The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Welcome to another edition of the Sports Experts. I'd like to start by welcoming two newcomers to the panel - Barry H. and Jeremy E. This week, the panel makes their SJHL predictions, dabbles in college hoops and joins the steroids debate. The SJHL Conference Finals start tomorrow, with La Ronge taking on Battleford in the ITECH, while in the Sherwood it will be Yorkton battling Estevan. I said from the start we would see Yorkton and La Ronge in the SJHL final, and I'm sticking to my guns. Here are some predictions from across the panel. "The SJHL playoffs are looking like everyone suspected Ð La Ronge vs. Yorkton. Should be a good series but I think the Terriers will win it in 5, then go on to sweep the Anavet Cup." - Steve M. "SJHL playoffs are once again proving that anything can happen. The best surprise is La Ronge with Melfort a close second. Can LaRonge handle Battleford or will their good fortune run out? My bet is a Battleford/Yorkton final with anyone's guess as to who will win. Either way, they should easily take care of the MJHL and get to Weyburn." - Tom T. "Definitely the two hottest teams right now are Yorkton and Estevan, but I like the the way Estevan is playing and I think they'll knock off the Terriers in 6 and make a trip to the Anavet Cup. I'm going to say La Ronge in 5 over Battleford." - Jeremy E. Barry, who happens to live right in the thick of things down in Kentucky, sent me an amazing report on the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball championship tournament. Unfortunately, space won't allow us to do it justice, so here is his look ahead to the Sweet 16. "North Carolina should emerge from the Syracuse regional and can expect to play Either the Duke Blue Devils or Kentucky Wildcats in St. Louis. This depends on whether UK coach Tubby Smith can get his players pumped up enough for the games. If they put out the same amount of effort as they did in Indy, they'll be packing their bags. On the other side, Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals looked impressive in their win over Georgia Tech on Sunday, and could knock off Washington in the Albuquerque regional. Don't expect another upset from Wis. - Milwaukee. Top seed Illinois should advance to the Final Four in St. Louis from the Chicago regional. This is just my take on the match ups set for this weekend. Whatever the outcome, it'll be an exciting four days of action." - Barry H. "The NCAA sweet sixteen are now set and once again there are a few surprises in the bunch. Gonzaga is gone but Illinois is still there from my prediction at the start. Maybe Bobby Knight has Texas Tech really believing in themselves and it would be nice to see them get to the final four. My guess for final two is Illinois and Duke." - Tom Therien It still blows my mind that steroid use in baseball is getting so much attention. The general public ignored the glaring evidence for nearly 20 years, and all of a sudden they are stringing up their heroes as being cheaters. While I don't condone the use of performance enhancing drugs, everyone cheered when Big Mac and Sammy Sosa were battling it out to break the home run record. No one asked for them to be tested then, so why make a big deal now? "As for steroids in baseball, I think that the players are still getting off way to easily. I like a first offense penalty of 10 days. While it may not seem like much, it gets their name out in the public eye as cheaters. After that there should be far stiffer penalties. Get them out of baseball, or fine them a couple million dollars. Also, they should be tested more often,Êonce a month or so." - Steve M. "The whole deal with the steroid controversy in baseball is a joke. If it wasn't for the United States government stepping in on the issue, the punishment for steroid use would still be a slap on the wrist. I strongly feel that the punishment for steroid use should look like this: First offense Ð 1 year suspension and mandatory drug treatment. Second offense Ð if anyone is still stupid enough to use steroids again, a life time ban from baseball. It may sound a little harsh but steroids are a serious problem. It's not fair for the players who have worked hard and made sacrifices their whole life to reach their dream of making it pro only to be benched for someone who is better due to steroids." - Jeremy E. So everyone agrees that steroids are bad. You know what isn't bad? Winning stuff in a free fantasy baseball pool. No steroids needed! If you are interested in joining the baseball pool, all you have to do is join the Sports Experts. For more information, call Tim at 687-3454 or send an e-mail to: [email protected].
