A superstar may have been born in Heat's revival

It would be hard to imagine a more dramatic turn of events than what transpired in the recently concluded NBA Finals.

After the Mavericks won the first two games in Dallas and led the Heat by 13 points with less than seven minutes left in Game 3, many people were talking about a sweep.

There was something of a sweep all right -- four straight wins by the Heat, ignited by that big-time comeback victory in the first of three consecutive contests in Miami.

While the Heat captured the franchise's first NBA championship, the series served as something of a coming out party for Dwyane Wade.

Miami's talented guard had already established himself as one of the NBA's top young players and among the overall better players in the league.

But the show Wade put on against Dallas elevated him to near-superstar status and sparked plenty of comparisons to the legendary Michael Jordan.

That's probably a bit premature, but Wade's performance against the Mavericks certainly ranks as one of the best in NBA Finals history.

Wade, making one big play after another down the stretch in Game 3, almost single-handedly rescued the Heat from what appeared to be a certain loss that would have all but clinched the series for the Mavericks.

And the former Marquette standout never let up. Wade scored 121 points in the three victories in Miami before capping his MVP performance with 36 points in the clinching Game 6 triumph in Dallas.

Sure, Wade probably got a few too many favorable calls from the officials, which sent him to the free-throw line way too much.

And there is no doubt that was a horrible call with 1.9 seconds left in overtime of Game 5 as Dallas -- leading by a point -- was whistled for fouling Wade on what appeared to be nothing more than a graze at best.

You hate to see such a huge contest decided by something like that, which is what happened, as Wade nailed both free throws.

But the bottom line is that the Mavericks had plenty of chances to grab control of the thrilling series but simply came up short far too often in the truly crucial situations.

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Math was never my best subject -- come to think of it, I don't know that I ever had a best subject, which tells you all you need to know about the kind of student I was -- so it's not surprising I goofed a bit when writing about Friday's doubleheader between the Capahas and Riverdogs.

I wrote that the Capahas had outscored the Riverdogs 33-1 in the previous three meetings between the local baseball teams, but that actually shortchanged the Riverdogs a bit because the correct total was 33-3.

One more miscue in that article: Instead of the Capahas now leading the all-time series with the Riverdogs 21-1, the actual mark is 22-1.

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You've got to feel for Kerry Robinson, the former Southeast Missouri State baseball star who must think he's on a roller coaster.

After starting the season with Class AAA Omaha and putting up impressive numbers, Robinson was called up by Kansas City and hit .274 while spending nearly three weeks as the Royals' regular center fielder.

Robinson returned to Omaha once an injured Kansas City player rejoined the team and he continued to perform well, leading to him being called back up by the Royals on June 16.

Less than a week later, Robinson was designated for assignment after the Royals traded for promising young outfielder Joey Gathright.

Other organizations now have the chance to claim Robinson, but if he clears waivers he'll probably be back in Omaha soon -- and hopefully he'll also return to the majors before too long.

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St. Vincent High School graduate Scott Pingel received a nice honor Friday night when the RiverCity Rage of the National Indoor Football League retired his No. 10 jersey.

Pingel is one of the best receivers in NIFL history. He was a three-time all-league selection, setting single-season NIFL records for receptions (118) and receiving yards (1,415) in 2004.

Pingel, who set numerous NCAA records while starring for Division III Westminster University in Fulton, Mo., is now a teacher and coach at CBC High School in suburban St. Louis.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.