Cashew Chickens rally past Naturals 3-2
Springfield continued its series with Northwest Arkansas.
Springfield hoping that playing as the Cashew Chickens could snap a losing skid.
The Cardinals limping into tonight's game losers of ten of their last 12.
Springfield is 0-1 this season playing as the Cashew Chickens.
Springfield southpaw Pete Hansen started.
And he would strike out Missouri State product Spencer Nivens swinging in the second.
Hansen pitched into the sixth inning with two strikeouts.
The Cashews would take the lead in the second Nathan Church takes this deep to right center, up on the berm, a two run shot, it's 2-0 Springfield.
But Northwest Arkansas cuts that lead in half in the third, Jordan Groshans flares this to right field, it drops in fair, Carter Jensen scores and it's 2-1.
Then in the fourth, Nevins would get his revenge on Hansen, Nevins takes this deep to left, into the bullpen, a solo shot, and we're tied at two.
That's Nevins second homer of the season.
It's 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, and Church singles over first into right, Dakota Harris scores and the Cashew Chickens win 3-2.
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New York Times
4 days ago
- New York Times
From a 70-7 loss to FBS: Why Missouri State jumped to college football's highest level
Although the thought of moving up to the highest level of college football had long percolated at Missouri State, it didn't start to formalize until the run-up to a game at Arkansas State in 2015. The Sun Belt Conference had just invited Coastal Carolina from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and member Arkansas State liked the idea of adding a peer only 200 miles away in Missouri's third-largest city (Springfield) to the conference too. There was enough mutual interest between Missouri State and the conference for preliminary talks. The matchup wasn't supposed to be a trial run for the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), exactly, but it quickly became a four-quarter feasibility study into the Bears' immediate potential in the highest subdivision. Advertisement They lost 70-7. 'We just got the hell beat out of us,' said Clif Smart, then Missouri State's president. 'It was a humiliating, awful game. We went home from that going, 'We're not anywhere close to being ready.'' They are now. Or at least they'd better be. Missouri State became a Conference USA member this summer, joining Delaware as the newest programs in the 136-team FBS. The Bears' FBS debut is at USC on Aug. 30. It's a big jump for any team, going from recent home openers like Lindenwood and Lincoln University of Missouri to No. 16 SMU. But it seems especially ambitious for a losing program (.483 all-time winning percentage) with only one (shared) conference title and six winning seasons this century. To make it happen, the Bears needed more than the usual administrative commitment and hush-hush politicking to grab what they thought could be one of the last FBS spots available. They needed one of college sports' biggest lightning rods to show proof-of-concept that a basketball school in a basketball region can, finally, win in football. They needed Bobby Petrino. The Bears' glory days came in a 15-year stretch, mostly away from the gridiron and under a different name, Southwest Missouri State. From 1987-99, only four current mid-majors made the NCAA Tournament in men's basketball more than the Bears (six appearances): New Mexico, Murray State, Princeton and UMass. They hung with Kansas and UNLV, knocked off Clemson and upset Wisconsin and Tennessee to make the Sweet 16 as a No. 12 seed in 1999. 'Everybody was going to basketball games,' said Ned Reynolds, a Springfield sports broadcaster for the last 58 years. 'Everybody.' Though the program has fallen to 221-226 over the past 14 seasons, basketball still resonates. The Bears opened a new arena in 2008, and a budget working group ranked hoops ahead of football in a 2017 document obtained by the Springfield News-Leader. Advertisement The women's program is even better. The Lady Bears have made 17 of the past 33 NCAA Tournaments, led the nation in attendance in 1993 and made the Final Four in 1992 and 2001. Jackie Stiles was Caitlin Clark before Caitlin Clark, becoming the first woman to score 1,000 points in a season and graduating as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer (3,393 points, which still ranks fifth). Football flashed with back-to-back FCS playoff appearances in 1989-90 … then lost 191 of its next 320 games. The 70-7 debacle at Arkansas State was the program's worst loss in 94 years and showed the FCS/FBS gap in facilities, talent, commitment and everything else. As losing seasons mounted, fans weren't the only ones questioning the program's existence. School officials considered cutting it. 'Forget about FBS,' said Kyle Moats, who was Missouri State's athletic director from 2009-24 before going to Eastern Kentucky. 'We had a serious thought as to, are we going to continue to keep going this route.' The doubts led to the next turning point in late 2019. As the Bears stumbled through a 1-10 season, Moats got a call from Petrino, who was a year removed from being fired at Louisville. Petrino had high-level success with the Cardinals (77-35 over two stints) and at Arkansas (21-5 over his final two seasons) but also had high-profile exits at both stops. He wanted back in the game, and the Bears wanted to give him a chance to answer the program's existential question. 'Could you win at football at Missouri State?' Smart asked. Turns out, you can. Petrino brought the Bears to the FCS playoffs for the first time in three decades with back-to-back appearances and a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title before returning to the FBS as an offensive coordinator. 'All of a sudden, we believed — we actually believed — we could move to FBS and compete,' Smart said. Advertisement Which led to the next question. Should the Bears move to FBS if given the chance? That answer was easier. Missouri State was one of the largest schools still in the FCS. The projected cost — about $10 million up front plus another $5 million annually — was significant but could be offset at least in part by larger conference distributions and bigger paychecks from Power 4 opponents. Administrators viewed a more prominent football program as a valuable marketing tool to help meet their goal of growing enrollment from 25,000 to 30,000 by 2030; the school could gain exposure through nationally televised weeknight contests and the EA Sports video game while adding an enhanced element to campus life. Going all-in on basketball was a non-starter. Because power conferences now monopolize at-large NCAA Tournament spots, the Bears would be trading one one-bid league (the Missouri Valley) for another. 'The way college athletics is and the way it's been going for the last decade, football is certainly the one that is driving pretty much everything,' said Patrick Ransdell, who succeeded Moats as athletic director last summer. The final pieces came together in the spring of 2024. The conference realignment chain reaction that started with the SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma was whittling Conference USA down to five members. The league needed to backfill, and Missouri State was a geographic and institutional fit. Because school administrators envisioned the industry's biggest brands wanting fewer, not more, FBS teams in the future, they feared the window to jump was closing. 'If we're gonna do this,' Smart said, 'we gotta do this now.' Last May, the Bears earned and accepted an invitation as Conference USA's 12th member. Ready or not, they had arrived. It's easy to see why prognosticators peg the Bears to finish in the bottom half of the league in Year 1. Since 2014, every FCS regular that moved up to FBS won at least 59 percent of its games in the five full seasons before the jump. Even with Petrino's bump, Missouri State is at .456 (excluding the 2020-21 COVID campaign). *Since 2014, excluding 2020-21 season and Charlotte, which played only two FCS seasons before moving up. But the numbers don't tell the full story. The Bears played in what Ransdell called the SEC of the FCS. North Dakota State and South Dakota State have won the past four national titles, South Dakota was a top-four seed last year and Illinois State and Youngstown State have both reached the FCS finals since 2014. The Bears' only defeats last season were to three playoff teams (Montana, South Dakota State and North Dakota State) and an eight-point road loss to an FBS school (Ball State). Advertisement Third-year coach Ryan Beard — Petrino's son-in-law — reeled off eight consecutive wins last season and returns record-breaking quarterback Jacob Clark, a former top-500 national recruit at Minnesota. 'We feel like we can step in and compete,' Ransdell said. Even if they can, the Bears still face other difficulties off the field. With no dedicated football facility yet, the team meets in the auditorium of a nearby academic hall. The 17,500-seat Robert W. Plaster Stadium needs more than the new turf, new lights and deep pressure-washing it recently received in Phase 0 of a three-phase update. Budgets have not yet been finalized, but Ransdell estimated future costs at $50 million. Those upgrades will be easier if Missouri State can accomplish a final challenge: making the community care. Since 1994, the Bears have cracked the top 20 in FCS home attendance only five times. Their average crowds (9,663 last year) are typically closer to McNeese and North Carolina Central than Delaware or the Dakota schools. 'My theory is, it wasn't that people didn't want football,' said Smart, the university's president emeritus after retiring last year. 'They didn't like losing football. They didn't like bad football.' There are early indications Smart's theory is correct. Season ticket revenue is up $200,000. Students voted to approve a $140 increase in their athletic fees to help fund the move. The fact that the Bears were able to keep Clark — one of FCS' top passers after setting school records in passing yards (3,604) and touchdowns (26) last year — in the transfer portal era wasn't lost on school president Richard 'Biff' Williams. 'There's a culture that did that, but of course I'm sure there's some donors and some NIL and some things that helped him stay,' Williams said. 'I think that tells you kind of where our community and coaches and others are.' Advertisement Where they are now is a long way from where they were a decade ago against Arkansas State. What started with a devastating 70-7 defeat led to a proof-of-concept flash from Petrino and, finally, a trip to the Coliseum to face USC and a visit from a reigning College Football Playoff team, SMU, as a fellow member of the sport's top division. Will the school, the team and the community finally be ready? 'The sense that I get is, this is the Show-Me State,' said Reynolds, the longtime local broadcaster. 'Show us.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Yahoo
Shaquille O'Neal Will Not Present Dwight Howard At 2025 Hall Of Fame Induction
Shaquille O'Neal Will Not Present Dwight Howard At 2025 Hall Of Fame Induction originally appeared on Fadeaway World. What was shaping up to be a poetic full-circle moment in NBA history has taken an unexpected turn. Shaquille O'Neal, who had reportedly agreed to present Dwight Howard at the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame induction, will no longer be doing so. Instead, Howard will be honored by a legendary cast that includes Dominique Wilkins, Robert Parish, Dennis Rodman, and Patrick Ewing. The change, which was first reported just days ahead of the ceremony, has sent ripples through the basketball world, not just because of the names involved, but because of what it symbolizes. Howard and Shaq had one of the most public and bitter beefs in modern NBA history. For over a decade, O'Neal criticized Howard's game, personality, and even his right to use the 'Superman' nickname, which both big men made iconic in their own eras. But in recent months, things seemed to have turned around. Back in April, Howard had posted that he wanted Shaq, Kevin Garnett, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to 'walk him out' at the Hall of Fame. He even gave interviews stating how excited he was that Shaq would be presenting him, going so far as to call it a dream come true. 'Whatever he says will be amazing. I'm looking forward to that day.' The two had reportedly squashed their beef, where they spoke face-to-face and buried their long-standing differences. That reconciliation led to speculation and confirmation that Shaq would be among Howard's presenters. Now, that appears to have fallen through. Whether due to a scheduling issue, a last-minute change of heart, or something behind the scenes, Shaq is officially off the list. Neither O'Neal nor Howard has publicly addressed the change, but it's certainly raised eyebrows among fans who were eager to witness the symbolic passing of the torch from one dominant center to the next. Despite the absence of Shaq, Howard won't be lacking in support. His list of presenters features some of the greatest big men to ever play the game, Ewing, Wilkins, Rodman, and Parish, each of whom reflects different aspects of Howard's legacy: defense, rebounding, athleticism, and tenacity. Their presence ensures that his enshrinement will still carry the reverence and recognition he deserves. Howard's Hall of Fame induction comes after a remarkable 18-year NBA career where he averaged 15.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game, while shooting nearly 59% from the field. He made eight All-Star appearances, was named Defensive Player of the Year three times, and led the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009. For all the criticism he received, Howard's resume is undeniable. In the end, even without Shaq beside him, Dwight Howard enters the Hall with the full weight of his accomplishments and with a supporting cast of legends who know exactly what it means to dominate the story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Yahoo
New Springfield boxing gym boosts Indian Orchard downtown
SPRINGFIELD — Isaac Reyes grew up 'rough' mixing with gangs and getting in trouble. Then boxing saved him. Now the sport has turned him into a business owner. Reyes and his wife Nancy Reyes officially opening Raw Talent Boxing and Fitness on Main Street in Indian Orchard, accepting their first boxers at 5 p.m., Monday. 'It is a passion for him and now it will be our business,' said Nancy Reyes. Isaac Reyes said he started boxing in the South End and the discipline and other skills he learned helped him change. Later when he had to quit due to injuries, he found himself slipping back to his old ways until he resumed the sport. In 2017 and at the age of 36, his training and hard work paid off when he won the Golden Gloves championship. With an age cutoff of 40 looming, Isaac Reyes started coaching young boxers, first in Holyoke and then at the Heart of Champions gym in West Springfield. Isaac Reyes said he started dreaming of opening his own gym as he became a more experienced trainer. While researching how to get started, the couple learned about the city's small business program and applied and received a $50,000 grant that allowed them to renovate a first-floor store in downtown Indian Orchard and turn it into a gym. 'We were able to build it out, install the flooring, build the boxing ring and we bought gloves, head gear and other equipment for the kids with the grant,' Nancy Reyes said. She thanked Wilson Darbin, project manager who oversees the small business grants, saying he helped the couple throughout the entire process making it easier for them to make the renovations and navigate the paperwork. The small business grants come from federal Community Development Block Grant money awarded mainly to urban communities based on poverty rates. Over the years, Springfield has used that money for everything from helping small businesses and increasing affordable housing to improving parks and youth development, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said. 'CDGB it is a lifeline to urban mayors. We are hoping the federal government continues to fund those,' he said. While there is a lot of focus on boosting downtown, the truth is Springfield has two Main Streets and the city wants to see both expand, Sarno said. 'The grants have helped thousands of businesses. They put blood, sweat and tears into them. It is 24-7,' he said. 'We want businesses to do more than survive, we want them to thrive.' Thinking back to his days of working at the South End Community Center, Sarno said a lot of youth were drawn to its boxing program. Not only did it teach them life lessons, it also was an incentive for children to behave and keep their grades up because they were not allowed to box if they did not do well in school. The couple knows all too well how it can help students since Isaac Reyes is a bus driver for Springfield schools while his wife is a first-grade teacher at Frederick Harris School. 'It teaches discipline, listening skills and following directions,' Nancy Reyes said. Both will continue to keep their day jobs and run the gym at night, planning to be open between 5 and 9:30 on weekdays, Isaac Reyes said. Raw Talent Boxing and Fitness will offer two classes a week to children and three for adults. There are also women's classes. Classes begin for children as young as five, he said. The cost of a monthly membership is $75 for children ages 5 through 12 and it decreases to $65 for teenagers and adults, he said. Read the original article on MassLive. Solve the daily Crossword
