COLUMBIA It was one of those nights where everyone had their
faces buried in the record book.

Season and career highs were falling left and
right for the 13th-ranked Missouri womens gymnastics team Friday night
at the Hearnes Center. Missouri used a high-scoring fourth
rotation to put away 17th-ranked Iowa State for their fifth
victory of the season.

MoreStory

Related Media

• Senior Danielle Guider performs her floor routine during the Pink Out meet against Iowa State. Guider set new season highs in all three events she competed in.
• MU gymnasts Allie Heizelman and Sandra Ostad sign T-shirts for Erica Mingus,Glasgow Rangers shirt, Katie Bagley, Sarah Bagley and Mia Hale. The four girls were part of a group from Fairview Elementary School that attended the Pink Out meet.

Leading comfortably after the first two rotations
of their Big 12 Conference opener, the Tigers found themselves up by just .05
of a point to a talented Iowa State squad.

They made the most of their fourth rotation,
posting a 49.400 on the floor exercise, the fourth-highest for the program for that event.

“When you start at a 9.825 instead of building
halfway through to a 9.825, everything after that, as
it gets better and stronger, you force the judges up into a tight hole,” coach Rob Drass said. “And we
like them to be right up there because then they’ve got to keep giving those
scores. Thats how you run it and score 49 and a half points.”

Career highs came for five of the six Tiger
gymnasts in the fourth rotation, and the other posted a season high. Senior
Sarah Shire recorded a 9.950 on floor and slid into third place on the Missouri
all-time list.

Shire, the reigning Big 12 Gymnast of the Week,
made it difficult for the conference to award the title to anyone else. She was
the highest-scoring gymnast in every event Friday, finishing with an all-around score
of 39.600. That put her in sole possession of third place on the schools all-time
list. Aside from setting a career high on floor, she also set new season highs
on vault and balance beam.

“We did not have a good floor rotation last week,Fulham shirt,”
Shire said, “and we worked really, really hard in the gym this week fixing
those minor details.”

Although the meet was close heading into the
fourth rotation, Missouri put up big numbers all night. Its final team total
of 196.400 was the 12th-highest in school history.

“When you have those kind of kids on your team and
those kind of performances they can deliver, that puts you up in
an upper echelon,” Drass said. “Thats what weve been fighting to get to, and I think we can
run with anyone in the country.”

It was a big night for senior Danielle Guider, who
set new season highs in all three events she competed in, two of which
were new career highs.

“When I hit my bars routine, I think that gave me a lot of motivation for the rest of the night,Werder Bremen shirt,” Guider said. “I
just kept my attitude up and just kept plugging away.”

Friday nights meet was the sixth-annual Pink Out,
with proceeds going toward breast cancer research. One dollar from each ticket sold
benefited Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia. It was the second-highest crowd in Pink Out history with 3,Sevilla shirt,227 people in attendance.

The Tigers kept their record unblemished with
Fridays victory, as they head into a tough road meet against ninth-ranked
Nebraska next weekend in Lincoln, Neb.

Roy Oswalt pitched a five-hitter and Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman hit home runs to lift the host Houston Astros to their first victory of the season 5-1 over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The win helped the Astros avoid their worst start since going 0-9 to open the 1983 season.

Oswalt (1-0) struck out four and allowed one run to earn his 99th career win. It was the 12th complete game of his career and first since July 5, 2006.

Lee, who signed to a six-year, $100 million contract in the offseason to boost an offense that ranked last in the National League in 2006, hit his first home run in the sixth inning.

Cardinals right-hander Anthony Reyes (0-1) allowed five hits and three runs in five innings.

TIGERS 6, ROYALS 5: Gary Sheffield, Ivan Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson hit home runs to help visiting Detroit beat Kansas City.

Sheffield, who had just one single in his first three games with the Tigers, homered to left with two outs in the first. Rodriguez homered into the Tigers�� bullpen to leadoff the fourth,Fulham shirt, putting the Tigers up 4-3. Granderson hit a home run to leadoff the fifth.

All the Tigers�� home runs were off Gil Meche (1-1). Meche gave up six runs and eight hits in seven innings, while striking out four and walking two.

Mike Maroth (1-0) picked up the victory, allowing four runs and six hits in five innings. Todd Jones pitched the ninth for his second save of the season.

Reggie Sanders went 3-for-4, including a two-run home run in the third, and scored three runs.

WILD 5, BLUES 1: The Minnesota Wild cruised in their final tuneup before the playoffs, getting 24 saves from Niklas Backstrom in a home victory over St. Louis.

Wyatt Smith had two goals,Valencia shirt, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Branko Radivojevic and Wes Walz also scored for the Wild, who will meet Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs.

Backstrom was coming off consecutive shutouts of Edmonton, but the Blues broke Minnesota��s franchise-record scoreless streak at 169 minutes,

20 seconds when Peter Sejna beat the Finnish goalie between the pads with a shallow angle shot in the second period.

MU SOFTBALL: The Tigers stretched their win streak to seven games by beating Oklahoma State 6-1 Saturday in Stillwater,Lazio shirt, Okla.

Kathy Masterson led Missouri (29-17, 5-0) with three hits and one RBI. Amanda Renth, Micaela Minner, Jen Bruck and Julie Silver each had one RBI to lead the Tigers balanced attack. Bruck struck out eight batters in five innings.

HICKMAN LACROSSE: The Kewpies lost two matches Saturday in St. Louis,Glasgow Rangers shirt, falling to Parkway Central 16-2 and Clayton 7-5.

Nick Stohlgren scored three goals for Hickman (5-3) against Clayton and one against Parkway Central, while Mason Poage scored once in each match.

Missouri wrestler Ben Askren was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy on Thursday,Fulham shirt, college wrestling’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy. It is the second time Askren, a two-time national champion,Juventus shirt, has won the award. Since its creation in 1995, only Askren and Iowa State’s Cael Sanderson have received the award more than once. Sanderson earned the honor three times.

“To be in the same company with Cael winning the top honor, it can’t get any better than that. I’m very excited,Newcastle United shirt,” Askren said.

Askren ended his college career by winning the 174-pound national championship. It was his second consecutive title and marked his 87th consecutive victory. Askren is Missouri’s career wins leader with 153.

FAULK RETIRES: Marshall Faulk sat out last season with a knee injury that threatened to end his career. On Monday he’ll officially close the door on his playing days, announcing his retirement at the NFL owners meetings.

Faulk, 34, was the NFL MVP in 2000 and offensive player of the year for three consectutive years from 1999-2001. He helped the Rams win their only Super Bowl after the ‘99 season and is ninth on the NFL’s career rushing list with 12,279 yards. Faulk is also tied for sixth on with 100 career rushing touchdowns.

“I gave the game my passion, and it gave me a wonderful career and memories that I will always be thankful for,” Faulk said in a release.

BLUES: Marian Gaborik scored twice and linemate Pavol Demitra had a goal and two assists as the Minnesota Wild won their franchise-record eighth consecutive game, beating the St. Louis Blues 5-1 on Thursday night.

It was the fifth loss in six games for the Blues, who are 10th in the Western Conference.

Outshot 12-5 in the opening period,Santos shirt, the Blues still emerged with a lead after Doug Weight converted a 2-on-1 break. It took Minnesota nearly eight minutes to register its first shot of the second period, but the Wild tied the game shortly thereafter. Demitra, who spent seven-plus seasons with the Blues, scored against his former team for the fourth time this season.

TRACK AND FIELD: Teams scores tabulated after the meet show Rock Bridge prevailed against Hickman in a dual meet Tuesday at Hickman. The Bruins won the boys meet 75-71 and the girls meet 87-44.

The Missouri soccer team is ranked sixth in the Big 12 Conference preseason coaches’ poll. The Tigers’ Melissa Peabody, a senior forward,Juventus shirt, and Elyse Nikonchuk,Fulham shirt, a sophomore midfielder, were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team.

Texas A&M is the top ranked team,Italy football shirt, earning 10 first-place votes. Texas was ranked second, and Colorado third.

Peabody was second on the team in scoring last season with eight goals and six assists for 22 points. She had the winning assist against Eastern Illinois in the Tigers first NCAA Tournament victory.

Nikonchuk was fourth on the team last season with 10 points and was selected to the U.S. under-19 national team.

To buy a good glove of baseball can make a world of the difference in your play. You must buy a glove made starting from materials of quality because they will last longer and will be easier to employ. And, naturally, you ensure that the adjustment feels exact. While you can want to buy a cheaper glove – sometimes it wages right of doesn’t because your play will suffer.

A thing that you must make is to seek the various manufacturers and scales of price. Discover which is lit the best blow for the male. Choose some marks which call upon you move then to the store and try on the gloves. Ensuring itself they judge that the line and the line of average relationship are important. A part of Here inclines on what to seek in various types of gloves.

Gloves Of Gloves of baseball

Is you a serious player or the disorder right around behind the dish each of time to other? This could be a great deciding factor in your decision on which the glove to be bought as good glove of gloves of baseball can cost you hundreds of dollars. If you play only several times per year, then a professional glove of category could be too expensive for you. In addition, the gloves of good quality better are made and more durable thus it will probably last you a life. The gloves of high quality will be smelled better and functioned also better.

By selecting a glove of gloves of baseball you must adapt it to your hand. The size of model of the glove is a measurement of the gloves g?tent where your wrist is jusqu with the top of the palm of the glove where your fingers start. A small glove for youths measures typically 8 with a foot,Glasgow Rangers shirt, and a glove of adults has a measurement of 12 or 13 inches.

Gloves Of Baseball For Women

The isn’t of baseball right for boys and maintaining the always young girls and women more than join this whole the American sport. There is a special challenge, in some manner that for women by making shopping for the equipment of baseball and particularly the gloves of baseball. The majority speed of baseball are a manufacturer motionless with the men with the spirit,Manchester City shirt, and the women,Celtic shirt, whose hands are much smaller, can have one difficult moment finding a good adjustment with their gloves.

The women making of the shopping for gloves of baseball must seek gloves designed to adapt smaller and female hand. If you are equipped with a suitable glove for the size of your hand you will note that you will play better. Seek smaller stalls of finger which will give you a better order than a belt of adjustable wrist is desirable because it will enable you to adjust yourselves with the fluctuations in fluids which can make your wrist a little larger or smaller.

First Basic Gloves

Any first basic player will say to you that the first basic gloves are very important when it has suddenly played the baseball. A thing to be sought in a good glove is to buy the good kinds of materials and strap which you have need in a glove to play at the first base.

The most important thing is with the thnk about the way in which the glove feels. You should buy a size which feels good and is easy to handle. Important It that you can open and close the glove quickly and that your fingers have a comfortable adjustment but not too douillettement.

To make shopping for the glove of right baseball is as important as obtaining the footgear or the espadrilles right. Take your time and select a good glove and you could see your play improving,Fulham shirt!

So you think you’ve got what it takes to be a bodybuilder? Can you go through grueling workouts with almost no glycogen storage? Can you avoid all simple sugars for nearly two months? Can you get down to below 5% body fat?

If you are one of the few, dedicated individuals who think they can become a bodybuilder, ask yourself this question. “Can I stop drinking all fluids for nearly 24 hours?” If you answered no to the last question, I don’t think any less of you. In fact, the last 24 hours before a competition are perhaps the most miserable for most bodybuilders. In my case, I can honestly say the hardest part was the carbohydrate depletion. As an author and a Personal Trainer, I found it extremely difficult to function without the primary source of energy– carbs. That being said, my experience as a bodybuilder has molded me into the strongest person I have ever been. I’m going to illustrate my latest experience at the Border States Classic in October 2008, in the hopes of inspiring and educating those who are interested in the sport of bodybuilding to compete.

First and foremost, I should tell everyone that bodybuilding is truly a competition against one’s self. This means that one must constantly be battling their urges to consume junk food, overeat and skip on workouts. No one else can make you do this. Even a Personal Trainer can only give you a roadmap, but you must follow the path. I knew that I could keep myself from indulging in the non-essentials so I decided to try my hand at the Border States. Ten weeks before the show I weighed in at 168 pounds and around 11% body fat. I figured that I couldn’t make bantamweight (up to 143lbs.), but I knew my muscular development was good, so I began to go through a journey of fat burning.

Supplements:

The edge I had over many of my competitors was my knowledge of supplementation. I knew that the right combination of supps could fine tune my body and allow me to go on stage super tight. I was right! I was very, very tight. Below is the list of supplements that I used during pre-competition:

Green Tea Extract, 600 mg daily

7-Keto, 300 mg daily

CLA, 8 grams a day (4 before bed)

Tribulus, 3000 mg daily

Gaspari Novedex, 3 capsules at bedtime

Fish Oil, 30 grams a day

Max Nitro L-Arginine, 10 grams a day on empty stomach

L-Glutamine, 30 grams a day (10 at night)

Controlled Labs Purple Wrath

AST GABA, 5 Grams before bedtime

Alpha Lipoic Acid/ L Carnitine/ Co Q 10 compound, 4 capsules a day

Milk Thistle

Probolic-SR (not the last week before the show)

BSN Lean Dessert (not the last week)

Nature’s Best- Whey Isolate (not the last week)

MHP-XPEL water loss (8 capsules daily for the last week)

This may seem like a lot of supplements, and it is! Remember, a bodybuilder cannot deprive his or her body of the nutrients it needs to repair itself. Actually,Napoli shirt, no one should deprive their body. All we have in life is time and health. It is important to make both of these as good and enjoyable as possible.

Training: High Volume

I used a routine that consisted of hitting every body part twice a week, taking Sunday off. I hit legs and deltoids three times a week. My training was very high volume and looked similar to this:

Shoulders:

Lateral Raise– 4 sets of 15-20 reps, superset with 4 sets of Front Raises 15-20 reps

Overhead dumbbell press– (35 lbs) 4 sets of 25 reps

Wide Grip Upright Rows– 4 sets of 20 reps

Shrugs with light weight– 20 reps, superset with Lateral Raises to finish

My cardio increased significantly the last 3 weeks. I did one half-hour session of cardio on the recumbent bike first thing in the morning, after a shake with Purple Wrath.?I did this again at night after my last meal to ensure that I would deplete my glycogen stores.

Diet: Carbohydrate Cycling

This is truly the hardest part of bodybuilding. I opted to cycle my carb intake; taking in only 40 grams of carbs from oatmeal for 4 days. On the fifth day, I would take in about 200 grams of carbs from oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and brown rice. All of my meals contained about 6 ounces of fish (no salmon), chicken or ground turkey. These are very lean meats, which allowed me to maintain an adequate protein intake. All meals contained 2 cups of green beans, spinach, or bok choy. I would take in 5 meals every day, or the equivalent of 1 meal every 3 hours. I made sure to supplement with plenty of fish oil and Branched Chain Amino Acids?to maintain energy levels and muscle tissue. In essence, I tried to focus on lean protein and veggies.

Note: The last week before competition, I ate only 30 grams of carbs per day until the day before the show. I also drank only 2 gallons of water until two days before (Thursday); that day I drank only a ? gallon of water. Friday I only drank 8 oz. of water. Saturday morning I only had black coffee. I was very thirsty to say the least.

Posing and Tanning: Contest Prep is Vital,Benfica shirt!

A few weeks before the competition I began to tan. This is one of my least favorite parts of my experience. In addition to the regular tanning,Fulham shirt, I applied 6 coats of Pro-Tan, a tanning liquid that is painted on the skin. Now, I have the unfortunate disposition of having body hair, so my stubble was somewhat noticeable. Therefore, before the night show, I applied one more coat to hide the stubble. Tanning is a pain, but it is necessary and very aesthetically pleasing. The lights on stage are white, which makes the competitors look pale. Pale white skin would wash away like sand on the beach. Remember, this sport is about how good you look!

Posing is perhaps the most important part of bodybuilding shows. Flexing each muscle is a form of isometric exercise and helps etch in the definition between muscles. A competitor should be used to flexing for at least 60 seconds to build up endurance. Judges do not like to see competitors shake on stage from lack of muscular endurance. I think I posed for at least 30 minutes every day starting from two weeks prior to the show. The last two days,AS Roma shirt, flexing and posing were my only forms of exercise.

Conclusion: Although it was a challenge, my bodybuilding experience was one of the greatest times of my life. It was a blast being onstage with my fellow athletes. It was even more fun standing right in front of the biggest guy onstage and posing down with him. I suggest that if you are interested in Bodybuilding Competition, you should go to a show to see what the atmosphere is like. See the competitors in person and decide if you have the discipline to transform your body with the necessary strategies.

Keep the Fire Burning!

-Sean Covell

BestSupplementGuide.com

MU was selected Sunday to be one of 16 host schools for the 2005 NCAA Softball Regional Tournament.

The No. 18 Tigers (42-13), who placed second in the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday, will face sixth-seed Stanford (40-14), Southern Illinois (46-12) and Robert Morris (29-20-1) in the regional Friday and Saturday at University Field.

In all, there will be 64 teams competing at 16 tournament sites. One team from each regional will advance to a Super Regional tournament, May 27-28. Michigan (55-4) holds the No. 1 seed.

This is the first year the NCAA is using the Super Regional format for softball. Eight teams from the Super Regionals will advance to the NCAA Women’s College World Series,Fulham shirt, June 2-8, in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Missouri is one of a record eight Big 12 Conference teams selected to compete in the regional and one of five named hosts. Other Big 12 teams competing are Baylor, Kansas,Bordeaux shirt, Nebraska Oklahoma,Wales football shirt, Oklahoma State,Ajax shirt, Texas A&M and Texas. Nebraska, Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma were also selected as host sites.

Tigers games in the regional will be broadcast on KCOU/ 88.1 FM.

The Missouri softball team shut out Southeast Missouri State on Saturday at the All-Missouri Breast Cancer Awareness Tournament at Missouri State.
Freshman Chelsea Thomas earned her seventh win of the season and first no-hitter and Missouri improved to 16-3 this season,South Africa football shirt,
The Tigers scored five runs in the top of the fifth en route to their 12th win of the season by shutout.
Junior Julie Silver finished Missouris second game of the tournament 3-for-4 at the plate and was credited with four RBIs. Silvers fifth-inning double to left center drove in three runs,Atletico Madrid shirt, while her fourth-inning double to left field scored one.

COLUMBIA The final minutes of Saturday night’s Missouri women’s basketball game was played at a frantic pace. There were full-court presses,Football shirts, turnovers, defensive stands and defensive breakdowns before Nebraska’s last-second halfcourt heave missed its mark and the Tigers escaped with a 67-66 victory.

But there might not have been a busier place at Mizzou Arena in the closing minutes than the scorers table.In the final 1:41, Missouri coach Cindy Stein made 11 substitutions. There was rarely a change of possession where the Tigers didn’t field a different lineup than they did on the one before.

Juniors Marissa Scott and and Toy Richbow spent the most time jogging from the bench to the scorers table. They were subbed in on defensive possessions while junior Jessra Johnson and redshirt freshman Bekah Mills were subbed in when the Tigers had the ball.

Stein said she made so many substitutions for a number of reasons but primarily because of Scott’s versatility,Glasgow Rangers shirt, which enabled the Tigers to put more defensive pressure on the Cornhuskers in the final possessions.

“Marissa can guard anybody on the floor whether it’s a post or a guard,” Stein said. “They’re (Scott and Richbow) very effective in the halfcourt going off on-ball screens, so obviously having her (Scott) play that position so we can switch on them was going to be critical.”

Stein said junior forward Jessra Johnson’s four fouls also played a role in her late-game decision making. She said Johnson’s ability to inbound the ball against a press, which Nebraska used for most of the game, made it crucial that she not foul out. Limiting her defensive possessions prevented that from happening.

Stein admitted changing her lineup so frequently risked ruining her team’s rhythm, and the Tigers hardly finished the game flawlessly. They committed five turnovers in the final 2:23, giving Nebraska a chance to win. But Stein said her reserves were not responsible for that.

“I thought our subs provided good energy,” Stein said.

Even if the substitutions had caused some confusion on Missouri’s side, it also served to manufacture some miscues for the Cornhuskers when they were setting up their press.

“I actually thought their substitutions bothered us a little bit,” Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. “We didn’t get matched-up obviously a few times,Fulham shirt, and they threw it over the top of us some.”

The victory improved the Tigers’ record to 10-6 and 1-2 in Big 12 play. Nebraska fell to 9-7 and 0-3.

Hickman and Rock Bridge high schools’ tennis teams met Tuesday to play each other for the last time this season.

Rock Bridge tennis player Sam Johnson practices serving with teammates before facing off with hometown rival Hickman on Tuesday afternoon,Kaizer Chiefs shirt, their final encounter this season.
¦ KEVIN A. ROBERTS/Missourian