With Gas Prices on the Rise, Columbia Family Does What Most People Only Say

"I'm not driving any more." That seems to be a line said by many people with the rises gas prices these days. Many Americans have sworn to drive their car less when they arrive home from work on a Friday evening and turn on the news. But but Monday morning, they seem to have forgotten all about it. Not the Simmons family of Columbia, Missouri. They are giving up driving their cars (except to and from work) for the entire month of May, to see how much money they can save. The drawbacks are there, the family said they have been late to a lot of events already, but the rewards seem to be going well. According to the father, Thad, the family saved $100 in their first week with the no-driving experiment.

It may not last, but I am glad to see that somebody is at least trying to solve the rising gas prices, even if it is only for their own family. So many people complain about the rising gas prices, but do nothing about it. Yes, we all need to drive somewhere, most notably to work, but walking, riding a bike or taking public transportation somewhere else is possible. I mean, it's just so easy to complain. Doing something about it is tough. The Simmons family did something about the gas problem in their household, and I hope that other families and individuals do the same thing. No, nobody can cut driving entirely out of their life, but they can cut down on it, and still enjoy some fun.

Publish Date: May 8 in the Missourian. Front Page.

"The Natural"

Stories about natural talents in sports are always captivating. Bernard Malamud's tale of Roy Hobbs is a classic novel about the life of a natural baseball phenom. Jamie Maggard wrote an article in the Missourian about golfer Landon Willett, who although not of "phenom" stature, has great natural golf talents. In sports, two types of stories captivate audiences, one about a guy who works so hard to eventually become successful, and the other being about athletes with supreme natural ability that it seems like they can't do anything wrong. Unfortunately, the stories about supreme natural talents always seem to have a catch, they always seem to have some sort of problem. Maggard's profile on Willett is no different. Willett hasn't had to deal with some of the extreme problems that are seen with some talented athletes (Josh Hamilton and Darryl Strawberry's drug problems come to mind), but the golf sensation has had some difficulty in settling in. After starting of his high school career at Christian Fellowship, Willett decided to transfer to Rock Bridge for his junior and senior years. The only problem was, that as a junior he could not play on the varsity golf team because of eligibility rules regarding transfer students. Willett decided to play golf on his own, and not be part of the JV team at Rock Bridge. He entered tournaments on his own because he desired to play golf in college, and with the JV team only playing in one tournament, Willett thought he would be at a major disadvantage.

I really enjoyed Maggard's story. It was an excellent profile piece. I realize how much time goes into a profile story, but it all seems worth it when it is over. Maggard does a great job of telling who Landon Willett is, which is what a profile is all about. She gets some nice background information from Willett's father, Kent, as well. And with a headline that reads "Natural Talent" her story is going to attract lots of readers. I hope they all enjoy it as much as I did.

Publish Date: May 4 in the Missourian. Front page of the sports section.

Closing in on "The Bambino"

On Tuesday Barry Bonds cranked out career homer number 712, putting him two home runs shy of tying Babe Ruth for second place on the career home run list. Debates are raging all over the sporting world as Bonds nears this plateau. It is a historic mark; many consider Babe Ruth to be the greatest baseball player to ever play the game. To me, this mark doesn't mean much. It is nice to have, just like silver medal in the Olympics is nice to have, but the real money sits with Hank Aaron and his 755 home runs. It is inevitable that Bonds will pass Ruth, if he doesn't hit three more home runs this year (with nearly 140 games remaining on the schedule) the sporting world will be stunned. Bonds even said on his weekly ESPN show, "Bonds on Bonds," that if he were struggling due to injuries in his right knee and elbow that he would retire from the game, regardless of how many homers he has.

This situation does present some fun options though. I think there is a lot of interest with the office pool crowd. I think it would be fun to put a few dollars down on the date that you think Bonds will pass Ruth on. Personally, I think that he catches Ruth at 714 this weekend in Philadelphia, I'll say on Sunday May 7th, when Bonds' Giants take on the Philadelphia Phillies for ESPN's Sunday night baseball. I think he will then pass Ruth with 715 on Wednesday, May 10 in front of his home fans against the Chicago Cubs.

Will Bonds get the ultimate prize and catch Aaron? Probably not. Bonds would need a monster season to get to Hammerin' Hank this year. Bonds needs 43 more home runs to catch Aaron, 44 to pass him. That means 44 plus the 4 he already has would give him a 48 home run season, definitely within reach of the Barry Bonds that sports fans have come to know over the past few years. But Bonds' body is breaking down this year. Injuries and age are catching up to him. He has played in 22 of the Giants 26 games, which means that he is on pace for a 137 game season, if he maintains the rest rate that he is getting. Even though that is a good amount of games, that isn't enough for him to get to the 48 home runs he needs to pass Aaron. Plus, it isn't just about the games; it is about the amount of at-bats he is getting. Often Bonds has been in the game for only one or two at-bats, but still gets credit for playing in the game. Walks factor into this as well; a walk does not count as an at-bat, and Bonds draws more walks than anybody these days. He already has 27 walks in the 22 games he has played this year. Compare this season to his brief stint last season. Due to injury Bonds played in only 14 games in 2005, he had 42 at-bats in those games. This year, as I have said, he has played in 22 games, but has only 52 at-bats. 10 more at-bats in 8 more games in not a normal pace. Normally a player gets 3 to 4 at-bats per game, Bonds should have around 30 more at-bats. I don't think he is going to get enough at-bats to pass Aaron. Bonds will probably wind up with between 30 and 35 homers this season, which would give him between 738 and 743 career home runs. Leaving him tantalizingly close to Aaron. The real question in the Barry Bonds saga is not if he did steroids. It is not if he will pass the Babe. It is not if he will pass Aaron this season. The real question is, will Barry Bonds be able to play next year and be able to hit the 20 or so homers he would need to pass Hammerin' Hank? Only Bonds knows. I don't think his body can hold up that long.

Publish Date: May 3 in the Missourian. 3rd page of the sports section.

Rockin' His Way to 5-0

Bronson Arroyo. The guy looks more like a rock star than a star pitcher. Actually, Arroyo does have his own band. You may have not much from it this year though because Arroyo is no longer a starting pitcher in over-covered Boston. When Arroyo was a member of the Red Sox (and playing a key role in end their World Series drought) it seemed like ESPN couldn't go five minutes without mentioning the fact that Arroyo played in a band as well as pitched for the Red Sox. Anyway, looking at the guy it looks like he is more suited for his role of a rocker than that of a Major League starting pitcher who has begun the season 5-0.

Arroyo was traded to the Cincinnati Reds before the season started for Reds outfielder Wily Mo Pena. So far, Cincinnati is reaping the benefits of the deal. Arroyo has only had one game in his six starts that you could say was a poor outing. That was when he gave up five runs in five innings on April 16th to the St. Louis Cardinals. But Arroyo redeemed himself on Monday night. Throwing a complete game in which he only gave up one run to the Cardinals (who, on paper, have what seems to be the best team in the National League). Plus Arroyo did what nobody else has been able to do this year. He got Albert Pujols out! Pujols was 0 for 3 against Arroyo.

The funny thing is that Arroyo, who has become Cincinnati's ace, was the Boston Red Sox fourth of fifth starter. The guy at the backend of the rotation that isn't expected to put up big numbers. And his success could very well continue. The Reds play in the National League, which is by far weaker than its American League counterpart. Arroyo pitched in the big-time slugging American League East the last few years. Where he had to deal with the Dream Team lineup the New York Yankees possess, which included superstars like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, the list goes on and on. He had to deal with the Baltimore Orioles, who have big-time slugger Miguel Tejada (a guy who drove in 150 runs two years ago), the Toronto Blue Jays had a formidable lineup from top to bottom, headed by Vernon Wells last year, but two years ago had slugger Carlos Delgado in it. Arroyo is definitely smiling in the National League. Yes, the Cardinals have a nice team, but after Pujols, I don't think anybody else will strike any kind of fear into Arroyo. He's got an easier road this year in the National League, and Bronson seems to be enjoying every bit of it right now.

Publish Date: May 2 in the Missourian. Sports Section Front Page.