Fast Break

Track and field

O’Brien to be inducted into Hall

Former University of Idaho and Olympic gold-medal decathlete Dan O’Brien will be inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame Dec. 2 in Indianapolis.

O’Brien won the gold in the 1996 Olympics and also won three world decathlon championships along with setting a world record in the event. He earned the No. 1 ranking in the event from Track & Field News six times.

Other inductees in the “modern athlete” category include distance runner Lynn Jennings and hurdler Kevin Young.

Baseball

Morneau picked over Jeter

Justin Morneau won the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award Tuesday, edging Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees after a season in which his 34 homers and 130 RBIs helped the Minnesota Twins capture their division.

Morneau received 15 first-place votes and 320 points in voting by a panel of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Jeter got 12 firsts and 306 points.

Three Twins finished among the top seven in the MVP voting. Catcher Joe Mauer was sixth and pitcher Johan Santana seventh for the Twins.

Boston’s David Ortiz was third with 193 points, followed by Oakland’s Frank Thomas (174) and Chicago’s Jermaine Dye (156).

Sportslink

Who was best prep QB?

As the state football playoffs wind down, Prosser quarterback Kellen Moore continues to add to his state passing records.

The numbers he has put up got us thinking about former Spokane-area quarterbacks, and made Sportslink writer Vince Grippi wonder what high school football fans think.

Who do you feel was the best high school quarterback the Spokane area produced? Was it Mark Rypien? Joel Clark? Bill Etter? Will Furrer?

We would like to hear from you whether you’ve seen 40 years of local high school football or just the past few.

Just click onto Sportslink at spokesmanreview.com/ blogs/sportslink, find the prep post and add your comments. Your choice can be one from the list or maybe it’s someone we haven’t considered. Go ahead and share.