NAIA Academic Awards Given to WPU Bowlers

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Rick Watts

(OSKALOOSA, Iowa) – Eight members of the William Penn bowling teams recently received national academic recognition as the NAIA Bowling Coaches Association released its all-academic team.

David Decker (So., Peyton, Colo., Physical Education), Aleksander Kostric (Fr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management), Rok Kostric (Fr., Koper, Slovenia, Sports Management), and Alex Mitterer (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) were men’s honorees.

Nicole Craft (So., Wakefield, Neb., Physical Education), Abbey Fangman (Fr., Waterloo, Iowa, Elementary Education), Kaylee Gerken (Jr., Dubuque, Iowa, Elementary Education), and Bailey Palmer (So., Ottumwa, Iowa, Undecided) earned laurels on the women’s team.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must have a Grade Point Average of 3.5 or higher.

-This information was sent in a news release from William Penn University Athletic Communications.

Tiger Woods Still Brings Ratings Gold For Golf

Posted on March 13, 2018March 13, 2018 by Rick Watts

NBC saw a record 5.11 overnight rating on Sunday for its 3PM – 6PM coverage of the final round of the Valspar Championship. You know…the one in which Tiger Woods came within one stroke of winning for the first time since 2013?

Oh, and that overnight rating was the best rating for a non-Major PGA Tour event since the 2013 Players Championship.

And Sunday’s final round was also the best-rated golf telecast (other than The Masters) since the 2015 PGA Championship.

NBC Sports also saw a record 3.26 overnight rating on Saturday for its coverage of the third round. It was the best-rated Round 3 of a PGA Tour event on any broadcast network since 2006, and the best rating for the Valspar tournament in its history—an eye-popping 181% gain over Round 3 of the event last year.

And golf can look for Tiger’s successor all it wants, but those Saturday and Sunday numbers were all without Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy, who both missed the cut after Friday, and the number one ranked golfer in the world Dustin Johnson who sat this tourney out.

They all tuned in to see if Tiger.

Because when Tiger is competing on Sunday, nothing else can.

Source: Yahoo! Finance; Photo: Tiger Woods Facebook Page

Titans To Release RB Demarco Murray

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Rick Watts

Remember how Titans running back Derrick Henry really stepped up this past postseason? He helped lead the Titans to that incredible come from behind 22-21 upset win over the Chiefs in the AFC Wildcard game.

Yeah well…it looks like he stepped up into the number one running back slot as well.

Because the man he replaced in that game, DeMarco Murray – who was nursing a sore knee – will now be dealing with some hurt feelings as the Titans have announced that they’ll be releasing Murray.

To review, Murray joined Tennessee for the 2016 season after his worst season ever with the Philadelphia Eagles and picked up where he had left off with Dallas juts one season earlier, rushing for 1,287 yards, nine TD’s and a third Pro Bowl selection.

But the significant number he hit last year was the dreaded running back age of 30, and like most, that was when everything really stared to decline.

Starting with his health, as a banged-up Murray gained just 659-yards while averaging a career-low 3.6-yards per carry this season.

And that’s when Murray took over down the stretch reminding us that while great QB’s often play into their late 30’s, the running back spot is a young man’s game.

Source: TitansOnline.com

Patriots To Go Without Defensive Coordinator Next Season

Posted on March 7, 2018March 7, 2018 by Rick Watts

When Patriots’ defensive coordinator Matt Patricia—the man who helped lead the team to three Super Bowls—left this offseason to take over the head coaching job in Detroit, many said nobody could replace him.

And it looks like those people were exactly right.

Because the Patriots coordinator next season will be, basically…nobody.

While linebackers coach Brian Flores will assume play-calling duties, he will not be promoted to defensive coordinator. In fact, that position will be vacant for the Patriots next season.

But hey, it’s not like Flores can’t climb the ladder and someday be as good as nobody. Because that’s exactly how Patricia got the gig.

“The move mirrors New England’s grooming process of Patricia, who was given defensive play-calling duties for the Patriots following the 2010 departure of [Dean] Pees,” says Yahoo! Sports. “New England’s former defensive coordinator Patricia’s title was not officially promoted to defensive coordinator until 2012.”

Yup, Pees left after the 2009 season and it wasn’t til two seasons later that Patricia actually named DC on 2012.

Sure looks like patience paid off for him…. Patriots fans hope it will for Flores as well.

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Sergeant Bluff-Luton Poses Interesting Challenge to Osky Boys

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Rick Watts

The State Boys’ Basketball Tournament begins next week at Wells Fargo Arena and for the first time since 1996, the Oskaloosa Indians will be present.

The hype for this team all season has been State-Or-Bust, but now that they’re there, the Osky faithful would love to see them grab a win to move one step closer to a state championship.

It has been a while since the Indians have been at state, but their first opponent overcame an even longer drought last year during an improbable run.

Sergeant Bluff-Luton ended a 77-year state tourney drought in 2017 as they entered the action at Wells Fargo Arena with a record of 15-9. Their first opponent was Little Hawkeye Conference team Pella, who came into the tournament as the #3 seed.

Those facts are eerie, as SB-L comes in once again on a roll, entering The Well with a 15-9 record. They are once again playing a Little Hawkeye Conference team with over 20 wins in Oskaloosa, who happens to be the #3 seed.

Oskaloosa hopes the identical comparisons stop there, as the Warriors upset Pella in the quarterfinals last season, 66-55, ending the state title hopes for the Dutch.

Six seniors have departed from Sergeant Bluff-Luton since last year, including the two leading scorers from that magical run. SB-L eventual would lose in the state championship game to Cedar Rapids Xavier, 54-49.

The hunger to get back along with excellent play down the stretch has led to another surprising state appearance for a team that hadn’t broken through the glass ceiling for multiple generations.

Despite a fairly modest 15-9 record, analytical site BCMooreRankings.com has SB-L ranked 9th in Class 3A, sporting the 6th toughest schedule of all 3A teams. Their participation in the rugged and large Missouri River Athletic Conference certainly helped them in the postseason.

By contrast, Oskaloosa goes into the tournament ranked #4 by BCMoore with just the 31st toughest schedule in the state. The Indians have played well against new foes, however, as their only loss against a team they were playing for the first time was on the road against Dubuque Wahlert in overtime back on January 13th.

If you’re curious, the top three teams ahead of Oskaloosa in the BCMoore rankings are Cedar Rapids Xavier, Mount Pleasant, and Glenwood, all of whom are at state. Xavier and MP are the #1 and #2 seed, while Glenwood is seeded 4th.

The game is slated to begin at 4:30 PM on Tuesday, March 6th. You can hear the broadcast from Wells Fargo Arena starting around 3:30 PM on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app. Emery Songer and Doug DeKock will be calling the action.

The winner of the battle between Osky and SB-L will move into the state semifinals Thursday afternoon against either Mount Pleasant or Waverly-Shell Rock.

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