COLUMBIA The Rock Bridge boys soccer team did not get off to a encouraging start when it begins its season with back-to-back losses last weekend at the Midwest Soccer Classic in Quincy, Ill.

“Every season starts with a clean slate,Atletico Madrid shirt,” Bruins coach Kyle Austin said. “We were disappointed after losing the first two games. Nobody likes to lose. But we know were young and we know at times we will suffer.”

Not pushing too hard seems to be working. The Bruins won their final game of the tournament to go 1-2, then they won their home opener Tuesday. Matt Kelly scored the lone goal in Rock Bridge’s 1-0 win over Rolla that evened the Bruins’ record at 2-2.

“It was the best game of the season so far,Juventus shirt,” Austin said. “We dont have any season expectations yet. Right now,AS Roma shirt, were just trying to improve every game.”

Rock Bridges next game is set for 5 p.m. Friday against Moberly at the Moberly Shootout.

Austin lost a lot of experience from last years team, which had 12 seniors. This year,Paris Saint Germain shirt, the Bruins have seven seniors, only two of which were starters last year, making this years squad much younger than last years.

This years captains are Brady Wulff, Ryan Taylor and Danny Baird and other key players include Kelly and Sam Stoeckl.

If you are a newcomer to archery and have recently bought a compound bow there are several things to bear in mind. Safety is the paramount of any sport and hunting or archery is no different.

The number one rule with anything with this amount of power is: If you are afraid,Werder Bremen shirt, do not use it. You need to be comfortable with the equipment you have in your hands,Glasgow Rangers shirt, and this applies to bows as well as power tools and high powered saws and garden equipment.

The best place you can practice with your bow is at a shooting range, as these will have barriers and guidelines already set out. It is never acceptable to practice on your backyard since your house is too close together to someone elses – you can never be too sure where your arrow is going to land. This applies to any other open area although if you must shoot in an open wood of forest make sure it is away from public footpaths and it is somewhere that people rarely go; even then tape off your shooting area and make sure there is enough roughage around behind your target to catch any stray shots. If you are at a range and other people are walking towards their bull,Porto shirt, never ever take your shot.

Making sure you never harm someone else should always be a priority. Never shoot where there may be a risk involved. However,Paris Saint Germain shirt, you also have a duty to protect yourself.

At all times, wear protective clothing. An arm guard and a long sleeve shirt at the very minimum will help to keep you injury free. If you shoot without them you are more than likely to take some skin off you arm or hand and you will not be able to shoot again for a while. Long hair can also get in the way so you should be wearing suitable head hear or have it tied back at the very least.

If you are concerned about general safe practice with compound bows you should consider taking a safety lesson. These are often free at shooting ranges or at the most cost $10 and you will learn all about the safety measures involved. If you learn the proper skills from the start which includes this, you will be a better archer – or hunter – in the long run.

COLUMBIA — On any given weekday during the basketball season,Juventus shirt, Kevin Bryant walks into Douglass High School about the time most students are leaving. On days after a Douglass game,Sevilla shirt, he brings a tape of the game with him for the coaches and players to review. Bryant has been taping the games for the Douglass Bulldogs for the past four seasons. But his involvement with the team goes beyond just filming.

Bryant is the father of Douglass senior Landon Boone. He is the security director at the Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center, and he usually stops by basketball practice on his way home from work.

“I’m there to do whatever the coaches need to have done,” Bryant said.

He has certainly been true to his word by helping the program in the offseason. Bryant has coached many of the Douglass players in various summer basketball leagues since they were in middle school. Alsohe has coached them in AAU competition, the Sturgeon summer league and he even had them play in the adult division of the Moonlight Hoops league in the summer at Douglass Park because he thought it would make the team better.

“I try to push them to give 100 percent all of the time,” Bryant said.

His players agree.

“He just doesn’t give us a break when he coaches us in the summer,” Brandon Gleeson, a Douglass junior, said.

However,AS Roma shirt, Bryant’s efforts to help the team aren’t limited to coaching in the summer.

“He is our biggest fan,” said Boone, who says that Bryant is a catalyst in building a sense of community around the team and within the team.

At last season’s senior night game, Bryant had shirts made that read “Douglass Bulldogs” on the front. On the back they read “Family Grows, Plays and Stays Together.” Every two weeks or so, Bryant will have the team over to his house for dinner and to watch game tapes or play video games.

“To me, Douglass Basketball is like a big family,” Bryant said.

Bryant has also done a lot of one-on-one training with his son, especially in Boone’s first three years of high school. He admits, though, he has backed off the personal training with his son a little this year.

“I figure that if he doesn’t have it by now, he isn’t going to get it,” Bryant said.

It is safe to assume that Boone does, in fact, have it. He has scored more than 1,000 points in his high school career.

Bryant plans to see his son go on to play college basketball,Paris Saint Germain shirt, but he also wishes to see the other Douglass players and the team as a whole succeed. He is sure to be found filming games from the stands, just to lend a hand at the rest of the Bulldogs’ games this season.

The Tiger track and field team canceled the Missouri invitational that was slated for Saturday. Officials said the cold forecast, with a possible low of 25 degrees,South Africa football shirt, was the reason for the cancellation.

The Missouri baseball team’s series with Kansas State, in Manhattan, Kan.,Paris Saint Germain shirt, will now start at 3 p.m. Friday because of similar weather concerns.

MU SOFTBALL: First baseman Amanda Renth was recognized as a top 25 finalist for the Amateur Softball Association’s collegiate player of the year award. Renth is hitting .347 this year with 12 home runs and 45 RBIs.

ROCK BRIDGE GIRLS SOCCER: Blue Valley Northwest beat Rock Bridge 4-1 on Wednesday. Lauren Kelly scored the only goal for the Bruins off of a cross from Erin Bucko in the second half.

ROCK BRIDGE BASEBALL: The Bruins defeated Warrensburg 2-1 on Wednesday. Jordan Adrian got the win over the No. 2-ranked (3A) Tigers,Bordeaux shirt, and Nate Hall had the winning hit. Jordan Nietzel saved the game for the Bruins and had two hits. Ben Martin started the game and threw five no-hit innings in a no decision.

LAWRENCE, Kan. Like father, like son? Deshaun Sands can only hope.

The University of Kansas freshman knows if he’s going to follow in his father’s footsteps, he’d better step lively and he’d better step fast. In the Jayhawks’ game against archrival Missouri back in 1991, ol’ dad,Glasgow Rangers shirt, Tony Sands, carried the ball an NCAA-record 58 times for 396 yards No. 2 in NCAA annals.

Now Deshaun Sands is ready to begin his own career as a Jayhawk running back, beginning Saturday night in the season opener against North Dakota State.

MoreStory

• More about Deshaun Sands

Tony Sands was an undersized running back for the Jayhawks from 1988-91 and on Saturday he’ll be in the stands watching as his son begins his career. He earned the nickname “Tuxedo” by showing up for games in formal attire.

“Man, I just get goose bumps thinking about it,” Deshaun Sands said. “I’m going to be out in front of 50,000 fans, my first time, I’m just nervous.”

Deshaun Sands will likely split playing time with sixth-year senior Angus Quigley, who is back atop the depth chart after playing linebacker this season. Kansas’ leading rusher from 2009, sophomore Toben Opurum, switched to linebacker in mid-August and the Jayhawks lost junior running back Rell Lewis to a season-ending injury around the same time.

The openings in the depth chart gave Deshaun Sands a shot at a larger role in the offense.

The differences between Quigley and Deshaun Sands are obvious. At 6-foot-1-inch, 231 pounds, Quigley is a big, powerful back. Deshaun Sands is built more like his dad at 5-foot-7-inches, 190 pounds.

“They’re different backs, there’s no question about that as far as their style of running,” coach Turner Gill said. “I think we want to get a sense on the field for both of them in a football game.”

Deshaun Sands compares his style to his father’s quick and low to the ground.

“I play a lot like him,” Deshaun Sands said. “We don’t have the same attributes, but you can see on the film that he played a lot like me. He was able to get through the holes and find space to move.”

Gill said nothing about using Quigley and Deshaun Sands in specific situations. In practice, they’ve both gotten the same repetitions on the same plays.

Besides the contrast in style, Quigley and Deshaun Sands have had different mentalities through practice, senior offensive lineman Brad Thorson said. Quigley, a team captain in his sixth year, has been focused on developing the team as a whole while Deshaun Sands came into camp trying to prove he deserved a spot near the top of the depth chart.

“Angus carries himself as a sixth-year guy would, and Deshaun carries himself as a redshirt freshman,” Thorson said. “He wants to prove a lot to us.”

Just taking the field this weekend after sitting out last year with a redshirt is a dream come true for Deshaun Sands. But he won’t be satisfied with simply playing the occasional down. His goal through the whole offseason has been earning a central role in the offense.

“I think a lot of people expected him to be a situational back,Paris Saint Germain shirt,” Thorson said. “But that’s not what he wants to be. Deshaun wants to be an every-down type of guy.”

At least for Saturday, he’ll be sharing most of the on-field duties with Quigley. True freshmen Brandon Bourbon and James Sims may get playing time as well.

“We’re going to take it week-by-week,Retro Football Shirts, and we’re going to play the best guys,” Gill said. “Whoever gives us the best chance of being successful, that’s what we’re going to do.”

Whether that means a competition for the top spot or not, it hasn’t stopped Quigley from reaching out to Deshaun Sands.

“We’ve been having talks through the weekend. He’s been asking me if I’m ready,Birmingham shirt,” Deshaun Sands said. “I mean, 50,000 people. Who wouldn’t be ready for that?”

Dave Christensen is staying at Missouri, for now.

The Tigers’ offensive coordinator withdrew his name from contention for the Central Michigan head football coach position on Wednesday.

“I am grateful to Central Michigan for the consideration they have given me,Dortmund shirt, but I am committed to the University of Missouri and our kids,” Christensen said in a release.

Christensen mentioned an “exciting future” for the football team and his family enjoying Columbia as reasons he decided to withdraw his name.

Christensen interviewed with Dave Heeke,Paris Saint Germain shirt, Central Michigan’s athletic director, and another school representative on Dec. 17 in Kansas City. He said a day after the interview that he had a good visit, but he wasn’t told how he did or who the other candidates were.

“I wish Central Michigan nothing but the best, but the search process was taking long enough to where I feel it is now time to move forward,” Christensen said.

Christensen is in his sixth year as offensive coordinator at Missouri. Though the Tigers lost to Oregon State 39-38 in the Sun Bowl on Friday, Christensen had one of his better games as the team’s play caller. The Tigers set a Sun Bowl record with 561 yards of total offense and the team used multiple trick plays including tight end Chase Coffman’s touchdown-pass to wide receiver Tommy Saunders and directly snapping the ball to receiver Jared Perry and tight end Martin Rucker.

Missouri returns eight starters on offense next season including Chase Daniel,Retro Football Shirts, Tony Temple, Will Franklin and Coffman. The only starters the Tigers lose are receiver Brad Ekwerekwu and offensive lineman Mike Cook and Joel Clinger.

Brian Kelly, Central Michigan’s coach during the regular season, became Cincinnati’s head coach on Dec. 4. The Chippewas beat Middle Tennessee State 31-14 in the Motor City Bowl on Dec. 26. Jeff Quinn,Kaizer Chiefs shirt, Kelly’s associate head coach, was the interim coach for the bowl game.

Carly Sullivan takes a breath during the women’s 200-yard butterfly finals at the MU Recreation Center on Sunday. Sullivan placed seventh in the butterfly, eight events after placing second in the women’s 1,Peru football shirt,000-yard freestyle. (SARA DEBOLD/Missourian)

Imagine swimming the last part of a 40-lap, 1,000-yard race. Your legs feel like they’re full of cement, and your body feels like it’s on fire. It’s not over yet, though. There’s still another race to swim later.

Such are the lives of Missouri distance swimmers like freshman Colleen Gordon and Dylan Lynn. Gordon won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races Sunday morning in final day of the Mizzou Duel challenge. Her victories came a day after setting a school record in the grueling 1,650-yard freestyle in 16 minutes, 43 seconds Saturday evening against Iowa and Drury University.

Lynn placed second in the 1,000-yard freestyle Sunday morning, a day after finishing first in the 500-yard freestyle Saturday morning. Not surprisingly,Paris Saint Germain shirt, he was a little sore, but said he feels the worst after a long race.

“The second I hit the wall, it hurts really bad,” Lynn said. “My legs are burning and stiff and sometimes my feet go numb when I swim a lot.”

Distance wasn’t even suppose to be part of the plan for Lynn. He was recruited to Missouri as a short distance sprinter, but he said that all changed over the summer.

“I made the mistake of swimming fast in the 400 freestyle and the coaches moved me up to distance,” Lynn said with a laugh.

Despite the pain, the Missouri men’s and 25th-ranked women’s teams swept their opponents in individual dual meets against Louisville, Iowa, Drury University and Southern Illinois at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.

For Gordon and Lynn,Lyon shirt, the high level of endurance comes from an intense training regiment. During a typical week,Sevilla shirt, Gordon said she swims around 80,000 yards, while Lynn said he typically swims around 8,000 yards a day. Gordon said after frequently swimming long distance events in high school, she is use to the work.

“Distance is very mental,” Gordon said. “You have to hold the same pace. Some days you’ll be totally on it, and some days you won’t be.”

To help keep the right pace, swimmers in longer events look to outside help from coaches. Trying to catch glimpses of hand signals from the coaches serves as a good indication of their place in the race. Although Lynn said he normally uses how he feels as a good pace setter, he sometimes relies on seeing if his coaches have their hands above their head, which signals he is doing well.

Teammates also serve as good source of help. “Counters” at the end of every lane are responsible for dipping a sign underwater that shows what lap the swimmer is on so they don’t forget.

For Missouri coach Brian Hoffer, the weekend offered a good chance for his swimmers to compete in multiple events, and he was pleased the team did well against talented competition. With the various events his swimmers participated in, he said he noticed fatigue was becoming a factor toward the end of the meet. However, he added that his swimmers are extremely fit and will get some rest with a day off Monday.

“They’re very elite athletes, so they’ll recover pretty quick,” Hoffer said.

When the boos came cascading down on referee Curtis Shaw after he called the foul that put Marshall Brown on the line to hit the deciding free throws with 1.8 seconds, it didn’t surprise former referee Charles Greene.

He’s seen it many times in his 35 years of officiating, 19 of which were spent refereeing Division I basketball.

Although he’s retired from refereeing,Sunderland shirt, he’s currently an observer for the Big 12 conference, monitoring the referees at every Oklahoma men’s basketball game.

“Basically an observer is a critiquer,” Greene said. “We don’t give any opinions,Paris Saint Germain shirt, we just report as to what we have seen at the ball games. I look at the whole ball game, nothing in particular. How it’s administrated, whether officials were in position and all of those sorts of things.”

After the fans booed Shaw on calling a foul in the corner on a chaotic play where Gray bumped into Brown as he was shooting, Greene offered his take after the game.

“You have to have guts if you are going to officiate,” Greene said. “If whatever is there is there and you make the call and you’re not guessing and you’re in position then that’s just part of the job.”

Since Greene was at the opposite end of the court on the same side as the play, he didn’t have a clear view

Please see Notes,Wales football shirt, page 4B

continued from page 1B

of the play but he offered his take on the situation.

“I didn’t see that play real good so I really don’t have an opinion. Let’s say for arguments’ sake that the person (Gray) did foul, now would it have been fair for Missouri if the foul hadn’t been called? There are two sides to every story.”

Like most college referees, officiating was a side job to Greene who worked in many levels of education from a classroom teacher to an administrator.

His experience in tense situations officiating offered him good experience for his jobs in education.

“It teaches you how to communicate with people and how to be patient,” Greene said. “You know it helped me in my profession when I was working because I was always dealing with people who were upset and emotional.”

SNEAKEY SOUTHPAWS:It’s only natural to become accustomed to guarding players a certain way, which usually means shading a player to his the left-hand.

The match-up against the Sooners offered a somewhat unique challenge for the Tigers guards, as Oklahoma starting guards Nate Carter and Terrell Everett are left-handed.

Tigers guard Jimmy McKinney acknowledged the challenge the match-up presented the pair of southpaws presented.

“It’s always hard to guard left-handed ball players because it’s awkward,” McKinney said. “There are things that they do that you haven’t seen before.”

Thomas Gardner said playing against a backcourt with two left-handers is very rare and that he had to make adjustments as they game went on as far as shading Oklahoma’s guards to their right-hand.

McKinney said a match-up earlier in the year with UMKC’s Quinton Day, a left-handed point guard, helped the Tigers corral Everett,Villareal shirt, who was averaging 10 points and 6.5 assists.

“I think it helped because how quick Quinton Day was, what type of shots Quinton Day was shooting, I think it really helped us guard Everett,” McKinney said.

Everett finished with 11 points and seven assists on 4-of-11 shooting, and Carter finished with nine points and three assists on 3-of-7 shooting.

ST. LOUIS — Matt Leinart’s broken collarbone put Kurt Warner back on the first string. It also gave him a chance to relive the glory days.

Warner produced three touchdowns against his old team, one in his typical relief role and two more after Leinart was hurt late in the first half of the Arizona Cardinals’ 34-31 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

“You never like to see anybody go through that stuff and be put into a position because of an injury,” Warner said. “But at the same time, I love to play,Newcastle United shirt, I’m excited to play, and I have to pick up where he left off and try and keep the seat warm for a while.”

Rod Hood returned an off-target pass by Gus Frerotte 68 yards for an easy go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Warner and Edgerrin James scored controversial touchdowns on short runs, helping the Cardinals (3-2) win for the third straight season in their former home base.

Frerotte made his first start since the end of 2005 in place of Marc Bulger, who has two broken ribs, and threw three touchdown passes for the Rams (0-5). St. Louis entered the game with only four opening-day starters in their usual spots and had went 32 drives without a touchdown before Frerotte’s 16-yard TD pass to Drew Bennett on the first play of the second quarter.

But Frerotte also threw three interceptions, and his gaffe on a pass intended for Randy McMichael led to Hood’s jaunt with 13:47 to go.

“That was a backbreaker for us,” Frerotte said. “I think our team wins the game if I don’t make that mistake.”

Another pick by Al Wilson led to a clinching 7-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald with 3:11 to go that made it 34-23.

The Rams made it a three-point game on an 11-yard pass from Frerotte to McMichael with 13 seconds to go, followed by a conversion pass to Torry Holt. Fitzgerald, who caught nine passes for 136 yards to offset the absence of injured Anquan Boldin, recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Fakhir Brown had two interceptions in his season debut for St. Louis after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, one of them in the end zone to thwart an Arizona scoring chance. Rookie Brian Leonard, subbing for injured Steven Jackson, had 102 yards on 18 carries

The game was only the second to be blacked out on local TV since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995. Announced attendance of 61,788 was about four thousand shy of capacity,Valencia shirt, with the empty seats likely at least doubling that total.

The Rams are 0-5 for the second time this decade, also beginning 2002 with a Super Bowl hangover after a last-second loss to the Patriots. It’s tied for the second-worst start in franchise history, trailing only an 0-6 beginning in 1962.

“I never thought we’d be 0-5,Paris Saint Germain shirt,” Brown said. “I just can’t believe it right now.”

Warner got a noisy ovation from fans, many of them standing in appreciation for the quarterback who won two MVP awards and helped the franchise win its only Super Bowl in 2000.

“Not very many guys get to come back to an opposing stadium and receive a standing ovation, so I love the people here,” Warner said.

The second half was his show, with Leinart standing on the sideline in T-shirt, shorts and his left arm in a sling. After the game, coach Ken Whisenhunt said Leinart would be out indefinitely with a broken collarbone.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to be,Sevilla shirt,” Whisenhunt said.

Both of the Cardinals’ second-quarter scoring drives came on disputed plays.

Warner closed the half with a 1-yard sneak for a 17-13 lead, a bonus play after the clock had expired. Officials ruled a defender kicked the ball as the Cardinals hurriedly lined up for another play after James was stopped short on first-and-goal from the 1 on a play that began with 14 seconds to go.

James scored on a 5-yard run, lunging with the ball in one hand and fumbling into the end zone after apparently getting stopped short. Officials first ruled Cardinals lineman Reggie Wells recovered a fumble in the end zone, wrestling it from St. Louis cornerback Jonathan Wade.

Rams coach Scott Linehan challenged the play, which was later reversed to a James touchdown. Referee Gerry Austin told a pool reporter that a subsequent replay angle showed that James’ elbow was down before the ball came out and that play should have resumed with a third-and-goal from 1.

On the kicked ball call, Austin said another official reported that at least two defensive players made contact with their feet, one of them deliberately.

“You can go on all you want about the calls,” Linehan said. “We didn’t do enough to win.”< Notes:@ Rams rookie DT Adam Carriker blocked a 39-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter by Neil Rackers. … Fitzgerald secured his 11th career 100-yard game in the first half. … Rams S Jerome Carter fractured his right foot in the second half. … Rams OG Richie Incognito made his first start since recovering from a high ankle sprain in the preseason.

Something was different, and it took several innings for the Missouri softball team to adjust.

The pitches from Radford, the defending Big South champions, were considerably slower, which caused the Tiger hitters to swing too early. The pitches ranged from 55 to 60 mph. Typically the team is used to seeing pitches in the upper 60s and lower 70s. After about six innings the Tiger hitters were able to make adjustments, and they started making better contact. The adjustment helped propel the Tigers (8-2) to a 7-6 victory against Radford in 10 innings in their final game of the 2010
Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.

“Their pitchers throwing that slow was definitely a source of frustration,” said Missouri coach Ehren Earleywine by phone. “We didn’t adjust to well, it took us awhile.”

Junior Abby Vock
picked a great time for her first hit of the season. In the bottom of the tenth inning, the game was tied at 6. With the
bases loaded and one out, Vock, who had been hitless in 13 at bats this season,Glasgow Rangers shirt, sent the game-winning hit into center field.

“I just tried to stay back on the ball and hit it into right field,” Vock said by phone. “It is a really good feeling to win a close
game like that.”

Missouri pitchers,Juventus shirt, Jana Hainey,AS Roma shirt, Lindsey Muller and Chelsea Thomas, did not issue a walk. They gave up 10 hits, including four home runs. Thomas (6-1) got the win pitching six innings and striking out seven batters.

The game went back and forth,Paris Saint Germain shirt, with neither team leading by more than a run. In the sixth inning, with the game was tied at 3, utility player Gina Schneider hit her first home run of the season to give the Tigers the lead. In the seventh inning, Thomas was two outs away from securing the victory before giving up a solo home run to Radford pinch hitter Meredith Moore to tie the game at 4 and send the game into extra innings.

“I was really surprised at how well they (Radford) were able to hit the ball,” Earleywine said.

The Tigers ended up winning all five games in the 2010 Leadoff Classic.

“There are a few things we need to address on offense, but we are still finding ways to win,” Earleywine said.

The Tigers will end their 12-game road trip Wednesday when they
travel to Edwardsville, Ill., to play a doubleheader against
SIU-Edwardsville. The first game will start at 2 p.m.