Robinson's return to area was a treat

It was great to see current St. Louis Cardinals player and former Southeast Missouri State University baseball star Kerry Robinson Saturday night at he signed autographs prior to the Indians' basketball game against Morehead State and then was honored during the contest.

Kerry is one of the all-time classiest and polite young men I've had the pleasure of getting to know in more than 20 years as a journalist. And that's saying something because I am fortunate to have come into contact with countless other people like that.

I became friends with Kerry even before he turned into a college standout as he was academically ineligible his first season and we spent plenty of time playing basketball together at the Rec Center. While I don't see him nearly as much now as I did when he played for SEMO, I still talk to him from time to time and can honestly say that his personality doesn't seem any different now that he has made it to the major leagues.

Kerry is still the same humble, cordial and friendly person I remember meeting a decade ago and here's hoping he never changes.

Something tells me he won't.

Still on the subject of baseball, the start of the college season isn't very far off, as evidenced by the activity at Capaha Field as SEMO began practice Tuesday.

The weather warmed up just enough over the past several days for the Indians to get outside as they prepare for their Feb. 15 opener at Oklahoma, which begins a rugged schedule that features a host of traditional national powers.

We college basketball junkies -- I am unconditionally a part of that group -- were last weekend treated to yet another example of why our sport is the best thing going.

Not only did Duke lose to a Florida State squad that previously suffered defeats to Northwestern, American and Western Carolina, but 11 of the nation's top 25 teams went down.

Game in and game out, college basketball is unpredictable and the cliché 'anything can happen on a given night' holds so true.

And another good thing about college hoops is that it doesn't matter if Duke or some other top team loses a game or two or even several -- they'll still get a chance to prove they're the best in the NCAA Tournament, which is when we junkies really get our fix.

Before the NFL season, I questioned just how good the Rams would be for two primary reasons.

One, I wondered about quarterback Kurt Warner's ability to stay on the field after having those concussion problems last year. Two, I figured the almost totally overhauled defense would still have its problems.

Wrong. Wrong.

All Warner did was remain healthy, win the MVP award and pass for the second-highest yardage total in NFL history. All the defense did was have one of the top turnaround seasons in league history.

And now it's hard to imagine the Rams not getting to the Super Bowl -- as long as they don't have a turnover-fest. Many of the so-college national experts have said that the only team who can beat the Rams is the Rams, and I have to agree.

But don't listen to me. I've been wrong before -- too many times to remember.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian