KFDM COOP

Should hear tonight or tomorrow.

Hopefully someone will report these scores later.

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Changes for Oswalt and the Astros It was a busy offseason for Roy Oswalt, who somehow managed to convince his father, a lifetime logger in Weir, Miss., to retire his chainsaws. The day that Oswalt signed his five-year, $73 million contract last summer (which went from being a criticized market-setting deal to a bargain in about two months), he had promised that he would convince his 59-year-old dad to do something else with the rest of his life, rather than continue in a very dangerous line of work. The Oswalts are known to be a stubborn and independent family, but Roy and his mother worked diligently, and lo and behold, Billy Oswalt is no longer logging professionally. At 59, he is thinking about doing something much easier, like fencing 200 acres and tending to a herd of 75 beef cattle. And Roy Oswalt is back in Astros camp, the leader of a very different Houston rotation, thinking about how to ways to make himself better. Oswalt and the Astros' pitchers and catchers worked in the bullpen Friday, amid the surprisingly cold wind of Kissimmee, Fla. Oswalt is fussing with a changeup, a pitch that he wants to employ particularly against right-handed hitters. Last year, the Mets' Tom Glavine demonstrated that pitchers could have success aiming changeups at the inside corner, destroying conventional wisdom that it is a bad idea to throw changeups in that spot. "If I get it inside, they'll foul it off," said Oswalt, who threw his change to college hitters in January. Oswalt noticed that even with less bat speed than most major league hitters, the collegians still were ahead of his changeup and yanking it foul, a good sign. "I'm going to tinker with it in spring training," he said. Andy Pettitte is not here with Oswalt, and neither is Roger Clemens. Two lockers down from Oswalt, newcomer Jason Jennings dressed, and across the clubhouse, on the other side, were some of the candidates for the open spots at the back end of the Houston rotation. Astros manager Phil Garner had watched them all throw and wanted to downplay what he saw, with reason: He doesn't want them overthrowing this early in camp, in this cold. "I don't want to be impressed right now," he said. "It's not a good time to be impressed." Garner spoke to Jennings for the first time, and recalled what he had seen of the right-hander when he pitched against the Astros. "He's got good movement on his fastball, throws the ball down in the strike zone. He looked like he was not just throwing out there on the mound -- he looked like he was in charge on the mound." The Astros' expectation is that a couple of their young pitchers will emerge to create stability in the rotation behind Oswalt. Wandy Rodriguez has a lot of experience but has been inconsistent. "Typically, he can have an inning where he'll give up three or four runs," said Garner. "And if he can get away from that, he can be pretty good."

Keep checking the UIL sticky above.

Saturday Feb. 17th Brookeland @ Deweyville 10am Buna at Orangefield 10am Bridge City at Lumberton 12 noon

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OK the regular season is over, pick a game of the year!!!

Lady Dogs capture shootout By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News PORT NECHES -- If Nederland's girls ever have captured a victory in a shootout before Friday night, it's an accomplishment that escaped Julie Johnson's memory. That's the extra moments needed for the Lady Bulldogs to seize the District 20-4A girls soccer lead but they seemed worth the wait for Johnson. While the shootout counted as a tie in the 20-4A boys standings, it counted as a very important win or loss in the girls standings. The Nederlanders found the necessary ammunition from Megan Melancon, Lauren Matt and Logan Matt to win the shootout 3-0 and capture the win over Port Neches-Groves, 2-1 at frigid Indian Stadium. Nederland improved to 11-1 and 8-0 with its goalkeeper Heather Hussey producing three or four extremely important saves. PN-G moved to 10-2 and 7-1 and received an equally impressive goalkeeping display from Marquis Horn. "That's the first shootout we've ever won that I can ever remember," Johnson said. "If we have won before now, it was a long time ago. It was back in the 90s sometime. "I don't know that we played badly but I thought we would score more than one goal. I felt we had some really good moments of ball control. We had shots that hit the crossbar." Shoved back by the extra time to finish the boys shootout -- won by PN-G -- the girls game did not start before 8:15. It continued until after 10:30 with the 80 minutes of regulation ending at 1-1. The girls played two 10-minute overtime periods before Nederland started first in the 35-yard shootout. Taylor Havard of Nederland and Michelle Morgan of PN-G missed on the shootout's first round. Nederland's lone scorer in regulation play, Melancon booted home the first Lady Bulldogs goal in the shootout. After Hussey kept PN-G's Emily Pacetti from scoring, Lauren Matt made it 2-0. After Hussey rejected Brittany Ansel's bid, Logan Matt made it 3-0, putting the shootout out of reach. Melancon scored the game's first goal about 10 minutes into the second half following a scoreless first half. Pacetti assisted Marissa Elam, who tied the game at 1-1 on a goal with eight minutes left in regulation. "We kept getting behind their defense," a disappointed PN-G coach Aimee Bates lamented afterwards. "I feel like we had about three chances in situations where we had the ball at our feet. That was the time to finish it and our shots went right to the keeper. One time they had a great chance and it hit the crossbar. "I thought the first half was pretty much 50-50. I thought they (Nederland) dominated about the first 15 minutes of the second half and we dominated the rest of the second half. It was pretty much 50-50 in both overtimes." The 2006 District 20-4A Most Valuable Player, senior Brittney Fruge attended a volleyball competition in Las Vegas on Friday and did not participate. Senior Marquis Horn delivered an outstanding performance as goalkeeper. Bates indicated that Horn divided chores during the shootout with sophomore Breane Martin. Nederland will play a non-district game on 5:30 Tuesday at Klein Forest while PN-G will travel to Silsbee on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Dishon, Bean dazzle at Bulldog Relays By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News NEDERLAND -- Faster than a speeding bullet... more powerful than a locomotive... able to be more Cajun than any Boudreaux or Thibodeaux in Southeast Texas. Anyone doubting the validity of Johnny Dishon's true Superman identity needed to attend Nederland's 43rd Bulldog Relays on Friday afternoon. Little Cypress-Mauriceville's Drew Bean ran a sub-9:30 season-opener in the 3,200 meters but that takes a backseat. Even Beaumont Central's Derrick Hall may stay on the shelf for several weeks while mending a broken leg. Yet the spotlight shifts quickly to Dishon. Here was Bridge City's version of Clark Kent dressed in one of these red aerodynamic jumping suits and just having fun. This wasn't a super-important, special occasion as it had to be for most of these more dedicated high school track and field athletes. This was Dishon's other spring sport... his diversion... his hobby, if you will. Dishon's real spring sport is baseball, of course. His baseball scholarship to Louisiana State University proves that to be true. Plus, Billy Bryant always works morning, noon and night to make BC a state-caliber 3A baseball program... which leaves Dishon to really devote a great deal of time to his other athletic endeavor. "I only get in one or two hours a week of practice," he said with a very straight face and sincere delivery. That's not too much for a guy with a meet schedule that includes a leg in the sprint relay, a triple jump, a long jump, 100 meters and 200 meters. That's not exactly dabbling at track, but Super Johnny finds a way. Remember, this young man of steel once survived a car wreck that looked horrific. Then he came out and went off-season football, track and baseball last spring. The guy truly belongs among the most amazing athletes Orange County has ever produced. "Last year at our meet, he had not triple jumped all season and he came out and did 42-2," Port Neches-Groves boys head track coach Kyle Segura said of Dishon. Dishon looked in mid-season form, jumping into the afternoon sun at this frosty cold initial outdoor area checkup. He won the event in 44-3 3/4. Plenty of good area athletes will be hard-pressed to produce that long of an attempt when the weather warms up. The weather also turned ideal for Bean, the 4A state cross country boys champion, who clocked a workmanlike 9:27.38 in the boys 3,200-meter run. Drew wanted to cut under Lance Parker's school record of 9:32. He also hoped he had enough endurance to dip under 9:30. He did both and clearly labeled himself as the area's most likely elite distance runner to absolutely nobody's surprise. "I just wanted to run relaxed and get the school record," he said. "I had not run any times in the 3,200 to know where I would be. I've just been getting in my work. I felt really good today. I hit my splits evenly but I'm still waiting to get out there in a big race and see what I can do." Bean covered the first half in a machine-like 2:18 and showed excellent respiratory control at 4:41.5 through the first mile. Then he turned it up a notch and started passing the slower trailers in the field. The more his coach David Guidry watches Drew, the more he's impressed. "That's the best I've seen him look," LC-M's outstanding track coach said. "He really has been working hard. He has set some high goals for himself and he works to achieve them. You wait 30 years of coaching to get to see someone like this. He's really dedicated." While Dishon and Bean were superb, Central coach Andrew Washington and many sprint observers were wondering if Jaguars junior Derrick Hall would answer the bell next month or even be ready in April for the 22-4A district championships at this same Nederland venue.

Lumberton strolls past La Marque Lumberton outscored La Marque 40-17 in the first half to secure a 68-47 victory in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs at Barbers Hill High School. "We are very excited about winning our first playoff game," said Charles Wilson, whose team beat La Marque in a tournament game last December. "We came out aggressive and ready to play in the first half, and I am happy with the results." Lumberton (24-7) moves on to play Crosby in the regional quarterfinal round at a time and place to be determined next week. Crosby beat Lamar Consolidated 43-38 on Friday night. La Marque, which finished in second place in District 23-4A, ends the season at 17-15. "We came out like we wanted to win tonight," Wilson said. "We did everything right in the first half. I was a little disappointed with the second half of play. We didn't begin the second half the same way." La Marque missed three consecutive shots and had four turnovers in the first quarter that allowed the Raiders to gain a 10-point lead at the end of the period. The absence of La Marque's leading scorer in the first quarter also helped things as well. Marissa Ashton didn't enter the game until the second quarter. By then, Lumberton had a 23-13 lead. Courtney Wilson led the Raiders attack with 13 points in the first quarter. The Raiders, who are ranked No. 18 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll, went on a 17-4 run in the second quarter to end the first half with a 40-17 lead. The Raiders' pressure defense forced La Marque to turn the ball over six times in the period. The Cougars also struggled offensively, missing five shots in the final two minutes of play. "I thought we played our best game of the season tonight," said senior post Courtney Wilson. "We worked together as a team and we were patient with the ball. We worked the ball around until we got an open shot and that helped us in the game." La Marque was able to cut the lead to 10 points in the third quarter after a 16-4 run. Lumberton had three turnovers and missed five consecutive shots during the run that allowed the Cougars to come within a 44-33 deficit. After a timeout by Lumberton, the Raiders outscored La Marque 7-5 in the final minute of the third quarter to hold onto to the lead. Courtney Wilson led all scorers with 27 points. Hayden Furlow had 12 points, and Chelsea Pickering had 11. La Marque's Jaleesa Allen was the only player in double figures with 15 points. "This was a big win for us," Wilson said. "We just have to continue to play smart." Orangefield girls 62, Columbia 37 The Orangefield girls basketball team proved to be too much for Columbia to handle Friday night. Orangefield outscored Columbia 38-14 in the first half en route to a 62-37 victory in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs at Barbers Hill High School. Orangefield went on a 14-8 run in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Orangefield (27-7) moves on to play the winner of the Smithville-Cleveland game in the regional quarterfinal round at a time and place to be determined. Columbia ends the season at 30-1 overall. Kaylin Little led the Bobcats with 25 points. Kristy Sanders added 14 points. Columbia's Jade Davis had 17 points and Ciera Thomas had 12.

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Jaguar soccer team slips by Lumberton BEAUMONT - Horacio Cavallos scored two second-half goals as the Central boys soccer team outlasted Lumberton 5-4 at Babe Zaharias Stadium on Friday. Both teams entered the game undefeated in District 20-4A, but the Jaguars now stand alone at 9-0 in league play. Lumberton, meanwhile, drops to 10-2 overall and 8-1 in district. "It's real big," Central coach Tony Cox said. "It keeps us ahead of everybody and gives us a one-game lead over Lumberton. And it's great for the kids." Cavallos scored the go-ahead goal with 11:15 remaining in the second half to give the Jaguars a 4-3 lead. A little more than five minutes later, Cavallos struck again on a penalty kick that gave Central a 5-3 advantage with 6:09 left. Despite facing a two-goal deficit late, the Raiders never relented. Lumberton senior Jeremy Garza knocked in a header with 5:23 on the clock to slice the score to 5-4, where the game remained the rest of the way. Central, which improves to 9-0-2 overall, struck first in the contest. Fernando Uribe kicked in a score from left of the goal at the 35:08 juncture of the first half. The Jaguars then pushed their lead to 2-0 when Algaidro Jiminez knocked in a goal from just in front of the net with 16:40 remaining in the first period. The Raiders received their first score of the game from freshman Wes Brackens with 15:30 on the clock in the first half. Bracken's score cut Central's lead to 2-1 heading into halftime. The Jaguars and Raiders will hook up for again in Lumberton on March 20 in both teams' final district game of the season. "We need to take care of business," said Cox of the Jaguars' next several games. "We need to take it one game at a time and hopefully we can keep winning like we're doing."

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East Chambers claims No. 1 playoff seed in District 24-2A BEAUMONT - Three games were needed to decide first place in District 24-2A between the Kountze and East Chambers boys basketball teams. And for East Chambers, the third time did the trick, as the Bucs took home a 74-66 victory over Kountze in the Montagne Center on Friday night. East Chambers outscored the Lions by eight in the second half and made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 1:37 of the fourth quarter. The No. 6-ranked Bucs are 30-7 overall, and the win breaks the first-place tie as both teams finished the district with 11-1 records. East Chambers won the first meeting 65-60 in Winnie. The No. 5-ranked Lions took the second meeting 71-67 in Kountze. On Friday the score was tied at 32-32 at the half, but the Bucs ended the third quarter with a 13-5 run to take a five-point lead heading into the final quarter. Guard Tramain Thomas led the Bucs with 23 points, while Preston Gulliory added 17. Kountze guard Freddie Haynes scored 14 points, and Devin Bray and Fred Boykins each added 13 points for the Lions. "Our guys played extremely good defense," East Chambers coach Hank Hargraves said. "We were in foul trouble the whole game, and for the first time, our bench stepped up against Kountze. I've never been more proud of our kids." Kountze will begin the Class 2A playoffs next Wednesday or Thursday, while East Chambers earns a first-round bye.

Great showing Coach. You guys will go along way. Good luck.

Scuffing baseball tops MLB rules changes NEW YORK -- A major league position player who scuffs or defaces a baseball would be ejected and receive an automatic 10-game suspension under changes approved Friday by the sport's playing rules committee. Previously, the penalty was to call the pitch a ball and warn the player. For pitchers, umpires have the discretion to issue only a warning if they determine the pitcher's actions weren't intended to alter the characteristics of a pitch. As part of the first changes to baseball rules since 1996, the committee approved a recommendation from general managers to largely eliminate tie games. Before this year, when an official game was called due to weather and the score was tied, the statistics counted and a new game was replayed from the start. Under the change, when a game is tied in the bottom of the fifth inning or later and is called because of weather, it will be suspended and resumed before the next scheduled game between the teams at the same ballpark. If no more games remain between the teams at the same ballpark, it will be resumed when the teams meet at the visitor's ballpark. If it is the final scheduled meeting between the teams, it will be replayed from the start if it is needed to determine a postseason berth. Under another change, a player may no longer step into a dugout to catch a foul ball. He still will be allowed to reach into a dugout. A batter running to first base also will be allowed to exit the 3-foot lane in foul territory ``for the sole purpose of touching first base,'' and a batter will lose the ability to run to first on a dropped third strike if he leaves the dirt circle around home plate unless he does so while trying to reach first base. Previously, a player could run to first until he reached the dugout or his defensive position. Another change is, a batter who hits an apparent game-ending home run with less than two outs would be allowed to circle the bases if a runner ahead of him doesn't continue to home plate, thinking the game is over. If there are two outs when the play begins, however, the runner who abandons trying for home plate would be the third out and the home run would not count. Another change allows pitchers to wear a multicolored glove if the umpire determines it isn't distracting. And a pitcher in the stretch position instead of a windup with no runners on base no longer will have to come to a complete stop. With no runners on, a pitcher will be required to pitch within 12 seconds, the timing starting when the pitcher is in possession of the ball and the batter is in the batter's box, alert to the pitcher. In addition, several changes were made to the scoring rules. Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

3rd i believe.

Go Cats!!

I agree!! Lumberton wins!

West Brook - 43 Humble - 36

66-58 EC wins.

Got to go with Lumberton.

EC Wins!

Chireno 52 Broaddus 47 Jacob Jackson 15 pts Caleb Jackson 15 pts Broaddus played awesome defense tonight. They are very well coached and use their size effectively. Chireno represent 23-A as the first place team. Broaddus represents 23-A as the second place team. West Sabine represents 23-A as the third place team.