FanSpeak 11/10/02

Thanks for the memory

THANK YOU so much for the article on Heath Orr. Heath probably didn't tell the reporter as he was talking, but he was coming off a knee surgery in the spring so this was a phenomenal accomplishment for him.

Anything can happen

DAVID WILSON was not yet born the last time a coach came to Cape Girardeau promising big things for his program. The naysayers were laughing and would not accept the coach's boast of the "Biggest Show in Town," but before the first year ended Houck was packed for every game and the Indians were a Division II power. The rest, they say, is history. Think of this when you go to the Shumate -- oops, Show Me -- Center to watch the Otahkians this year. Never say never.

Nice job, Wildcats

I WANT to congratulate the Wildcats volleyball team from Leopold High School on their fantastic season. Leopold has an incredible school which excels in academic achievement as well as athletics. The parents, teachers and students have a lot to be proud of. Their school spirit is the envy of many other schools. Keep up the good work.

Something worth seeing

THANKS FOR publishing the pictures and names of the teams inducted into the Southeast Athletic Hall of Fame.

College football's best

IF SOUTHEAST football is on such a rise these days, I'd love to see them schedule some high-profile teams out of the SEC or maybe even the Big Ten. Yeah, I know those teams wouldn't come to Cape Girardeau, but I'd love to see how Southeast could do against some of the lower-level teams like Vanderbilt or maybe Indiana or somebody like that.

This is our town

REGARDING YOUR recent poll on the Web site about best sports towns, I'd vote for Cape Girardeau. We don't have any minor-league teams here, although Ihope we will someday, but we have good college teams, good high school teams, summer baseball, recreational sports and plenty to go out and watch. And if that's not good enough, we're close to St. Louis.

You left us out

I JUST got the Sunday paper and I was wondering who covered the cross country meets. Why did Oak Ridge and Advance go into detail as to how their players turned out when Meadow Heights took four out of 10 and not one name was mentioned or how they rated or anything else? I am really tired of Meadow Heights getting cut out of all things that possible as far as being in the paper. They do great things and no one acknowledges it.

We weren't able to attend those meets and relied on coaches to call in their results. Some coaches did not.

Worth a thousand words

IWISH you had more sports pictures from pro sports and college sports in the paper and on the Web site.

No soccer spotlight

YOU GUYS have done a great job of previewing the district matchups of softball and volleyball, and we've gotten district football ad nauseam. How about soccer? Both Central and Notre Dame were seeded first in their districts and are state-ranked in their respective classes. Seems like they deserve a little attention.

Good to see volleyball

I WOULD like to thank the Southeast Missourian for all the coverage it has given the high school sport of volleyball. You have done an excellent job of showing Southeast Missouri that there is such a thing as a female sport in the high school arena that people are very interested in hearing about.

Why even bother?

I AM totally disgusted with the Jackson sport program. You hold tryouts, but you've already got the team picked. It's the same kids every year. It's your friend's kid, your co-worker's kid, your fellow church member's kid. Every kid deserves a chance to do something. You coaches don't need to belly ache over the team having a bad record -- you're the one that picked the team.

Nobody's talking

I READ Speak Out every day. I've been waiting for inevitable comments about the Jackson-Cape football game and there really haven't been any. No gloating by Cape fans, no excuse making by Jackson fans, no anything. Except for one comment from someone who complained because the Central fans didn't wave at the Jackson fans across the field, said it's a long time tradition. But you know what, this shows a lot, the fact that nobody's been calling in and complaining and making accusations or gloating, shows a lot about the character of the fans in both of these communities. There's an intense rivalry and that's great. It makes both of the teams rise to their best. But this is great between the two communities. It was handled cleanly and fairly and everybody had a great time. I congratulate both communities and both teams.