SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
I have officially entered my name into the Transfer Portal. I am hoping a Radio Station at St. Pete Beach, Florida; Fort Meyers, Florida; Marco Island, Florida. Or the Florida Keys (Key West) are all areas I will accept an offer. If I don’t get an offer, I will withdraw my name from the portal and stay at KROX. We will see what happens. I figured I was going to be like the younger generations and college coaches, and my new motto is “Screw loyalty!!!”
All joking aside, the transfer portal is ruining college sports along with NIL. They have completely ruined college sports. Schools that aren’t in the power five conferences are screwed. Schools like NDSU, UND, South Dakota, South Dakota State, and others like them that aren’t big-time schools are in trouble. They are going to lose their top players to major programs, and that is already happening. Basically, the Summit League/Missouri Valley are turning into a minor league where good players move up.
It will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years in the NCAA.
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The Crookston Pirate Baseball team hosted the Ada-Borup-West Cougars in the earliest high school baseball game I have broadcast in my career. Looking back to 2008, it was the earliest game Crookston had played in three days. Let’s hope all spring sports can have a full and weather cooperates this season!!!
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently the top team in the Western Conference.
The Wolves and Denver, as of Wednesday night, are tied for the best record in the West at 53-23 overall, but the T-Wolves have the tie-breaker with Denver. There are only eight games left in the regular season and the schedule is more than favorable for Minnesota. I am not getting too excited, but they have a great chance of making a run. We shall see.
The Minnesota Wild have an outside chance of making the playoffs with eight games left in the regular season. They are six points behind L.A. and have games against Colorado, Winnipeg, Chicago, Colorado, Vegas, San Jose, L.A. (could be a huge game), and Seattle.
St. Louis is still between L.A. and the Wild so they will likely have to win no less than six of the remaining eight games if they even want to have a chance to make the playoffs.
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Women’s College Basketball is the top ticket in sports right now. Iowa-LSU’s Monday night game had an average of 12.3 million viewers. That number is more than the following –
• Every women’s college basketball game ever
• Every ESPN college basketball game ever
• Every MLB game last season
• Every NHL game last season
• Every MLS game last season
• Every NBA game last season except one
• Every CFB regular season game last season except one (Michigan vs Ohio State)
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The Minnesota High School League’s section assignments for the spring sports is below. There are several changes for section teams in northwest Minnesota. The SPRING sports sections are listed below –
BASEBALL –
Section 8A (17 teams) No changes
Ada-Borup-West
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River
Bagley
Blackduck
Fertile-Beltrami
Fosston
Kittson County Central
Lake of the Woods
Mahnomen/Waubun
Northome/Kelliher
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal
Northern Freeze
Red Lake County
Red Lake
Sacred Heart
West Marshall
Win-E-Mac
Section 8AA (13 teams) No changes
Barnesville
Crookston
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Grand Forks
Hawley
Menahga
Ottertail Central
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Perham
Roseau
Thief River Falls
Warroad
SOFTBALL –
Section 8A (16 teams) (Lost Blackduck, Kelliher/Northome and added Red Lake, Lake Park-Audubon)
Ada-Borup-West
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River
Bagley
East Polk
Fertile-Beltrami
Indus
Lake of the Woods
Lake Park-Audubon
Mahnomen/Waubun
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal
Northern Freeze
Red Lake
Red Lake County Central
Red Lake Falls
Sacred Heart
West Marshall
Section 8AA (14 teams) (added Menahga, lost Fergus Falls, Frazee, Pelican Rapids, and Red Lake)
Barnesville
Breckenridge
Crookston
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Grand Forks
Hawley
Menahga
Ottertail Central
Park Rapids
Perham
Roseau
Thief River Falls
Wadena-Deer Creek
Warroad
BOYS GOLF-
Section 8A (14 teams) (added Bagley)
Ada-Borup-West
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River
Bagley
Fertile-Beltrami
FHL Academy
Fosston
Kittson County Central
Lake of the Woods
Mahnomen/Waubun
Northern Freeze
Red Lake County
Sacred Heart
West Marshall
Win-E-Mac
Section 8AA (15 teams) (lost Bagley, added Detroit Lakes and Frazee)
Barnesville
Crookston
Detroit Lakes
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Hawley
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Perham
Red Lake
Roseau
Thief River Falls
United North Central
Warroad
GIRLS GOLF-
Section 8A (13 teams) (added Bagley)
Ada-Borup-West
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River
Bagley
Fertile-Beltrami
Fosston
Kittson County Central
Lake of the Woods
Mahnomen/Waubun
Northern Freeze
Red Lake County
Sacred Heart
West Marshall
Win-E-Mac
Section 8AA (16 teams) (lost Bagley, added Detroit Lakes)
Barnesville
Crookston
Detroit Lakes
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Frazee
Hawley
Park Rapids
Pelican Rapids
Perham
Red Lake
Roseau
Thief River Falls
United North Central
Warroad
BOYS TENNIS
Section 8A (9 teams) (added Detroit Lakes)
Crookston
Detroit Lakes
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Minnewaska Area
New London-Spicer
Osakis
Perham
Thief River Falls
BOYS TRACK –
Section 8A (24 teams) (no changes)
Ada-Borup-West
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River/Freeze
Bagley/Fosston
Cass Lake-Bena
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Climax-Fisher-Sacred Heart
Crookston
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
Fertile-Beltrami
Goodridge/Grygla
Lake of the Woods
Mahnomen/Waubun
Nevis
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal
Northome/Kelliher
Park Christian
Park Rapids
Red Lake County
Roseau
Trek North
United Clay Becker
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
West Marshall
Warroad
Section 8AA (12 teams) (added Perham, lost Melrose)
Albany
Alexandria
Detroit Lakes
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Little Falls
New London-Spicer
Pequot Lakes
Perham
Rocori
Thief River Falls
Willmar
GIRLS TRACK –
Section 8A (25 teams) (no changes)
Ada-Borup-West
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River/Freeze
Bagley/Fosston
Cass Lake-Bena
Clearbrook-Gonvick
Climax-Fisher-Sacred Heart
Crookston
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
Fertile-Beltrami
Goodridge/Grygla
Kittson County Central
Lake of the Woods
Mahnomen/Waubun
Nevis
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal
Northome/Kelliher
Park Christian
Park Rapids
Red Lake County
Roseau
Trek North
United Clay Becker
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
West Marshall
Warroad
Section 8AA (12 teams) (added Perham, lost Melrose)
Albany
Alexandria
Detroit Lakes
East Grand Forks
Fergus Falls
Little Falls
New London-Spicer
Pequot Lakes
Perham
Rocori
Thief River Falls
Willmar
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Great news for Minnesota Golden Gopher Men’s Hockey fans. Jimmy Snuggerud has announced he will be coming back for his Junior season next year. Hopefully he doesn’t pull a Logan Cooley and sign an NHL contract in the summer after saying he was coming back.
St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong released the following statement after Jimmy Snuggerud announced his decision to remain at the University of Minnesota for another season: “After talking to Jimmy and his family the past couple days, the organization fully supports his decision to commit to another season at the University of Minnesota. We look forward to watching his continued development towards becoming a solid contributor for the St. Louis Blues in the future by playing a lead role for the Golden Gophers against top college competition next year.”
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The University of Minnesota Crookston had six student-athletes named to the 2023-24 NSIC Winter All-Academic Team. Isaiah Bundy-Smith (So., Rugby, ND), Pedro Rossi (Jr., F, Bahia Blanca, Argentina) of the men’s basketball team, and Natalie Mikrot (So., Willow River), Janie Tormanen (So., Menahga), Lily Orazem (Jr., Onamia), and Taryn Frazer (So., Cass Lake) were named to the squad.
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced that 758 student-athletes have earned NSIC All-Academic honors for the 2023-24 winter athletic season; 454 student-athletes were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence, while 304 earned NSIC All-Academic Team honors.
To be eligible for the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence, a student-athlete must have a 3.60 cumulative GPA or higher, while NSIC All-Academic Team members must have a 3.20 cumulative GPA or higher. Additionally, the student-athlete must be a member of the varsity traveling team, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at her/his institution (true freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible athletic transfers are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at that institution.
Bundy-Smith, Mikrot, and Tormanen were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence, while Rossi, Orazem, and Frazer garnered NSIC All-Academic Team honors.
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The Augustana Viking Men’s Basketball team will have a new head coach after Tom Billeter announced his resignation to take a job elsewhere. It didn’t take long for Augustana to announce the new head coach as they announced Cody Schilling, a 2012 graduate of Augustana, becomes the 16th head coach in Augustana’s 103-year history. Schilling played high school basketball for Ellsworth, Minnesota before going to Augustana to play.
An All-America honoree in his playing days, Schilling served as the head coach at Mount Marty for two seasons. In one of the best turnarounds in the nation, the team he recruited won 20 games in the 2019-20 season. In his first season with MMU, the Lancers won more games than the three previous seasons combined.
“It is a dream come true to be the next head coach at home, Augustana University,” Schilling said. “This place means more to me and my family than I can put into words and I cannot wait to bring more energy and excitement to Viking men’s basketball. This is a relationship business and I am fortunate to continue to serve and lead our student-athletes on and off the floor. I want to continue to recruit student-athletes who will best represent Augustana and our program in the community, classroom and on the basketball court.”
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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.
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The latest Minnesota High School sports rankings are available by clicking the link below.
Minnesota High School Rankings – KROX (kroxam.com)
“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
After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, “You know, I was a fool when I married you.”
The husband replied, “Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn’t notice it.”
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McPherson walked into a bar and ordered martini after martini, each time removing the olives and placing them in a jar. When the jar was filled with olives and all the drinks consumed, the Irishman started to leave.
“Excuse me,” said another bar patron, who was puzzled over what McPherson had done. “What was that all about?”
“Nothing,” said the Irishman, “my wife sent me out for a jar of olives.”
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Sitting on the edge of the highway waiting to catch speeders, a state police officer saw a car driving along at 22 M.P.H. He thinks to himself, that car is just as dangerous as a speeder. So, he turns his lights on and pulls the car over. Approaching the car, he notices there are 5 old ladies, two at the front and 3 at the back, wide eyed and looking like ghosts.
The driver, obviously confused, said, “Officer, I don’t understand, Iwasn’t doing over the speed limit! What did you pull me over for?”
“Ma’am,” the officer said, “You should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be dangerous”.
“Slower than the speed limit? No sir! I was doing exactly 22 miles an hour”, the old woman said proudly.
The officer, trying not to laugh, explains that 22 is the route number, not the speed limit. A little embarrassed, the woman smiled and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.
“Before I go Ma’am, I have to ask, is everyone ok? These women seem badly shaken and haven’t said a word since I pulled you over.”
“Oh! they’ll be all right in a minute, officer. We just got off Route142”
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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
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
Todd Miner is a Pirate Football assistant coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Emily Meyer is the Pirate head girls hockey coach and softball assistant 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
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Kevin Weber is a Pirate Boys Basketball volunteer assistant 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
Colton Weiland is an assistant 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.
