2008 Woodie Awards
Can someone explain to me why Shawn Merriman is on Nike commercials? Merriman, if you remember, tested positive last season for using human growth hormone, the same drug Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds are accused of taking, and was suspended for four games. Less than a year later, one can see Merriman blasting through would-be blockers and taking out ball carriers in his new Nike commercial.
For the third week in a row, the Southwest Baptist University Bearcats set themselves up with a chance to bring home a road victory, and for the third week in a row, the Bearcats fell short, this time a 35-28 loss at the hands of the Emporia State Hornets.
Junior Michael Pierce is not exactly unknown in the MIAA. He was all-conference as a sophomore and looked like the best bet to become Southwest Baptist's number-one runner in 2007 after the departure of T. Jay Sanderson. Despite his previous accolades, Pierce had his coming-out party this past weekend at the Missouri Southern Stampede.
It was a beautiful, clear day for soccer and the Southwest Baptist Lady Bearcats made an even clearer statement, they are for real and only getting better. The 'Cats came out and dominated the game from the beginning. They took the lead on Northwest Missouri in the 29th minute when junior Amber Vasquez put a flick on a beautiful pass from sophomore Caitlin Tull and the ball found the back of the net.
In total it was 17 matches, five games and well over 2,000 miles, but the Southwest Baptist Volleyball team finally comes home to show the University the changes that lie ahead for their program. The Bearcats started the fourth week of the regular season with a crippling loss to MIAA rival Northwest Missouri State in three games.
Baseball is a crazy game, plain and simple. I do not know any other sport on earth where the mental aspect of the game affects a player's ability to perform even the simplest tasks e.g. throwing a strike, or getting a hit. It seems to me there is no other sport where an individual can so enormously affect a team, whether positively or negatively.