Don't look now, but the St. Louis Cardinals are within 4 1/2 games of first place.

The Cardinals erupted for six runs in the fifth inning to take a 12-4 win over first-place Milwaukee, putting them just four games under .500 and as close to first place as they've been in a while.

Now, can they keep it up? The Cardinals went on a four-game winning streak a couple of weeks ago to get close, but then lost five in a row to lowly Pittsburgh and Washington. And this seems to be a pattern with the Cardinals this season -- win enough games to get close, then go on a skid to fall right back to the edge of being out of it.

That said, there are positive signs -- Kip Wells and Anthony Reyes, the poster boys for the team's pitching woes this season, won their most recent starts and the starters as a whole seem to be pitching better. Add to that the return of Rick Ankiel to the bigs as a power-hitting outfielder, and the Cardinals may just be primed to take the woefully weak NL Central after all.

We'll see...

Rams, Titans look to 'D' up: It may not feel like it with the 100-degree weather that has gripped the area recently, but football season is almost upon us. NFL training camps have been open for almost three weeks now, and the exhibition season is in full swing.

And the two teams nearest the Bootheel -- the St. Louis Rams and the Tennessee Titans -- are both looking to make big improvements on the defensive side of the ball in 2007. The Rams' D held teams under 100 yards rushing just six times last season, while Tennessee finished dead last in the league in defense in '06.

However, if both teams' preseason openers mean anything, that may not be the case this year. St. Louis held Minnesota to just 10 points in a 13-10 victory last week, while the Titans first-string defense held Washington scoreless Saturday and allowed just one offensive score in the entire game, that coming in the final two minutes off the squad's third- and fourth-stringers.

Locally speaking: After suffering through a long, frustrating 1-8 season last year, the Kennett Indians are hoping to make a leap forward in 2007. The Tribe returns several key players from '06, including quarterback Blake Parr and running back Demetrius Childress, not to mention several offensive linemen and others.

However, the best news for Kennett may be its opponents. Many of the Indians' rivals fielded strong teams last year -- several of whom were the best they've been in years -- but graduation hit several of those teams hard and that bodes well for a Kennett team that is looking to build some tradition and become a consistent winner.

Fans can come out to Metz Cherry Stadium Friday at 6:30 p.m. and watch the Powerade Game, the squad's annual intrasquad scrimmage, and see what progress the Tribe has made as it heads toward an August 31 season opener against Charleston.