Here’s a question for you baseball fans out there—what Major League team ranks dead last out of thirty teams in batting average at .202, 28th in runs batted in, and 22nd in pitching and yet leads their division? If you answered the Cincinnati Reds, advance to Go and collect two hundred dollars! Manager Terry Francona’s squad holds the NL Central lead with a 14-8 mark, winning ten of those games by two runs or less including six by a single run!
How much longer can their mojo last? If the pitching can continue to hold up, especially until the return of starters Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo from the injured list, the defense stays solid, and the few hits come at opportune times, the Reds might just make hay through the next few weeks. Then the better teams in both leagues start to appear on what’s been a fairly weak schedule to this point. But hey, a win in April counts the same as a win later in the summer!
Staying with baseball, let’s look at the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association rankings as of last week. Three Miami Valley League teams are in the Top Ten in different divisions, with Troy rated fourth in D-II and Butler and Tippecanoe ranked third and eighth in D-III respectively. Other area teams among the elite include Coldwater (7th) in D-V, St. Henry (2nd) and Fort Recovery (11th) in D-VI, and Minster (4th) and Newton (12th) in D-VII.
Meanwhile in girls softball Centerville (5th) and Fairmont (6th) are cruising in D-I, both teams which will be facing Greenville’s Lady Wave later next month. GHS is second in D-III while Miami East is eighth in D-V, and Parkway tops the D-VI rankings with defending state champion Tri-Village listed at seventh.
The Lady Wave have reeled off fifteen straight wins after suffering an opening game loss to the Lady Patriots of T-V and are on a collision course with the undefeated Lady Trojans of Troy. The two teams will duel for MVL honors with a game Friday, May 1st in Miami County followed on Monday, May 4th by a second meeting in Greenville. Troy has outscored league foes 132-10 so far while the Green and White has thumped MVL rivals 120-7 so it should be a series of epic proportions!
Track and Field is in full swing with league and conference meets upcoming in a little over three weeks. The MVL meet will be contested starting Thursday May 14th at Piqua, the WOAC answering the call at Bradford on Tuesday the 12th, and the Buckeye Division of the SWBL also commencing on the 14th at Carlisle. For other league meets check out the appropriate websites.
Franklin High School graduate Luke Kennard, a two-time Ohio Mr. Basketball who at graduation in 2015 was the second highest scorer in Ohio school boy history and later played for two years at Duke, scored 27 points for the Lakers in their opening round victory over the Rockets in NBA action the other night. Kennard had played for the Pistons, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Hawks prior to arriving in sunny Southern California. The 6’5” lefty ranks first among active players in three-point field goal percentage and second in NBA annals making an almost unbelievable 44.2% of his attempts. Who holds the all-time record for long range accuracy?
The second of today’s trivia questions arose when I was listening to an “ oldies” station the other day. For you fans of music in the late ‘60s, and those of you who should be, what group recorded the following Top Forty hits: “Sunday Will Never Be the Same”, “Lazy Day”, and “Like to Get to Know You”?
The NFL draft takes place beginning this Thursday in Pittsburgh and mercifully will put an end to the never ending prognostications of the so-called experts. The Bengals, yes theeee Bengals, made news over the weekend by trading the number ten overall pick to the Giants in exchange for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and signing him for three years pending the outcome of a physical.
While the Bengals now won’t have a draft pick until number forty-one in the second round, the Giants now hold the fifth and tenth overall picks in the first round. The Stripes were in desperate need of defensive line help and with the offensive weapons they have to go along with quarterback Joe Burrow their window for making a deep run in the playoffs was starting to close if something wasn’t done on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage. We shall see if the move pays off, here’s hoping so!!
What are the odds of four THE players being chosen in the Top Ten picks? With linebacker Arvell Reese, safety Caleb Downs, hybrid linebacker Sonny Styles, and wide receiver Carnell Tate all highly rated, it makes you wonder how the Bucks ended last season with two losses!
Luke Kennard trails only current Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr in three-point field goal accuracy. Kerr played from 1988 through 2003, most famously for the Chicago Bulls during four of their NBA championship years. Over his career he converted 45.4% from beyond the stripe!
Finally, Spanky and Our Gang were one of the top recording acts of the late ‘60s featuring vocalist Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane. The group’s name was inspired by the 1930’s movie series “The Little Rascals”, also known as “Our Gang”. With McFarlane’s surname being similar to that of George McFarland (Spanky), hence the group’s name. Come on now, you know the words or at least the music to the three aforementioned hits songs and, if you don’t, you’ll know them as soon as your hear them!!
Stay healthy and active!!
