Sports

By Jason Hoekema COVID-19 continues to ruin the sports year.  High School sports? On hold, possibly cancelled. Major League Baseball? Delayed. NHL? On hold.  Life? Who knows? Time is pretty much on hold while we are holed up in our homes in hopes to slow the spread.  Every spring the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA)…

By Jason Hoekema The Bears started the season in the worst way manageable for the basketball team. Seniors and starters were benched early in the season as the school’s football team soared to new heights with the town’s first-ever trip to the state championship arena.  It meant a new coach, with a new way of…

By Jason Hoekema What started as a far and distant issue not really concerning Americans has turned its nasty head and is sweeping across the nation, even as you read this.  With three presumed positive cases in Springfield following the first positive in St. Louis, and another in the Kansas City area – something far…

By Jason Hoekema The last time the Ava High School Lady Bears had a really successful season was in 2013-2014 with a similar, 16-9, record. That year the team was led by Alyssa Paulsell to the top of the SCA and the District.  Since, the coaches have changed as have students. High school athletics is…

By Jason Hoekema ROLLA– There are no ties in basketball, especially in the Missouri State High School Activities Association postseason. One point can make all the difference between progress and the end of a season. Finishing it was the defense’s battle cry as they kept tabs on Kayden Cook, who put up 19 points for…

By Jason Hoekema FARMINGTON–End of the winding road seemed an appropriate take given the directions provided to several fans by their phones’ GPS apps. Many set their phones to take them to Poplar Bluff on the return trip, a far safer route with less whiplash.  Unfortunately, at the end of the road lay the final…

More than 4,000 students will compete at the Branson Convention Center. BRANSON, Mo. –– Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF) invite the public to support thousands of Missouri student archers and have family fun at the 2020 Missouri National Archery in Schools Program (MoNASP) State Tournament March 19-21 at…

By Jason Hoekema MOUNTAIN GROVE–There is a scene in the movie “Space Jam” where the Toon Squad is all beat up, Tweety in an Iron Lung. Well, that is the cartoonish scene left in the wake of the Ava High School Bears boys basketball team. The movie is a fun and cheesy sports classic to…