Westplex Today Sports Page:   October 7, 2008

The Missouri Tigers, fresh off a historic win over the Huskers in Lincoln , host Oklahoma State on Saturday night.  The Tigers beat Nebraska on the road for the first time in 30 years over the weekend, and face a high-powered offense from Stillwater on national television this weekend.  Gary Pinkel's squad jumped to number-two in the USA Today Top-25 College Football Poll and is second in the nation in scoring, averaging 53.4 points per game.  The number-18 Cowboys are right behind the Tigers averaging 52.6 points per game.  Missouri 's defense will be tested as OSU quarterback Zac Robinson is third in the nation in passing efficiency and running back Kendall Hunter is ranked fifth nationally averaging 142 yards per game.  Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. from Faurot Field on ESPN2.   KFAV will have the broadcast for you beginning at 6:00 with pre-game activities.

The Missouri Tigers’ string of national television appearances is getting longer.  ABC has selected the Mizzou-Texas game for broadcast on October 18, with a game time to be determined later.  This game is in addition to this Saturday night's broadcast of Oklahoma State visiting Columbia airing on ESPN2.  Last Saturday's win in Lincoln over Nebraska and the early season victory over Illinois also were picked up by the ESPN monolith.

Ron Zook's Illinois football team hosts Minnesota this weekend in Champaign with kickoff scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  The 3-2 Illini are coming off a road win over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor over the weekend and face a Golden Gopher squad that is 5-1 on the year with a 1-1 Big 10 record. 

The Rams head back to the practice field this week for Jim Haslett's first game as the Rams head coach.  Haslett's winless squad heads to the nation's capitol on Sunday to take on the 4-and-1 Redskins.  The Rams will be without tight end Randy McMichael for the rest of the season as he was placed on injured reserve on Monday for a broken right tibia and ligament damage.  He suffered the injury in the Rams loss to the Buffalo Bills.  Look for Joe Klopfenstein to take McMichael's place as a starter. 

Ryan Longwell's 30-yard field goal with 13 seconds left lifted the Vikings to a 30-27 win over the Saints at the Superdome.  Reggie Bush returned two punts for TDs as New Orleans turned a 20-10 deficit into a 27-20 lead, but the Saints committed four turnovers.

Jed Lowrie singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Red Sox edged the Angels 3-2 at Fenway Park .  Torii Hunter's two-run single in the eighth tied the game at two for the Angels.  Boston won the series 3-1 and play Tampa Bay in the ALCS.

B.J. Upton slugged a pair of solo homers to help power the Rays to a 6-2 win over the White Sox in Chicago .  Carlos Pena had three hits and two RBI for Tampa Bay , which won the series in four games.  The Rays will host the BoSox in Game One of the ALCS Friday.

The Dodgers and Phillies enjoy a few more days off before the start of the National League Championship Series Thursday night in Philadelphia .  Derek Lowe is slated to start Game One for Los Angeles , while the Phillies will counter with left-hander Cole Hamels.
 

A Cardinal Hall of Famer is in line for a prestigious honor.  The late Jerome "Dizzy" Dean is one of 10 finalists for the Ford C. Frick Award, an annual honor marking excellence in baseball broadcasting.  The 10 finalists were announced yesterday afternoon after a fan vote.  A committee that includes former Frick award winners will determine the 2009 winner who will be announced in early December. 

Dean was a four-time All Star with the Cardinals and won 30 games for the Cardinals’ 1934 World Championship team.  He spent 24 years broadcasting, and his homespun delivery was extremely popular, reminiscent of John Madden of the current vintage of sportscasters.   In fact, “Ol’ Diz” enjoyed national renown, and he was perhaps better known by many as a sportscaster by a generation of fans who never saw him pitch.   Dizzy Dean died in 1974.