There’s a lot to look forward to as far as the winter sports season is concerned.
The conclusion of the NFL season, college hoops and high school basketball and wrestling have taken center stage.
With four games left in the regular season, three on the road, how will the Rams finish?
Whether they go 4-0, 0-4 or somewhere in between, this team is much tougher and much more competitive than in recent years.
One thing I’ve learned about Jeff Fisher is he can really coach.
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I’m looking forward to the Mizzou-Illinois basketball game Dec. 22 in St. Louis. Both teams are off to good starts and are nationally ranked.
You just get the feeling that the Tigers need something else. They need something or somebody to give them an extra push.
And that somebody could very well be Jabari Brown, a 6-5 guard who was a five-star recruit coming out of high school.
Brown had a cup of coffee with Oregon before transferring to Mizzou. By all accounts, he can really score. He’ll be eligible to make his first appearance Dec. 17 against South Carolina State, the game before Illinois.
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Speaking of college sports, the 1969, ’70 and ’71 Northeast Missouri State University football teams will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Wednesday in Kirksville.
The Bulldogs won the conference MIAA championship three consecutive years from 1969-71 under the leadership of Russ Sloan.
A total of 13 players from Washington, 11 from Washington High School and two from St. Francis Borgia, played on the Northeast team during that period of time.
Borgia players were Dale Gildehaus and Joe Feltmann.
Washington players were Ken Bebermeyer, Jim Gephardt, Deon Johanning, Dave Fleer, Steve Wilmesher, Tom Bueker, Tim Hayes, Mike Curran, Bill Harman, Dave Hoffmann and Rodney Ford.
Also on those teams was Greg Wilson, former Washington School District superintendent.
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Washington probably is the area’s best and deepest wrestling team. The Blue Jays finished second at the Westminster Tournament last weekend.
St. Clair keeps rolling after winning the Principia Tournament last Saturday.
Union and Pacific are a little beat up, but both should be strong teams as the season moves along.
Hopefully Borgia can get its program up and running in the right direction.
In boys basketball, congratulations to Borgia Head Coach Dave Neier for his 600th career win. That’s an amazing accomplishment.
You can bet the Knights will win plenty of games this season.
Washington has been seeded fourth in the powerful 16-team Meramec Tournament, which starts Dec. 26.
Only CBC, Hazelwood Central and DeSmet are seeded higher. This will be a great chance for the Blue Jays to show everyone what they have.
Pacific was picked to win the Four Rivers Conference by the league’s coaches, which is a good choice.
St. James will have something to say about that. The Tigers are 4-0 after winning the Potosi Tournament last weekend.
New Haven, Hermann and Sullivan all are off to good starts. Union will only get better. St. Clair is the best winless team in the state.
In girls basketball, the FRC once again is loaded.
Hermann (Montgomery County), St. Clair (Clayton) and St. James (Potosi) already have tournament championships in their back pockets.
Those three teams, along with Sullivan, currently are unbeaten.
Union is 4-2 after placing second last week at the Orchard Farm Tournament
Pacific finished third last week at a good Marquette Tournament. Both the Lady Indians and New Haven are 3-1. Owensville is a team that will be heard from.
Not to be overlooked is Borgia and Washington. Both teams lost their openers, but both have talented players who will help produce wins.
