Sports
Westplex Today Sports Page: October 6, 2008
By Jay Murry
Oct 6, 2008 - 3:32:13 AM

Westplex Today Sports Page:   October 6, 2008

Chase Daniel led the high-powered Missouri offense to a road rout of Nebraska on Saturday night.  The Heisman candidate completed 18 out of 23 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers improved to 5-0 for the third year in a row with the 52-17 victory.  As a result, Mizzou is ranked 2^nd in the USA Today coaches’ poll, and 3^rd in the AP media poll.  

Gary Pinkel's squad heads back to the practice field this week as the Tigers host Oklahoma State Saturday night at Faurot Field in Columbia .  Oklahoma State is undefeated as well at 5-0 after doubling-up Texas A&M over the weekend, 56-28.   The Cowboys are also ranked 17^th in both polls.  OSU quarterback Zac Robinson is ranked fifth nationally in passing efficiency, right behind Mizzou's Daniel.  The Big-12 boasts six of the top-10 quarterbacks nationally in passing efficiency.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini notched their first Big-10 victory of the year over the weekend with a road win over Michigan .  Illinois knocked off the Wolverines 45-20 behind quarterback Juice Williams' monster day that included 121 yards rushing, two touchdowns and 310 yards in the air with two touchdown passes.  Ron Zook's Illini are now 3-2 on the year and 1-1 in Big 10 play and host Minnesota Saturday morning at Memorial Stadium in Champaign .

The Rams are finished with their bye week, and they begin preparing for the Washington Redskins, who have compiled two consecutive impressive wins over the Cowboys and Eagles.   The Rams and Redskins begin their battle Sunday at high noon in the nation’s capitol.

Meanwhile, here are the scores of teams who did play yesterday:

Indianapolis 31, Houston 27
Tennessee 13, Baltimore 10
Miami 17, San Diego 10
Carolina 34, Kansas City 0
Washington 23, Philadelphia 17
Chicago 34, Detroit 7
Atlanta 27, Green Bay 24
New York Giants 44, Seattle 6
Denver 16, Tampa Bay 13
New England 30, San Francisco 21
Arizona 41, Buffalo 17
Dallas 31, Cincinnati 22
Pittsburgh 26, Jacksonville 21

Tonight, Minnesota visits New Orleans in Monday Night Football.

Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan is sticking with Tony La Russa for another season.  Duncan signed a one-year contract with the Birds on Friday for the 2009 season with an option for 2010.  The deal keeps the duo of La Russa and Duncan together for their 14th season in Cardinal red.  The 62-year-old Duncan just completed his 29th season as a pitching coach, the most years in that job in major league history.  He's worked with La Russa since 1983 with the White Sox, A's and Cardinals.

Erick Aybar singled home Mike Napoli with the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th to give the Angels a 5-4 victory over the Red Sox in Game Three of their ALDS at Fenway Park.  Napoli finished 3-for-5 with a pair of homers, three RBI and three runs scored for the Angels, who had lost 11 consecutive postseason games to the Red Sox.   Boston still leads 2-1 in the best-of-five series.  Game Four is scheduled for tonight night in Boston .

Dewayne Wise drove in a pair of runs as the White Sox staved off elimination in their best-of-five ALDS against the Rays with a 5-3 victory at U.S. Cellular Field.   John Danks went 6 2/3 innings for the win, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out seven.  Bobby Jenks closed things out to get the save.   Tampa Bay still leads the series 2-1.  Game Four is scheduled for Monday in Chicago .

The National League Championship Series is set, as the Dodgers and Phillies have advanced from their first round series by defeating the Cubs and Brewers, respectively, during the past weekend.

Tony Stewart finished second behind Regan Smith, but was awarded the checkered flag in the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.  NASCAR officials ruled Smith passed Stewart below the yellow line coming out of turn four as the two battled to a green-white-checkered finish.  The win was Stewart's first of the season and snapped a 43-race winless streak.  Stewart also moves up to 7^th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.   Jimmie Johnson finished ninth to maintain a 72-point advantage on Carl Edwards in the standings.  Edwards came in 29th place.  The fifth race in the "Chase" is scheduled for Saturday, October 11th at Lowe's Motor Speedway.  

The 2008-09 NHL got underway this weekend with a pair of home-and-home sets in Europe .  The New York Rangers took a pair of games from the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague of the Czech Republic .  The Blueshirts beat the Lightning 2-1 on both Saturday and Sunday.  The reigning Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators split two games in Stockholm , Sweden .  The Penguins skated to a 4-3 overtime victory in the season opener on Saturday before falling 3-1 on Sunday.

The new campaign will get underway on this side of the Atlantic this week with four games scheduled for Thursday and seven contests set for Friday.  The defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings will open the season Thursday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Many eyes will be Alex Ovechkin as the season begins.  The 23-year-old Ovechkin became just the 19th player in NHL history to score 60 goals in a season.  Ovechkin finished last year's campaign as the league leader with 65 goals and 112 points.

St. Louis Blues players are on the links today and get back on the ice tomorrow as they prepare for regular season action.  Blues players are taking part in the "14-Fund" golf event this afternoon to raise money for the team's charitable organization at Meadowbrook Country Club.  Andy Murray's team hits the ice again tomorrow with the regular season and home opener scheduled for Friday night against Nashville at the Scottrade Center .  Over the weekend the Blues beat Atlanta 4-1 and reduced their roster to 26 players, sending forward Chris Porter and defenseman Tyson Strachan to the Peoria Rivermen.  The Blues must be down to 23 or fewer players before hosting the Predators on Friday.