SPORTS FEEVER – April 25, 2019

The weather is finally starting to cooperate and this week has been beautiful and the athletes have enjoyed competing.  The problem of being too wet still hinders some golf courses and baseball diamonds around the area.  Crookston Pirate Baseball will finally have their first game of the year on Friday when they travel to Bagley.  They have a problem with 20 games they want to play and less than 30 days to play them.  Needless to say, they won’t play all 20 games this year and they will struggle to get most of them in.
It has been a miserable spring for most and now there is rain/snow in the forecast for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  We all hope the rain stays away and the kids can get out and play the game they have been waiting all spring to play.

I know this much, boys volleyball is looking even more appealing for a spring sport offering in northwest Minnesota.

We have had a lot of people ask if we have enjoyed a little downtime in April and I have responded the same way..
Yes, I am enjoying the downtime, but I know what is ahead in May.  The month of May is the worst month EVERY Year because you have so many sports playing.  In Crookston, we cover boys and girls track, baseball, softball, boys and girls golf, and boys tennis.  Mix that in with UMC Baseball and UMC Softball (softball will be done in a little over a week and baseball will make the playoffs again starting May 8).  We will be busy, but the best part of spring sports…is when the weather is nice we LOVE covering all the sports outdoors!  And all sports start playoffs anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks from now!!!!

Continued good luck to all teams and we wish you best of luck and hope mother nature cooperates the rest of the season.

— — —

It was a pretty big weekend for two Crookston High School couples/coaches with the birth of their first children.  We are happy to say the moms and babies are doing well!

Darin and Leah Zimmerman welcomed Thea Ruth Zimmerman at 7:35 p.m. on Friday, April 19.  Thea weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and measured 20 inches.

Wes and Crystal Hanson welcomed Everett Weston Hanson at 7:24 p.m. on Easter Sunday.  He weighed 9 lbs 1 oz and measured 21.5 inches!

— — —

Last week I talked about the Univesity of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Athletic Department adding cross country and trap shooting.  The fear for most in the UMC Athletic Department and UMC fans is the fact that UMC DOES NOT fund athletics as they should right now.  People are genuinely concerned about the addition of cross country because they don’t have money laying around on campus.   With that said, I asked UMC Athletic Director Stephanie Helgeson and UMC Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause a few questions.  Mrs. Helgeson replied last week with the following responses.  We thank Steph for replying!

1-Will the athletic department budget see in an increase in funding with the addition of cross country?
Yes, we are increasing the funding to include recruiting, operations, scholarships, and a coaching position.

2-Where will funding for trap shooting come from?  The athletic department or somewhere else?
Funding will come from the reallocation of internal funds for the addition of trapshooting. This funding will include operating and a part-time coach. There are also several additional grant opportunities available that could provide additional funding as well.

3-You currently don’t have a full-time women’s golf coach or a full-time women’s tennis coach (they are assistant basketball coaches).  Will the cross country coach(es) be full-time?
Full-time coach by 2020, but until then, we will be looking at a part-time coaching position.

4-Will cross country receive athletic scholarships?  If they do, will sports like football and baseball see an increase in scholarship money to help them stay/become more competitive?
Yes, cross-country will receive scholarship dollars and we continue to work on plans to invest in all of our programs.

5-In the past year, it has been stated that there isn’t enough money to fix the track.  Has there been any request for upgrades in facilities (football, baseball, softball) from Crookston to Minneapolis.  (Example, the facility proposal that the comprehensive planning committee came up with)
Conversations with Capital Planning and Project Management regarding our facility needs at the University of Minnesota Crookston are ongoing.

6-Is there anything else you would like to add on the subject of Athletics and Athletic funding at UMC?
Should anyone be interested, we are always looking to engage people who care about this campus in an effort to help grow programs to enhance our enrollment and retention efforts. To talk to someone about possible opportunities to support athletics or the University of Minnesota Crookston’s strategic initiatives contact Brandy Chaffee in the Office of Development & Alumni Relations at 218-281-8434.

— — —

Crookston’s Katherine Geist broke the 3200-meter school record last week at Park Rapids with a time of 11:08.46.

— — —

Thief River Falls Boys trackster, Cole Johnson, broke his own pole vault school record on Tuesday with an impressive vault of 13’ 4”.

— — —

Aaron Myers, a Thief River Falls grad and Minnesota Wilderness forward has announced his commitment to play NCAA Division I hockey at Bemidji State University.

— — —

Big news out of Grand Forks this week……
The University of North Dakota football team will host North Dakota State for the first time in the Division I era on October 2, 2021 at the Alerus Center.
This might be the best scalping opportunity you have in the state of North Dakota…..ever.

— — —

The Minnesota Twins have had a hot start to the season and Eddie Rosario has been a big reason.  He hit his 10th home run in the Twins’ 21st game.  He is the fastest to 10 home runs in Twins History through 21 games.
21 games – Eddie Rosario, 2019
23 — Kirby Puckett 1986
28 — Bob Allison 1964
29 — Harmon Killebrew 1970
31 — Jimmie Hall 1964
32 — Miguel Sano 2017
32 — Harmon Killebrew, 1964

— — —

Red Lake Falls’ Garrett Schmitz is playing for the Birmingham Bulls hockey team in the SPHL and they are in a playoff run.  It has been an interesting journey for Schmitz who played junior hockey in Canada, played at Hamline and now he is playing for Birmingham.

Garrett Is the son of Kent and Kathy Schmitz and the grandson of Harvey and Janet Solheim of Crookston.  Garrett is the nephew of Roger Moe.

The Birmingham Bulls are heading to the SPHL Championship Finals to face defending champs Huntsville Havoc. The Bulls defeated the Roanoke Yard Rail Dawgs 6-4 and won the three-game series 2 to 1.  The three-game series against the Havoc will begin on Friday, April 26 at 7:30 P. M. at home. Game 2 will be in Huntsville on Saturday,

April 27 starting at 7:35 P. M. If necessary, game 3 will be back in Birmingham on Monday April 29 at 7:30 P.M.

For the story, click here.

— — —

The University of Minnesota Crookston football team wrapped up spring ball with its fourth and final practice at the University of North Dakota Athletics High-Performance Center in Grand Forks, N.D. Friday, April 19.
The scrimmage capped off their spring practices which included an emphasis on lifting to improve strength and power. In addition, the Golden Eagles practice three days a week. In most practices, the defense practiced separately from the offense in order so that the team could get more lifts in. A primary focus during practice was on the team’s technique and fundamentals.

Coach Mark Dufner, who is entering his third season as head coach for UMC, felt good about his team’s performance in all three phases of the game.  “I thought we did some good things in all three phases of the game in our final practice,” Dufner said. “The offense came down in the first series and was able to move the ball and get into the end zone. The defense really responded on the next series and got a stop. We had a lot of back and forth, and it was really nice to see both sides of the ball step up. We got a little bit of special teams work in as well. It was nice to see that those guys were able to execute, as well.”

The Golden Eagles had 60 players competing in spring ball, including several key contributors from the 2018 season. UMC has 40 student-athletes returning from last season who were contributors. Two key student-athletes returning.  Quarterback Jalin Scott, and middle linebacker Will Cross, who started the first game before missing the rest of the season due to injury. Both had positive things to say after Friday’s scrimmage.

“We have done really well in spring ball,” Cross said. “We have been building a mindset here for the last couple years where we are going to have the drive and willingness to compete and not be denied. We have a strong core of linebackers with the veterans like myself, Emmitt (Stevens), and some of the older guys who have been here for a while. We have been working with the younger guys and teaching them everything and I think we are all just rubbing off on each other.”

“I thought we performed pretty well today,” Scott said. “We have improved a lot since last fall. Hopefully we can carry it over into the summer and into next season. Our offensive weapons have improved a lot from last year. We keep improving day by day. I want to stay in the weight room this summer. I have been working a lot in the weight room this spring and we are going to continue to just put in the work to get stronger and better.”

The Golden Eagles open up the 2019 season Thursday, September 5 against Minnesota State University Moorhead with a 7:05 p.m. kickoff.

— — —

The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball program announced the addition of a pair of North Dakota products with the signing of Brady Aberle (RHP/UT, 6-0 185, Williston, N.D./Williston H.S.) and Ben Bryant (2B, 5-8 160, Fargo, N.D./Des Moines Area Community College) to National Letters of Intent. Aberle and Bryant will begin competing for the Golden Eagles in the fall of 2019 with their first regular season commencing in the spring of 2020.

The Golden Eagles currently have 13 signees for their current recruiting class and they will look to replace eight seniors, including 2018 NSIC Player of the Year Reed Hjelle (Sr., 1B, East Grand Forks).

Ben Bryant (2B, 5-8 160, Fargo, N.D./Des Moines Area Community College)
Bryant is in his first year playing for the Des Moines Area Community College after redshirting as a freshman. He has played 12 games this season with a .308 batting average with eight runs scored and nine RBIs. Bryant will have three years to play three for the Golden Eagles. He was a three-time All-Conference pick for the Eastern Dakota Conference while competing at Fargo South H.S. He is a member of the National Honor Socity and was a staple on the Deans List. Bryant was named to the All-Iowa Academic team while competing at the junior college. He is the all-time hits leader for his American Legion post in North Dakota.
He is the son of Donn and Amy Bryant. His father played baseball at North Dakota State University. He plans to major in biology at Minnesota Crookston. Bryant was born Jan. 19, 1999.  “Ben had a great high school and legion career in Fargo and improved at DMACC after a knee injury his first year in junior college,” said Head Coach Steve Gust. “He knows how to win and what it takes to be successful both on and off the field. More importantly, he is unselfish and the ultimate team player.”

Brady Aberle (RHP/UT, 6-0 185, Williston, N.D./Williston H.S.)
Aberle was an All-Western Dakota Association (WDA) Baseball pick in 2018, and was also named all-state in North Dakota following the 2018 season. He has been an all-academic pick from 2017-19. He played legion for the Williston Keybirds Post 37. Aberle also played basketball at Williston H.S.  He is the son of Kelly and Darcy Aberle. Aberle plans to major in business at Minnesota Crookston. He was born June 16, 2000. His uncle Mike Toy ran track at Minot State University. His father Darcy Aberle played golf and tennis at Dickinson State University.
“We believe Brady can come in and immediately make an impact on our program,” said Head Coach Steve Gust. “He is passionate about the game, competes hard and is a team player. Plus, he has tools both on and off of the field. We know he will get the job done in the classroom and can help us on the mound and possibly in the field. Our Highway 2 connection keeps getting stronger with the addition of Brady.”

— — —

The Lloydminster Bobcats are excited to announce they have signed Tanner Mack of East Grand Forks to a Letter of Intent for the 2019-20. This season Mack put up 18 goals and 19 assists in the Minnesota High School Hockey League, leading his team in points during 25 games. In three games during the prestigious Minnesota State Tournament which is held at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota Mack scored 3 times as the Green Wave fell in the semi-final game. “Tanner is going to have an immediate impact in our lineup when we start the season, I think he is a player fans are going to be excited to see! He has the ability to score goals, thinks the game, and plays with a lot of energy” said Head Coach and General Manager Nigel Dube.

— — —

The first edition of the NCAA regional baseball rankings have been released and the NSIC has three of the top four teams in the central region.  St. Cloud State comes in second with Minnesota State third and Augustana fourth in the first of three rankings. 

The NCAA Central Region is made up of 39 teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (15), the Mid-America Athletic Association (MIAA) (12) and the Great American Conference (GAC) (12). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis. The central region will have eight teams participate in two, 4-team regional sites on May 16-18 with the super region dates being May 24-25.  

The championship preliminary round competition provides for 16 regional sites that consist of either 4-team or 3-team, double elimination, tournaments. The winners of these regional-round competitions advance to a super-regional round that consists of two teams competing in a best-of-three series. Each of the eight regions is awarded postseason bids for six or eight teams, according to the regional access ratio.

CENTRAL REGION

RK	School (Conf)	DII-Rec	In-Reg
1	Central Missouri (MIAA)	28-12	26-9
2	St. Cloud State (NSIC)	28-7	26-7
3	Minnesota State (NSIC)	28-9	23-8
4	Augustana (NSIC)	30-12	26-9
5	Arkansas-Monticello (GAC)	28-11	28-11
6	Missouri Southern State (MIAA)	29-13	28-13
7	Central Oklahoma (MIAA)	27-14	27-14
8	Southern Arkansas (GAC)	27-16	27-16
9	Emporia State (MIAA)	24-16	24-16
10	Arkansas Tech (GAC)	27-18	27-18

— — —

The University of Minnesota outgoing president, Eric Kaler, has proposed the U of M allow beer and wine sales at Gopher Basketball and Men’s Hockey games.

In his memo, Kaler wrote that he “strongly” supports expanded sales, “given the intensely competitive sports entertainment market we have in the Twin Cities and the positive results we have experienced with general seating alcohol sales at TCF Bank Stadium.”

The Gopher men’s basketball and men’s hockey ticket sales haven’t been strong over the last few years and they have lost a significant amount of revenue because of it.  Some men’s hockey ticket prices have been lowered for next season and now they are trying to boost attendance with alcohol sales. Annual average revenue from alcohol sales at TCF Bank Stadium has been $1.3 million, with most of it coming from general admission sections rather than premium seats.

For the first time ever, the NCAA allowed beer and wine sales at the men’s basketball Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium earlier this month. The University of Illinois just announced plans to sell beer at some venues, including its football stadium, making the Illini the sixth Big Ten school to do so. Annual revenue at both arenas is projected to be about $250,000, but Kaler noted that the athletic department believes ticket sales will increase because of the expanded availability of wine and beer.

According to the Star Tribune – In addition to TCF Bank Stadium, Williams and Mariucci, the U holds liquor licenses for three other metro area venues: Northrop auditorium, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen and Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights.  The U also holds liquor licenses for student centers on the Morris and Duluth campuses.
Service would end at halftime for basketball games and after the second period for hockey.

— — —

The Christian Laettner Basketball Academy will be conducting a youth basketball clinic in Pillager June 24-26 at Pillager High School.
4th-8th grade 9 am – noon (co-ed)
9th-12th grade 1 pm – 4 pm (co-ed)
Cost is $125, including a water bottle
Register Online at www.theclba.com

Christian Laettner is a retired NBA 13-year veteran whose hall-of-fame career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the greatest in National Collegiate Athletic Association history. Coach Laettner will provide a fun, learning environment for the committed basketball player looking to improve their game, with a focus on skill development, striving to help players improve their ball handling, and passing, while increasing their understanding of offensive and defensive concepts. There will be great attention to detail on the core fundamentals of the game. Players, nowadays, love to dribble, dribble, dribble the ball. With that in mind, the teaching point this academy will stress the most is “catch the ball, save your dribble-and look to pass first!”. This concept is often overlooked in today’s game with the younger players – so the coaches will stress how ball movement is a key ingredient to a players game and offensive efficiency!

For the Camp form and for more information, CLICK HERE.

— — —

The University of Minnesota Crookston men’s basketball program will again offer camp options this summer. The Golden Eagles will host a Junior Eagle Day Camp from June 10-13 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., and an Offensive Skills Day Camp from June 17-20 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. The camps will be held at the University of Minnesota Crookston Wellness Center this year due to the remodeling of Lysaker Gymnasium, which will include new bleachers and a refurbished floor. This will be the sixth annual camp.

The Junior Eagle Day Camp will be for boys and girls grades 1-6 with each camper receiving a t-shirt and a camp ball. On the last day, all campers will receive a pizza party. The Offensive Skills Day Camp for boys and girls for grades 5-12. Each camper will receive a t-shirt and a camp ball. On the last day, all campers for the Offensive Skills Camp will also receive a pizza party.
The camp will develop campers skills through drill work, contests, and games. They will receive instruction and interaction with coaching staff and players.

The cost is $60 per camper. If you have any questions contact Assistant Coach Bryan Beamish at 218-281-8431 or bbeamish@crk.umn.edu. You can fill out the attached registration form (click here for the form) and send form and payment to:

UMC Basketball
142 Sports Center
2900 University Ave.
Crookston, MN  56716

— — —

“LACE ‘EM UP” BASKETBALL CAMP

Make plans now to attend the 26th annual “Lace ‘em Up” basketball camp to be held in Red Lake Falls high school at the Robert Matzke Gym from June 3-7, 2019.

The camp is open to any boys or girls who are currently in grades K-11.  The camp is set up to run from 8:00 a.m. until 11:30 for grades 6-11 each morning, and from 12:00 noon until 3:30 p.m. for grades K-6.  The cost of the camp is $60 with a maximum cost per family of $100.  If you register before May 25,  you will also receive a camp T-shirt.  After May 25, ALL SINGLE REGISTRATION FEES WILL BE $70 AND THE MAXIMUM COST PER FAMILY WILL BE $120, DUE TO CAMP PREPARATION AND AWARD ORDERS.

NOTE: by request, sixth graders may come in the morning, afternoon, or both for one price.

Cut on the dotted line and return the following to: Steve Philion, 518 Champagne Ave., Red Lake Falls, MN 56750.  (218-253-2499). E-mail: sphilion@rlfedu.org

Make checks payable to: Steve Philion

———————————————————————————

Name____________________________________
Grade in 2018-2019________________(grade just completed)

I was a 6th grader this year and would like to come:
(circle one) MORNING    AFTERNOON    BOTH

T-shirt sizes:     Please circle one:

Youth sizes:       EXTRA SMALL           SMALL            MEDIUM             LARGE

Adult sizes:        SMALL     MEDIUM     LARGE      X-LARGE        XX-LARGE

Address:____________________________________________

MALE____________              FEMALE____________

I, the parent of the above student agree to allow my child to participate in the 2019 “Lace ‘em Up basketball camp in Red Lake Falls.  I also understand that the camp director, the City of RLF, and the RLF school district are not responsible for any injuries or accidents that my child might occur.

SIGNATURE OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN:_____________________________

— — —

JOKES

One day Mr. Purdue comes up with this great idea for the Catholic Church. Immediately he makes plane reservations to go to Rome.
When he gets into Rome he makes an appointment to see the Pope. When he sees the Pope he says this: “It is great to meet you, your Eminence, and I have a little proposition for you. See, I was in church the other day and I thought of a great idea. Purdue Chickens is ready to give the Church $500,000 if you guys will change ‘give us this day our daily bread’ to ‘give us this day our daily chicken’. What do you think?”

The Pope pondered for a second and said: “I don’t really think so.”

Well, Mr. Purdue was not going to be let down by this so he continued: “Purdue Chickens is so organized that we figured that there would be a little difficulty in the first offer. Okay, we are prepared to give the Church $1 million dollars to change ‘give us this day our daily bread’ to ‘give us this day our daily chickens’.”

The Pope thought a little longer this time and responded: “No, I really don’t think so.”

Now, Mr. Purdue was getting a little nervous. He took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his brow. He said: “Now, we at Purdue Chickens didn’t really think that the offer was going to go this far, but nevertheless, we prepared ourselves. We are willing to give the Church $5 million if you guys will change ‘give us this day our daily bread’ to ‘give us this day our daily chickens.’ What do you think?”

The Pope looked at Mr. Purdue blankly and then said: “Sure.”

Later that day the Pope had a meeting with the Cardinals. He said: “I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that the Church has gained $5 million dollars. The bad news is that we lost the Wonderbread account.”

— — —

Tags: Cross Country, sports, Sports Feever, sportsfeever, Trap Shooting, University of Minnesota Crookston