Metro Sports Report

Stokes celebrates 18th birthday in Star game

CHICAGO -- Kiah Stokes received some really nice presents for her 18th birthday in Chicago Wednesday.

She got several new pairs of Reeboks, a jersey with 'Stokes' written on the back and a warmup suit that said 'McDonald's All-American' in bold letters.

Actually, everybody who played in the 10th annual McDonald's All-American Game at the United Center got the same presents. It just happened to be her birthday.

"We got a lot," Stokes said after the contest. "We got three pairs of shoes, three new sweatsuits, four T-shirts, a couple of Polos, a hat, shorts. We got a lot of stuff."

Stokes rubbed elbows with 23 of the best high school players in the country Wednesday night. She made the starting lineup for the West team and grabbed five rebounds, but the 6-foot-3 senior from Linn-Mar was not happy with her performance.

Whether or not it's nice, spring coaches pay the price

The annual rite of spring.
 
Feb. 2 is Groundhog Day, the unofficial "most important" weather date of late winter.
 
Why?
 
Supposedly we are to learn on that date, based on a furry creature, if we are going to have an early spring or six more weeks of winter.
 
Perhaps an even more in-tune prognasticator of the weather would be a coach of a spring sports team in Iowa.

No one, save for the average farmer, is more up on, in tune with, or has more knowledge of the weather fluxuations during these crazy months than the spring sport coach. It doesn't matter if it is track and field, soccer, tennis or golf, they start their day off and end it by peeking at the long term and short term forecasts.
 
Maybe the schools should give these guys and gals double pay, since they are doing double duty!
 
Not only do they have to plan their schedules for outdoor activity, they also have to plan on what they can get accomplished indoors if Mother Nature forces them inside. 
 

Sweeney starts season with A's

Ryan Sweeney has recovered well enough from knee surgery to make the Oakland Athletics roster.

Sweeney played ony 13 games during the exhibition season, but showed he was healthy by posting a .395 batting average. He played all three outfield spots and was designated hitter.

Sweeney has been a regular outfielder for the A's for the past three seasons, playing mostly right and center field.  He batted .286 in 2008, .293 in 2009 and was hitting a team best .294 last season when he was sidelined in July by patellar tendinitis. He had surgery July 30 and was idled for six months, necessitating the careful approach in spring training.

Oakland Manager Bob Geren told mlb.com that he was counting on Sweeney to be able to play all three outfield spots this season. The A's acquired David DeJesus and Josh Willingham in the offseason and both are experienced major league outfielders. Willingham is slated to start in left, Coco Crisp in center and DeJesus in right to start the season.

"He's going to be an outfielder who's going to have to play all three (spots) to utilize him," Geren said of Sweeney, who has a lifetime .286 batting average in 364 major league games.

Sweeney, 26, is a 2002 Cedar Rapids Xavier grad. He was a second-round pick of the Chicago White Sox in the June 2002 free agent draft. He was traded to Oakland before the 2008 season.

Washpun in limbo; is Tennessee possible?

Cedar Rapids Washington senior Wes Washpun said Monday afternoon he's expecting a phone call from new Tennessee Coach Cuonzo Martin, but he doesn't know how the conversation will go.

Martin has left Missouri State after three seasons to succeed Bruce Pearl at Tennessee, which leaves Washpun in limbo. Martin offered Washpun a scholarship to play basketball at Missouri State next season, but Washpun doesn't know if Martin will offer him a scholarship to join him at Tennessee.

He also doesn't know if the new coach at Missouri State will honor the offer. And beside that, he's not sure if he would have accepted the offer to join Martin at Missouri State or not.

Martin offered Washpun a scholarship in February. The spring signing date is April 13, so at this point Washpun has not signed a national letter-of-intent with anyone.

"I'm open to anything right now," he said. "I'm just waiting to see what Coach Martin is going to do. If he offers me at Tennessee, then great. But if he doesn't and the Missouri State offer holds, then that's good too."