Last week, in the first hour of Sunday morning, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock lost his life in a car accident. The Cardinals family woke up with a dark cloud overhead, one of their own lost forever.

Hancock, who helped the Cardinals win their first World Series since 1982 (grrr), struck the back of a tow truck that was mopping up an earlier accident. The truck, which was in the left lane, had its caution lights on.

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There will be a new member to the Horizon League starting in the fall of 2007, and if you are a college basketball fan, this school will be very familiar.

Valparaiso University will be the 10th member of a conference that is soaring lately in popularity and success. The tiny school of 4,000 is located in northwestern Indiana in the city of Valparaiso. The Crusaders will leave the Mid-Continent Conference and join the Horizon League effective July 1.

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Tyler Bucholz can't even drink beer if the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee track team goes out to celebrate after conference, and with the way he runs, a celebration might be in order.

Bucholz, an 18-year-old freshman sprinter from Minnesota, is a key component of a track team searching for a conference title this week in Indianapolis.

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The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's tennis team entered the Horizon League Championships with a chance to make history. And despite dropping its first match 4-0 to Cleveland State, the Panthers did just that.

Following the loss to CSU, the Panthers defeated Wright State with a 4-1 win. The victory marked the team's first in a league tournament match since 2000, and also set a new Division I school record for wins in the process.

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Your Brewers have just won the National League Central.

OK, so I'm being a tad overdramatic, but for the first time since 1987 the Milwaukee Brewers are in first place in their division at the end of April. It gets better. No first-place team has a larger division lead than the Brewers' four-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds.

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Beginning his baseball career, senior and pitcher Mike Rauwerdink was a below average player, but with a little push from his coaches he is now playing at a Division I school and throwing an average of 88 mph fastballs.

Saluting the senior as he wraps up his final years here with the Panthers, Assistant Sports Editor Mary Franzen takes a look at its star pitcher.

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We all know them, the “too-tough-to-quit-guys” who have a story to tell about when they were first string on their football team or made all conference or state one, two or three.

Those guys had promises of scholarships and full rides based on athletic performance throughout high school.

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For most NFL teams, the first day of the draft is used to either select immediate starters and other impact players or to pick up injured defensive linemen 20 picks early.

The second day, however, is used primarily for depth. Although many players selected in rounds three through seven will be out of a job once the regular season rolls around, several Pro Bowlers and even Hall of Famers have slipped through the cracks.

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