The Daniel Boone Little League American All-Stars won their first game of the Midwest Regional Tournament on Saturday in Indianapolis. They defeated Riverton Area Little League, the Kansas state champions,Wales football shirt, 7-6.

Daniel Boone Little League trailed 6-1 going into the final inning of the six-inning game.

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“We were really tight early on,Valencia shirt, anxious to do well,” head coach Greg Kespohl said by phone. “They pressed a little and didn’t handle not being successful very well early on.”

But they didn’t give up, scoring six runs in the top of the sixth, capped off by a two-out, two-run triple by Adam Lafferty to put the team on top.

“They just wanted to win so bad,Birmingham shirt,” Kespohl said of his team’s ability to pull off the comeback. “They went from being disappointed to just being mad. They started taking each at-bat one pitch at a time,l.a.galaxy shirt, and every player was willing himself to get on base.”

Daniel Boone Little League continues play on Sunday with a game versus Canyon Lake Little League, from South Dakota, at 11 a.m.

Offensive superstars often determine the outcome of important matches, but for Columbia College on Friday, the defense made the difference.

The Cougars upset Illinois-Springfield 2-1 at Owens Stadium to repeat as American Midwest Conference champions.

The winning goal came from an unlikely source. Jared Cross,l.a.galaxy shirt, a junior defender, scored his first goal of the season in the 53rd minute. His 35-yard shot from the right side went past goalkeeper Zach Hoette and found the upper left corner of the net.

“The angle I had on the goal was not the best for a cross,Inter Milan shirt, and as a defender my accuracy isn’t great,” Cross said. “But,Napoli shirt, as soon as I kicked it I knew it was going to go in.”

The Cougars,Newcastle United shirt, No. 22 in NAIA, stopped four Prairie Star shots in the final 37 minutes. Illinois-Springfield (10-4, 4-1) was No. 11 entering the game.

“This is as big as it gets in regular season play,” Cougars coach John Klein said. “We’ve never had a win as big as this as long as I’ve been here. It’s big on many levels.”

Winning the AMC title ensures the Cougars (12-3, 7-0) one of the top two spots in the six-team NAIA Region V Tournament. The Cougars will receive a bye in the first round and host a semifinal match at 7 p.m. on Nov. 13. The Region V winners advance to the national tournament.

The Cougars outshot the Prairie Stars 20-10. Goalkeeper Steve Williams let up a quick Prairie Star score in the second minute when he was unable to reach Jesse Elmore’s high shot.

“The first goal was really too early to get worried about,” Klein said. “We hadn’t seen what they had. It was a bit of a wake up call.”

Two minutes later, the Cougars responded. Stephen McMullen beat two Prairie Stars defenders in the box after receiving a Morten Crosby pass. McMullen shot a low ball into the left corner.

Despite taking 12 Cougars’ shots in the first half, the teams were tied at halftime.

“It came down to a ton of 50/50 balls,” UIS coach Joe Eck said. “Columbia is a very tough team, and they simply played better than we did.”

Cross said the Cougars’ determination won the game.

“The closer the game, the more intense. Overall, on the entire team I couldn’t point out one player on every single play that quit. It was a 100 percent team effort and that’s what it takes to win big games.”

COLUMBIA The Missouri gymnastics team started its 30th season Saturday at Hearnes Center. Liz Straatmann started her last.

Straatmann, a junior with a year of NCAA eligibility beyond this season, is retiring after this season because of her knees.

“I know my body is done,” said Straatmann, who helped the black squad to a 189.650-177.900 victory over the gold squad in its intrasquad meet Saturday. “I know this is what has to happen.”

Straatmann began her gymnastics career at the age 9 in her hometown of Washington, Mo. She was traveling 45 minutes each way to practice in St. Louis three years later.

Before her sophomore year of high school, Straatmann moved to Kansas City, where she could train at the GAGE gym. She trained with MU teammates Alicia Hatcher, Adrianne Perry and Sarah Shire.

Straatmanns family remained on the other side of Missouri, more than three hours away.

“It was a big decision for our family,” she said. “It was hard for me and for my family. The new family that I lived with had a completely different lifestyle.”

Her knees began falling apart after that. Straatmann tore the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in her right knee at the age of 15. A year later, she needed surgery to repair her meniscus in her right knee again. Straatmann had surgery to repair the ACL and medial collateral ligament in her left knee a few months later. Earlier this year,l.a.galaxy shirt, she had surgery on her right meniscus again.

“The doctor was apprehensive about this season,” Straatmann said. “My knee is just not stable. The ACL is a little loose, which hurts other things in my knee. I just want to be active when I get older.”

Straatmann will undergo her fifth knee surgery in May. She decided to retire because if she continued doing gymnastics, she could suffer from arthritis among other things.

“We talked at the start of the year if she should do gymnastics this year,” MU gymnastics coach Rob Drass said. “Its hard to tell an athlete no and crush her hopes and dreams. Liz is a tough kid. She wanted to do it.”

That could be exemplified by her performance Saturday. Straatmann, who is limited to performing only the bars routine, fell during her performance and landed awkwardly. She stood up and continued her routine.

“I asked her if she had hurt her knee,” said Drass,Italy football shirt, who was standing alongside her. “I asked her if she was all right, and she said,Valencia shirt, Yeah. I spotted her the rest of the way to make sure she landed right. Sometimes when adrenaline is going,Paris Saint Germain shirt, athletes arent going to realize they really are hurt.”

Straatmann scored a 8.65.

“Hopefully, I can stay healthy (this season),” she said. “Im going to be competing and working every day. Ive got to put in work every day to improve.”

BOSTON — In a season that has turned sour for Boston, David Ortiz is giving Red Sox fans something to cheer for.

Ortiz hit his career-high 48th home run and Wily Mo Pena drove in two runs to help the Boston Red Sox snap a three-game losing streak with a 9-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Big Papi now stands two home runs shy of tying the single-season franchise record for home runs. Jimmie Foxx set the record with 50 in 1938.

“It seems like it’s a big deal here, so let’s see if we can get it done,” said Ortiz,l.a.galaxy shirt, who went 2-for-3 and scored three runs. “You’ve just got to take a couple of good swings, right? I’ve got plenty of time.”

The Royals missed out on the chance to sweep their first road series since July 11-13,Santos shirt, 2003, when they won three straight against the Texas Rangers. Kansas City has gone 86 consecutive road series without a sweep,Manchester City shirt, the longest stretch in franchise history and the third-longest in the majors since 1923.

“Sweeping these guys at home would have been nice,” Kansas City catcher John Buck said. “But the next step in the learning process is not to be satisfied with two wins and obviously go after that third one.”

Mark Redman (9-9) allowed five runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, snapping his two-game winning streak. Redman had allowed one run in 16 innings in his two previous starts, a 2-0 win over Minnesota on Aug. 29 and a 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 3, but was touched early by Boston.

I love night fishing. Most of the times it’s because I don’t get to go out and fish during the day because of my work, but now there’s more to it than just the convenience. I’ve observed that night fishing offers you the same conditions as daytime, but with generally better results. Sometimes I can swear the fishing conditions are even better during the night, since there are fewer anglers to compete with for a good fishing spot,l.a.galaxy shirt, and less noise as well.

I’ve also come to realize that when you find a good fishing spot during the day, coming back to it at night will net you even more fish. Although I can’t explain why, but the fish just seem to bite more at night. One little drawback though is that it’s harder to see your line, but since you’re getting a lot of fish, it’s worth the effort. For this reason, perhaps, I’ve seen a lot of daytime fishermen turn to night fishing. When I asked one why, he just said it makes him look good because he catches more fish that way!

If you want to try night fishing, I say full speed ahead! But make sure that the weather forecast for that night is good. It’s going to be difficult enough moving about and finding things in the dark; when you go out night fishing during bad weather, it just makes it worse and more dangerous. I know this sounds elementary, but you’d be surprised at the number of anglers who forget this very simple rule.

Here’s one tip to make your night fishing even better: Watch the moon,Birmingham shirt! You might be thinking it sounds a bit crazy, but try it and see for yourself. You’ll be surprised at the things you might learn. One thing you’re most likely to notice is that most fish hide in the shadows during a full moon. I can’t tell you why because I don’t know myself, but that’s what I and my night fishing friends have observed,Football shirts, anyway. So now when you find some shadows on the water,Celtic shirt, you’ll know where to cast your line.

If there are no shadows and the moon isn’t shining down on the water, it will make your task of finding the fish a bit harder, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck and have to return another evening. The fish seems more likely to bite anytime it’s not a full moon or if it’s partially hidden by clouds. So now you’ll know how to determine which fishing spot will be more likely to get you better results. If the moon is shining full and bright, go for the shadows in the water. If it’s hidden or even nowhere to be seen, just go to your favorite fishing spot and expect lots of hits on the line.

I’ve heard a lot of anglers say that they only fish during a full moon, while others say that no moon is the best time for night fishing. What I’d recommend to you is to go out into the night and try both. You will get good results, whether it’s a full moon or night. All you have to remember is to adjust your fishing technique and change your fishing spots, depending on how much the moon is shining during the night.

A family of three runs around the open grass next to the soccer fields at Cosmo Park. Three-year-old Aaron Scofield is out on his first kite flying adventure,Villareal shirt, but there’s barely a breeze to lift the large serpent kite off the ground.

“Run, run, high, high!” screams mother Tonya Scofield.

The yellow, pink and blue striped tail makes it up in the air briefly as Aaron’s short legs run across the field. He holds his arms as high as he can,Porto shirt, and turns around to look at his progress as the kite falls back down to the ground.

“We need some wind, buddy,” father Dave Scofield says. He wraps the white string around the handle and tightens it so it doesn’t unwind as Aaron tries again.

A stronger breeze comes through, and his father helps Aaron finally get the kite in the air. It sails, its snake head and tail whipping around in the wind, for about 30 seconds.

“You did it, Aaron!” Tonya Scofield says. “You flew a kite!”

A white mini van pulls into the parking lot, and two kids jump out the sides. Michael Jensen gets a U.S. Navy plane kite out of the back, and he and his kids, Ethan, 5, and Emma, 2, take the grass next to the Scofields and try their luck with the wind.

Jani Jensen watches her family while holding 6-month-old Aaron. She said she enjoys the precious family time that holidays like the Fourth of July bring. She said she intended to participate in the Parley P. Pratt Memorial 1-mile walk early Tuesday morning, while her husband ran, but the rain and somber clouds kept her and their three kids at home.

The dreary weather couldn’t keep Michael Jensen away, though. Running through the rain, he completed the 4-mile Memorial run. It was the first time he participated in the event and he said he hopes to do it again next year.

“We really are celebrating our freedom, it gave it more purpose than just running,” Michael Jensen said of the run.

After the morning race, the family sat down to homemade red, white and

blue waffles that Jani Jensen made using food coloring.

“We’ve been trying to tell our kids all day just how privileged and blessed we are just to live here and have all the freedoms we have,Dortmund shirt,” she said.

Although the wind didn’t seem to cooperate with kite fliers Tuesday, there were a few people at Cosmo Park playing football, tennis and horseshoes. Families like the Jensens were pleasantly surprised to find much of the park oddly uncrowded during a holiday.

“My son has been wanting to fly kites, and I didn’t want to take them out by myself,” Jani Jensen said. “So we’ve been waiting (for Michael to have a day off). But it’s a beautiful day,l.a.galaxy shirt, I just wish there was a little more wind.”

The sun pops out behind the clouds for a few minutes, and both Aaron and Ethan get their kites high in the air. They run around the grass with big grins on their faces, savoring the last run before their families head home to end the day’s festivities with their own fireworks celebrations.

It’s no secret that the shots have stopped falling for the Missouri basketball team.

That was painfully obvious to everyone in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium on Wednesday. The Tigers lost to Houston 57-55. The question is what to do now.

Missouri shot 32.2 percent from the floor and made only two of 16 attempted 3-pointers.

“There’s no way to explain it,Santos shirt,” junior guard Jimmy McKinney said. “Guys have been having tough nights and tough times putting the ball in the basket. There’s really nothing you can do about that. You go out there and shoot the ball and sometimes it just won’t fall. “You just got to continue to shoot the ball. Hopefully,Juventus shirt, eventually it will go in.”

What remains to be seen is how, or if, Missouri will overcome this shooting drought.

“When they won’t fall, we just have to try to get our teammates shots, rebound and defend,Dortmund shirt,” sophomore guard Thomas Gardner said. “Those are the things we can control. Tonight we did that and we just came up short.”

Ultimately, coach Quin Snyder will have to find a way to pull the Tigers from their funk.

“We just have to hang in there,l.a.galaxy shirt,” Snyder said, “keep grinding and I know we’ll get better.”

“Grind” seems right for the Tigers. Missouri looked reluctant to push the ball into the low post for points under the basket in its first four games but made a concerted effort to do so against Houston.

The Tigers scored 28 points in the paint on Wednesday and used the interior game to keep it close. If the outside shooting troubles continue, the inside game will have to compensate even more.

Perhaps a change in atmosphere will lend itself to a changed team. The Tigers shot 34 percent from the floor in two games at Municipal Auditorium.

“We’re not coming back here,” senior guard Jason Conley said. “I don’t like this gym.”

COLUMBIA – Defensive lines of Illinois’ caliber,AS Roma shirt, among the best,Porto shirt, don’t scare Derrick Washington.

Replacing former Missouri tailback in Tony Temple, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, doesn’t scare Washington either. No, to get Derrick Washington to flinch, it takes an entirely different set of tools.

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For starters, try a spotlight and a camera.

“I came out the locker room after the game Saturday, and it was pretty shocking,” Washington said of the army of cameras he was confronted with. “I got walked to the bus,l.a.galaxy shirt, and I was still getting interviewed as I was walking. I think I could get used to that, I just don’t want to get rushed like that again.”

For the first time in his career, the sophomore is facing a new kind of blitz and one his running backs coach Brian Jones never prepared him for – a media blitz. The media crush he faced after his performance against Illinois was no coincidence.

Saturday night in St. Louis, Washington made his debut in a spotlight much more intense than the ones he faced afterwards.

As a first-time starter in a game televised nationally on ESPN, Washingon pounded the Illinois defense for a Big 12-leading 130 yards on 19 carries. The performance was punctuated by a 40-yard scamper in the second quarter that had Washington doing his best impression of a bowling ball, bouncing off and shedding defenders for his second touchdown of the night, equaling his total as a freshman.

Washington might have caught some offguard, but those close to him knew he was capable.

“Playing in November, playing in the Kansas game in that environment, in the championship game, in the bowl game, all those things lend itself to maturity,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said.

“I saw the guy in spring football,Peru football shirt, I’ve seen him in two-a-days, and I had no doubt that he was going to play at the level he did.”

Pinkel said Washington’s 36 carries and 10 catches in 2007 are evidence of why his freshman campaign set him up for the success he is seeing in 2008.

“Last year I played, I just didn’t play as much as I wanted to,” Washington said. “Now, I’m just so much more comfortable with everything.”

Especially his teammates. Asked about Washington’s relationship with his linemen, senior left guard Ryan Madison mentioned that Washington often tagged along with the linemen for dinner after film study, the only tailback to do so. Asked where these rendezvous took place, Madison’s lips suddenly became tight.

Moments later, however, it took all of a minute-and-a-half and three questions for Washington’s loose lips to sink Madison’s ship, which apparently docks at a local steak and pizza chain fairly often.

Despite the faux pas, it’s clear the five guys who pave his way are close to Washington’s heart.

“If I get over a thousand yards this year, most definitely,” Washington said of his plans to treat the offensive line to a meal in the future. “I don’t know where yet, but we’ll see. Probably a buffet, because you know the hogs like to eat.”

But it’s not likely Washington will follow NFL tradition for quarterbacks and running backs, who often pony up for Rolexes or Cadillacs as gifts to the trailblazers up front.

“I ain’t got that kind of money yet,” Washington said, with a grin wider than the holes he sliced through against the Illini. He doesn’t want to get ahead of himself. Getting those thousand yards will require focus.

“That’s my goal, and that’s the O-line’s goal, to have a 100-yard rusher, and I want to get 100 yards every game,” Washington said. “If I can do that, I’ll be fine.”

Perhaps even more than fine. A quick glance at the record books and a few button pushes on the calculator show that doing so for the next three seasons would make Washington Missouri’s all-time leading rusher, just surpassing Brad Smith, who finished his career with 4,289 yards.

Before that happens, the coaching staff knows Washington hasn’t fully tapped into what might be his best attribute: his potential.

“He needs to become a better blocker,” Jones said. “He’s not arrived. He’s not a total player.”

Missouri was one of just two teams last season, along with Tulsa, to pass for more than 4,000 yards (4,397) and rush for more than 2,000 (2,467). It’s that balance that Washington said lets him sleep well at night, at ease with the notion that Big 12 teams could turn their defensive spotlights on him, amass a collection of gametape and limit his effectiveness.

“The (offensive) line is great. Defenses have to go against our line to stop me, but it’s not just going to be me, it’s going to be the whole offense,” Washington said. “We’ve still got Chase (Daniel), we’ve still got other athletes. We pass first, but I wouldn’t mind changing that to run first.”

The Missouri men’s golf team tied for third with Purdue at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate on Monday in Verona, N.Y.

Baylor won the tournament,Paris Saint Germain shirt, finishing 11 strokes under par at 853. Texas Christian was second with an even par 864.

Missouri junior Jace Long shot an even-par 72 on Monday to finish in a three-way tie for seventh individually at 2-under 214. Despite his 2-over-par performance on Monday,Retro Football Shirts, sophomore teammate Emilio Cuartero finished in a three-way tie for 10th at 215.

Junior Brad Moody (13th) and senior Nick Wilson (18th) also had good performances for the Tigers. Missouri freshman Wilson Sundvold made his collegiate debut and finished the tournament 58th. The former Rock Bridge standout claimed a second-round 73.

The Tigers are set to play next Sept. 12 and 13 at the Michigan Wolverine Intercollegiate in Ann Arbor,Celtic shirt, Mich.

The Missouri women’s soccer team fired 21 shots at the Iowa State goal, only to watch them hit the posts, hit the crossbar or fail to elude Iowa State goalkeeper Jo Haig. It was a frustrating end to a frustrating weekend for the Tigers,l.a.galaxy shirt, who fell to Iowa State 2-0 at Audrey J. Walton Soccer Complex.

Going into the contest, the Tigers were looking to avenge Friday’s 3-1 loss to Kansas, and they started well.

“We had so much intensity coming in,” senior forward Jennifer Nobis said. “And we needed to be the ones to score first.”

The Tigers stalled, though.

“We’re hitting the post, we’re missing,” coach Bryan Blitz said. “To be honest with you, we’re not good enough, we’re not efficient enough. You look at every game we play, we’re creating opportunities and we’re just not capitalizing on our opportunities at this point.”

Missouri fell to 5-8-1 and 2-4-0 in the Big 12 Conference, while Iowa State improved to 6-7-0, 3-2-0.

The Tigers outshot Iowa State 21-20, but Missouri managed 13 shots on goal to Iowa State’s eight. MU has consistently outshot its opponents throughout the season with 17.6 shots per game to its opponents’ 12.1., but the Tigers have only scored 15 goals to their opponents 23.

“We’re obviously getting the shots off,” sophomore forward Aria Hudetz said. “It’s happened to us in a number of games where we’ll get like 20 shots off, but we’re struggling on finishing. It’s hard because we’re practicing that at practice, and it’s still not coming through for us very well.”

Missouri and Iowa State were even for most of the first half, with neither side dominating for long. At the half, the score was tied at zero and the teams had nine shots a piece, but six of Missouri’s shots were on goal.

The game stayed even until five minutes into the second half when Amy Flores, Iowa State’s junior forward, made it past the MU defenders and scored unassisted. The final blow came when Cyclone freshman Brittanie Waddell headed the ball into the goal off Renee De St. Aubin’s corner kick. Junior Jennifer Nobis led Missouri with seven shots, but the Iowa State defense seemed prepared for her. Blitz said he thinks opposing teams focus on Nobis, the Tigers leading scorer with six goals.

“I would if I were them,Celtic shirt, and it’s working,” Blitz said. “Our other forwards aren’t producing at this point and haven’t produced all year long. It’s unfortunate that she’s got to carry the load, and one person can’t do it.”

The Tigers’ defense played well again. With Iowa State continually pushing the ball into the Tigers’ end of the field, the Tigers thwarted most threats with Laura Buehrig making six key saves.

“I think the defense did a great job,” Blitz said. “I think it’s unfortunate that they’re under so much pressure right now … our defenders are carrying us at this point and keeping us in games.”

As the team prepares for next weekend’s road trip to Texas A&M and Texas,Glasgow Rangers shirt, Blitz said he will consider a change to Missouri’s lineup if he thinks it will improve the offense’s ability to finish.

“We’re certainly not in rhythm up front,” Blitz said. “We need to look for different options I think.”

Sophomore midfielder Elyse Nikonchuk said she thinks the team’s problems might be mental.

“In practices, we will kick each other’s butt and we will tackle hard,” Nikonchuk said. “We will do anything to win the ball against each other, but when it comes down to the field I think that it’s more about heart,Lyon shirt, not necessarily where everybody’s playing and what everybody else needs to do. It’s all about heart.”