SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
Welcome to the Feever column. I want to get something out there with all these “Ugly Christmas Sweater” parties.
Stop calling it an ugly sweater! It’s a sweater with a great personality!!!!
Man, alive. You think we would be a little nicer in this day in age? SMH.
In all seriousness, we are getting our Christmas/New Year’s A to Z list ready, and I would love your input. Anybody/thing you think should be on the list, especially the tough letters. I am planning on putting all suggestions on the list, so if you have a favorite coach, student-athlete, sports figure, sports organization, team, etc., let me know the reason why! We like to highlight people who have had special years, battled adversity, etc.
Send them to chrisjfee@yahoo.com. Thank you!
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By the end of the month, Minnesota Girls Hockey teams will be halfway through the season, and things are starting to get interesting in Section 8A Girls Hockey.
Crookston beat Warroad last week, and East Grand Forks beat Thief River Falls.
Here is how I think the section stands as of now.
1. Crookston (3-0 in section play, including a win over Warroad)
2. Warroad (0-1 in section play with loss to Crookston)
3. East Grand Forks (2-0 in section play with wins over Thief River Falls and Detroit Lakes)
4. Thief River Falls (2-2 in section play with losses to EGF and Crookston and wins over Detroit Lakes and International Falls)
5. Detroit Lakes (1-2 in section play with a win over I-Falls and losses to EGF and TRF)
6. International Falls (0-3 in section play and 0-8 overall)
According to the QRF, Section 8A girls hockey goes like this (there are only 47 Class A Girl’s hockey teams) –
1. Warroad (7-2) 69.1 rating (#1 in Class A)
2. Crookston (6-3-1) 45.4 rating (#11 in Class A)
3. East Grand Forks (6-3) 36 rating (#20 in Class A)
4. Detroit Lakes (4-3) 27.8 rating (#30 in Class A)
5. Thief River Falls (3-8) 19.6 rating (#40 in Class A)
6. International Falls (0-8) 7.4 rating (#47 in Class A)
Crookston and Warroad will be a battle for the top seed. In all honesty, it will likely come down to their game at Warroad on December 28. Whoever wins that game could possibly solidify a top seed. What does a top seed mean compared to being a second seed? Not much, really. The top two seeds get a first-round bye. Then the top two seeds will either play EGF or TRF. So if you are first or second seed, there is really no difference.
The early Section 8A Girls Hockey MVP is definitely Kambelle Freije. She has been outstanding for Crookston in goal and has been the brick wall everyone has hoped she would be.
The section tournament is in Crookston this year.
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Congratulations to Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball’s Kaden Pierce on breaking the program single-game scoring record last week. Kaden scored 47 points in a 106-87 victory over the Warroad Warriors. He made 78 percent of his two-pointers, 71 percent of his three-pointers, and made 80 percent of his free throws! Overall, he made 76 percent of his shots and that is one of the most impressive scoring record stats I have seen!
Congratulations to the sophomore. Kaden has some pretty good basketball smarts as his step-mom is Casey (Francis) Pierce. Casey was a standout in high school at Fosston where she was a part of the outstanding runs by the volleyball and basketball teams. Casey also played basketball at UMC where she had an outstanding career! Casey is the head Pony Girls basketball coach.
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Perham Yellowjacket Girls basketball senior forward Willow Thiel became the school’s all-time leading scorer in a 59-29 road victory over the Hawley Nuggets.
Thiel (a UMC Golden Eagle Women’s Basketball commit) passed Katrina Moenkedick, who led the Yellowjackets all-time with 1,563 points, which was set during the 2012 season. Moenkedick had an outstanding career for UMC Women’s basketball.
“I am so proud of Willow for everything she has accomplished in her basketball career. She has put a ton of time into her game and worked hard to reach her goals,” Perham head coach TJ Super said. “She’s really stepped up as a leader over the last couple of years. Willow knows what it’s like to be an eighth grader on varsity, that’s when she got her first minutes. Because of that, I think she has done a great job of taking those younger girls under her wing.”
Perham Girls Basketball Top 5 Scoring Leaders
Willow Thiel 1578
Katrina Moenkedick 1563
Elisa Moenkedick 1555
Sara Happel 1264
Sydney Anderson 1225
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It looks like the transfer portal is getting a little more interesting and confusing by the minute. The information below is from the Star Tribune.
College athletes denied the chance to play immediately after transferring a second time can return to competition after a federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order on Wednesday against the NCAA.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in northern West Virginia issued the order against the NCAA from enforcing the transfer rule. A lawsuit filed by West Virginia and six other states alleged the rule’s waiver process violated federal antitrust law. The order clears the way for athletes to play during the two-week period and also ensures that schools won’t be punished for allowing it.
The NCAA said in a statement it would comply with the order and notify schools.
A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for Dec. 27.
NCAA rules allow underclassmen to transfer once without having to sit out a year. But an additional transfer as an undergraduate generally requires the NCAA to grant a waiver allowing the athlete to compete immediately. Without it, the athlete would have to sit out for a year at the new school.
Last January, the NCAA implemented stricter guidelines for granting those waivers on a case-by-case basis.
The states involved in seeking the restraining order were Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether any of the affected players would try to compete during the 14-day window.
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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)
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The 2023 Crookston Hockey Alumni games/scrimmages will be held Saturday, December 23 at the Crookston Sports Center. Johnny Holmes will be back again at the Eagles, and all players in the alumni games get in free.
Alumni from Crookston Central High School, Crookston High School, Cathedral, and the Mount will be back/are invited back to participate in this year’s games. The schedule and info are listed below –
GAME 1 – 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. – 2013 to 2023 alumni……..Odd vs Even
GAME 2 – 4:00 to 5:15 p.m. – 2012 and older alumni………… Odd vs Even
GAME 3 – 5:30-6:45………PIRATE GIRLS vs GIRLS ALUMNI
GAME 4 – 7:00-8:15……….PIRATE BOYS vs PIRATE ALUMNI
Cost – $10.00 (Make checks out to Pirate Hockey)
Social at the Crookston Eagles Club from 9 PM to 1 AM. Johnny Holmes performing and all alumni game players get in free.
Mail registration forms to
Steve Biermaier
PO Box 496
Crookston, MN 56716
or email steve.biermaierchiro@midconetwork.com
For the registration form CLICK HERE.
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The Crookston Pirate Winter Sports Schedules are available on our website. Click on the link below –
CROOKSTON PIRATE WINTER SPORTS SCHEDULES – KROX (kroxam.com)
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JOKES
I’ve never understood why women love cats. Cats are independent, they don’t listen, they don’t come in when you call, they like to stay out all night, and when they’re home they like to be left alone and sleep.
In other words, every quality that women hate in a man, they love in a cat.
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A woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch. “I couldn’t help noticing how happy you look,” she said. “What’s your secret for a long happy life?”
“I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day,” he said. “I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise.”
“That’s amazing,” said the woman, “how old are you?”
“Twenty-six,” he said.
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A man went to the dental surgeon to have a tooth pulled. The dentist pulled out a freezing needle to numb the area.
“No way! No needles! I hate needles,” the patient shouted.
The dentist started to hook up the laughing gas and the man again objected.
“I can’t do the gas thing!” the man protested. “The thought of having a gas mask on is suffocating to me!”
The dentist then asked if the man had any objection to taking a pill.
“No,” the patient said. “I am fine with pills.”
The dentist said, “Here is a Viagra tablet.”
The patient replied: “Wow! I didn’t know Viagra works as a pain pill!”
“It doesn’t,” said the dentist, “but it will give you something to hold onto when I pull out your tooth.”
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Jose and Carlos are panhandlers who panhandle in different areas of town.
Carlos panhandles just as long as Jose but only collects $2-3 every day.
Jose brings home a suitcase FULL of $10 bills every day, drives a Mercedes, lives in a mortgage-free house, and has a lot of money to spend.
One day, Carlos asked Jose: “I work just as long and hard as you do, but how do you bring home a suitcase full of $10 bills every day?”
“Look at your sign, what does it say?” replies Jose.
Carlos’ sign reads: “I have no work, a wife and six kids to support.”
Jose says: “no wonder you only get $2-3.”
‘Carlos says: “So what does your sign say then?”
Jose shows Carlos his sign – it reads: “I only need another $10 to move back to Mexico”
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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.
