HIGH SCHOOL WRAPUP

SOCCER
At the Second District Soccer Championship, Marshall County claimed the girls title with a 4-0 win over Murray High behind Margaret Thomas hat trick, and Graves County won the boys title with a 3-0 win over Murray High. At the First District Tournament at Lone Oak, Heath beat Tilghman 2-0 for the girls title and Heath defeated Tilghman for the boys title 3-0. All eight teams advance to the regional tournament next week..In the fourth District, Caldwell County won the boys title with a 4-2 win over Trigg County, and the Caldwell girls claimed the title as well with a 2-1 win over Trigg

VOLLEYBALL
Two more teams in the first region claimed district volleyball titles last night. Community Christian won the Third District championship, beating Graves County at Ballard Memorial 25-23, 25-16. Carlisle County beat Fulton City 25-23, 22-25, 25-22 to claim the First District Volleyball Championship.

MARTIN CRUSHES TECH
UT Martin held Tennessee Tech to 171 total yards of offense and took advantage of four Tennessee Tech turnovers en route to a 35-7 victory over the Golden Eagles. Dontrell Miller had an interception, his fourth of the season, and a 60-yard fumble return for his fifth defensive touchdown of the season. Brandyn Young scored two first-half touchdowns and rushed for 107 yards on 21 carries.

RACERS GO FOR THREE IN A ROW
Murray State leaves for Alabama today where they will face Jacksonville State tomorrow. Saturday’s battle pits two 2-1 teams, as Murray State and Jacksonville State are currently tied for fourth in the standings. The two teams have played each of the last five years, which marks JSU’s tenure as a member of the OVC. Murray State won that inaugural matchup, 23-17 in overtime, but Jax State has won each of the last four years, with three of the four decided by more than three scores. Last year the Gamecocks won 40-24 in Murray. You can hear the game at 3:30 on 1340 WNBS and Froggy 103.7

WILLIAMS NAMED TO BUCHANAN LIST
Murray State senior Nathan Williams is making the most of his final year of college football as the linebacker is putting together one of the finest seasons in Racer history. Williams is one of 16 players named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch list. The Buchanan Award honors the best defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivions. The award is named after Junious "Buck" Buchanan, the NAIA All-American and Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman who played for Grambling State from 1959 through 1962. Williams leads all of college football with 105 tackles.

LAKERS AND TIGERS AT HOME TONIGHT
Both local high schools are at home tonight. Calloway County welcomes Mayfield to Jack Rose Stadium on a night when the Lakers honor local community heros, faculty, and staff. All area law enforcement, firefighters, and military will get in free. Kickoff is at 7:30...Murray High goes for its fourth straight win as they battle Fulton County. It's senior night for the Tigers, and the final home game at Ty Holland Stadium for the 2008 regular season. Airtime with Jeremy Bell and Travis Turner is 7pm on 1340 WNBS. In other games tonight:

Marshall County at Daviess County
Graves County at Madisonville
Henderson County at Apollo
Paducah Tilghman at Allen County
Lone Oak at Reidland
Heath at Halls
Union County at Crittenden County
Webster County at Caldwell County
Trigg County at Christian County
 

RACER SOCCER CAN CLINCH TITLE WITH WINS
The Murray State Soccer team has a big weekend in which they can accomplish something that no Racer team before them has done, that is win the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship. The Racers have won their first four league games and travel to Morehead State for a 6 p.m. this evening game and then Sunday will wrap up the Death Valley trip with a 12 p.m. game at Eastern Kentucky. MSU can clinch the OVC title if they can win both matches.

MSU VOLLEYBALL AT HOME TONIGHT
After spending two weeks on the road the Murray State volleyball team returns to Racer Arena for three home matches. This weekend the Racers (7-11, 4-4 Ohio Valley Conference) will finish up the first round of OVC play when they take on Southeast Missouri tonight at 7. The second round will then start Saturday when MSU hosts Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m.

LAKER BACKBOARD CLUB SCHEDULES MEETING
The CCHS Backboard Club will hold a brief meeting regarding the sale of basketball chair seats in the North Section on October 27, at 6 p.m. in the media center of the high school. If you held seats for the 2007-2008 season, in this section, or if you are interested in purchasing a seat if available, you will need to attend this meeting and be prepared to pay for the seats this night. Any seats left unspoken for after this meeting will go on sale per the backboard clubs guidelines.

ROMAN TO COACH AT SEMO
Southeast Missouri State University Interim Athletic Director Cindy Gannon announced the appointment of men's Assistant Basketball Coach Zac Roman as acting head coach effective immediately. Roman was selected to serve while Head Men's Basketball Coach Scott Edgar is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an NCAA investigation.

MIDCON INKS MARSHALS
Mid-Continent University’s baseball program has signed five Marshall County players for the 2010 season — catcher Brantley Barrett, third baseman-pitcher Tyler Johnson, second baseman Kody Charlton, outfielder Cameron Kimball and pitcher Kyle Courtney. Coach Shawn Yarbrough also hired two assistants — former Murray State outfielder Tyler Pittman and former Community Christian coach Matt Smith.

TITANS READY FOR CHIEFS
The Titans take the NFL's last unbeaten record on the road this week as they travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Tennessee is 5-and-0 and coming off a bye in Week Six. The Titans have allowed a league-low 56 points this season compared to 131 by the Chiefs. Tennessee's last game was a 13-10 win at Baltimore in Week Five. Kansas City is also coming off a bye last weekend after getting hammered 34-0 at Carolina the week before. The Chiefs managed only 127 total yards against the Panthers, including 86 passing yards by Damon Huard. KC's lone win was at home against Denver in Week Four. The Titans won the last meeting 26-17 at Kansas City in Week 15 last season. You can hear the Chiefs-Titans game beginning with Titans Pre-Game at 11am Sunday oln ESPN 1130 The Office.

NATIONAL SPORTS REPORT

American League Championship Series
-----------------------------------
The Tampa Bay Rays will have to wait if they are to win the American League
pennant, as the Boston Red Sox staved off playoff elimination by erasing a
seven-run deficit in a miraculous 8-7 win over Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the
American League Championship Series. J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer in the
eighth inning and the game-winning RBI single in the ninth inning, while David
Ortiz belted a three-run home run for the Red Sox, who scored eight times in
the last three innings to send the series back to St. Petersburg. The Rays
still lead the series, three games to two, but this is familiar territory for
the Red Sox. They are 8-1 in elimination games under manager Terry Francona
-- 8-0 in ALCS elimination games -- thanks to the historic rally from down 3-0
to the New York Yankees in 2004, and last year's comeback from down 3-1 to the
Cleveland Indians. Boston's win Thursday is the second-biggest comeback
victory in postseason history, just behind the Philadelphia Athletics, who
rallied from down 8-0 to beat the Chicago Cubs in Game 4 of the 1929 World
Series. You can hear game 6 Saturday night after Racer Football at around 7:30
on 1340 WNBS


National Hockey League
----------------------
Boyd Gordon scored the game-winner late in the third period to complete a
four-goal comeback, as Washington defeated Pittsburgh, 4-3, at Mellon Arena.
Alexander Semin, Tomas Fleischmann and Michael Nylander skated on the same
line and combined to erase a three-goal deficit with each notching a goal and
assist for the Capitals, who extended their winning streak to three games.
Jose Theodore got the win by stopping 23-of-26 shots. Evgeni Malkin had a goal
and two assists while Alex Goligoski and Miroslav Satan also tallied for the
Penguins, who are 1-2-1 so far on a five-game homestand that ends Saturday
against Toronto. Marc-Andre Fleury couldn't survive a late rally and allowed
three of his four goals against in the third in facing 30 shots overall.

Elsewhere in the NHL:
---------------------
New Jersey Devils 1, Atlanta Thrashers 0
New York Islanders 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3 (OT)
Minnesota Wild 6, Florida Panthers 2
Vancouver Canucks 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (OT)
St. Louis Blues 6, Dallas Stars 1
Colorado Avalanche 5, Philadelphia Flyers 2


===

The Major League Baseball Players Association has reportedly found evidence
that team owners acted in collusion to keep former Giants slugger Barry Bonds
from playing in the majors this season. A report on MLB's web site cited
Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, in stating that it's not if a grievance will be
filed but when, and that the union has agreed with the commissioner's office
to delay the filing of such a grievance until an unspecified time. Baseball's
all-time home run leader at 762, Bonds sat out the entire 2008 season and
asked the union in May to consider filing a grievance after he was unable to
find a home as a free agent. A 15-year stint with San Francisco ended in 2007
when the team informed him he would not be returning. Bonds is still in the
midst of defending 14 counts of perjury and one obstruction of justice charge
in a case with ties to his alleged use of performance-enhancing substances
brought against him by the federal attorney's office in San Francisco.


=== NFL ===

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was back at practice Thursday and was
throwing despite a broken pinkie finger that was originally expected to keep
him sidelined for a month. Romo wants to play Sunday against the St. Louis
Rams, less than a week after suffering the injury during overtime of a game
against Arizona. He has had a splint placed on his right hand. Brad Johnson
took most of the reps with the first-team offense on Thursday and will get the
nod for Sunday's game if Romo is unable to play. The 40-year-old Johnson last
started an NFL game on December 17, 2006 with Minnesota. Cowboys head coach
Wade Phillips added that it would probably be a game-time decision on who
starts against the Rams.

===

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson will miss Sunday's game
against the Tennessee Titans. Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards said Johnson
broke team rules and that he will return for the October 26 game against
the New York Jets. Johnson, earlier this week, was charged with simple
assault. He has run for 417 yards and three touchdowns this season for the
1-4 Chiefs. That includes a 198-yard, two-TD performance in their lone win
of the season, 33-19, over Denver on September 28.

===

Steelers running back Willie Parker missed practice for the second straight
day on Thursday with a sprained left knee, and his status for Sunday's game
against the Cincinnati Bengals is uncertain. Parker suffered the injury during
Pittsburgh's 15-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on September 21 and has not
played since, missing wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The fifth-year veteran has gained 263 yards on 66 carries with three
touchdowns this season. The Pro Bowl running back returned to practice on
Monday, but aggravated the injury on Tuesday and has not practiced since.
Mewelde Moore would start Sunday if Parker can't go.

===

New Orleans Saints star running back Reggie Bush missed his second straight
practice on Thursday. Saints head coach Sean Payton rested the USC product,
who has been dealing with swelling in his knee, but expects him to be in
uniform on Sunday, when New Orleans (3-3) visits the Carolina Panthers (4-2).
Bush has rushed for a team-leading 239 yards and caught a team-best 41 passes
for 361 yards with eight total touchdowns, including three on punt returns.
Quarterback Drew Brees might have his two top receiving threats back for the
pivotal NFC South showdown. Wide receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jeremy
Shockey both took limited reps in practice for a second straight day. Colston
hasn't played since suffering a torn ligament in his left thumb in the season
opener, while Shockey has been recovering from sports hernia surgery.


=== COLLEGE FOOTBALL ===

The nation's longest winning streak ended Thursday night as the ninth-ranked
BYU Cougars were blown out in Fort Worth by the TCU Horned Frogs, 32-7, in
a Mountain West Conference showdown. BYU entered the week as one of only
10 Football Bowl Subdivision programs still undefeated, and had strung
together 16 wins in a row. The Cougars had also won 18 consecutive MWC
encounters regardless of location, a streak that began after the team bowed
to Utah in the 2005 MWC finale. It represented the longest such streak for
any team in the nation prior to Thursday night's loss. TCU barnstormed the
Cougars with a running game that racked up 240 yards and a defense that sacked
Max Hall seven times and held BYU to 23 rushing yards on 28 carries.


=== NHL ===

The NHL season is barely a week old and the first coaching change has already
occurred, as the Chicago Blackhawks fired Denis Savard and replaced him with
Joel Quenneville. The move comes after the Blackhawks notched their first
victory of the young season on Wednesday with a 4-1 triumph over the Phoenix
Coyotes on the heels of an 0-2-1 start. Savard, who spent 12 of his 17 NHL
seasons as a star center with the Blackhawks, had been the club's head coach
since November 29, 2006. He posted a record of 65-67-15, including a mark of
40-34-8 last season for the team's first winning campaign since 2001-02 --
which was also the most recent playoff appearance for the once-proud
franchise. Quenneville has a record of 438-283-118 in parts of 11 years as an
NHL head coach. He guided the St. Louis Blues from 1996-2004 and was dismissed
in February of the 2003-04 campaign as the winningest coach in franchise
history, then spent the past three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche before
taking a job with Chicago this September as a pro scout.


=== NBA ===

The Oklahoma City Thunder have exercised team options to retain the services
of forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green through the 2009-2010 season, the team
announced Thursday. Durant and Green, both top five picks in the 2007 NBA
Draft, are viewed as integral parts of the Thunder's rebuilding process.
Durant averaged 20.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in winning Rookie of the Year
honors, while Green contributed 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Both
players were selected to the All-Rookie first team.


=== COLLEGE BASKETBALL ===

Saint Joseph's University extended the contract of men's basketball coach Phil
Martelli on Thursday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the
new contract will keep Martelli on Hawk Hill through the 2015-16 season.
Martelli, who will be entering his 14th season as head coach, guided the Hawks
to a 21-13 record in 2007-2008 and their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in
his tenure with the school. In 13 seasons at Saint Joe's, Martelli owns a
record of 261-152, good for second all-time in victories at the school. He has
coached the Hawks to nine postseason appearances, including an NCAA Tournament
Elite Eight run in 2003-2004, as the Hawks went a school-best 30-2 and earned
a No. 1 seed in the tournament.