SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
The NBA made big news on Wednesday as Adam Silver delivered a huge blow to the Los Angeles Clippers –
The NBA has ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers in for salary cap circumvention investigations on Kawhi Leonard after yearlong probe — stripping the franchise of 5 first-round picks, issuing a $30 million fine to owner Steve Ballmer and suspensions for Ballmer, Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker, sources tell ESPN.
Kawhi Leonard will have to pay $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits by the Clippers for his uncle and former business rep, Dennis Robertson. No contract void or suspension for Leonard. And Robertson — who was fired by Leonard in June — is being banned by the NBA from all business dealings.
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In a KROX Football poll first, we have a three-way tie for first place. But pretty much everyone in Section 6 9-Player agrees there are three top teams, and it will be a battle for the top spot heading into the playoffs!
Five-time defending champion, Fertile-Beltrami, along with Fosston and Clearbrook-Gonvick, are the three teams tied for first. Clearbrook-Gonvick received one more first-place vote. It will be a battle with the top three teams, while Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal looks to improve with good talent returning!
POLL RESULTS –
1. Clearbrook Gonvick – 8
1. Fertile-Beltrami – 8
1. Fosston – 8
4. Norman County East/U-H – 17
5. Blackduck – 19
6. Northome/Kelliher – 24
The team previews can be seen by clicking the link – 2026 Section 6 9-Player Football preseason poll and preview – KROX
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We were able to get all the Section 8AA Football teams to respond and the updated info is below –
POLL RESULTS –
1. Barnesville – 10
2. Hawley – 15
3. Pelican Rapids – 18
4. Frazee – 33
5. Roseau – 35
6. Warroad – 38
7. Crookston – 47
The team previews are available by clicking on the link – 2026 Section 8AA Football preseason poll and preview – KROX
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There are too many teams for the Section 8A and 8AA Volleyball, but I will give you my top teams for each section.
SECTION 8A VOLLEYBALL –
There is no doubt that the Sacred Heart Eagles are the top team coming into the season after finishing section runner-up last year. They have most of the team back and are loaded with athletes and great players. There are always teams that will surprise us and that is why we love high school sports! My top five is below –
1. Sacred Heart (loaded with talent and experience!!!)
2. Ada-Borup-West (defending section champ that has two grads at NDSU, but still has some solid returning players, and you can’t count them out)
3. Climax-Fisher (have a lot of talent back this year, and they will be a tough team to beat)
4. Red Lake Falls (lost some top-notch talent, has a lot coming back)
5. Bagley (a lot of young talent, they are scrappy and athletic and will be a tough team to beat).
Other teams that will be tough – Stephen-Argyle, Red Lake County Central, and Fertile-Beltrami.
SECTION 8AA VOLLEYBALL –
The two-time defending Section 8AA champion Hawley Nuggets might have a new coach, but they have the same athletes and they are still the team to beat until somebody does at playoff time! They are a well-oiled machine and the team to beat again. My top five is below –
1. Hawley (they are the team to beat)
2. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (They were one of the top teams last year and will be a team to beat this year with all the talent they have)
3. East Grand Forks (They beat Wadena-Deer Creek in the season-opener and they will be tough this year)
4. Wadena-Deer Creek (had a close loss to EGF, but a team you can never count out)
5. Perham (They have a lot of talent and will be tough again this year)
Others that could easily be in the top five – Roseau (they have a lot of talent and should be in the top five), Barnesville, Thief River Falls, Frazee
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KROX Radio and KROX TV will be video-streaming every Crookston Pirate Varsity Fall sporting event again this season. We have direct links to the streams for each home game. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel ((155) KROX Radio – YouTube) to get reminders when we go live with all our coverage.
September 3 –
Crookston Pirate Girls Soccer vs St. John’s Prep https://youtube.com/live/dwzorbJbJDA
Crookston Pirate Football vs Nevis – https://youtube.com/live/ZkfFMOouxzg
September 10 –
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs Sacred Heart – https://youtube.com/live/ap-viXiADzs
September 11 –
Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer vs East Grand Forks – https://youtube.com/live/Mk1HunOs5UA
September 14 –
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs Ada-Borup-West – https://youtube.com/live/2X1YEV7DA8Q
September 15 –
Crookston Pirate Girls Soccer vs East Grand Forks – https://youtube.com/live/1Yt871BKJ8o
September 17 –
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal – https://youtube.com/live/PovUI4mJfPc
September 18 –
Crookston Pirate Football vs Polk County West – https://youtube.com/live/XoHJiaB-u6o
September 26 –
Crookston Pirate Boys Soccer vs Hillcrest Academy – https://youtube.com/live/125XJaskplM
October 1 –
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs Thief River Falls – https://youtube.com/live/SyFzCrTG4-Q
October 2 –
Crookston Pirate Boys and Girls Soccer doubleheader vs Mesabi East – https://youtube.com/live/SyFzCrTG4-Q
October 3 –
Crookston Pirate Boys and Girls Soccer doubleheader vs Hibbing – https://youtube.com/live/HT-KwnMRcEM
October 5 –
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs Win-E-Mac – https://youtube.com/live/o_DJWRREuNc
October 6 –
Crookston Pirate Girls Soccer vs Hillcrest Academy – https://youtube.com/live/qGukPq8OUHM
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs Warroad – https://youtube.com/live/h9i846k5H7s
October 8 –
Crookston Pirate Girls Soccer vs Walker-Hackensack-Akeley – https://youtube.com/live/1OvbRNo7usU
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs East Grand Forks – https://youtube.com/live/7L4Y6cx91Ng
October 9 –
Crookston Pirate Football vs Red Lake County – https://youtube.com/live/purUdRsZ_xY
October 12 –
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs Northome/Kelliher – https://youtube.com/live/EVXbjKHDWeA
October 21 –
Crookston Pirate Football vs Red Lake – https://youtube.com/live/NwlNvw1izos
October 22 –
Crookston Pirate Volleyball vs Climax-Fisher – https://youtube.com/live/dbH4RVra80Y
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Following a good start to her senior season, University of Minnesota Crookston Volleyball’s, Madison Carsten (Sr., OH, Wadena, Minn.) was named to the Hardrocker Volleyball Tournament all-tournament team.
The Wadena native finished with 137 total attacks on the weekend, including 47 in a thrilling win over Lake Superior State.
Carsten also finished the match against the Lakers with 12 kills and 13 digs, good for the first double-double of her career and 25th of her prolific career.
Carsten finished the weekend with 32 kills on the weekend and a .139 attacking percentage.
The senior joins Gracie Adamson (MVP) and Sophie Ketterling of Jamestown, Lexi Glendenning and Cate Warren of South Dakota Mines, Avery Lacy of Chadron State and Elisa Rizzoli of Lake Superior State on the all-tournament team.
Carsten and the Golden Eagles will head West again this weekend, as they head to California for four non-conference matches, starting with UC Merced on Thursday afternoon.
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University of Minnesota Crookston soccer goalkeeper Phoenix DeBrusk (So., GK, Thunder Bay, Ontario) was named NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week after her part in two clean sheets in non-conference play against Montana State University Billings and Black Hills State University.
DeBrusk earns the weekly award for the first time. She is the first to earn the accolade since her teammate Payton King received the honor September 15, 2025.
DeBrusk had nine saves, with the full shutout against Montana State Billings. She had six saves against MSUB and no goals allowed. DeBrusk started versus Black Hills State University, making three saves in the first half. King came on in the second half for an additional three saves. DeBrusk had a perfect saves percentage. DeBrusk continued a 289-minute scoreless streak for Minnesota Crookston’s defense dating back four games to early November 2025 against UMary.
DeBrusk was joined on the weekly honor roll by UMary’s Ivy Wessel, the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, and Meghan Przybilla of Minnesota State University, the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week.
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Participation has reached new heights through the expansion of education-based programming for the Minnesota State High School League.
In data released today, Thursday, Aug. 27, by the National Federation of State High School Associations in its annual survey, the League continues to post record marks for participation with 241,536 students participating in athletics.
Including Fine Arts pushes the participation total to 289,522 students who were involved in League activities during the 2025-2026 school year. It is the 12th consecutive school year that the League has had participation growth. The League’s previous high mark was 277,768 participants during the 2024-2025 school year.
The continued growth maintains the League’s presence in the Top 10 nationally, a spot it has occupied for 12 years.
“Expanding opportunities for students has been a major focus of the League for years, and through these efforts both locally and across the state, the number of students engaging in education-based activities continues to grow,” said Erich Martens, executive director of the Minnesota State High School League. “Our goal is for participants to have outstanding experiences, and when they do, others want to join. The credit for this growth appropriately goes to the Member Schools. They have provided pathways for safe, fun and memory-filled experiences led by outstanding coaches, directors and administrators. Our students and families have a great appetite for these special experiences and are most grateful for the many individuals who make participation possible.”
During the 2025-2026 school year, there were 152,169 boys who participated in League activities and 137,353 girls. That reflects an increase of more than 5,000 participants on the boys’ side and nearly 7,000 for girls.
In addition to the inclusion of 9th Grade Governance during the 2025-2026 school year, the League continued to experience growth in Girls Wrestling and Boys Volleyball. Girls Wrestling, first approved by the League’s Board of Directors in 2021, saw a growth of nearly 500 participants to 1,810 during the 2025-2026 school year. Boys Volleyball, in its second season, experienced a growth of nearly 200 participants.
And the growth will continue.
In June, the League’s Board of Directors approved Esports in a Presenting Partnership with Fenworks, a Grand Forks, N.D., based organization that administers digital competitions. The 2026-2027 school year will serve as a pilot season as the League partners with Fenworks and looks forward to hosting its first state championship in the 2027-2028 school year.
An application has been submitted by Member Schools to approve Girls Flag Football as an Emerging Activity. The League is in the process of planning a survey of Member Schools to gather data and field questions regarding implementation. The board is expected to act on the application at either its October or December meeting.
Nationally, participation in education-based high school activities rose to a record 8.4 million, an increase of nearly 150,000 students from 2024-2025. It is the fourth consecutive school year since the global pandemic that a significant increase in participation was reported.
Texas remained atop the survey with 911,405 participants in athletics, followed by California at 859,022. Ohio (347,994) was third, followed by Illinois (326,756), Pennsylvania (315,647), New York (312,563), Florida (311,233), Michigan (295,634) and New Jersey (273,711). Minnesota is 10th with 241,536.
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The Iowa Wolves, the NBA G League affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves, will host open player tryouts at the Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, on Saturday, Sept. 12 beginning at 12:00 PM. Doors will open at 11:00 AM.
Tryout participants must meet all NBA G League eligibility standards and can pre-register when they submit the registration, release & eligibility form, health information authorization forms, and a $300 non-refundable tryout fee. Authorization forms must be mailed to the Iowa Wolves prior to the tryout date via trackable carrier (FedEx, UPS, DHL). Pre-registration is preferred with day of registration subject to availability. Cash payment only will be required for day of tryout registration. Personal filming is not allowed during the tryout.
Download Required Authorization Forms
Open tryouts offer local players an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of Iowa Wolves coaches and Minnesota Timberwolves personnel, while competing to earn an invitation to the NBA G League team’s training camp in October.
Iowa Wolves Open Player Tryouts:
Saturday, September 12
Courts at Mayo Clinic Square
600 Hennepin Avenue, 3rd Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Doors open at 11:00 AM
Tryouts begin at 12:00 PM
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JOKES
A woman was in bed with her lover when she heard her husband opening the front door.
“Hurry!” she said. “Stand in the corner.” She quickly rubbed baby oil all over him and then she dusted him with talcum powder. “Don’t move until I tell you to,” she whispered. “Just pretend you’re a statue.”
“What’s this honey?” the husband inquired as he entered the room.
“Oh, its just a statue,” she replied nonchalantly. “The Smiths bought one for their bedroom. I liked it so much, I got one for us too.”
No more was said about the statue, not even later that night when they went to sleep. Around two in the morning the husband got out of bed, went to the kitchen and returned a while later with a sandwich and a glass of milk. “Here,” he said to the ‘statue’, “eat something. I stood like an idiot at the Smith’s for three days and nobody offered me so much as a glass of water”.
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A lawyer meets with the family of a recently deceased millionaire for the reading of the will.
‘To my loving wife, Rose, who always stood by me, I leave the house and $2 million,’ the attorney reads.
‘To my darling daughter, Jessica, who looked after me in sickness and kept the business going, I leave the yacht, the business and $1 million.’
‘And finally,’ the lawyer concludes, ‘to my cousin Dan, who hated me, argued with me and thought I would never mention him in my will. Well, you were wrong. Hi Dan!’
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A young blonde was on vacation in the depths of Louisiana. She wanted a pair of genuine alligator shoes in the worst way, but was very reluctant to pay the high prices the local vendors were asking.
After becoming very frustrated with the “no haggle” attitude of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde shouted, “Maybe I’ll just go out and catch my own alligator so I can get a pair of shoes at a reasonable price!”
The shopkeeper said, “By all means, be my guest. Maybe you’ll luck out and catch yourself a big one!” Determined, the blonde turned and headed for the swamps, set on catching herself an alligator.
Later in the day, the shopkeeper is driving home, when he spots the young woman standing waist deep in the water, shotgun in hand. Just then, he sees a huge 9-foot alligator swimming quickly toward her. She takes aim, kills the creature and with a great deal of effort hauls it on to the swamp bank. Laying nearby were several more of the dead creatures. The shopkeeper watches in amazement. Just then the blonde flips the alligator on its back, and frustrated, shouts out, “Damn it, this one isn’t wearing any shoes either!”
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How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST. Email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com
Matt Contreras is a Sophomore playing baseball at Concordia College in Moorhead.
Teagen Lubinski is playing Junior Hockey for the Badlands Sabers in the NA3HL.
Parker Kelly is playing Junior Hockey for the Badlands Sabers in the NA3HL.
Addie Fee is a Sophomore playing hockey at Wisconsin-Superior.
Kambelle Freije is a Sophomore playing hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Riley Helgeson is a Sophomore playing football at Northern State.
Emily Bowman is a Sophomore playing Softball at North Dakota State College of Science.
Halle Winjum is a Junior playing basketball at Minnesota Crookston.
Matt Contreras is a Sophomore playing baseball at Concordia College.
Naomi Johnson is a Sophomore playing soccer at Alexandria Tech
Reese Swanson is a Junior playing hockey at St. Olaf.
Carter Coauette is a Junior playing football at Minot State.
Isaac Thomforde is a Junior playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.
Halle Bruggeman is a Senior on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.
Ethan Boll is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Football team.
Breanna Kressin is a Senior the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Jacey Larson is a Senior playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Paul Bittner is an assistant coach on the University of Wisconsin-Superior Men’s Hockey team.
Seth Heppner – Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Golf at Jessup University
Brady Heppner – Head Coach of Women’s Golf at UMC and Assistant Hockey Coach
Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Colton Weiland is an assistant Pirate Wrestling Coach
Jason Cassavant is a Jr. High Baseball Coach and Head American Legion Baseball coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Head Pirate Boys Hockey coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.
Tim Desrosier is an Assistant Coach for Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball
Pat Wolfe is the head wrestling coach for Fosston/Bagley.
Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.
Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.
Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida.
Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown.
Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Matt Harris is an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.
Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of North Dakota.
Mike Hastings is the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s head Hockey coach.
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for Bison media relations.
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College.
Chris Myrold is the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Jaren Bailey is serving our country and is Lance Corporal in the Marines.
Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.
Philip Kujawa class of 2004, from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome
That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments, and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com..
