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Missouri’s billboard industry complains it can’t use the latest, brightest technology to grab our attention. The industry wants the legislature to loosen up the law so it can.
The billboard industry says 95 percent of existing billboards are considered non-conforming under federal and state law, meaning most signs cannot be substantially repaired or use new technology or cutouts on a long-term basis. [Read more...]
Two are in. A third appears ready to jump in. More might be coming.
A dominant question on the minds of many Republicans attending Lincoln Days in Springfield this past weekend was: who would be the best candidate to unseat Democrat Claire McCaskill as United States Senator in the 2012 election? [Read more...]
Missouri State got 18 points from Jermaine Mallett to lead four Bears in double figures in a 69-64 win over Wichita State at JQH Arena Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both clubs. With the victory, MSU (23-7, 15-3) earned its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular-season conference title.
Mallett also finished with 8 rebounds and hit three free throws in the final 1:51 to fight off a valiant comeback by the Shockers (23-7, 14-4).
After an Adam Leonard jumper with 5:17 left in the game put Missouri State up 57-47, Wichita State went on a 12-3 run over the next three minutes and 15 seconds to make it a one-point game. David Kyles knocked down three three-pointers during that stretch for WSU, while Joe Ragland hit another to keep the visitors close.
Mallett’s three-point play at the 1:51 mark gave the Bears a 63-59 lead, but Kyles tied the game with just 1:20 to go on his fifth trey of the game, silencing the record crowd of 11,077 at JQH Arena.
The shot of the night, and perhaps the season, for Missouri State game with 48 seconds left when Leonard drained a contested three from the right wing, also his fifth of the game, to put the Bears on top again 67-64. Despite making just two of five free throws from there, the Bears’ defense held strong, and the Shockers missed their final three field goal attempts down the stretch.
Leonard finished with 17 points, while Will Creekmore scored 13, and Kyle Weems scored 11 with a game-high 9 boards. Fellow starter Nafis Ricks capped his senior day performance with 7 points and 8 assists.
In the early going, the Bears built a double-figure lead behind five first-half three-pointers and went into the intermission with a 32-21 lead. A 12-4 run over a six-minute stretch early in the first period gave the Bears a 16-8 lead. After WSU cut its deficit to 16-14 on a shot by Garrett Stutz with 8:11 on the clock in the opening stanza, the Bears reeled off an impressive 11-2 run to lead 27-16 and carried that momentum to the second period.
MSU built its advantage to 14 points 30 seconds into the second period on a trey by Leonard. The closest Wichita would get over the next 17 minutes was six before Kyles started his three-point assault.
Kyles was the only Shockers player in double figures with a game-high 20 points. He was 7-for-12 from the field and also matched Gabe Blair with a team-high 7 rebounds.
Wichita State made all eight of its three-pointers in the second half, including five in the final five minutes. Gregg Marshall’s squad finished 22-for-52 (.423) from the field, 8-of-23 (.348) from beyond the arc, and 12-for-13 (.923) at the free throw line.
The Bears finished 23-for-52 (.442) from the field, including 50 percent in the second half, and 7-of-20 (.350) from three-point range. MSU also shot a season-low 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the free throw line. The Bears out-rebounded the Shockers 35-30, giving up just four offensive boards and two second-chance points. Missouri State turned the ball over 13 times, compared to just 12 for Wichita State, and both teams tallied 6 steals.
Cuonzo Martin’s Bears take the No. 1 seed into the State Farm MVC Tournament, which begins Thursday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. MSU, which was the No. 10 seed at the tourney two years ago, is the top seed for the first time in its 21-season affiliation with the MVC. The Bears will take on the winner of the 8/9 game between Southern Illinois and Illinois State in the quarterfinal round Friday at Noon.
The No. 1 seed in the Valley Tournament has earned an NCAA berth every year since 1993.
Story courtesy of Missouri State athletics.
Jacob Pullen scored 24 points in 24 minutes as the Kansas State Wildcats jumped out to a 10-point first half lead, then rallied after losing the lead in the second half for a 10-point win, 80-70 in Manhattan, KS.
One of the things I was concerned about heading into the game was Missouri getting off to a slow start. That’s exactly what happened as K-State jumped out to a 10-0 lead in less than 2 1/2 minutes after Missouri missed their first three shots and turned the ball over once.
That lead was the difference, despite a nice comeback attempt from the Tigers. A three pointer by Matt Pressey with just under four minutes to play tied the game up at 33-33 and the Tigers carried that late first half momentum into the second as MU took its first lead at 44-43 2:40 into the second half.
However, K-State went on an 11-2 run to regain the lead. The Tigers tied the game at 60-60 on a three pointer from Michael Dixon with 6:16 to play, but K-State went on one more final surge from there to seal the win shooting 4 for 5 from the field and making all 10 free throw attempts.
The Tigers were in foul trouble and didn’t get much production from Ricardo Ratliffe, Justin Safford and Kim English. Each of them had four fouls and finished with a combined six points. English was 1 of 6 from the field and Safford played just six minutes.
Marcus Denmon and Laurence Bowers led Mizzou. Denmon had 22 points and Bowers 16, but Bowers was shut out most of the second half.
Each team is now 8-6 in Big 12 play with K-State surging winning five of their last six.
Sen. Blunt introduces Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder to Lincoln Days crowd
He looked like a candidate. He acted like a candidate. He sure sounded like a candidate. But, Lt. Governor Peter Kinder isn’t a candidate for governor, yet.
Kinder is widely believed to be the front-runner as a Republican nominee to challenge the re-election of Democrat Jay Nixon in 2012. Kinder has given every indication that he will run against Nixon. Speculation at Lincoln Days, the annual Republican gathering being held in Springfield this weekend, runs high that Kinder will enter the race. Senator Blunt even introduced Kinder as a person who could be the state’s next governor. Kinder, though, hasn’t made any formal announcement and is unlikely to do so this weekend.
Still, Kinder launched into a harsh criticism of the current governor during a half hour speech to about 400 Republicans gathered for the opening banquet in Springfield.
Kinder characterized Nixon as a spectator, standing at the sidelines while Missouri loses jobs and struggles to emerge from the recession. Kinder contended that Nixon enjoys the perks of the job, but doesn’t care for the work of the job. [Read more...]
