2008 sports in review

The Nevada area saw numerous changes in the world of sports in 2008, as well as some continuing trends.

Most of the major changes that occurred surrounded the Nevada Griffons. Near the end of the 2008 season, the Griffons announced that not only would fourth-year head coach John Hill III not be returning for a fifth season, but the team would no longer be a part of the Jayhawk League as of next year.

The early portions of the Griffons' season were very substantially impacted by a wet summer that led to numerous games being postponed, and that wet weather continued right through the entire summer. By the time all was said and done, the Griffons found themselves in a struggle to get through all of their games once again.

The 2008 season for the Griffons seemed to be full of troubles from the start as they began to experience extensive roster turnover that had their entire coaching staff scratching their heads. The organization spent the majority of the season scrounging to find players to keep the team going through the year.

The decision for the Griffons to leave the Jayhawk League and head to the MINK League came after an incident with the Joplin Slashers ending their season early created a rift between league officials and the organization. On top of that instance, Griffons management told the Daily Mail that playing in the MINK League would cut the cost of running the team by a considerable margin -- a fact that provided the majority of the motivation for the change.

The American Legion sponsored a baseball team in the Nevada Red Sox during the summer of 2008 that provided a very strong showing in its inaugural year. The Red Sox finished out the regular season with a perfect 19-0 record in AA competition before going on to with their district and zone tournaments and finish third in the state championship with an overall record of 25-3 against AA opponents.

Probably the biggest news in the sports world in 2008 had nothing to do with any actual sporting event, however. On Aug. 19, Kelly Bradham -- a long-time Nevada Daily Mail sports editor and local sports icon -- died.

Bradham was sports editor of the Daily Mail for 29 years and had been battling complications from a liver transplant for several years before he finally succumbed to his illness. Another former sports editor at the Daily Mail, Joe Warren, wrote a column about Bradham's death that appeared in the Aug. 21 issue of the Daily Mail and was just one of the many people deeply touched by Bradham's life.

As the 2008-09 school year began, there were numerous uncertainties, given the fact that Nevada found itself having to go through the year with independent status on top of having new coaches for the majority of their high school sports. The Nevada Lady Tigers volleyball team turned out to be the shining star in Nevada High School athletics in 2008, as they found themselves with a strong second place finish in the district tournament.

Through all of the uncertainties that came with the independent status, Nevada High School was still able to get strong competition without any overly aggressive scheduling and this year's new coaches -- as well as the returners -- were able to enjoy the same quality schedules they have come to know. Some teams did not have the strong showings that their respective coaches had hoped for, but hopes remain high for the remainder of the school year.

Other area schools had strong showings in the world of athletics as well, as Hume High School's 2008 baseball team went undefeated and Rich Hill High School finished with a strong 8-2 record, just missing the State Sectional game with a 15-14 loss to Adrian. El Dorado Springs High School had equal success in volleyball, as they were able to advance to the Sectional match as well before falling to Clever.