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Report: Kansas cotton dropped by half
WICHITA, Kan. -- Cotton was once touted as a promising alternative crop for Kansas farmers, and cotton gins were built to handle the increased acreage as farmers took to the idea. But a government report issued this week showed the state's cotton crop this season was reduced by more than half from last year as farmers returned to more profitable grain crops, such as corn. "If you are in agriculture, you are used to this up and down," said Gene Latham, customer manager at the Southern Kansas Cotton Growers Cooperative in Winfield. "You have to play things closer to the vest and watch what you do, but you are still going to be in good shape with continued production." The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported in its December crop production forecast that Kansas will harvest about 45,000 acres of cotton.
MLB officials want to talk to Gibbons
Now, with Kevin Millar 's 2008 option vesting and Huff's contract difficult to unload (he's set to make $16 million over the next two seasons), Gibbons, who has long been criticized for his outfield defense, likely would enter the 2008 season as a $5.7 million bench player.
The Orioles shopped him this season but found no takers. Team officials don't expect that to change this offseason.
If the Orioles were to cut Gibbons, they likely would be on the hook for the remaining $11.9 million of the $21.1 million, four-year contract he signed last year.
The Orioles could attempt to void Gibbons' contract by citing the pharmacy allegations, similar to what they did in 2005 with pitcher Sidney Ponson after he was arrested for the third time in 10 months.
Top-ranked Tennessee runs past Louisiana Tech 81-60
The way Tennessee was hitting 3-pointers, it would have been tough for anyone to beat the nation's top-ranked team. The Lady Vols made eight of their first nine 3s on the way to a 81-60 win over Louisiana Tech on Monday night. Tennessee was deadly in the early going as Shannon Bobbitt, Angie Bjorklund, Sydney Smallbone and Alexis Hornbuckle hit two 3s each to lead the Lady Vols to a 29-point halftime lead. Tennessee shot 59 percent from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. "Shannon has a lot of confidence and our players feed off of that," said Pat Summitt in a post-game press conference. "Shooting the 3s lets us stretch the defense out." Still, Summitt warned against depending on outside shooting, saying she was pleased her team reverted to playing inside-outside basketball in the second half.
OurSound in the Newspaper
Our Sound music columnist Bill Henry turns his eyes and ears on the area's vibrant, multi-genre music scene every week in The Sun Times. From blues to bluegrass, folk to funk, pop to punk and classical to celtic, Henry writes about the area's performers and music trends. The veteran Sun Times news reporter, photographer and local musician's Our Sound column mixes profiles, feature stories, advance concert coverage, occasional reviews and scene-setting observations to chronicle the rich and diverse Grey-Bruce music community. Read Bill Henry's Our Sound column every Thursday on The Sun Times entertainment section front... .
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