One of those with no regrets that 2006 is gone is Missouri’s Secretary of State. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan says 2006 was a year of challenge for her personally and professionally. It was a year of elections and a lot of questions about how new technology would deal with the millions of voters and how some new election laws would be handled by poll workers, county clerks, and by Carnahan herself. There were petition drives and lawsuits stemming from them to be dealt with. And then there was breast cancer. She spent the year fighting it…and says the old year has ended with her doctor giving her a clean bill of health. She says one in seven women will develop breast cancer. But she says she has proven that early detection and treatment can produce a positive result. Carnahan kept a rigorous work schedule despite the cancer treatments. She says people expected her to do her job and she expected it of herself. She says she’s proud that the elections went as smoothly as they did despite all of the new issues connected with them. Carnahan says 2006 taught her patience and the need to be at peace with herself as she looks forward. She says she enters 2007 in that spirit. She’s already announced her decision to seek a second term, ending speculation she might shoot for the goverrnorship. And she has announced she’s geting married—although the date hasn’t been set.
Rucinsky Leads Blues Over Avs
If you ask Martin Rucinsky about the deal that sent him to the Montreal Canadiens and landed Hall of Famer Patrick Roy in a Colorado Avalanche sweater, he’ll probably just shake his head and smile. And the former Avs winger was smiling plenty Friday, as he helped his current team get a big win over his former teammates in Denver.
The one-time Avalanche player scored two goals for the Blues, including the eventual game-winner, and Manny Legace stopped 28 shots in a 4-2 St. Louis win. The victory was Legace’s eighth straight over Colorado.
After the game, Rucinsky said he holds no grudges against the Avalanche.
“It’s been a long time,” Rucinsky said. “Life goes on and things happen for a reason. There’s nothing special to me to score on them. It’s just another game for me. It was a game we had to win.”
The Blues haven’t lost in their last five games, going 4-0-1 during that span. With Friday’s win, they improved to 4-2-3 under new Head Coach Andy Murrary, who took over for Mike Kitchen Dec. 11.
Both teams will fly to St. Louis for Saturday night’s game at the Scottrade Center. After that, the Blues host the Blackhawks for a pair of home games Tuesday and Thursday.
Related web sites:
Blues’ Official Website
Whipping Post And Pillory
Frequently when Daniel Boone was a judge in the Femme Osage District in eastern Missouri, he held court under the “judgement elm” near his home at Defiance. A man found guilty would be punished on the spot, often tied to a hickory tree in Boone’s yard and whipped. That usually ended the trouble and the culprit was allowed to return to life in the community. He’d paid his debt to society on the spot and that was that. The whipping post and the pillory were common items in Missouri towns. Their day eventually passed when methods of punishment considered more modern came along – putting people behind bars. However, not even the construction of a state penitentiary made local punishment obsolete.
Governor Gets Recommendations on Long-Term Care Facility Fire Safety
The Departments of Health and Mental Health have given Governor Blunt ten recommendations growing out of last month’s fire at the Anderson Guest House. Eleven people were killed November 27th in a fire that apparently started in the wiring in the attic of the long-term living facility. The building had no sprinklers because it was built before a state law was passed requiring sprinkler systems in such homes. A survey by the two departments sshows about 365 facilities in Missouri do not have complete sprinkler systems. The report recommends they get them. Governor Blunt says improved sprinkler requirements were his top priority when he asked for the study. It is the top recommendation in the report. He calls the recommendation “critical.” The departments are concerned the costs of installing the systems will require cutbacks in services some homes can offer. The study recommends phasing in the requirement. It also recommends statewide standards be developed for the people who service sprinkler systems. The report also recommends mandatory fire alarm systems, improved wiring standards, more fire drills, better evacuation procedures, limits on resident smoking, and requiring somebody be awake at all hours. The governor wants some time to study the recommendations before deciding what’s next.The full report is available at the website of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: http://www.dhss.mo.gov/SeniorServices/FireSafetyReport/ConsolidatedReport12-29.pdf
Missouri Tigers Lose Sun Bowl Heartbreaker 39-38
It’s not how you start but how you finish that matters most. Mizzou found out the hard way as it let a late 14 point lead slip away against Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.
With 6:02 left in the game, Mizzou had the ball on its own 20 and immediately tried to run out the clock. Oregon State still had all three of its timeouts, but only used one of them as it put the weight of the game on the shoulders of its defense. Mizzou was unable to drain out the clock and was forced to punt with 1:41 left in regulation.
Sammie Stroughter (8 rec, 88 yds, 1 td) picked up some excellent blocking and was able to return the punt 40 yards to the Beavers 46. Oregon State picked up a first down on its first play from scrimmage, a dump off pass from Matt Moore (31-of-54, 357 yds, 4 td, 1 int) to Yvenson Bernard (23 car, 96 yds,) that picked up 13 yards. Dedrick Harrington had a chance to ice the game for the Tigers but dropped an interception that hit him right between the numbers. OSU made him pay. The Beavers were forced into a crucial fourth-and-three, but was able to convert as Moore found Stroughter for a first down pick up and the Beavers had new life. Just a couple plays later, Moore found tight end Joe Newton in the end zone from 14-yards out and pulling the Beavers within one point. Beavers head coach Mike Riley must’ve been ready to go home because he opted to attempt the 2-point conversion. Bernard got the call out of the backfield and converted right up the middle giving OSU a 39-38 victory.
Mizzou tried to reenact “The Play” from Cal vs. Stanford in 1982, but an illegal forward pass call ended the Tigers hopes.
The Tigers stormed out of the gates early scoring on its opening possession. Tony Temple (20 car, 195 yds, 2 td) gave Mizzou a 7-0 lead racing right, then cutting back to his left and scampering into the end zone from seven yards out. Temple’s run capped an 80-yard drive that took 10 plays and 3:30.
Oregon State showed some resolve on its ensuing possession. As Missouri expected, the Beavers showed a steady dose of Bernard. The Pac-10’s second leading rusher carried the ball four times for 20 yards constantly putting the Beavers in manageable third down situations. Moore had two passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, but was able to complete 4-of-7 for 44 yards. OSU drove 80 yards on their first possession as well, tying the game 7-7 on a 13-yard scoring strike from Moore to Stroughter for his fifth touchdown reception of the year.
The Tigers were unable to get anything going on their next drive. Martin Rucker had a chance to make a big play, but came up short. Chase Daniel (16-of-29, 342 yds, 2 td) spotted Rucker deep down the right sideline but Rucker was unable to haul in the catch as he had a step on the defender. Temple took a handoff up the middle for a short gain on second down. A high snap on the next play was fumbled and recovered by Daniel, and the Tigers were forced to punt.
Stroughter returned the punt to the Mizzou 40. Bernard gained a yard on the first play. He was able to find a little more daylight picking up the first down on the next play with a gain of nine. On first-and-10, Moore escaped some light pressure to hit Ruben Jackson for another first down. After two short runs by Bernard, OSU was faced with third-and-seven. Coming out of a timeout, Moore scrambled to his right before hitting Stroughter a yard short of the first down. OSU coach Mike Riley opted to go for it on fourth down handing it off the Bernard who picked up the first down before being tackled on the one-yard line. Moore sneaked the ball past the goal line for the Beavers second touchdown of the quarter and giving them a 14-7 lead.
Jeff Wolfert brought Mizzou within 14-10 on a 30-yard field goal. It didn’t take Mizzou much time to score again. The Tigers faced a third-and-6 when Daniel spotted a wide open Danario Alexander sprinting down the right side of the field. Daniel launched a pass Alexander’s way and connected for a 74-yard catch-and-run touchdown strike giving Mizzou the lead 17-14. The score remained 17-14 going into halftime.
The second half started with an apparent bang. Mizzou caught the Beavers off guard with an onside kick and recovered. But the officials gathered together and ruled that the kick did not travel the necessary 10 yards.
Oregon State started the possession with a 28-yard run from Bernard. A few plays later the Beavers had the ball third-and-eight on the Tigers 11. Like clockwork, Moore threw his second touchdown pass of the game. This time it was to Newton (7 rec, 86 yds, 2 td), who used his body to shield David Overstreet from the ball. Just like that, OSU took the lead 21-17.
The Tigers returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 28. The drive started well with Coffman catching a 16-yard pass from Daniel for a first down. The completion put Daniel over the 200-yard mark for the game. A penalty on Rucker forced the Tigers into a second-and-21. Daniel rushed for a yard on the next play, and was able to find Ekwerekwu on the next play for a 37-yard completion and first down. The Tigers returned to the trickery it’d been employing all game, although unsuccessfully. Daniel dropped back out of the shotgun and hit Coffman on a bubble screen, Coffman then looked downfield and hit Saunders for a 29-yard touchdown pass.
Mizzou’s offense seemed to be stuck in neutral. That was until Temple took a delayed handoff and raced 65 yards pass the Beavers defense for a score and extending its lead to 31-21.
Alexis Cerna added a 29-yard field goal for OSU closing the gap to 31-24. But Mizzou didn’t waste any time answering the score. Daniel connected with Coffman for an 18-yard scoring strike and a 38-24 lead.
Oregon State cut into the Mizzou lead with a short touchdown pass from Moore to Bernard that made it 38-31.
Related web sites:
Missouri Tigers
