FanSpeak

A tale good for a laugh

THE RICKY Clemons story rivaled the funny page in laughs. What a genius to get 24 credit hours in one summer on such "hard" subjects. A word of advice to Mizzou's Board of Regents: If the coach didn't know the details of this charade, then he is grossly overpaid. I would send him back to school to take a few classes in finance, economics and ethics.

Going anti-Kerry

HOW DISAPPOINTING your paper is. We got the paper this morning and the Cardinals won last night, 3-2. Kerry Robinson hit a home run in the ninth inning. He's from St. Louis and went to Southeast, and what kind of picture do you put on the front? You put a picture of Sammy Sosa. Where is Kerry Robinson's picture? He deserves the credit. I guess your paper is like KFVS -- all Illinois. Where do we got to go to get Missouri news?

Color photographs for our news pages must be chosen by 9 p.m. daily, and Kerry Robinson's home run occurred later than that.

The time is right

I APPRECIATE you folks putting in the different stock car and race car events. The only thing is I'm having a problem trying to set up my VCR when you have the times in there with Eastern times instead of the Central time. It would be helpful if you would put them at the time they'll be on our local TV.

All times listed in our sports section are Central times. If you see an incorrect time, please contact our sports editor.

Clemons isn't alone

HOW MANY more Ricky Clemonses are there on college teams? How much money do these over-hyped athletes cost the universities? What good does it do to sign one, and then they end up not being able to play? How about getting a person with a little less talent but who can make decent grades, appreciates the opportunity to go to college and has a desire to learn a chance? Is that such a bad idea?

Stadiums aren't everything

I'M A Central graduate who still lives in Cape Girardeau, so obviously I'm a Tiger fan, but I loved the article on Jackson football being the only game in town. Jackson football is a great small-town tradition, and it's what all fall sports are about. But several people in this area need to read this article and that's administrators over at Cape and the administrator and athletic director up at SEMO. Cape and SEMO both have this misconception that to be a powerhouse in football and to really get things going you've got to have a new stadium. Well, go look at Jackson's football stadium. It's about the furthest thing from state of the art, but you can't find a better place to play football. Central, quit wasting taxpayers' money on something big and fancy that you won't even come close to filling. SEMO, keep the stadium you've got, quit complaining and put your money into education. And Jackson, good luck this year from a Cape fan.

One way to trim the fat

AFTER SEEING all the football pictures in the sports section of the paper, why does Jackson have 80 players and Central 38 players, but Cape has a better team than Jackson? This could be a way Jackson could save a lot of money, because it costs a lot for uniforms, food and transportation. Jackson has more players on their team than college teams have.

Anybody speak legalese?

IN THE Fan Speak on Aug. 31, you commented on the salary that one team has to pay the highest franchise player in a year, but my question is, what happens during that time? Orlando Pace held out for months trying to get a longer-term contract or something. Is he eligible for a contract with some other team, or does he have to stay committed to this one and maybe stay out a year and not play? Then what happens at the end of that year?

Pace has signed a one-year deal with the Rams, but the team isn't likely to discuss a long-term deal until after the season. As for details of franchise players and their contracts, a lengthy explanation is at NFL.com, but we'd suggest you bring along your attorney.

The punishment was fair

TO THE person who made the comment about the volleyball player who did not get punished: She was punished just as the baseball players were last spring. She got the same exact punishment, which was a two-week suspension. Also, it wasn't just the baseball players who got in trouble last spring. There were softball players and track members who also got suspended, and some were female. Scott City is not biased when it comes to punishment just because a person is male or female.

Rules are rules

THERE ARE rules for each sports team that every coach knows. When raising money the money goes to the team, not the coach. When at games, the coach is ultimately responsible to see the players and their actions are not illegal. However, when 85 percent of the parents and the coaches are gone well into morning this is not possible. This then becomes the manager's responsibility. I feel for the girls, but I assure you that if we acted like this, and our coach acted this way, we would have been sidelined. We represent our sponsors, family and community every day on and off the field.

Credit to MU and Illinois

I REALLY enjoyed your FB03 publication, especially the college edition. Quarterback Brad Smith is a warrior. And thanks for the Illini ink. Mizzou and UI should both improve on their 5-7 records from last year. Go Fighting Illini!