THE FORT MADISON FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTS A HOUSE WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. AROUND 10:50 P-M SUNDAY, FIREFIGHTERS WERE CALLED TO 2802 AVENUE O FOR A HOUSE FIRE. UPON ARRIVAL, FIRE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS SAY THERE WAS HEAVY FIRE SHOWING OUT OF THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HOUSE. ACCORDING TO A MEDIA RELEASE, THE FIRE STATED ON THE BACK PORCH OF THE HOUSE, BUT THE CAUSE REMAINS UNKNOWN. FIRE CHIEF JOEY HERREN SAYS THE HOME OF FRANK AND JANET LAWLER WAS A TOTAL LOSS, ESTIMATED AT 70-THOUSAND DOLLARS. ONE FIREFIGHTER SUSTAINED A KNEE INJURY WHILE FIGHTING THE BLAZE. HIS CONDITION IS UNKNOWN. THERE WERE NO OTHER INJURIES REPORTED.

POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR A SUSPECTED METH MAKER AFTER AN EXPLOSION TORE THROUGH A KEOKUK MOTEL ROOM EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL REPORTS, POLICE AND FIRE UNITS WERE SUMMONED TO THE CHIEF MOTEL AROUND 1:30 SUNDAY MORNING. FIRE OFFICIALS STATE THAT ROOM 108 OF THE HOTEL SHOWED EXPLOSION DAMAGE THAT CARRIED OUT THROUGH A CONNECTED ATTIC TO DAMAGE A FRONT SOFFIT OF THE BUILDING AS WELL. POLICE OFFICIALS SUSPECT THE EXPLOSION CAME FROM A METH LAB IN THE ROOM, BUT THE INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING AT THIS POINT. THERE WERE NO REPORTED INJURIES IN THE BLAST.

KEOKUK SCHOOL BOARD SECRETARY GREG REYNOLDS DIDN’T HAVE MUCH IN THE WAY OF GOOD FINANCIAL NEWS TO PRESENT THAT BODY AT LAST NIGHT’S MEETING. ACCORDING TO REYNOLDS, THE DISTRICT WILL SEE ITS CASH BALANCE REDUCED BY NEARLY 1.8 MILLION DOLLARS IN THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR IF DRASTIC CUTS ARE NOT MADE TO THE BUDGET. PART OF THE REASON FOR THE BUDGET CRUNCH IS A REDUCTION IN ENROLLMENT IN THE DISTRICT THAT REDUCES FEDERAL AND STATE MONEY BY 320 DOLLARS PER LOST STUDENT – TOTALLING 670-THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.

AROUND 75 CONCERNED STUDENTS AND PARENTS ATTENDED LAST NIGHT’S KEOKUK SCHOOL BOARD MEETING TO EXPRESS THEIR OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS TO THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT. THE PROPOSED CUTS WOULD ELIMINATE A FULL TIME BAND DIRECTOR AT THE KEOKUK MIDDLE SCHOOL AS PART OF OVER 900-THOUSAND DOLLARS IN BUDGET REDUCTIONS FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. SEVERAL SPEAKERS URGED THE BOARD TO FIND ALTERNATIVES TO CUTTING FUNDS AND TEACHERS FROM THE MUSIC PROGRAM. THE BOARD’S CURRENT BUDGET PROPOSAL WOULD CUT OVER 76-THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT, BUT A FINAL PROPOSAL ON THOSE CUTS WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD ON MARCH 29TH.

Web Poll!!  Which of these following events would signal the coming Apocalypse?

1.)  The Chicago Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup Championship.

2.) The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.

3.)  The Chicago White Sox becoming relevant other than on the South Side.

4.) The Chicago Bears actually spending money.

The first could actually happen this year.  Numbers 2 and 3 will never happen — even after the end of the world.  That leaves number 4.

The Apocalypse is here.

On the first day of NFL free agency heading into an un-capped year of player salaries, the Chicago PennyPinchers ….uh, I mean, Bears…quickly and emphatically signed the top free agent defensive end and top free agent running back.  On the same day.  In the same year.  Heck…in the same lifetime.

The signing of former Panther Julius Peppers and former Viking 1400-yard rusher Chester Taylor signifies just how desperate Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith have become.  After three straight non-playoff seasons that followed a trip to the Super Bowl, things were getting out of hand.  After trading away first and second round draft choices in the upcoming draft — hence no chance at an immediate impact player — all that was left to the Bears braintrust (if they had a brain, that is) was to convince the notoriously frugal McCaskey family to pony up the dough.

Wonder of wonders, the purse strings loosened.

What this all means is the end of the world as we know it.  To wit, the end of putting up with mediocrity from the top down in the once-proud franchise that is now the National Football Laughingstock.

If, after all the coaching changes and money spent on new personnel, this upcoming season ends like the last three…the only end  will be the end of the Angelo/Smith Barnum and Bailey circus that has existed in Lake Forest for the last three seasons.

The only remaining question is this:  Do Bears fans want the team to succeed this year with the new players?  That would result in an “I told you so” by the current administration and the probable return of Angelo, Smith, et. al.  If the team flops again this season after all of the machinations of the offseason, then it’s hit the road….sayonara…don’t let it door hit your a– on the way out for Angelo and Smith.  Which way does the true Bear fan lean?

Spring Training in Arizona this season for the Chicago Cubs is a lot quieter this year than last.  The Milton Bradley experiment blew up in the Cubs’ faces last season…a major reason why the North Siders underachieved last year to a dismal second place finish.

As the new season gets underway with Bradley now in Seattle as a Mariner…he still can’t stop stirring up issues in Chicago.  In his latest incarnation of “stupid is as stupid does” Bradley blamed last season entirely on Chicago.

The man who has been with 8 teams in 11 years still can’t figure out the HE is the problem.  His statement this time was that “I was good before” Chicago and that he’ll “be good this year” so the problem was “all Chicago’s fault.”

Sure, Milt…Chicago caused you to lose your temper the first home at bat you ever had at Wrigley field.  Chicago caused you to be angry in the clubhouse every day.  Chicago caused you to have the worst year of your career.  Chicago was probably even the cause of you not being welcome in half the clubhouses in baseball.  It obviously can’t be your churlish and childish nature, or your inability to get along with others.  And definitely NOT your inability to take any responsibility for your own actions and attitudes.

I echo the non-spoken sentiments of many of your ex-teammates.  Good riddance to a problem best gotten rid of.  Even if the Cubs fall even further in the standings this year…it’s going to be a better year in Chicago simply because Milton Bradley is somewhere else.

Dave ventured down to Memphis, Missouri, for the Open House at Racemart. He was able to talk with over a dozen drivers and others, so we split up the interviews to make two shows. This week, Dave talks with Adam Birck, Brian Clark, Jason McDaniel, Jacoby Hooper, Brian Rodefer, Michael Browning, and Derek St. Clair.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast or stop by again next week for the rest of the interviews from Racemart’s Open House.

The gold medal game of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic men’s hockey tournament promises to be one of two things:

1)  A close, physical game that could go either way depending on the hot goalie, or

2)  A blow-out by a very p-o’d Canadian squad that has already lost once this tournament to Team USA.

Either way, this should be an excellent example of how hockey should be played.  Fighting is NOT tolerated in Olympic play, so the teams resort to the true beauty of the game — speed, agility, passing, and teamwork.  It is this type of play that, to me, makes hockey the most exciting sport in the world.

For the casual fan, you truly cannot get the feel of a hockey game from the TV.  Even so, I urge you to watch the game on Sunday.  If all you know about hockey is the fighting, then you need to watch this game.  You may actually see something that grabs your attention and makes you a fan.  Better yet, go to a game if you get the chance.  Once you experience the game at the personal level, you’ll be hooked.  I was.  Years ago.

Go USA.  But either way, it’s gonna be a great game!!

Lovie Smith began waxing idiotic at the NFL Combine Friday. The man who simply cannot see that his precious Cover-2 scheme is old, outdated, and ineffective in today’s NFL had these nuggets of “wisdom” for us to digest on Friday:
“Tommy Harris is still an impact player.” Smith even said that there were about “five” sacks that Harris didn’t get because he didn’t “wrap the guy up.” So, 2.5 sacks for the season is fine as long as you have five “almost” sacks?

“Devin Hester is a No. 1 receiver” and that it “may be the deepest position” on the team. WHAT!?!? You CANNOT be serious! Sure, you have depth, because you go six or seven deep of number five or six receivers. Hester is the game’s most explosive return man who has been neutered by a coach who should be selling pencils from a cup on the corner out in front of Soldier Field.

Until the beancounters at Halas Hall realize they are paying huge money for miniscule results, nothing will change and the once-proud Chicago Bears franchise will continue to be the NFL — the National Football Laughing stock.

Our local broadcasts for fall and winter have come to a close, so I’d like to thank the coaches, players, and staff from Central Lee and Keokuk for their help in making our broadcasts fun to do…and hopefully to listen to as well.  Also a thanks to our friends at Wendy’s in Keokuk for sponsoring the Play of the game.

We’ll be returning to WCEZ and KRNQ this May with selected coverage of Keokuk and Central Lee softball and baseball.

Don’t forget to follow all the Major League action of the St. Louis Cardinals on KOKX-FM 95.3 and the Chicago White Sox on WCEZ!

And, I hope to put more of my thoughts into the ether here on the blog…so be ready to critique my opinion on just about anything that is happening in the world of sports!!!

Finally, don’t forget to check in daily for the most comprehensive sports calendar and score page in the Tri-state area!!

-Bill

While on the way to Vegas for this week’s race, NASCAR Nationwide Series car owner Corrie Stott talks with Dave Jones. Dave also caught up with RaceMart’s owner Brent Walker to get the scoop on the Memphis, Missouri, store’s open house.