Metro Sports Report

WMT ends broadcasts of prep sports

Radio station WMT (AM-600) of Cedar Rapids has decided to stop broadcasting high school football and basketball games, effectively immediately.

WMT has broadcast prep games on a regular basis since at least 1988 and carried events prior to that as well, according to a company employee.

Radio station KXIC of Iowa City also has decided to end its prep broadcasts. Both companies are owned by Clear Channel Communications of San Antonio, Texas, which owns and operates more than 1,200 stations in the United States.

WMT also has ended its football scoreboard show on Friday nights, a program it called "Football Night in Iowa."

WMT employees directed questions about the company's decision to J.J. Cook, the operations manager at WMT, but the Metro Sports Report was unable to reach Cook Thursday.

Kernels fall in sleeper to Bandits

The Cedar Rapids Kernels have won 30 of their last 40 games and are undoubtedly headed to the Midwest League playoffs, but Manager Jake Mauer does not want to see his club develop any bad habits coming down the stretch.

The Kernels saw their eight-game winning streak come to end Wednesday night in a 5-2 snoozer to the Quad Cities River Bandits before 1,673 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Kernels hold a commanding lead over their competitors for a playoff spot with 12 games left in the regular season, so Mauer did not need to hold any closed-door meetings or chew anybody out after his guys committed three errors and a few other mistakes.

Cedar Rapids opens a three-game commuter series at Burlington Thursday night, followed by another three-game commuter series at the Quad Cities. That means six straight days of getting on the bus, playing games, coming right home and doing it again the next day without spending any nights in hotel rooms.

Kernels win again, but Stewart hurt

The Cedar Rapids Kernels won their eighth straight game Tuesday night, but they may have paid a severe price as they chase the Midwest League pennant.

Kohl Stewart, their $4.5 million bonus baby, had to leave the game in the top of the second inning with what could be a recurrence of the shoulder ailment that landed him on the Disabled List for 19 days recently.

The Kernels rallied for a 5-3 victory over Quad Cities before 1,678 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but Stewart looked dejected as he left the mound after conferring with Cedar Rapids Manager Jake Mauer, pitching coach Ivan Arteaga and the Kernels trainer.

"It's frustrating," Stewart said in the locker room. "It didn't feel right the first inning, but I tried to get through it. We'll see what happens."

Stewart was placed on the DL from July 25 through Aug. 13 with an "impingement" in his right shoulder. He pitched four strong innings against Beloit Aug. 13 and looked good, according to Mauer, but Stewart struggled from the outset Tuesday.

Rekers, Glenn battle for QB job at Coe

Don't be surprised if you see Coe quarterback Gavin Glenn whisper in his center's ear before the Kohawks run a play in shotgun formation this season.

Glenn, a transfer from Minnesota-Duluth, is batting incumbent Josh Rekers for the starting job in practice and Glenn wants to make sure there are no problems with the snap.

Glenn stands 6-feet tall, but Rekers is a strapping 6-foot-6.

"Sometimes I go up to the center before the play and tell him I'm the shorter quarterback so I don't get a ball over my head," Glenn claimed during Media Day activities Monday at Clark Field.

Coe Coach Steve Staker has no trouble telling them apart, but he's having a little trouble separating them on the depth chart. That's good news, because both quarterbacks have looked good in practice.