Members of the Drury University basketball team celebrate their D-II national championship on April 7, in Atlanta Ga. (photo/NCAA)

Members of the Drury University basketball team celebrate their D-II national championship on April 7, in Atlanta Ga. (photo/NCAA)

If you look along the right hand side of your screen, you’ll see the five stories that have been selected as the top sports stories of 2013 in the state of Missouri. I do this every year, but this year is special because we have a wide range of sports from baseball, football and basketball and it covers not only the professional level, but D-I college, D-II college and even high school! So put aside your allegiances, watch and listen to each capsule on my video, then vote at Missourinet.com for the top sports story of 2013.

The St. Louis Cardinals overcame injuries and beat Pittsburgh and the Dodgers before losing to the Boston Red Sox in six games in the World Series. 7-5, maybe 8-4.  That was the best many figured the Missouri Tigers to finish in their second year in the SEC.  Gary Pinkel was on the hot seat, yet with the exception of one game where they blew a 17-point lead, the Tigers won 11 games and won the SEC East in their second season.

Northwest Missouri State scored the first 17 points and held on for a 43-28 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne to win their fourth Division II National Championship and first since 2009. The Bearcats, led by Head coach Adam Dorrell, finished the season a perfect 15-0.

Drury University won the D-II men’s basketball title with an improbable 74-73 win over Metro State in Atlanta.  The Panthers were down 17 points, but rallied for the championship capping a 30-4 season.

Webb City High School football has been a powerhouse in Class 4 football. The Cardinals saw their 91-game regular season win streak come to an end on Friday September 6th, losing 42-35 at Arkansas’ Class 7A Har-Ber, Springdale. Webb City had leads of 28-7 in the second period and 35-14 in the third quarter, and lost.  However, Webb City started a new streak and capped off the 2013 season by winning their fourth straight championship this past November.