Sports Insiders: Southern Oregon Sports Blog

South Medford hockey player Taylor Rose will be the guest Friday when the Mail Tribune’s live, unscripted and interactive sports chat returns for a 78th week.

Rose will speak with Mail Tribune sports reporter Dan Jones at noon on Facebook. Log on to the show (www.facebook.com/mtsportschat) to watch and participate. Jones and Rose will take questions and comments live. You can also call us during the show at 541-776-4499, email us at djones@mailtribune.com or post your questions on the Sports Chat wall.

Become a fan of Sports Chat on Facebook. Just click on the link (www.facebook.com/mtsportschat) and then on “Like” to receive occasional updates.

Rose recorded a hat trick in the Panthers’ 7-2 season-opening victory over North Medford at The RRRink on Wednesday. The freshman right-winger scored two goals in the second period and another in the third for South, which won the state championship last year.

Kyle Singler’s decision to stay in Spain and play for Real Madrid was a wise choice, according to Mlive.com writer Justin Rogers. He’s in the Detroit area and here’s his take on it:

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2011/11/theres_little_harm_done_with_k.html

Jason Allred will make his push this week for a return to the PGA Tour. The former Ashland High standout, who now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., will be in the field Wednesday at the final stage of Qualifying School.

The six-round final stage for the 156-player field will be contested at PGA West in LaQuinta, Calif. The Nicklaus Tournament and Stadium courses will be used for the 108-hole ordeal. Allred has already advanced through the first and second stages.

The top 25 and ties after Monday’s final round are eligible for the 2012 PGA Tour. The next number of players closest to 50 make the Nationwide Tour full-time. The remaining players will have limited Nationwide status.

Allred has twice made it to the PGA Tour through Q School, in 2004, when he finished 13th, and in 2007, when he placed fifth. He held his tour card for one season after each qualification.

Tee times for Wednesday’s opening haven’t been announced.

There are a couple of other players in the field with Oregon ties. Mike Tokito of the Oregonian wrote about one of them, former Siuslaw star Jesse Schutte. Former Oregon State player Mitch Gillis is also in the field.

The tournament will air on The Golf Channel this weekend, from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Monday.

Here’s a YouTube video of a feature story by a TV station on Kyle Singler, the former South Medford basketball star now playing for Lucentum Alicante in the top Spanish professional league. It’s in Spanish, of course, so if you’re like me, you can only look at the pictures. But through a translator, he addresses playing in the league against veteran players, his thoughts on the lockout and what will happen if/when the NBA reopens for business and his trick-shot videos made while at Duke.

By the way, the video was sent to us by Miguel Angel Gil, a Spanish journalist who has kindly fed us whatever information/art/videos he can as Singler’s excellent adventure continues.

Jason Allred, the persistent professional golfer from Ashland, got off to a very nice start today in the second stage of PGA Q School. His 5-under 67 has him tied for fifth place at Redstone Golf Club’s Member’s Course in Humble, Texas. It isn’t known immediately how many players will advance from the round — they determine that after play has begun — but a year ago the top 17 and ties from this site advanced to the final stage. The last ones in then shot 2-over 290.

Allred, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., caught fire on the back nine with four birdies and five pars. He’s trying to return to the PGA Tour, where he played in 2005 and ’08.

He trails former PGA champion Rich Beem by one shot and is three shots out of the overall lead, held by Kevin Kisner. Among the former pros behind him are Mathias Gronberg, Jeff Maggert, Woody Austin, Shaun Micheel and Ted Purdy.

Allred tees off at 9:05 Eastern Friday in the second of four rounds.

Southern Oregon University quarterback Austin Dodge will be the guest Friday when the Mail Tribune’s live, unscripted and interactive sports chat returns for a 75th week.

Dodge will speak with Mail Tribune sports reporter Dan Jones at noon on Facebook. Log on to the show (www.facebook.com/mtsportschat) to watch and participate. Jones and Dodge will take questions and comments live. You can also call us during the show at 541-776-4499, email us at djones@mailtribune.com or post your questions on the Sports Chat wall.

Become a fan of Sports Chat on Facebook. Just click on the link (www.facebook.com/mtsportschat) and then on “Like” to receive occasional updates.

The Raiders (4-5) host Menlo (5-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday in their regular-season finale. Southern Oregon, which is 3-0 at Raider Stadium, is aiming for its first perfect home record since 1999.

SOU beat Menlo 31-17 in Atherton, Calif., on Oct. 1. 

In eight games, Dodge, who transferred from Central Washington University, has completed 152 of his 272 attempts for 1,912 yards and 10 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Dodge attended Skyview High in Vancouver, Wash.

Local dance and fitness instructor Tiazza Rose will be the guest Friday when the Mail Tribune’s live, unscripted and interactive sports chat returns for a 74th week.

Tiazza will speak with Mail Tribune sports reporter Dan Jones at noon on Facebook. Log on to the show (www.facebook.com/mtsportschat) to watch and participate. Jones and Tiazza will take questions and comments live. You can also call during the show at 541-776-4499, email djones@mailtribune.com or post your questions on the Sports Chat wall.

Become a fan of Sports Chat on Facebook. Just click on the link (www.facebook.com/mtsportschat) and then on “Like” to receive occasional updates.

Tiazza, whose belly dancing videos on youtube (www.youtube.com/tiazzawilson) have received nearly 1 million views, is also a certified personal trainer and sports nutritionist.

She is offering a free Thanksgiving boot camp at 7 a.m. on Nov. 24 at Santo Community Center.

Tiazza, who is originally from Casablanca, Morocco, also teaches body sculpting and kickboxing classes. 

Check out these links for more on Tiazza: http://www.tiazza.com/, http://www.facebook.com/tiazza.rose and http://www.bellydancevideoblog.com

Kyle Singler of Medford is ranked seventh in the Spanish League with a per-game “assessment” of 19 points. There’s a rating system that goes beyond points per game. He’s also averaging 19.0 points per game over four games, ranking fourth in scoring. He’s the league’s top rookie as the six players ranked ahead of him in assessment are all veterans of the Liga ACB.

Jason Allred, the professional golfer from Ashland, shot a 1-under-par 71 in the first round of the first stage of PGA Tour Q School Wednesday at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta, Ga. He’s tied for 20th entering Day 2 of the four-round event. The top 21 and ties advance to the second stage of qualifying.

Allred started on the 10th hole and had it to 2 under on the back nine before consecutive bogeys brought him to even. He came right back with a birdie, then finished with four straight pars.

South Medford football player D.J. McGinnis will be the guest Friday when the Mail Tribune’s live, unscripted and interactive sports chat returns for a 74th week.

McGinnis will speak with Mail Tribune sports reporter Dan Jones at noon on Facebook. Log on to the show (www.facebook.com/mtsportschat) to watch and participate. Jones and McGinnis will take questions and comments live. You can also call us during the show at 541-776-4499, email us at djones@mailtribune.com or post your questions on the Sports Chat wall.

Become a fan of Sports Chat on Facebook. Just click on the link (www.facebook.com/mtsportschat) and then on “Like” to receive occasional updates.

McGinnis, a senior, plays left guard and defensive tackle for the third-ranked Panthers, who host top-ranked Sheldon at 7 p.m. on Friday at Spiegelberg Stadium.

“He’s been a stabilizing force,” South Medford head coach Bill Singler said of McGinnis.

Both South Medford and Sheldon enter Friday’s contest undefeated at 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the Southwest Conference.