One milestone was reached in major league baseball on Sunday while another was delayed — probably for only a day.
Ichiro Suzuki had one hit for Seattle against Oakland to give him 2,000 in his career, doing it in his 1,402nd game. Only Al Simmons did it quicker, in his 1,390th game.
That milestone is one of several that Suzuki is likely to reach in the sport. He needed nine hits after Sunday to reach 200 hits for what would be his 10th straight season — that would be a record.
He and Willie Keeler now share the mark of nine straight 200-hit seasons.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, finally won a game by beating St. Louis to delay setting a dubious record.
With one more defeat, the Bucs will clinch their 17th straight losing season. That is longer than any other team in any major pro sport. Going into this season, they were tied with the 1933-48 Phillies for having 16 straight losing seasons.
The Chicago Cubs took a 1-0 lead against the Pirates on Monday to “help” them reach that milestone.
• New team — J.D. Spangler has a new cohort for his broadcasts of the Marshall High School football games on WMMC-FM 105.9 in Illinois.
Former Marshall athlete Joey O’Rourke was in the booth with J.D. for the Mahomet-Seymour game last week. He had filled in on some basketball games last year and does Indiana State sports on the student station.
Tim Bloodworth had been in the radio booth for football games for more than 10 years and was there for the Casey-Marshall game this season but is “retiring” to spend more time with his family.
Nice work, Tim.
• Tom-Cattin’ It — Not only did Curtis Painter make the Indianapolis Colts’ roster as a third quarterback but Rex Grossman made the Houston roster as the third quarterback for the Texans and has the chance to be the backup after a nice job coming back from injury last week.
• Did you notice that two ACC teams lost to former I-AA, now FCS, teams? Duke to Richmond and Virginia to William and Mary.
And Iowa was lucky to get by future Indiana State foe Northern Iowa.
• Jessica Parker, 6-foot basketball player at Bloomington South, says she will sign with Eastern Illinois. She averaged 12.9 points and seven rebounds as a junior.
• Murray State has hired Bret Campbell for its men’s basketball staff. He previously was Ohio Valley coach of the year at Tennessee-Martin.
• Maurice Creek has been declared eligible to play basketball at Indiana. He needed to take a class this summer to do it.
• Louisville has hired Pike assistant Shabaka Lands for its basketball staff. Pike player Marquis Teague is one of the top prospects in the country and says he will make a visit to North Carolina.
• Peyton and Ashley Manning announced Saturday that they will donate $1 million to Tennessee to be used for an athletic training facility. They did it at the dedication of a locker room bearing Peyton’s name.
• There’s a good reason St. Louis has a big lead in the NL Central. The Cardinals had won 10 of 12 road games before losing to Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by email at tm_reck@yahoo.com or by mail at 4284 South 5th Street, Apt. 3, Terre Haute, IN 47802.
Ramblin' Reck
Ramblin' Reck: It’s milestone time in baseball … some good, some bad
- Ramblin' Reck
-
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: And now, on to the next beloved winter sport
The final football game finally has been played, meaning folks in the Valley can concentrate on basketball this week.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Indianapolis is looking mighty good this week
It’s Super Bowl XLVI week … in Indiana for the first time.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Fox gives TH punter kudos
The stage is set. It’ll be the New York Giants against the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl that will be played for the first time in Indianapolis.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Big Ten shaken up last week
It was a very interesting week in men’s college basketball, especially in the Big Ten.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: A fresh round of predictions as the NFL dwindles to 8
More National Foootball League playoff games are slated this weekend, with the number of postseason teams down to eight following an interesting weekend of wild-card action.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Hile inducted into Hall
Indiana State grad Amy Lynn Hile will take her place in another Hall of Fame this year.
Inducted into the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005, the former Sycamore standout has been named as one of the 2011 inductees into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: It’s time now for some intraleague hoops rivalries
It’s the final week of 2011 but it is the first week of conference basketball games for most colleges, particularly those in Indiana and Illinois.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: A long distance relationship
Indiana State’s trip out West to play basketball at Boise State brought back memories of one of the trips I made to that city.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Indiana Mr. Football still has big decision to make
Some awards in high school and college football were announced last week.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: No dearth of good basketball
Based on early games, the college basketball season is going to be very interesting for coaches, players and fans, particularly in the Big Ten and Missouri Valley.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Big Ten-ACC challenge gets under way tonight
Conference championship football games and challenge action in basketball will make for a busy week for college teams.
Wisconsin and Michigan State will meet in the very first Big Ten football championship Saturday at Indianapolis. Kickoff is 8 p.m. and the action will be carried by Fox.
Michigan State nipped the Badgers in the regular-season contest at East Lansing. We like Wisconsin to win and earn a trip to the Rose Bowl.
Other games and picks:
SEC — LSU over Georgia on Saturday
Mid-American — Northern Illinois over Ohio U. on Friday
Pac-12 — Oregon over UCLA on Friday
ACC — Virginia Tech over Clemson on Saturday
Conference USA — Houston over Southern Mississippi on Saturday
Western Kentucky will not play for a championship but the Hilltoppers won seven of their last eight games to finish with a winning mark. That’s the same team that lost to Indiana State, you will recall.
Meanwhile, the hiring and firing already has begun with Urban Meyer coming out of retirement to accept the job at Ohio State. That was a no-brainer.
Illinois is bowl-eligible but Ron Zook is out. Ditto for Turner Gill at Kansas and apparently Dennis Erickson at Arizona State.
In basketball, the first games in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge will be played tonight. The biggie tonight is Duke at Ohio State. Miami of Florida is at Purdue and Illinois plays at Maryland.
On Wednesday, Indiana is at North Carolina State, Wisconsin is at North Carolina and Michigan State goes to Florida State.
Indiana State is at Boise State on Saturday for a Missouri Valley-Mountain West Challenge game,
It was fun and gratifying to be able to watch the Sycamores on national television as they took third in the Old Spice Classic. The team got tons of favorable publicity and comments from the three games.
And what a game for Jake Odum and his triple-double. Wow.
I I I
n White honored — Taylor White of Casey has earned academic all-state honors in Illlinois football.
White was one of the top players at linebacker and fullback and was one of the captains on the team but did not play as the Warriors lost to Morrison in the Class 2A title tilt.
He was sidelined by injury in the game against Marshall and underwent surgery.
The Warriors gave Morrison all it wanted in the final game, concluding another banner season for coach Keith Sinclair and the team.
Nice work, Warriors.
I I I
n Tom-Cattin’ It — Carmel was the only public school to win a prep football championship in Indiana and was impressive in its 54-0 victory over Penn in the 5A finale.
Other winners — all private schools — were Lafayette Central Catholic in A, Fort Wayne Luers in 2A, Indianapolis Chatard in 3A, and Indianapolis Cathedral in 4A.
n Sullivan puts its undefeated girls basketball record on the line tonight at West Vigo. Its victory over Terre Haute South last week was its first over the Braves since 1992.
n Terre Haute North grad Steve Weatherford, now punting for the New York Giants, was featured in a nice story in The New York Times on Monday.
He was singled out for his conditioning program and called the strongest player pound for pound — at 210 pounds — on the team that met the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football.
n Jim Rathman died last week at 83.
He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1960, edging Rodger Ward in a race in which there were a record 29 lead changes.
Rathman also was runner-up in the race in 1952, 1957 and 1959.
n Flora has been tabbed by one newspaper as the preseason pick to win the Little Illini Conference boys basketball championship and to make it to the Final Four.
The Wolves play Marshall, off to a 3-1 start, next week.
Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by email at tm_reck@yahoo.com or by mail at 4284 South 5th Street, Apt. 3, Terre Haute, IN 47802. -
RAMBLIN' RECK: Sinclair: ‘Never underestimate the heart of a Warrior’
Casey’s high school football team will have one more week of practice, including a workout early Thanksgiving Day, but the players don’t mind it.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: MVC’s quick start brings hope
Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball teams and others are off to a good start.
Valley teams were 9-2 in games played through Sunday. Two teams picked up some very nice victories.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: ISU’s ranking solid heading into basketball season
The college football season still has a few weeks to run for most teams, but the basketball season starts for real for a lot of teams this week; a few still have some exhibition contests left on the schedule.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Terre Haute native had memorable career at Red Hill
When Red Hill played its final football game of the season last month in Illinois, it marked the end of an era for a friend of mine and for the high school.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Terre Haute jumps several spots in Sporting News’ ratings
The Sporting News recently released its rankings of best sports cities in the country.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Big week brought ISU alumni to Terre Haute in droves
It was a great weekend in Terre Haute.
Alumni were back in town for Indiana State’s homecoming, the football team made it great with another victory and the weatherman cooperated with nice fall weather.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Unbeaten football seasons on line for Linton, North Central
We’re down to the final week of the high school football season for teams in Indiana and some really big games mark the schedule in the area.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Big college, prep football games scheduled this weekend
Some big football games are on the schedule this week in both the college and high school ranks.
In the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Indiana State and Northern Iowa share first place with 2-0 records. They’ll meet Saturday evening in the UniDome.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Big Ten openers are here
Big Ten football teams play their first conference games this week and a big game will top the schedule.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Wild card races offer suspense
Major league baseball is down to its final days, with the final games slated for Sept. 30.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Now for a few football landmark… both north and south
Some milestones were recorded in Indiana high school football games played Friday night.
n Heritage Hills blanked Pike Central 75-0 for a 3-0 record in Pocket Athletic Conference action at Lincoln City.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Labor Day means football, of the college kind
Labor Day is coming up and that means the start of the college football season for most teams on Saturday.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Southwest 7 cleans up in Week 1
Three Southwest Seven Conference teams were winners last week as Indiana high school football teams opened the 2011 season.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Beginner’s luck?
Sunday and Monday were good days for first-time winners in some of the major sports events.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Schelsky, Bilyeu, Fish conclude big golf weeks in Valley
Some notes and observations on recent achievements by folks from the area:
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Week filled with competitive golf, multiple racing events
Last week was a busy one but a nice one with golf, harness racing and automobile racing on the hot, humid schedule.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: Brickyard 400 a hot item on this week’s racing schedule
It’s race week again in Indiana and a busy time for golfers in the area too.
-
Here’s rooting for some fictional sports characters
With all these hot days, it’s nice to sit in one’s apartment where it is cooler — not air-conditioned but cooler — and watch some television.
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: It won’t be long before another season of college football
College football will be here before you know it and some of the preseason picks already have been made.
- More Ramblin' Reck Headlines
-
RAMBLIN' RECK: And now, on to the next beloved winter sport








