SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
I apologize for missing last week’s column; I completely forgot about it last week until it was too late to get something going.
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In the last column, we told you about Crookston Girls Basketball Head Coach Darin Zimmerman moving to Detroit Lakes to take a teaching job there and Brett Brendan also moving to Detroit Lakes to take a job there.
This week, we have more news on Crookston coaching. The long-time Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball head coach Greg Garmen handed in his resignation, and the Crookston School Board approved it.
Greg has been the Pirate Boys Basketball coach for 29 years! He was coach when Crookston was in 8AAA and of course while they were in 8AA. The highlight for Greg and the Pirates Boys Basketball program in the last 29 years would have to be the Class AA state runner-up year in 2005. Crookston made it to the championship even though the Pirates were without their leading scorer, Kenley Wahlin (now A.D. at Ada-Borup-West), who tore his ACL during the section championship game. It was a huge accomplishment to win the section while beating some great teams, including Pelican Rapids, in the section championship.
Greg is a great coach and a great person who wanted his players to be great students, good people, respectful, and to represent the team and town well at all times. He was always checking if kids had their grades up and would make sure the boys would get their schoolwork done. He also taught them responsibility and accountability. Any kid who went through the Pirate Boys Basketball program is a better person because of it.
Greg was always great to KROX. He rarely ever missed a coaches corner program. He always gave us interviews or anything that we needed. He was always top-notch, and I appreciated it. He also let me know what was going on with my sons and even daughters when he was teaching and coaching. He cared about the kids and was always looking out for them.
He had to deal with both of my sons, who were sometimes challenging with their attitudes.
It is truly the end of an era for Pirate Boys Basketball. I would like to thank Greg publicly for all the time he put into the program, my boys. Coaching isn’t easy and I don’t remember him ever having any major issues with parents over the 29 years.
A big thank you to Greg, from all of us at KROX. We have APPRECIATED EVERYTHING you have done!
So with that said here is the coaching openings right now for Pirates athletics.
Girls Hockey – all coaches
Boys Basketball – all coaches
Girls basketball – Head, and assistant coach
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One thing Crookston won’t be looking for is a swimming coach after the Crookston School Board finally elected to drop the Girl’s Swimming program.
They only had one girl compete on the varsity level last year, and it just happened to be Sophomore Chloe Boll, who went to state in two events. I think Chloe had a pretty good sense that it was a possibility and really wanted to make it to state last fall.
I think the only surprise that comes from anybody is people that don’t know a darn thing or the fact that Crookston finally cut a sport that has had low numbers for a decade-plus (only having one girl this year, with one that was injured most of the year).
While I feel bad for Chloe Boll, she can easily go back to tennis, or she can easily play volleyball or soccer and probably be a main cog on any of the three teams she chooses.
While it is tough to see a team get cut, it should come as no surprise to anybody. It was a thought for swimmers, especially after the school handed over control of the pool to the city. Superintendent Randy Bergquist said it will save the school district about $40,000 next school year by not having girls swimming. That is a lot of money to spend for one or two people.
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Here is some quick thoughts on who I see as the top spring sports teams so far this spring.
Section 8A Baseball – My top 6 – Sacred Heart, Ada-Borup-West, Northern Freeze, Red Lake County, Win-E-Mac, and Fosston
Section 8AA baseball – My top 3 – Perham, Ottertail Central, East Grand Forks
Section 8A Softball – Top 5 – Red Lake Falls, BGMR, East Polk, Sacred Heart, Lake Park-Audubon
Section 8AA Softball – Top 6 – Park Rapids, Wadena-Deer Creek, Roseau, Thief River Falls, Hawley, DGF
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The University of North Dakota Women’s Volleyball team will hold a spring scrimmage in Stephen on Thursday, April 25. The event is free and open to the public. The scrimmage will be from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m.
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Here is something that was interesting to me. Somebody went through all the Big 10 Football teams to see who their most obscure opponent has been.
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The 16th Annual Crookston High School Triple A Academics, Arts, and Athletics Senior Recognition Banquet will be held Monday, April 29, at 6:00 p.m. at the Crookston High School. Seniors that have academic letters and have participated in athletics, band, choir, drama, Knowledge Bowl, Leo Club, National Honor Society, orchestra, speech, student council, top academics, visual arts, yearbook, and Envirothon. Tickets for parents, family members, and friends may be purchased at the Crookston High School, KROX, or Wonderful Life Foods and must be purchased by Monday, April 22. The cost of tickets is $17. High school seniors are free, and they can pick up their tickets at the CHS office. Make checks payable to Triple-A. If you have any special dietary needs, please contact Andy or Carol at Irishman’s Shanty at 281-9912. If you have any questions, contact Nate Lubarski at the Crookston High School at 281-2144 or Margee Keller at 218-349-4566. Crookston Rotary, Crookston Lions, Pirate Fine Arts Boosters, and Pirate Boosters sponsor the Triple A Banquet.
“LACE ‘EM UP” BASKETBALL CAMP
Make plans now to attend the 29th annual “Lace ’em Up” basketball camp to be held in Red Lake Falls High School at the Robert Matzke Gym from June 3-6, 2024
The camp is open to any boys or girls in grades K-11. The camp is set up to run from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 for grades 5-11 (grade they were in this past school year) each morning and from 12:30 until 3:00 p.m. for grades K-4 (grade they were in this past school year). The cost of the camp is $70, with a maximum cost per family of $100. If you register before May 22, you will also receive a camp T-shirt. After May 22, ALL SINGLE REGISTRATION FEES WILL BE $80, AND THE MAXIMUM COST PER FAMILY WILL BE $120 due to CAMP PREPARATION AND AWARD ORDERS.
Cut on the dotted line and return the following to: Steve Philion, 518 Champagne Ave., Red Lake Falls, MN 56750. (cell: 218-686-3608) (home: 218-253-2499). E-mail: sphilion@rlfedu.org
Make checks payable to: Lace ’em Up Basketball Camp
If anyone needs help with the cost of the camp, let Mr. Philion know as we have people who have offered to cover costs for kids that need financial help.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Name____________________________________
Grade in 2023-2024________________ (GRADE JUST COMPLETED)
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 2024 “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, accidents, or COVID that my child might incur.
SIGNATURE OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN:_______________________________________
Emergency cell number of parent or guardian:________________________________
JOKES
An office exec was interviewing a blonde for an assistant position, and wanted to find out a little about her personality.
“If you could have a conversation with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be?”
“I’d have to say the living one.”
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The Ultimate Computer stood at the end of the Ultimate Computer Company’s production line. At which point the guided tour eventually arrived.
The salesman stepped forward to give his prepared demo. ‘This,’ he said, ‘is the Ultimate Computer. It will give an intelligent answer to any question you may care to ask it.’
A smart-aleck who ran a humor mailing list stepped forward and asked, ‘Where is my father?’
There was the soft hum of powerful electronic gear going to the task. Panel lights lit and blinked, and within a couple of seconds the laser printer printed out a piece of paper: ‘Fishing off Florida.’
The smart-aleck laughed, ‘Actually, my father is dead! It was a trick question.’
The salesman, quickly thinking on his feet, replied that he was sorry the answer was unsatisfactory, but as the Ultimate Computer was precise, perhaps a rewording of the question might work better.
The smart-aleck said to the Ultimate Computer, ‘Where is my mother’s husband?’ Again, the hum of the powerful electronic brain filled the room.
After a moment, the laser printer whirred to life. The paper said, ‘Dead. But your father is still fishing off Florida.’
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Three bulls heard via the grapevine that the rancher was going to bring another bull onto the ranch, and the prospect raised a discussion among them.
The first bull says, “Boys, we all know I’ve been here 5 years. Once we settled our differences, we agreed on which 100 of the cows would be mine. Now, I don’t know where this newcomer is going to get HIS cows, but I ain’t givin’ him any of mine.”
The second bull says, “That pretty much says it for me, too. I’ve been here 3 years and have earned my right to the 50 cows we’ve agreed are mine. I’ll fight ‘im till I run him off or kill ‘im, but I’M KEEPIN’ ALL MY COWS.”
The third bull says, “I’ve only been here a year, and so far you guys have only let me have 10 cows to “take care of”. I may not be as big as you fellows yet, but I am young and virile, so I simply MUST keep all MY cows.”
They had just finished their big talk when an eighteen-wheeler pulls up in the middle of the pasture with only ONE ANIMAL IN IT: the biggest Son-of-Another-Bull these guys had ever seen! At 4700 pounds, each step he took toward the ground strained the steel ramp to the breaking point.
The first bull says, “Ahem…You know, it’s actually been some time since I really felt I was doing all my cows justice, anyway. I think I can spare a few for our new friend.”
The second bull says, “I’ll have plenty of cows to take care of if I just stay on the opposite end of the pasture from HIM. I’m certainly not looking for an argument.”
They look over at their young friend, the third bull, and find him pawing the dirt, shaking his horns, and snorting up a storm.
The first bull says, “Son, let me give you some advice real quick. Let him have some of your cows and live to tell about it.”
The third bull says, “Heck, he can have ALL my cows. I’m just making sure he knows I’M a bull!”
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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
Emily Tate is a freshman playing Softball at Northland Community and Technical College.
Halle Bruggeman is a freshman on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Tennis team.
Grace Fischer is a freshman on the Concordia College (Moorhead) Women’s Golf team.
Ethan Boll is a Freshman on the University of North Dakota Football team.
Breanna Kressin is a Sophomore on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Emma Osborn is a Sophomore playing basketball at Northland Technical and Community College in Thief River Falls.
Jacey Larson is a Sophomore playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Aleah Bienek is a Sophomore playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND..
Kaleb Thingelstad is a junior playing golf at Kansas Wesleyan.
Joslynn Leach is a sophomore playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brady Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.
Aleece Durbin is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Womens Track and Field team.
Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.
Crookston School District Coaches
Emilee Tate is the Pirate 7th grade volleyball coach.
Todd Miner is a Pirate Football assistant coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach and assistant girls golf coach
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
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.
Katy (Westrom) Horgen is the Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
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 Wyoming.
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
Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy.
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and a grad of West Point and currently serving in the U.S. Army.
Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.
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.
