By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

With the end of the NFL Lockout, Fantasy Football Drafts, College GameDay commercials beginning to air on ESPN, and the Bearcats on the practice field, its safe to say that football fever has officially struck the offices of the ShowMe Times.


Talk of the Bearcats’ upcoming season is commonplace around the office, as well as playing ‘armchair quarterback’ for the Missouri Tigers and (in my case) the Oklahoma Sooners.


With all this in mind, everyone at the ShowMe Times is proud to announce the 2011 Pigskin Pick’Em Challenge.

In the PPC, the object is simple: we give you 20 games a week for 10 weeks, spread across local high school teams, the NFL, and the NCAA, and you pick who wins. No scores, no ‘upset predictions’, just winners and losers. Every game that you pick correctly will get you a point - 20 possible points a week, and 200 possible points in the whole contest.

Your picks will be 'unlocked' at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday mornings, and will be open until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, at which point they will be locked in.


All you have to do to enter is provide your full name and a working email address - used to notify you of any prizes you win - and then make your picks on a weekly basis.


Wait, PRIZES?!?


Yes, you read that correctly: we’re giving out prizes every week. Once the scores are tallied each week, the top three finishers will win a prize.

Don’t fret if you aren’t a football guru - we’re also giving out two prizes from a random drawing each week. Prizes have been donated by Locust Street Flowers, Montgomery Bank, Dexter Queen, Hideaway Pizza & Package, Faye’s Doughnuts, and other great local businesses.


At the end of the 10 week period, the top point scorer will win the grand prize: a 46” Flatscreen TV and a ‘Bearcat Fan Pack’ with all the essential fan gear you’ll need - t-shirts, blankets, stadium chairs, etc - to tough out cold Friday nights in the stands during Bearcat football games.

The full rules and regulations for the contest can be found here.

---

Make sure to check back with the ShowMe Times for updates on this exciting contest - the 2011 Pigskin Pick'Em Challenge can only be found on the ShowMe Times!

From the Missouri State University Sports Information Department

SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State has announced a series of football fan events and promotions in advance of the start of the 2011 season.

The annual Meet the Bears Night will be Wednesday, Aug. 24 at Plaster Sports Complex, starting at 5:45 p.m. The family-friendly event is free and will feature complimentary Hiland Dairy Ice Cream, Domino’s Pizza and Pepsi products as supplies last. The night will also feature autographs, games and interactive activities with current MSU players and coaches.

The 2011 Kickoff Luncheon, featuring Coach Terry Allen and select players, will take place at the PRIME Overtime Club at JQH Arena on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Noon. The luncheon will cost $10 with advance reservations are required. The event will feature door prizes, presentations, and lunch, which includes burgers, chips, slaw, cookies, tea and water. Space is limited, and reservations can be secured by calling Josh Pell at (417) 836-5044 by Aug. 26.

Fans are also reminded that individual game tickets for the games at Arkansas (Sept. 3) and Oregon (Sept. 17) are on sale through the Missouri State Athletics Box Office at JQH Arena or by calling (417) 836-7678. Season tickets, including discounted faculty, staff and senior rates, are also available through the MSU Athletics Box Office.

The beginning of a new school year means student activities get turned up to high gear - and the football Bearcats have been turning up the heat and the action preparing for the Fall 2011 season. Early morning and evening practices have become the norm in the days before the start of classes next week. The Bearcats football season kicks into high gear on Friday, Aug. 19 with a Jamboree and the first contest of the season against Ste. Genevieve on Friday, Aug. 26. (SMT Photo by Annabeth Miller)

From The Missouri Department of Conservation

With the heat wave felt throughout Southeast Missouri briefly subsiding, anglers should have better luck on the area’s lakes and rivers this weekend. There is rain in the forecast on Friday and Saturday, but Sunday, with a high of 82 degrees and light clouds, should be perfect for fishing.

SOUTHEAST REGION (573) 290-5858

    LAKES

Clearwater Lake: 87 degrees, normal, clear; crappie fair after dark on jigs; largemouth bass fair early morning and late evening on topwater lures; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Council Bluff: 86 degrees, normal, clear; largemouth bass fair on dark colored soft plastics during low light periods; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Cypress Lake: 89 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish good in 2'-3' depths using worms and stinkbait; crappie slow using minnows and jigs in depths over 3'; bluegill and redear sunfish fair in 2'-3' depths using crickets, small jigs, and small pieces of worms; largemouth bass slow on spinnerbaits in up to 3' depths, jigs and plastic worms. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Duck Creek: 82 degrees, normal, clear; largemouth bass fair on topwater lures and plastic worms; bluegill, redear sunfish and warmouth sunfish fair on crickets and jigs; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Lake Girardeau: normal, clear; channel catfish fair on worms; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Perry County Lake: 87 degrees, clear; black bass fair on crankbaits; channel catfish fair on liver; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Robert DeLaney Lake: 85 degrees, normal, channel catfish fair on worms, liver, stinkbait, and live sunfish; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Wappapello: normal, black bass good on spinnerbaits and buzzbaits early and late in the day; bluegill fair on crickets; crappie fair on minnows and jigs in the lake in the river channel; channel catfish fair on trotlines and jug lines at night using live bait and nightcrawlers.  Anglers should note the 9" minimum length regulation for crappie on Wappapello Lake. All areas around the lake are now open since the lake water level has dropped.  Call the Wappapello Lake Recreation Hotline for updates at 573-222-8139. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

    RIVERS

Black River (near Annapolis): 80 degrees, low, clear; all species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Castor River (above Zalma): low, clear; all species good. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Lower Black River (Clearwater Dam): normal, clear; black bass fair on worms and topwater lures late evenings and early morning; channel catfish fair on live bait; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Mississippi (below Charleston): normal, dingy; channel catfish fair on worms; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

Mississippi River (Cape Girardeau): 79 degrees, high, muddy; all species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

St. Francis (above Wappapello): normal, clear; black bass good on topwater lures and large minnows drifted in the deeper holes; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

St. Francis (below Wappapello): 84 degrees, channel catfish good on trotlines and pole and line using worms, chicken liver, and stinkbait; flathead catfish good on live bait,  bluegill, and small sunfish; bluegill good on worms and crickets; largemouth bass good on plastic worms; all other species slow. (Report made on 8/10/2011)

---

Anglers are invited to send photos of their fishing trips to the ShowMe Times. Just email acato@showmetimes.com. Be sure to include the name of the fisherman, the date of the catch, where it was caught, weight and - if you care to share - what type of bait you were using!

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

Incoming DHS Junior Chase Young was selected to the UnderArmour Midwest Futures game, played on August 5-7 at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. The best players in the class of 2013 were there, representing Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.


“You represent your state and play at Benedictine University,” Young said of the event. “One day we do a showcase and play a few games. The next day we play a few more games and then head home.”

Young was noted as having an outstanding showing on the event’s recap on Prep Baseball Report’s website:

In Game 1 against Illinois on Saturday, it was the Chase Young Show in left field. Using his good speed (6.86 60), Young (Dexter HS) saved two runs from scoring when he made a diving catch in the fourth inning, followed by a catch in the fifth that will be talked about at the event for years to come. On a ball that was crushed to deep left and seemed destined to result in extra-bases, Young made a spectacular, over-the-shoulder, basket-style catch on the run to prevent another run from scoring.

Young has lived and breathed baseball all summer, traveling to various camps and showcases across the country with his prep team, the Rawlings 16U Prospects.

The ‘Spects are managed by Brian Harper, and coached by Rod Anderson, Scott Murphy, and Marty Young - Chase’s father.

During his rare time at home this summer, Young has been busy preparing for one of his other sports - basketball and football.