Two letters of intent likely in the mail

After the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program signed Bell City High School senior Will Bogan on Wednesday, fans are probably wondering why the university has not yet announced the signing of the two junior college players who verbally committed to the Redhawks.

It often takes juco players time before all the paperwork gets done, since a parent has to sign the letters of intent and the parents generally don't live where their son attended junior college.

As Southeast Missourian sports editor Toby Carrig reported on semoball.com, shooting guard Kenard Moore from Marshalltown (Iowa) Community College signed his letter of intent Wednesday. Now it's just a matter of his mom or dad signing it and then getting it back to Southeast before it becomes official.

The same probably goes for wing player Jaycen Herring from Palm Beach (Fla.) Community College, who like Moore should have his signing officially announced by the university in the next several days.

So the bottom line for Southeast fans is that they shouldn't fret.

All indications are that Moore and Herring will join Bogan as new Redhawks next season.

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My thoughts and prayers are with Southeast football player T.J. Walls and his family as he will hopefully fully recover from the serious head injury he suffered during the Redhawks' April 7 scrimmage.

Walls, who redshirted last season during his first year at Southeast, also spent time this year as a member of the Southeast track team.

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Speaking of college football, two rules timing changes for this season -- reverting the rules to what they were in 2005 -- will make coaches happy.

Many coaches complained last year about new rules that started the clock on possession changes and on kickoffs as soon as the kicker touched the ball, which resulted in about 14 fewer plays per game in Division I-A, according to studies.

This season, like in years past other than 2006, the clock will stop on possession changes and won't start on kickoffs until the receiving team touches the ball.

Also this year, kickoffs will be made from the 30-yard line -- like in the NFL -- instead of the 35 in order to ensure more returns and shorter stoppages.

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The Southeast baseball team played what sounded like a great series last weekend against Jacksonville State as the Redhawks took two out of three to climb into a first-place Ohio Valley Conference tie.

I hated to miss it, but thanks to the marvel of modern technology, I listened to every pitch over the Internet from a hospital room.

I've got to hand it to River Radio for streaming every Southeast baseball game -- in fact, everything that airs on KGIR-1220 -- over the web.

What a tremendous service the station offers so people can listen to Southeast baseball no matter where they're at.

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Congratulations to the Southeast women's tennis team for making the OVC tournament, after losing out on a tiebreaker last year.

The Redhawks begin tourney play Friday in Nashville, Tenn.

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Central High School product Sean Bard is having a big rookie baseball season on the NCAA Division I level.

Bard, who spent the previous two years at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo., entered the week leading Mississippi Valley State in virtually every offensive category.

In addition to batting .410 with 16 doubles, six homers and 42 RBIs, he ranked sixth nationally in on-base-percentage at .547.

Bard recently hit a home run at Southeastern Louisiana that I have been told was estimated to have traveled between 475 and 500 feet.

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Cape Girardeau native Don Maurer was recently announced as the new athletic director at MICDS, a private high school in suburban St. Louis. He will assume his duties July 1.

Maurer had been serving as an associate athletic director at MICDS after previously having been the school's boys basketball coach. He led MICDS to the Class 3 state title in 2002.

Maurer, a Notre Dame High School graduate, spent 28 years in coaching, including 26 as a high school head coach. He coached at Notre Dame in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Best wishes to the classy Maurer in his new position.

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What the recently concluded NCAA Final Four lacked in drama, it made up for with an amazing accomplishment.

While Florida was never seriously threatened in disposing of UCLA in the semifinals and Ohio State in the finals, the Gators became the first repeat champion since Duke in 1991 and 1992.

Even though Florida returned all five starters from last year -- including three sure-fire first-round NBA draft picks -- repeating a title is extremely difficult in any sport.

Although the Gators of the past two years won't go down as the best team in college basketball history, by joining some pretty elite company they'll have to at least be included in the conversation.

And, while it came up just short of the championship, Ohio State had a great run.

The performance freshman center Greg Oden had against Florida no doubt solidified him as the NBA's No. 1 pick whenever he decides to come out.

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The recent news that Southern Illinois basketball coach Chris Lowery will receive an annual pay raise of about a half-million dollars to remain with the Salukis might seem excessive to some people.

But it's hard to say that Lowery is not worth it, considering how big a business college hoops has become.

The fact is, Lowery was likely to be pursued by programs bigger than SIU, and they would no doubt dangle in front of him more than the $750,000 per season he will make with the Salukis.

Sure, coaching salaries in the high-profile college sports are totally insane, just like salaries of professional athletes and coaches are totally insane.

But it's no different in any kind of major entertainment field -- you think TV and movie stars are worth the kind of money they get? -- so I don't see why prominent sports figures should take a back seat.

The bottom line is that, if Lowery continues to lead the Salukis to the type of success they had this season -- a school-record for wins, a national ranking and a Sweet 16 appearance -- the university's investment in him will be well worth it.

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The daughter of former Central High School basketball star Ron Jones capped her brilliant prep career by being named the top player in the St. Louis area.

Shakara Jones, a 6-foot-2 senior at Howell Central High School in St. Charles, was recently picked as the player of the year by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper.

Jones, who will play collegiately at the University of Missouri -- her father's alma mater -- averaged 23.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this year.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.