SECTION
C SPORTS October 8, 2010
Friday
Reporter-Herald
NICE TO KNOW Don Larsen, who turned 81 in August, and Roy Halladay had almost identical numbers in their postseason gems. Larsen struck out seven in New York’s 2-0 victory in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, and Halladay had eight Ks and one walk Wednesday. The 54th anniversary of Larsen’s perfect game is today.
Lions’ share
Despite struggles, McDaniels doesn’t regret trading Hillis
MV gets best of Eagles in heated crosstown match By Mike Brohard Sports Editor
Take the emotion of a rivalry and factor in the evening is going to lean a bit toward the physical side in the nature of play on the pitch. In that environment, a quick first step is no more important than having the speed to chase down chances. Thursday night, Mountain View High School’s boys soccer team had both in a Prep soccer match that MVHS 2, was important in terms TVHS 0 of Northern Conference play, but much more so because the 2-0 victory they enjoyed was posted against Thompson Valley at Patterson Field. There was pushing, and a bit of shoving, some hard slide tackles and emotional play — aspects both sides said they anticipated in a crosstown matchup. What neither really expected was a goal 1 minute, 15 seconds into the contest. It was beautiful, too. Without the ball staying too long on one foot, Mountain View worked it down the field on a counter attack, and when Seth Bratten took control in See Soccer, Page C3
Reporter-Herald/STEVE STONER
Thompson Valley High School’s Quin Scanlon (28) and Mountain View’s Blake Christensen battle for control of the ball in the first half of their game at Patterson Stadium.
Reporter-Herald/STEVE STONER
Mountain View High School senior Talisha Veach (43) is congratulated by her teammates Thursday after hitting a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning against Thompson Valley. The Mountain Lions won, 2-1.
Uplifting MV’s Veach homers to stop TV’s upset bid By Kyle Koso
Assistant Sports Editor
T
alisha Veach helped the Mountain View High School softball program solve a thorny problem a year ago, stepping into the demanding job at third base when Plan A was scuttled because of another player’s academic issues. Thursday, the Mountain Lions senior put to rest another stressful development, lashing a home run over the left field fence for the winning run in a 2-1 victory against Thompson Valley at the MVHS field. That closes the regular season with the Lions sitting at 11-3 in the Northern Conference and 16-3 overall, which should get them a tasty seeding when the Class 4A district brackets are announced Sunday. The Eagles (7-7 NC, 9-10) are likely turning in their uniforms at this point, but they gave Mountain View plenty of trouble and were in position to spring the upset. Veach, who had driven in the team’s other run with a single in the first inning, didn’t have the prettiest swing on her home
WHAT A START TO THE SEASON
Above, members of the 1996 Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup team reunite Thursday for their 15th anniversary before the season opener between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Colorado Avalanche. At left, center Paul Stastny celebrates a power-play goal during the second period. Stastny scored two goals, including the game-winner 3 minutes, 40 seconds into overtime, to lift the Avs to a 4-3 victory over the defending champions. Chris Stewart and Matt Duchene also scored.
Prep softball
Mountain View 2, Thompson Valley 1 run, but good contact was good enough. “I ended up turned, facing right (field), and I ended up hitting it over the fence on this side. I was trying to wait on it, but it’s hard,” she said. “I went from the outfield to third last year, and that was really scary. These are high school girls, and they hit hard. I played there in the summer and got more practice. Now, I’m ready.” Mountain View’s other vital asset Thursday was pitcher Tori Bellington, who allowed five hits and struck out 12. After misplaying a bunt attempt that put runners on first and second with one out in the sixth, she came back to strike out the final two batters. The break before districts on Oct. 16 comes at a great time for the Lions, who are down several players because of injury, including the lineup’s
Sports Writer
WINDSOR — Andrew Loewen knew his time was short on Thursday night. He had 30 minutes of ice time to show what he could do, which was 30 minutes fewer than the Odessa 7, rest of his Colorado Colorado 3 Eagles teammates in their preseason game against Odessa. With four goalies on the team’s training camp roster, COMING UP Loewen knew he Odessa was getting time and Saturday, he wanted to seize it 7:05 p.m. with both hands. 107.9 FM Stepping between the pipes with Odessa leading, 5-2, in the second period, Loewen played it calm and collected, even though a lot was riding on the night’s perfor-
Larsen congratulates Halladay MINNEAPOLIS — The course of Roy Halladay’s life changed forever Wednesday when he threw only the second nohitter in postseason history. Take it from someone who knows. “I think about it every day, and I can’t help that,” said Don Larsen, who threw a perfect game for the Yankees in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. “It’s the best thing that ever happened. And it made me a few dollars over the years, too. I can’t complain about it a bit.” Speaking from his home in Hayden Lake, Idaho, the 81-year-old Larsen said he wasn’t aware of Halladay’s feat until he turned on the news Thursday night. And he was more than happy to welcome Halladay into his exclusive club. “Pretty damn nice,” Larsen said. — McClatchy-Tribune
See Softball, Page C2
Eagles shake off rust as goalies vie for jobs By Adam Dunivan
Associated Press photos
usual leadoff hitter and center fielder, Ashlee Dennis. “We didn’t finish as strong as we like. We never made any adjustments today; very easily, Thompson Valley gets another hit, and we’re done,” said MVHS coach Randy Felton, whose team dropped a tough game to Silver Creek on Tuesday that ended hopes for the NC crown. “But we made it to the playoffs, and that’s No. 1. We get a few people healthy. ... The girls are pretty excited.” Thompson Valley pitcher Delaney Duncan carefully maneuvered through the home team’s batting order, getting a huge boost from senior classmate Alex Hunt’s heroics at shortstop. Duncan also had her keen eye at the plate, hitting a two-out single in the fifth to score Hannah Thollot and tie the game. “(Now), it’s the what-ifs ... what if that pitch had been different, what if we’d batted differently,” said Delaney, who had to take the brunt of the pitching chores in 2010 and had to do it through injuries as well. “It was tough at times, against the harder teams. But
ENGLEWOOD — Josh McDaniels has never been shy about shedding some of the players he inherited from Mike Shanahan’s star-studded offense. With Kyle Orton leading the league in passing and a half-dozen of his targets already in double digits in catches, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of angst among Denver Broncos fans over the departures of Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler. Given the Broncos’ woeful running game, however, McDaniels is drawing plenty of scrutiny for his decision to trade backup tailback Peyton Hillis to Cleveland this spring. Hillis has the Browns’ ground game in high gear while the Broncos are ranked last in the NFL in rushing, making what was a rather minor trade one of the hottest topics in the league at the quarter pole. So, was the answer to the Broncos’ running woes right under their noses all along? Not a chance, McDaniels insists. “We’ve talked a lot about that. Again, Peyton was a good person, a good player and he’s in another place right now and, you know, whether he would be effective here or not, that would be speculation on our part and everybody else’s,” McDaniels said. “And I wish him the best, but we’ve got to focus on what we’ve got here.” Hillis said he hopes McDaniels doesn’t get bashed for trading him to the Browns. “Hopefully, he doesn’t take too much heat, because he’s a good coach, and he’s doing a great job for that organization.” — AP
mance. A couple of shots snuck past him in what turned out to be a 7-3 loss at the NoCo Ice Center. But he still came out of the dressing room smiling after a servicable performace. “Knowing that I was going to get in there, I just wanted to have fun. That’s what I like to do, smile, have fun, stop the puck and try and win,” said Loewen, a rookie from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who starred at Canisius College. “It was just exciting to get in there.” Loewen came in quietly after a couple fights broke out in the second frame, and he quietly remained solid well into the third period. He was tested once with a flurry of shots with about 11 minutes left in the final stanza, and he stood tall in a frantic period of time. The goals he allowed? Well, one came on a 2-on-1 breakaway and the other came on a quick wrister from the left circle. Shots he still felt See Eagles, Page C4
New York pitcher Don Larsen throws his perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
No. 7 Nebraska opens its final Big 12 campaign with a bang MANHATTAN, Kan. — Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns Thursday night as the seventh-ranked Cornhuskers ended a 99-year rivalry with Kansas State in the same lopsided fashion it began, thrashing the slower, outmanned Wildcats, 48-13. Martinez, the redshirt freshman who has rushed for 737 yards in his first five games for the Huskers (5-0), also threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Kyler Reed for a 38-6 lead in the third quarter. His rushing total broke Jammal Lord’s Nebraska record for a quarterback, and his four rushing TDs tied the team quarterback mark. He was replaced by Cody Green with almost 10 minutes left in the game. Martinez finished 5-of-7 for 128 yards as the Huskers piled up 587 yards total offense in the Big 12 opener for both teams. — The Associated Press