Deadline Deals

A couple of future hall-of-famers are on the move after trading deadline deals.
Ken Griffey Junior is headed from the Reds to the White Sox. Manny Ramirez is headed from the Red Sox to the Dodgers.

Trading Deadlline Approaching

Baseball's trading deadline is Thursday, with some big names mentioned in possible deals, names like Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox. It will be interesting to see if the Cardinals make any moves, as they chase the Cubs in the National League Central. Of course, the return of Chris Carpenter, followed by the return of Adam Wainwright, would be adding a couple of top-notch pitchers to their starting rotation.

The Race is On

The race for first place in the National League Central heats up this week.
While the Cards visit Atlanta, the Cubs and Brewers play a series in Milwaukee.
The Cubs started play Monday with a one game lead over Milwaukee, and a four game lead over
St. Louis.

Wow, A Special Guest

Veteran Big 12 sportscaster Dave Armstrong made an appearance on the KOMU 8 Sports Show Sunday night.
Dave has broadcast Big 12 Basketball for more than 20 years.
HE recently wrote a book titled, Driving from here to Wow!

Pigskin Preview Coming Soon!

The 10th Annual Mid-Missouri Pigskin Preview magazine will be out soon! Be sure to pick up your magazine with comprehenisve previews of mid-Missouri high school and college football teams, including the Missouri Tigers. The magazines will be available the week of August 18th. To find out where you can get your copy, log on to Midmopigskin.com.

CC Too Much

Milwaukee pitcher CC Sabathia shut out the Cardinals 3-0 Wednesday night at Busch Stadium.
Sabathia allowed just three hits in throwing his third consecutive complete game.

Veteran Tigers are Favorites

The Mizzou football Tigers are the unanimous pick to win the Big 12 North.
A big reason for the lofty prediction is likely the experience on this team.
Of the 22 offensive and defensive starters, 13 are seniors.

Big 12 Conference Football Media Day 2

The Kansas Jayhawks finished their 2007 campaign with a 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech in the 2008 Orange Bowl. With 12 victories under their belt, there seems to be a lot of questions on whether the Jayhawks will continue their success this football season or fall under the pressure of a tougher schedule.

Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing is just one of the Big 12's many talented quarterbacks. Between yesterday and today, after talking to players from eight Big 12 schools, it seems like the theme to this year's football season is "the year of the quarterback." Many argue there's no better conference than the Big 12 when it comes to its quarterbacks. So will Reesing be able to lead his team to another magical season in 2008?

The Colorado Buffaloes finished their 2007 campaign third in the Big 12 North division with a 6-7 overall record. The Buffaloes don't have the easiest schedule for this upcoming football, but many players aren't afraid of the challenge.

Colorado safety Ryan Walters said many people "don't understand what being a competitor really means." Walters and his teammates look forward to working on their consistency and have high hopes for a successful season.

There's been talk that the North division of the Big 12 Conference is on the rise. Just take a look at the seasons both the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks experienced last year. When asked about what Missouri has to offer, Colorado's George Hypolite said MU's program is unique.



The Kansas State Wildcats finished their 2007 campaign with a 5-7 overall record including a memorable win over Texas (ranked seventh at the time) in Austin. Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman said there's really "no obligation to win, just a desire."

Defensive end Ian Campbell's motto of "do your job" shapes the mindset of the Wildcats and is helping them get ready for the 2008 season.

Head coach Ron Prince says every game is an opportunity for his players to become that much more experienced.


The Oklahoma State Cowboys finished fourth in the South division of the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson said his teammates don't worry about individuality and instead focus on accomplishing team goals.

So that's eight Big 12 teams down, and four more to go tomorrow. First off tomorrow is the Oklahoma Sooners.

Tigers Glitter in KC

Members of the Missouri football team met with the Big 12 media in Kansas City.
Chase Daniel, Chase Coffman, Jeremy Maclin, and William Moore represented the
Tigers, wearing gold Mizzou shirts. The Tigers are the unainmous pick by the Big 12 media
to win the North divsion of the Big 12.

Big 12 Conference Football Media Day 1

It's official, we are getting close to the start of the 2008 college football season. Most programs have one week left before it's back to work. The first sign of excitement? The first day of the Big 12 Conference Football Media Day.

Players and coaches from Nebraska, Texas Tech, Missouri, and Texas A&M took turns answering the questions every die hard fan is dying to know...or at least the ones asked within the allotted time.


One of the questions KOMU 8's Eric Blumberg asked of the Missouri Tigers was:
What's the game you're looking most forward to? And when quarterback Chase Daniel says he's looking forward to Illinois, there's a little challenge...


Another question that was brought up quite often was about the Big 12 and its uniqueness, especially when it comes to its quarterbacks. You'll hear quite often about how nobody except for Missouri wanted Chase Daniel because of his height. There are definitely other Big 12 quarterbacks who don't fit the "ideal size" for a quarterback, but have since proven size truly doesn't matter.



As a young journalist, this was my very first Media Day, and I must say it was all very exciting. You see I have been counting down the days until the football season kicks off and the next three days are just a little snack to keep me satisfied until August 30th when the Tigers face the Fighting Illini.



The next two days are going to be pretty busy, and I need to do some research on Missouri's biggest opponents in the Big 12. First off tomorrow...the Kansas Jayhawks.

Pictures from Media Day 1: KOMU 8's Eric Blumberg mics up Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel; Missouri safety William Moore wants to break the career interceptions record (15); Missouri wide receiver has used the offseason to get faster (that's right, faster); Nebraska offensive lineman Matt Slauson answers a question; KOMU 8's Stan Silvey mics up Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz; J. Mac and Willy Mo take a look at Missouri's media guide.

Carl Wins!

Columbia's Carl Edwards won Saturday night's NASCAR Nationwide series race at Gateway Speedway in Madison, Illinois.
There was no Sprint Cup race this weekend.

More Preseason Honors for Tigers

Seven Mizzou football players earned Preseason All Big 12 honors.
Quarterback Chase Daniel is the preseason conference offensive player of the year, and on the first team offense with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, tight end Chase Coffman, and offensive tackle Colin Brown. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon is on the defense along with safety William Moore. Jeff Wolfert is the kicker, and Maclin the punt returner.

Mizzou a Unanimous Pick

It's not much of a surprise the Missouri Tiger football team is a unanimous pick to win the Big 12
North this year. The Tigers return almost all of their starters from last year's team that won the
Big 12 North, and finished with a 12-2 record and Cotton Bowl championship.

Corby on TV

Fomer Mizzou quarterback Corby Jones will be on TV this coming college football season.
Jones will be a studio analyst for Fox Sports Net on its Big 12 football coverage.

A Place for Pujols

Albert Pujols will get a place in the National League starting lineup for the All-Star game.
Houston's Lance Berkman won the voting to be the starting first baseman, but since the
game will be played at Yankee Stadium, and American League park, a designated hitter
will be used. Pujols batting .350 this season will be the National League designated hitter, and
bat in the cleanup spot.

Racing in the Windy City

NASCAR's races this weekend are in the Windy City.
Carl Edwards and the NASCAR boys will take to the track
at Chicagoland Speedway for the Nationwide series race Friday,
and the Sprint Cup race Saturday.

A Sad Story

Many of us in the local sports community were saddened to hear of the death of Sarah
Becking, a University of Missouri sports photographer. Sarah died of complications
from cancer surgery. She was 36 years old. She is survived by her husband Jason and two young children. You may not have known Sarah, but you probably would recognize many of her
outstanding pictures.

Things More Interesting in N.L. Central

Things are a little more interesting in the National League Central, thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers acquisition of CC Sabathia.
The 2007 American League Cy Young award winner last year with the Indians, Sabathia joins
Ben Sheets to give the Brewers two aces at the top of their rotation.
Milwaukee and St. Louis are tied for second place in the N.L. Central, three and a half games behind the first place Cubs.

Local All-Stars

A couple of major leaguers with local ties will make their All-Star debuts next week in New York.
Former Missouri Tigers Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers and former Fatima High School star Joe Crede of the Chicago White Sox made the American League roster as reserve infielders.
Kinsler leads the American League in batting with a .332 average.

Fireworks in Daytona

Carl Edwards and the NASCAR boys will spend the 4th of July weekend in Daytona.
The NASCAR NAtionwide series race will be Friday night, and then the Sprint
Cup race will be Saturday night.

Two Tigers Headed to China

Mizzou wrestler Ben Askren, and former Tiger track and field star Christian Cantwell are
heading to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
You can see coverage of the Olympic games on KOMU-TV beginning August 8th.