinals Monday night.  

The 49ers seemed to have the ball inside the one-yard-line with three seconds left in the game, after Shaun Hill spiked the football to stop the clock.   However, the officials said that the spike of the football would be overruled, and that the clock would start to run off the final 3 seconds, after the ball was re-spotted near the 3-yard-line.   Martz says that didn’t leave him enough time to call another play before time ran out, so his original play was stuffed by Arizona ’s defense on the final play of the game.   The Rams’ visit to San Francisco begins at 3:05 Sunday afternoon.

In college football:   Ball State is making a bid for an undefeated season and to cause the NCAA major embarrassment to its BCS rankings and bowl-game structure.   Ball State defeated Miami of Ohio last night 31-16 to raise its record to 10-0.   The collegiate home of David Letterman is ranked 14^th in the country, but there is very little hope of it being invited to the BCS bowl-game dance because it plays in the relatively-weak Mid-American Conference.  

There’s another nationally-ranked team besides Missouri in our midst.   Lindenwood University is ranked 7^th among NAIA schools with an 8-1 record, and it will host conference archrival and 12^th ranked Missouri Valley Saturday afternoon at 1:30.   Lindenwood has won 8 games in a row after losing its season opener, but it needs another victory to keep its hopes alive for a spot in the NAIA playoffs for the 2^nd straight year.

The other college football program in our area will have a tough time reaching its 16^th consecutive winning season.   Washington University is 5-4, and it hosts undefeated Case-Western this Saturday at noon with a chance to earn its first share of the University Athletic Association championship in four years.

In boys soccer, Howell Central won its battle against GAC rival Howell North 1-0 in the first round of the MSHSAA Class 3 state tournament last night in Fenton.   Howell Central faces DeSmet in the quarterfinal round Saturday night at 8:00 in Fenton.   DeSmet upset powerful Chaminade 1-0 in overtime in first round play last night.

St. Dominic, the only other Westplex team in the state tournament, plays Priory in a Class 2 quarterfinal match at 6:00 tomorrow night at the A-B Center in Fenton.