And The Winner of The insideSTL.com August 2009 Girl Next Door Contest Is...


...Rachael Malawy.


Rachael won $500 and the title of insideSTL.com Girl Next Door for the month of August 2009 Friday night at Flannery's.
 

While each of the five girls had loud crowds supporting them making it close at Flannery's, Rachael nearly doubled the online vote total of her second place finisher, Laura Pierce.
 

Here's how the voting went down:
 

Online

1. Rachael Malawy: 143 votes (5 points)

2. Laura Pierce: 73 votes (4 points)

3. Kristal-Marie: 47 votes (3 points)

4. Christina Brown: 15 votes (2 points)

5. Angela P: 11 votes (1 point)
 

Crowd Noise Vote At Flannery's

1. Rachael Malawy: 116 db (5 points)

2. Christina Brown: 114 db (4 points)

3. Laura Pierce: 112 db (3 points)

4. Kristal Marie: 106 db (2 points)

5. Angela P: 105 db (1 point)


Total Points

1. Rachael Malawy: 10 points

2. Laura Pierce: 7 points

3. Christina Brown: 6 points

4. Kristal-Marie: 5 points

5. Angela P: 2 points

 

Congratulations to Rachael. She's now eligible to compete for $2,500 in the Girl Next Door of The Year January 24th, 2010. Our next Girl Next Door Party is Friday October 9th at Lucas Park. If you or someone you know would like to participate in the Girl Next Door competition, email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com

Check out all the pics HERE.

Reloading In Columbia: The Surprise That Was Saturday

 
The determination of whether or not a football program is a fluke or is a force comes the year after the stars who brought it to prominence depart.

 
Programs like Wake Forest, Stanford, Purdue, Oregon State, and Louisville have all made appearances in BCS Bowls this decade...all to come crashing back to earth when the key players depart the next year.


While Missouri hasn't played in a BCS Bowl game, the Tigers did enjoy national prominence that started in 2007...and was supposed to come to an end after getting it handed to them in the Big 12 Championship Game by Oklahoma and guys like Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin, Chase Coffman, William Moore, and Ziggy Hood bolted to the NFL.


But following the shocking---and yes, I consider it to be shocking---dismantling of Illinois Saturday at The Edward Jones Dome, it looks as if my prediction of 7-5 for the 2009 Missouri regular season may have been, barring a major injury, quite conservative.


As I tweeted during the game, I'm not sure how much of Saturday was Missouri being good...and how much was Illinois being bad. But, three things stand out to me from the 37-9 victory that could lead the Tigers to a 4-0 record going into the Thursday October 8th showdown with Nebraska in Columbia:


1. The Defense: I know most of the focus will be on Blaine Gabbert---and deservedly so. But, if you followed Missouri football closely last year, you know the defense performed terribly. Gone is former defensive co-ordinator Matt Eberflus, and in is Dave Steckel...who according to this week's Missouri media notes wants to be known as "Steck"...as even his wife calls him that. He can be called whatever he likes if the defense performs this year even 75% as good as it did on Saturday. To no surprise, Sean Weatherspoon led the way for the Tigers with nine tackles and a sack, but what about the Smith (unrelated) Brothers playing at the Defensive Ends for Missouri? Redshirt freshman Aldon Smith was all over the place with six tackles---three for a loss---which included a sack of Juice Williams. And, Jacquies Smith, a sophomore, had five tackles, a sack, and a hurry on Williams. The team speed on defense looks greatly improved, and the emergence of above young players along with a new co-ordinator will hopefully lead to a much more pleasant experience for the Tigers and their fans this year when the team is on defense.


2. The Receivers: Gone is Maclin and Coffman, but back---and healthy---is Danario Alexander, and man, he looked like a force Saturday. Alexander displayed that kind of talent in flashes over the last couple of years, but injuries---and some dropped passes---have caused his stock to fluctuate. Alexander replaced Maclin in the slot, and he did so to the tune of a career-high 10 catches for 132 yards. But, it wasn't just Alexander. Jared Perry and Wes Kemp were forces with four catches and a touchdown apiece. It'd be awfully naive to assume that this threesome can replace what Missouri has had over the last couple of years, but the drop-off won't be nearly as dreadful as it could've been with the team having to replace an NFL first-rounder and third-rounder.


3. Blaine Gabbert: Wrote Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star, "Blaine Gabbert is the bizness. He’s built like former All-American tight end Chase Coffman, moves in the pocket like Big Ben, runs as fluidly as Elway, releases the football like Tom Brady and makes comparisons to Chase Daniel and Brad Smith seem rather silly. We’ve never seen Blaine Gabbert before. Not in a Missouri, Kansas or Kansas State uniform in the last 30 years."


Yeah.


I'm not quite to that point after one start. But, that was a clinic on Saturday, and considering all of the factors (first start, hometown, 64,000 fans, first drive starts at the 7 yard line), the fact that Gabbert put up a QB rating of 186.96 (the second highest rating for a Missouri QB making his first start ever...next to Chase Daniel's in 2006 versus Murray State) is, at the very least, amazingly impressive. While he completed 25 of 33 for 319 yards, there were a few drops---literally right in the hands of some receivers---that could've made that total even more jaw-dropping for a guy making his first start. Even more  enjoyable to consider is the way Gabbert can run. His 4.5 40 time combined with his 6'5", 240 pound frame make him a force when he runs...and the 39 rushing yards speaks to that.


Gabbert's performance has caught the eyes of the country...and they're a little worried now around the Big 12. In this week's Big 12 rankings on Nebraska fan site HuskerLocker.com, Missouri comes in at #3 behind Texas and Oklahoma State, and the site offers this warning to Husker fans: "Sophomore Blaine Gabbert was every bit the five-star talent, the defense played faster and more aggressive, and the Tigers’ receivers, led by Danario Alexander, seemed big and athletic. Watching this game on DVR Sunday, this much became clear: Nebraska has a fight on its hands for the Big 12 North."


I seriously thought Missouri would either be 3-1 or 2-2 going into that Nebraska game in a month, but now, with games against Bowling Green and Furman at home...and at a Nevada team September 25th that lost 35-0 to Notre Dame Saturday, 4-0 looks like a probability.


Give credit to the defense, receivers, and Gabbert---along with some other forces on special teams and the o-line---but also give credit to the coaches for being able to reload the talent with recruiting. Gabbert, Aldon Smith, Wes Kemp, Hardy Ricks, Jarod Baston, and Derrick Washington all had big games...and all are from Missouri.



Cardinal Ramblings


-I really don't know how---if the season were over today---someone could put Tim Lincecum ahead of Chris Carpenter on their Cy Young ballot. Don't get me wrong; both have had phenomenal seasons. It's just that Carpenter's has been better, and the numbers back it up.


Yesterday's complete game, one-hit shutout was a signature start for the '05 Cy Young. Unfortunately, Jody Gerut gets that one hit, which sucks for a number of reasons outside of just the fact that it cost Carpenter a no-hitter. His start didn't even receive front page mention on ESPN.com, which speaks to the lack of attention given to him...mainly because the Cardinals' games at this point are more or less irrelevant to the national scene. If Lincecum throws a one-hitter yesterday, it's on the front page...giving it well-deserved attention...much like Carpenter's. But, Lincecum's would come in a pennant race.


Carpenter's---partially because of his outstanding work throughout the season---comes with the Cardinals lowering their magic number to 14 on Labor Day. This isn't about the Midwest getting overlooked and poor little St. Louis being picked on by Bristol, Connecticut. It's the circumstance...and it could weigh against Carpenter. Official disclaimer: I thought Roger Clemens deserved the Cy Young in 2005...so it's not like I'm just going to be blindly picking the hometown guys.


-Speaking of not being blind...I hate to do this, but I'm concerned about Ryan Franklin. Remember the near-disaster two weeks ago in San Diego when the Padres came close to rallying against Franklin? Including that outing, Franklin appeared seven times, and he hasn't had a clean inning (no walks or hits). The ERA for September is 15.43 in three appearances. I hope he's not tiring out, but in an illustration that the Cardinals are at least a little concerned, Tony La Russa says he may not use Franklin in Milwaukee...giving him at least five days in between appearances as the Cardinals won't play again until Friday at home versus Atlanta.


-Mark De Rosa apologized to Cardinal fans on FS Midwest's pre-game show yesterday. In an interview with Pat Parris, De Rosa described the last six weeks, which has featured a .240 average with one home run---plus plenty of missed games---by saying he's "frustrated and disappointed. You can only get ribbed by the guys in the locker room so much before it starts to get to you a bit." De Rosa said that good-naturedly, but it speaks to a few questions still to be answered:


1. What can the Cardinals realistically expect from De Rosa in October?



2. Will Troy Glaus be on the postseason roster? He hasn't exactly looked too good hitting .188 in 16 at-bats...with five strikeouts.


3. Should the Cardinals make it a point to bring De Rosa back in 2010? He is a leader and a likeable guy, but so far, the return on the investment---really through no fault of anyone's---on the De Rosa deal has been awfully low.



Quick Hits


-I'm heading to Chicago for the U2 concert Saturday. I'm still in need of tickets, so if you or someone you know has two, email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com


-Anyone else having problems registering/signing-in on FoxSports.com for fantasy football? I can't log-in. I've created like five user names, and then when I go back, it asks me to register again. It's sweet to have drafted a team...but have no access to it. Long live CBSSportsline.com.


-We ate at Sen Thai on Friday night before the GND Party. It's a fine Asian restaurant on Locust downtown. Highly recommended.


-We saw District 9 Sunday night. Usually not my kind of movie. But, it's definitely entertaining.



-Speaking of aliens, am I the only one who doesn't find Tila Tequila attractive?



Log-in and post your comments, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com