Fan Speak April16

Errors

CASEY KRAFT still is a freshman this year, not a sophomore as indicated in the April 2 story on the Southeast Missouri State women's soccer game at Savvis Center. Secondly, her name was spelled two different ways -- it's Kraft, not Craft. Thanks for the coverage. Go Redhawks! And please watch the spelling.

(The Southeast Missourian regrets the errors.)

Reward for 700 club

CONGRATULATIONS TO Southeast Missouri State softball coach Lana Richmond for her milestone 700th coaching victory. She is a class act, and it's good to see her program back on top of the OVC. How are the bean-counting administrators rewarding her program? She is getting a new locker room without shower facilities for her kids. The same goes for the women's soccer program.

Disappointed

IT IS disappointing to read the article concerning the Missouri High School Activities Association's penalties against Scott County Central coach David Heeb. Those involved from Bell City and Scott County Central should be ashamed. Apparently, they feel a winning basketball team is more important than teaching their students to obey rules and maintain moral standards. What an outrage it is that Scott County Central is treating the suspension as a "slap on the hand."

B.J. is a winner

AM I missing something? Southeast women's coach B.J. Smith couldn't get a contract extension after a 22-8 season in 2004-05, which was the best year in school history in Division I to that point. Then, the program has a better year and goes to the NCAA tournament. But athletic director Don Kaverman, who wouldn't support him last year, now says he is supporting him but still can't get the contract done. If Smith broke the rules or has other problems, we don't care. Winning is what is most important.

(Smith and the university reached an agreement last week.)

Good deals

KUDOS TO Southeast Missouri State for making excellent decisions to rehire women's basketball coach B.J. Smith and to offer the men's basketball position to Scott Edgar. This is something with which the community should be satisfied. Now, beef up the budget so these coaches can recruit the kinds of players to make the teams successful.

Public image

ONE WOULD think with the naming of a new basketball coach, the players would wear something more appropriate than gym shorts and T-shirts. Couldn't the athletic director had them in their warm up uniforms or at least tell them to dress up for the occasion? They looked sloppy.

Hall update

I HATE to beat what may be a dead horse, but a Central spokesman was quoted long ago in Fan Speak as saying talks for the revival of the school's athletic Hall of Fame were in the preliminary stages. I assumed that before the school year ended, there would be ample opportunity for members of the public to submit nominations for induction. Since the school year is in its last stages, it appears I assumed wrong. If the school district no longer wants to mess with what was a wonderful tradition, why don't the spokesman just say so?

(On Feb. 25, Central first-year athletic director Mark Ruark said preliminary discussions were taking place. When contacted Friday, he said he has spoken with several people interested in working on the project. The most important volunteers for the project are those who can commit to a long-term financial backing for the Hall of Fame, he said, to make sure it is successful years into the future. Ruark foresees an expansion of Tiger Alley and, in the long term, possibly the inclusion of Hall of Fame material at the various sports facilities built on the new campus. But those are long-range goals. He hopes to have more of the preliminary work on finances, a committee, and a process for nominations and inductions in the coming months. "My goal is to have it up and running for inductions in the 2006-07 school year," Ruark said.)