Sizing up the SEMO 33 poll Saturday on YHC-TV

I had the distinction of being the first guest on the first episode of the Sports Roundtable on YHC-TV over the weekend. Host Tyler Wagner and I took a look back at the preseason SEMO 33 poll and offered a few opinions and guesstimations along the way. The show was a blast, and I'm already looking forward to another invitation.

The show will air live with new guests at 10 a.m. every Saturday throughout the high school sports season on YHC-TV, which broadcasts on cable networks throughout Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas. You can also catch it on www.yhctv.com.

If you missed Saturday's opener, here's a look back:

Five go 6-for-6 in our cash-money football contest's first week

Five people correctly picked all six winners in the first week of our cash-money football contest, but everybody who entered picked at least four winners — not bad for a week in which we really didn't know what to expect, and that led to many of us (including me) being surprised by Cape Girardeau Central's landslide win over New Madrid County Central (Thayer's win and Malden's win also stumped at least a couple of people).

But Week 2 is approaching fast, so check out the message board and take a look at this week's six games — they're tough ones, so if anybody goes 6-for-6 this time, it'll take a lot more than just good guesswork.

A long day on the road Saturday delayed a few updates to our site, but other things are popping up online today (or within the next 24 hours), including photos from football games featuring Festus-Farmington and Cape Central-NMCC, along with Saturday's game featuring Jackson at first-year varsity program O'Fallon Christian; local football rushing, passing and receiving leaders after Week 1; and the new SEMO 33 poll, which will show changes among the top 10.

Sports show returns Saturday on YHC-TV

I'll join host Tyler Wagner and other guests Saturday to talk about Friday's games and look ahead to the rest of the high school football season when The Sports Roundtable returns Saturday morning after its summer break.

The show will air live each week at 10 a.m. on YHC TV, a Dexter-based network available on several cable systems across Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas. Check yhctv.com for availability and channel.

The show can also be watched live on yhctv.com, and it replays at 4 and 8:30 p.m.

SEMO basketball schedule includes home visit by Arkansas State

A visit by coach Dickey Nutt's previous school is among home-court highlights for Southeast's men's basketball team.

The school released the final schedules late Tuesday for both the men's team and women's team.

On the men's side, ASU presents an intriguing matchup at the Show Me Center — it's the same ASU where Nutt coached for almost 13 seasons before he was pressured to resign in February 2008. He was hired at Southeast about a year later, and ASU dominated the Redhawks in a 73-49 outcome last year.

They play again Nov. 27 in Cape Girardeau.

In all, Southeast will have 15 home dates, including exhibitions, Ohio Valley Conference games and an ESPN BracketBuster matchup to be determined.

Road games present a tough nonconference challenge with dates at Arkansas, Iowa State, Southern Illinois-Carbondale and Southern Methodist.

The Southeast women's team also face a tough climb with a packed nonconference schedule, including home dates against Northern Iowa and Western Michigan, along with road games at Texas-Arlington, Notre Dame and Louisville and a four-team tournament at Mississippi.

The home schedule includes 15 dates, including exhibitions and OVC games.

Baseball, football, soccer, softball and volleyball scores are coming

With high school sports starting this week, we'll be working to gather scores for baseball, football, boys soccer, softball and volleyball for Southeast Missouri's 83 high schools.

All through the season, click on our home page and follow the links to scores for each sport. We'll add scores just as soon as they're passed along to us.

It's not an easy chore rounding up scores for more than 200 teams, so we'll take all the help we can get: If you're a coach, athlete or fan, pass along your score by e-mail (send it to scores@semosportsweb.com) or send a text message from your cell phone to (573) 979-5929.

And don't forget our Friday night football updates — we'll post updated scores of games in progress just as often as we get them.

SEMO is a big target on Ball State's radar

The Ohio Valley Conference's coaches might not hold Southeast football in high regard this season, but Ball State sure is.

OVC coaches in the preseason picked SEMO to finish near the bottom of the league, but Ball State has been focused on Southeast from the time it stepped on the field for 15 days of spring practice back in March. Even now, Ball State's focus through the fall has been squarely on Southeast.

That's the outcome of the Cardinals' 2-10 record last season, one in which Ball State got caught looking at big-picture goals rather than week-to-week achievements.

SEMO goes to Muncie, Ind., to play Ball State in the opener for both teams Sept. 2.

"We need to be 1-0, that's the whole thing," Ball State coach Stan Parrish said of the Cardinals' focus on Southeast, which itself was 2-9 last season. "Last year, we thought we could run our stuff pretty much against whatever you got in the opener.

"You can do that to a degree, but we weren't good enough," he told Muncie's Star-Press this week. "There's no question our guys are focused on the first game. They all know it."

Ball State opened the season with seven straight losses last year, including a 20-10 season-opening loss to North Texas in Week 1 and a 23-16 loss to New Hampshire in Week 2. Southeast opened with a 72-3 win over Quincy last season.

Michael Porter will attend SEMO, but basketball future is "50-50"

Michael Porter, whose basketball career was uncertain at Missouri State University following a June car wreck, will transfer to Southeast Missouri State — where his chances of playing basketball remain sketchy.

Porter, rumored to be considering a transfer to Southeast for several weeks, confirmed today that he would in fact transfer and be closer to his former home in Sikeston. But he called his chances of playing basketball again "50-50" as he continues to recover from hip surgery as a result of a crash in rural southwest Missouri in June.

Porter recently became a father, which played a role in his decision to move closer to home.

"The past few months have helped me prioritize things in my life. Whether or not I am able to play basketball again, I want to stay close to home," Porter told Springfield's News-Leader. "I love the Missouri State program, but I have a son now, and being a father figure is more important than ever."

In all, he scored 23 points and had 11 rebounds and later was approved for a medical redshirt. He was granted a release from his scholarship this morning.

Last week, MSU coach Cuonzo Martin said Porter's status at MSU was uncertain because of his injuries. He had returned home to Sikeston this summer while he recovered.

Southeast was among Porter's final choices when he made his decision to attend and play at MSU.

"I love the game, and it would be hard to walk away," Porter said. "That’s why I am taking everything very slow."

Michael Porter's status is still wait-and-see at MSU

Michael Porter's status for the upcoming men's basketball season is still uncertain as he continues to heal from a car crash.

Porter, a Sikeston High grad and Class 4 all-state pick, was approved for a medical reshirt after injuries limited his freshman season at Missouri State University. He scored 23 points and had 11 rebounds for the Bears.

He has four seasons of eligibility remaining, but coach Cuonzo Martin said this week that it's too early to tell when Porter will return. Porter dislocated his hip in early June when his car rolled off a highway near near Rogersville in Christian County.

Blake Dewitt goes 3-for-4 in debut with Cubs

Blake Dewitt's trade to the Chicago Cubs was a whirlwind two-day stretch that ended with one of his best MLB games: He went 3-for-4 with a double as part of an 8-7 loss to Colorado on Sunday.

Dewitt, a Sikeston High grad, was traded early Saturday by the Dodgers in a multi-player deal. The trade came as a surprise — "A shock," Dewitt called it — and he was unexpectedly added to Sunday's lineup when the Cubs came up short-handed in their game at Denver.

Next up for Dewitt is Monday night's debut at Wrigley Field.

"I've been with the [Dodgers] organization for a while," Dewitt told MLB.com. "Like everybody told me, the first time being traded is always the toughest. You grow close to your teammates but I really couldn't be more excited about this opportunity. It's a great organization, a great city and great baseball."

Dewitt will wear No. 9 in Chicago. And as a member of the Cubs, he gets another series closer to home against the Cardinals. The Cubs play in St. Louis Aug. 13, 14 and 15.