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Cair Paravel's Noah Hastert goes in the paint for a basket against Kansas City Christian in the Lions' 75-65 win over the Panthers. [Photo by Rex Wolf]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Cair Paravel Latin boys basketball coach Mike Malloy didn't go into detail about his message to his team at halftime of Monday's home contest against Kansas City Christian.
But Malloy apparently got his point across, with the Lions storming back after trailing by 15 points in the first half to take a 75-65 victory over the Panthers.
"Halftime was one of those deals where we just had to light them up a little bit on taking some pride in their defense,'' said Malloy, whose team improved to 4-3 on the season. "We stunk it up because they had 37 points at halftime and we weren't playing a lick of defense. It didn't matter what we played, we just weren't guarding anybody.
"I guess it was just kind of the threat of what running was going to be like tomorrow that got them going.''
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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
In days when he could maintain enough business to at least break even on the enterprise, Rick Peterson stocked a makeshift snack bar fellow journalists affectionately called, “Pistol’s Pantry.”
The Pantry had standards. I remember bringing some discounted (expired, in case you follow pesky health regulations) treats I found at a Mennonite grocery. Pistol carefully considered all merits before deciding he better not sell stale product.
“Really I ought to,” he said, “or Rickie will eat away all my profits.”
Frankly, Pistol didn’t start his Sam Drucker enterprise at The Topeka Capital-Journal to get rich. I’m not even sure he broke even. Deep down, Rick loved to provide his newsroom pals a price break that sportswriters relished as much as seamless internet access.
And Rickie? He made up for any reconciling discrepancies at the Pantry register by retracing his father’s footsteps and becoming a tireless workhorse who rose to join Rick as two of the best in the business.
In June, at ceremonies in North Carolina sponsored by the National Sports Media Association, Father and Son will be honored as the 2020 co-recipients of the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year Award. Rick will also receive his 2019 award as a five-time Kansas winner. The honor will be the first for Rickie, who is in his third year at the Hays Daily News.
Rick Peterson (left) and his son, Rick Jr., will be honored in June in North Carolina by the National Sports Media Association as the co-Kansas Sportswriters of the Year for 2020. [Photograph by Phil Anderson]
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by Rick Peterson
Top Sports News
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West
A junior, Brooks returned from an injury to score 28 points, with 3 3-pointers, in 4-0 Topeka West's 78-60 home Centennial League victory over Hayden.
ZACH CLARK, Cair Paravel Latin
Clark, a junior, scored 25 points for Cair Paravel in an 83-75 road loss at Olathe Heritage Christian.
ISIAH ESQUIBEL, Topeka High
A senior, Esquibel scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Topeka High's 50-48 Centennial League loss at Seaman.
LUKE FAY, Cair Paravel Latin
Fay, a sophomore, canned 7 3-pointers and finished with 26 points in Cair Paravel's 83-75 road loss at Olathe Heritage Christian.
DANTE' HARRISON, Shawnee Heights
Harrison, a sophomore, scored a career-high 13 points, with 3 3-pointers, in Shawnee Heights' 64-51 United Kansas Conference loss at Lansing.
TY HENRY, Seaman
Henry, a junior, scored 11 points and came up with a huge blocked shot late in the game as Seaman improved to 3-3 with a 50-48 home Centennial League win over Topeka High.
MATEO HYMAN, Seaman
A junior, Hyman returned from an injury to score 18 points, including 16 in the second half, as Seaman took a 50-48 home Centennial League victory over Topeka High.
ZANDER PUTTHOFF, Topeka West
Putthoff, a junior, scored 23 points, including 7 3-pointers, as Topeka West improved to 4-0 on the season with a 78-60 home Centennial League win over Hayden.
VACARIO TRIPLETT, Hayden
A senior, Triplett scored 24 points for the Wildcats in a 78-60 Centennial League loss at undefeated Topeka West.
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by Rick Peterson
Top Sports News
JALEY BARKLEY, Cair Paravel Latin
Barkley, a junior, scored a game-high 20 points, including 3 3-pointers and a 7 of 9 performance at the free throw line, as Cair Paravel improved to 3-2 on the season with a 46-40 road win at Olathe Heritage Christian.
RHEN CALHOON, Hayden
Calhoon, a senior, scored 12 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for Hayden in the Wildcats' 65-47 home Centennial League triumph over Topeka West.
NiJAREE CANADY, Topeka High
A junior, Canady scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Topeka High, top-ranked in Class 6A, beat Centennial League rival Junction City 92-34 to improve to 4-0 on the season.
TAYLOR HAWKINS, Shawnee Heights
A senior, Hawkins paced 1-3 Shawnee Heights with 14 points in the T-Birds' 55-43 United Kansas Conference loss at Lansing.
KIKI SMITH, Topeka High
Smith, a sophomore, scored a game-high 27 points, including 23 in the first half, as top-ranked (Class 6A) Topeka High improved to 4-0 with a 92-34 Centennial League romp past Junction City.
MACY SMITH, Hayden
Smith, a junior, scored 16 points as the Wildcats improved to 4-2 on the season with a 65-47 home Centennial League victory over Topeka West.
CARLY STUKE, Hayden
The Wildcat junior scored 14 points in the first quarter on the way to a 23-point night as Hayden improved to 4-2 on the season with a 65-47 win over Topeka West. Stiuke hit 3 3-pointers and went 6 of 6 at the free throw line.
TALAYAH THOMAS, Topeka High
A junior, Thomas cracked double figures with a 14-point performance as top-ranked (Class 6A) Topeka High improved to 4-0 with a 92-34 home Centennial League victory over Junction City.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's hard to criticize any school board -- in this case the Unified School District 501 board -- for ruling on the side of safety in the age of COVID-19.
I believe the 501 board had the best interests of student-athletes in mind when it chose not to allow wrestling to begin, effectively canceling the entire 2020-21 wrestling season for Highland Park, Topeka High and Topeka West, although I sincerely wish the board could have found a way to follow the lead of more than 200 other schools across the state and allowed district teams to compete in some form this winter.
District schools in other sports have shown to be willing to do anything the board mandates -- masks, limited numbers in practice and games, etc. -- just to have a chance to play.
Whether the board's decision was a good or bad one won't be known for several months, but there's no doubt it's going to be a hard pill to swallow for those involved.
