A mountain lion killed along the road in central Missouri is the second one killed on a Missouri road in less than a year, and it is bringing up questions of how it got there. Conservation officials have known for several years mountain lions are here but there have only been seven confirmed sightings since 1994. Dave Hamilton, a resource scientist with the State Conservation Department, says despite the nearest known breeding population of mountain lions being at least 500 miles away, the Conservation Department has nothing to do with the big cats showing up in Missouri. Hamilton says the increasing numbers of mountain lions in western states are pushing them east. And, he believes cougars are following river corridors, such as the Missouri, to get here.
Royals "Double-Up" Yankees
Kauffman Stadium’s biggest crowd of the year saw quite a show. 40,406 squeezed in to watch the Royals top the Yankees 12-9. The teams combined for 19 doubles, which set an American League record; the Royals hit 11 of them, which set a franchise mark. Mike Sweeney and Mike DiFelice drove in three runs apiece, while Aaron Guiel and Joe Randa had two RBI’s. Guiel’s two-run double in the sixth inning gave Kansas City a 7-6 lead and the Royals never trailed again. Paul Abbot made his first start of the year, lasting 4 2/3 innings and giving up six runs. D.J. Carrasco relieved Abbott and retired all five batters he faced to earn his fourth win of the season. Mike MacDougal made things interesting by allowing two runs off three hits in the ninth inning. He was able to get Jorge Posada to ground into a double play to end it. The Royals were beneficiaries of the White Sox 10-8 loss to the Angels, which gave Kansas City a game and a half lead over Chicago in the A.L. Central. The Twins beat the Indians 5-3 and trail the Royals by two and a half.
Cards Early Homers Outlast Bucs
The Cardinals used four solo home runs to come away with a 6-4 win over the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Albert Pujols was responsible for one of the long balls. His 32nd homer of the season also extended his hitting streak to 25 games and gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the first just moments after Bo Hart went deep for the fourth time this season. Miguel Cairo made it 3-0 with his third shot in the second inning and Scott Rolen chalked up number 23 in the fourth to give the Cardinals a 4-0 advantage. Cairo struck again in the sixth inning with an RBI single and Kerry Robinson drove in a run in the seventh. With a 6-1 lead, disaster seemed to be just around the corner when the Pirates rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Brian Giles hit an RBI triple and Reggie Sanders belted a two-run homer run, but no one scored the rest of the way. Danny Haren gave up ten hits, but allowed just one run to get his third win of the season. Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth inning to earn his 12th save.
NCAA Talks To Clemons’ Ex-Girlfriend
The NCAA has spoken with Jessica Bunge on Monday, according to the Kansas City Star. She claims that when she dated former Missouri point guard Ricky Clemons that he would go into the Hearnes Center and come out with money in denominations of 20, 50, and 100 dollar-bills. The paper says she talked with NCAA officials yesterday but didn’t say what they talked about.
Former First Lady Visits St. Louis As Part Of Book Tour
She’s a U.S. Senator from New York, a former First Lady and now a best-selling author. Hillary Rodham Clinton brought her book tour to St. Louis Monday, signing more than 1,000 copes of her memoir “Living History” at Left Bank Books. Clinton flew in from Atlanta for the nearly three hour book-signing in St. Louis, then boarded a plane for Minneapolis. Clinton didn’t just sign books. She did some politicking as well. Clinton met with State Treasurer Nancy Farmer, the Democrat who will challenge Senator Christopher Bond next year. She also met with former Senator Jean Carnahan and her daughter, Robin Carnahan, who is a Democratic candidate for Secreatry of State. St. Louis Congressman Lacy Clay also stopped by to see Clinton.
