Todd Froemling Daily Vidette Staff After being named one of the nine coaches of the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Tennis Team last week, ISU women's tennis coach Chris Hoover was asked what makes him so successful. "It must be my endearing personality," the Redbird coach of 14 years joked.… Post the First Comment

This past week was a good week in sports. The Cubbies finished the first half of the year one game above .500, and only four and one-half games behind Milwaukee. Greg Oden and Kevin Durant showed that they have a lot of work to do before their season starts, with Oden recording 10 fouls in his Summer League debut and Durant missing 12 of 17 shots in his.… Post the First Comment

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Stu Miller wants to set the record straight. Despite the headlines, myths and stories, he wasn't actually blown off the mound at Candlestick in the All-Star game. One of the most famous plays in All-Star history is a topic once again as baseball's midsummer classic returned to San Francisco for just the second time since that truly blown save in 1961.… Post the First Comment

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Sidney Crosby signed a five-year contract extension worth $43.5 million that will keep the NHL MVP and scoring champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins through the 2012-13 season. The three-year contract Crosby signed as a rookie lasts through the coming season.… Post the First Comment

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - A small plane carrying the husband of a NASCAR executive crashed into a neighborhood while trying to make an emergency landing Tuesday, killing five people and starting two house fires that seriously burned three other people, authorities said.… Post the First Comment

LONDON (AP) - Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee who races on carbon fiber blades attached below his knees, will get a chance to prove himself against the best runners in the world. The 20-year-old South African will run the 400 meters at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Sheffield on Sunday in a field that includes Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner.… Post the First Comment

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ralph Bernstein, who peppered coaches and players alike with tough questions for nearly a half-century while covering the Philadelphia sports scene for The Associated Press, has died. He was 85. Bernstein died Saturday of cancer, his daughter-in-law, Maureen Bernstein, said Monday.… Post the First Comment