Casey Garrison has been named 2009-10 Jackie Stiles MVC Player of the Year. The sophomore guard was honored at the league’s awards ceremony Thursday on opening night of the State Farm MVC Tournament at The Family Arena.

Garrison becomes the sixth Missouri State player to receive Valley MVP recognition. A sophomore from Bolivar, Mo., Garrison led the conference in scoring (19.8 ppg) and steals (2.9 spg) and ranked second in assists (5.3 apg) during a 20-9 season.

Garrison is the only Division I women’s basketball player in the nation to rank among the top 30 individuals in those same three categories.

T.J Oshie and Brad Boyes scored for the Blues in the overtime shootout and Chris Mason made both of his saves to give St. Louis to a 2-1 win over the Islanders on Thursday night in New York. Oshie has now scored on 50% of his shootout tries going 7 for 14 in his career.

The Blues won for the sixth time in seven games and moved into 10th place in the Western Conference going 3-1 so far on this six game road trip. The Blues are six points out of the playoff race with just 16 games remaining.

Patrik Berglund tied the game for the Blues in the second period after Matt Moulson gave New York the lead in the final minute of the first period. The Blues had chances to win in regulation, but couldn’t score on three power plays in the third period.

Its a little ironic to say on a day when the wind was blowing at 23 mph that Kyle Lohse “breezed” through his outing, but that was case. Manager Tony LaRussa expected a 10-9 with the wind, but instead it turned out to be a pitcher’s day until the ninth inning when the Cardinals scored all their runs in their last at-bat to beat Florida 5-3.

Lohse pitched four scoreless innings, giving up two hits. In 6 2/3 innings this spring, all against Florida, Lohse has given up one run on eight hits. The Marlins dominated on the mound until the ninth. In fact, Allen Craig, filling in for Albert Pujols at first base hit a double to right center in the second inning and was stranded on third which was the Cardinals only baserunner to get into scoring position through the first eight innings.

Royals’ manager Trey Hillman thought Gil Meche spotted his fastball better and worked both sides of the plate, but the results just weren’t there as the Dodgers beat the Royals in spring action in Arizona.

Meche gave up four runs while allowing seven runs and a walk in two-plus innings. Meche says his arm angles for each pitch are off and even though he’s not feeling any back or elbow pain, he just needs to continue working in his bullpen sessions to get his fastball down. Closer Joakim Soria made his Cactus debut and breezed through a perfect inning with one strikeout and was only scheduled to throw one inning. Hillman thinks not preparing for the World Baseball Classic has helped Soria progress into this season after last year was cut short from a tired arm.

At the plate, Willie Bloomquist, in his first at-bat, came through with an RBI double to left-center. Scott Podsednik followed with a two-run homer to right field and went 2-for-3. Mitch Maier singled home a run and is now 4-for-10 with four RBIs this spring.

Hillman and Meche on his performance.

3-11 Royals

The Cindy Stein era at Missouri is over. The Lady Tigers as the number 12 seed beat by 20th ranked Texas 64-59. Amanda Hanneman led all scorers with 21 points hitting seven three pointers in 13 attempts. The rest of the team went 0 for 9. Jessra Johnson in her final game at Mizzou scored 11, but shot just 3 of 15 from the floor.

Texas (23-7) trailed 29-28 at the half and couldn’t put away the Tigers until the final minute. The Longhorns advanced to a quarterfinal game Friday against fourth-seeded Texas A&M.

Missouri (12-18) lost in its final game under Cindy Stein, who announced her resignation March 1. Stein was 185-177 in 12 years at Mizzou. Texas (23-7) trailed 29-28 at the half and couldn’t put away the Tigers until the final minute. The Longhorns advanced to a quarterfinal game Friday against fourth-seeded Texas A&M.

Missouri (12-18) lost in its final game under Cindy Stein, who announced her resignation March 1. Stein picked up her 250th career win during the regular season finale against Texas Tech.

One of the most recognized defensive players in Rams history, NFL Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen died this morning. Olsen was 69. Drafted out of Utah State in 1962 by the Los Angeles Rams, Olsen made an immediate impact in the NFL. He was named the NFL Rookie of the Year and voted to his first Pro Bowl, starting a NFL record-streak that would continue for 14 consecutive appearances (1962-75). He was named to the NFL All-Pro team eight consecutive years (1963-1970), and was a Western Conference All-Star team selection six times (1964-1969).

In a statement released by Chip Rosenbloom, the Rams owner said, “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Merlin Olsen. He was a towering figure both on and off the playing field, who lived as he played, with ferocity and determination. Merlin was the epitome of greatness, both on and off the football field. He was a Hall-of-Famer in every sense of the word, a legendary Ram who lived to the highest standards of personal and professional integrity.”

Playing defensive tackle on the nationally-recognized defensive line known as the “Fearsome Foursome,” Olsen terrorized opposing offenses throughout his 15-year career (1962-1976), the entire time spent with the Rams. Olsen finished his career playing in 198 consecutive games. In 1982, he was named to the NFL Hall of Fame. Chosen to the NFL’s All-Decade team in the 1960s and 1970s, Olsen was also selected to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team in 1994.

Missouri defends an inbounds pass during their 75-60 loss to Nebraska (Manny Haley)

For just the second time in Big 12 Tournament history the 12 seed has upset the five seed. Nebraska beat the Missouri Tigers 75-60 in the opening round in The Huskers finished shooting over 56% for the game and they were 8 of 14 on three-pointers.  J.T. Tiller from Missouri called it “Murphy’s Law,” saying anything that could go wrong for the Tigers did go wrong.  Brandon Richardson who led four Huskers in double figures with 19 points said they were able to get Missouri to play their game.  Much of what has bothered the Tigers recently resurfaced again.  The Tigers under 40% shooting from the field.

The Tiger went on an furious run in the final 2:30 of the game to close the lead to single digits, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskers once led in the game by as many as 19 five minutes into the 2^nd half.  This is the third time the Huskers have knocked Mizzou out of the big 12 tournament.

NU jumped out to a 26-9 lead midway through the first half by hitting 8 of 12 and 3 of 5 on three pointers.  Meanwhile, Missouri was just 4 of 12 and 0 for 3 from beyond the arc.

The Tigers closed the gap to eight late in the first half, but Nebraska led 39-28 at the break.  The Tigers were just 3 of 12 on three point shooting in the first half.

With 3:23 to go in the game, Missouri tightened the clamps on Nebraska and went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to close to within 67-59, but NU finished 8 of 8 at the free throw line to ice the game and set up a matchup with Texas A & M Thursday at 2pm.

Laurence Bowers was the only Tiger to score in double figures.  He finished with 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting despite playing with a cast and wrist sprain on his non-shooting hand.  The Tigers shot 34% for the game and were outrebounded 38-22.

The Tigers now await their fate with a 22-10 record to see where they are placed for the NCAA Tournament.  Listen to comments from Mike Anderson, J.T. Tiller and Laurence Bowers.

Mizzou postgame

The NAIA has officially released the bracket for the 30th Annual NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship. The 32-team championship will be held March 17 – 23 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. Columbia College, William Woods, Evangel and William Jewell will represent the state of Missouri.

Defending national champion, Union (Tenn.) is making its 19th consecutive appearance (1992-2010) and 21st overall, the most among all teams in the field. The Lady Bulldogs lead all schools in the championship field with 54 total wins; Oklahoma City is second with 44 wins.

Montana Tech, Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.) and Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) are each making its first appearance in the event. Montana Tech received an at-large bid, while Southern Poly was the Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season champion. Southwestern Assemblies of God qualified as the Red River Athletic Conference tournament runner-up.

Four previous national champions have made the 32-team field. Oklahoma City leads the field with five titles (1988, 1999-2002), while defending national champion Union is second with four (1998, 2005-06, 2009). Lambuth (Tenn.) (2007) and Vanguard (Calif.) (2008) each have one national championship.

William Woods (Mo.) and Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) will get the championship under way on March 17 at 8:30 a.m. CST. The first and second round (March 17 – 19) will feature eight games in three days, followed by the quarterfinals on March 20. After an off day, the semifinals take place on March 22 and the National Championship is scheduled for March 23. The Championship final will be televised live nationally on CBS College Sports Television with tipoff at 9 p.m. CST.

Kansas City-area programs Park (Mo.) and William Jewell (Mo.) enter the Championship unseeded. Park will battle Georgetown on Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. William Jewell begins action with a Thursday game at 6:15 p.m. against No. 2 Concordia (CA.) in the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship, held March 17-23 in Kansas City, Mo.

No. 1-seed Mountain State (W.Va.) tops the list in its 12th straight Championship. The 26-2 Cougars have now earned the top seed in four of the last seven Championships, winning one title in 2004.

Coined College Basketball’s Toughest Tournament, Municipal Auditorium will be the site for the seven-day event. The Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 17 automatic qualifiers from 11 Division I affiliated conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.), 1 host berth, and 14 at-large berths.

Mountain State begins its Championship by facing first-year participant Bacone (Okla.) on Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. CST. The Cougars are 19-10 in the Championship. The event kicks-off with No. 16 Oklahoma City facing Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.) at 9 a.m. The Stars, who are back after an 11-year run from 1998-2008, are 47-12 overall with six national championships.

No. 11 Georgetown (Ky.) is making its NAIA-record 19th straight Championship and 29th overall. The Tigers are 49-27 in this event, tied for the most wins with No. 3 Oklahoma Baptist. The Bison are 49-20 overall in their 23rd Championship.

For the second straight year, the defending national champion did not make the Championship field. One year after winning its first national title, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) did not qualify.

Cardinals first basemen Albert Pujols missed his third straight game with a strained lower back and Matt Holliday was scratched right before game time with what is being reported as a rib cage injury. The Cardinals are hosting Washington in Jupiter, FL.

According to stlcardinals.com, Pujols’ back is just a little weak and he’s not feeling any pain. He first had trouble with his back on Saturday.

Holliday has what’s being described as a ribcage injury. Both players were penciled in the lineup with Pujols scheduled to play first, then as the DH, but LaRussa took him and Holliday out just before the game.