SPORTS FEEVER – February 17, 2022

Welcome to the February Frenzy edition of the Sports Feever column.  We will crown two section champions by the weekend in Girls Hockey and Wrestling.  Boys Hockey starts playoffs next week.  It is hard to believe how fast this winter sports season has gone.  KROX wishes best of luck to all area student-athletes.

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The Section 8A Boys Hockey seeding meeting was held on Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, the Warroad Warrior Boys Hockey team was the unanimous pick for the top seed in the Section 8A Boys Hockey coaches seeding meeting.
Crookston received the seventh seed and will host Lake of the Woods in the play-in game on Tuesday, February 22. The seeds and tournament schedule are below –

TEAM SEEDS (Points lower is better)-
1. Warroad – 9
2. Thief River Falls – 20
3. Detroit Lakes – 23
4. East Grand Forks – 33
5. Red Lake Falls – 40
6. Kittson County Central – 52
7. Crookston – 57
8. Park Rapids – 66
9. Bagley-Fosston – 70
10. Lake of the Woods – 81

Tuesday –  February 22   (Section 8A Play-in games)
7:00 PM  –   #10 Lake of the Woods at  #7 Crookston (ON KROX and KROX Livestream)
7:00 PM  –    #9 Bagley-Fosston at  #8 Park Rapids

Thursday –  February 24   (Section 8A Quarter-Finals)
7:00 PM   –   Winner 9/8       at  #1 Warroad
7:00 PM   –   #5 Red Lake Falls   at  #4 East Grand Forks
7:00 PM   –   #6 Kittson County Central  at   #3 Detroit Lakes
7:00 PM   –   Winner 10/7      at   #2 Thief River Falls

Saturday –  February 26  (Section 8A Semi-Finals   at East Grand Forks)
4:00 PM   –
6:00 PM   –

Thursday –  March  3  (Section 8A Championship  at  East Grand Forks)
7:00 PM   –

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The Section 8A Girls Hockey championship game will be held in East Grand Forks on Thursday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m.   It will have Warroad taking on Crookston.  The two teams met once during the regular season and it was Warroad winning 9-1 on December 7, 2021.  Warroad is ranked #1 in the state in Class A, plays one of the toughest schedules in the state, and is loaded with talent.  With that said, they came out slow against Thief River Falls, and the game was tied at 1 six minutes into the semi-final game.  Unfortunately for Thief River Falls, Warroad woke up and dominated the rest of the game.
Crookston is coming in with an impressive 4-1 victory over East Grand Forks in the semi-finals.  Crookston played solid defense, had great goaltending, and took advantage of their scoring opportunities.  One thing Crookston will have to do a better job of against Warroad is passing the puck.  There were several times where a player was bringing the puck into the zone on a 2-on-1 and never passed.  I am not a genius hockey mind like my childhood idol Don Cherry, but I know the Pirates missed several high-scoring opportunities.  If you want to beat Warroad, you have to play as a team and be looking to make the extra pass or two and you have to take advantage of ANY opportunities you have to score.
The other key will be staying out of the penalty box.  The Pirates were in the box too often against EGF.

Nobody has asked me for my thoughts on the outcome of the game, but I will tell you anyway!
I think it will be much closer than many expected.  Warroad is the heavy favorite, but so were the Russians in 1980!  When you work hard, play the best you have played in your hockey career (and that is what it will take for Crookston), you will have a chance.

I am guessing Warroad will win 5-2.  If Crookston plays like they are capable of and get outstanding goaltending, it could be 4-3.  I hope I am wrong and it is Crookston on the winning end because that would be the talk of the state and the girls would be heading to the Excel Energy Center for the second time in school history.

Make sure you get over to EGF and cheer on the Pirates and Warriors.  These young ladies have worked extremely hard to get to where they are today and they deserve a big crowd because the semi-final crowds were disappointing and the Region committee likes when Crookston does well because Crookston always has the most fans at playoff time.  Nobody, especially in girls hockey can compare.

If you can’t make it to the game on Thursday night, KROX will have it on the radio and the KROX Live stream!

We have to pay the Minnesota State High School League $500 per playoff game we video stream because they think streaming takes fans away from the game, which costs the region money.  They are 100 percent wrong.  People that want to go will go and the people that are staying home would have stayed home anyway.

I will quote a school administrator that talked about streaming and how it has actually helped their school district.  “We have had more donations to our booster club from all over the country because people that can’t make it to the games before are watching all the games online.  It has been the best thing and I think streaming helps our district as far as community support and financial support.”

We have had more people tell us that have watched more Pirate sports than they ever have before because of streaming.  Some even enjoy an ice cold beverage on the couch or recliner while watching or listening to the game.

I guarantee at least a quarter of the viewers will be in Florida and Arizona!  Newsflash to the MSHSL…those people aren’t flying home for one hockey game!  Luckily we have good sponsors that allow us to at least make enough money to pay the announcers and pay for gas to get to the games!

Anyway, the jerk in me wants to say stay home and let us pay the money so you can watch for free, but I’m not greedy like the MSHSL!  I want people to go to the games and pay the money so the crowd can be as big as it can and if you can’t make it, we will have you and the game covered!

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The Section 8A Team Wrestling champion will be crowned on Friday night (or Saturday afternoon if the forecast holds true).

The defending Section 8A champion Crookston Pirates make a return trip to the semi-finals as they will take on Frazee in a rematch of a semi-final last year.  In the other semi-final, it will be the unanimous favorite United North Central taking on Crookston High School alum Pat Wolfe‘s Fosston-Bagley Brawlers.

Crookston had a great match against Frazee earlier this year and lost 37-30.  They had three open weights in the match and will have to wrestle as well as they did against Mahnomen-Waubun.  The winner will have a tough match against United North Central, but if you get to that point, anything can happen.

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Paul Bittner can’t get a break!  Paul, who is playing professional hockey for Düsseldorfer EG in Germany, was hit by a puck in practice and broke his jaw.  Surgery to repair his jaw went well, and there were no complications.  He will be out for several weeks.

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Region 8A Executive Secretary Jim Weinzierl will be retiring after this season.  While he will be “retiring,” he will still be helping out with several tournaments and other activities next school year.  We will have more on Jim towards the end of the year.

With his retirement, there are three finalists for the job.

Mike Kolness – East Grand Forks Public Schools Superintendent
Todd Selk – Former Crookston teacher, coach, Activity Director.  Currently a principal at Grand Forks Valley and an official.
Wayne Folkers – Crookston High School teacher, coach, and official.

Three pretty good finalists, and I am told a decision will be made soon on who they will offer the job.

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Crookston School District Activities Director Greg Garmen announced he would be retiring as Activity Director at the end of the school year.  He still hasn’t decided if he will retire from coaching too.
With that, Crookston is looking for an Activities Director.  Now we find out Thief River Falls will be looking for a new Activity Director as Mike Biermaier has taken the Grand Forks Activities Director position.

So two pretty good jobs are open in northwest Minnesota right now.  Last year, I think it was 62 of the 502 Minnesota Activity Directors resigned or retired.  It looks like it is going to be another considerable number this year.

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I received an email last week from one of our favorite P.A. announcers, even if he left Crookston for “hated” Thief River Falls!

Chris–

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Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey’s Jack Doda recorded the 100th point of his career after scoring nine goals in four games over the past week.

Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball’s Gavin Gullickson scored the 1,000th point of his career earlier this week.

Red Lake County Central’s Sarah Bushand recorded the 1,000th point of her career earlier this week.

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University of Minnesota Crookston baseball player Jake Dykhoff (Jr., RHP, Wadena) was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Pitcher of the Week for the second-consecutive week for the Golden Eagles. Dykhoff joined Augustana University’s J.T. Mix, named the NSIC Player of the Week.

Dykhoff tossed a three-hit complete-game shutout in a 1-0 victory over the University of Hawai’i at Hilo Sunday, February 13. He struck out seven and allowed zero walks in the game. Dykhoff has pitched 12.0 innings this season and has a 0.00 ERA with just five hits allowed, no runs, 15 strikeouts, and only two walks. He has a 0.58 WHIP coming into the week.

Minnesota Crookston is currently 3-6 on the season. The Golden Eagles will compete February 25 at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

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The first edition of the NCAA Division II men’s basketball regional rankings were released, and the NSIC had five of the 10 teams in the central region, including the top three.  Augustana, Upper Iowa, and Minnesota Duluth are the top three teams in the region, while Wayne State is ninth and Winona State 10th in the first of three rankings.

The NSIC and the Great American Conference , and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) make up the 42-team NCAA DII Central Region this year.  Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the NSIC, GAC, and MIAA postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots being awarded on an at-large basis.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Selection Show is set to air on NCAA.com at 9:30 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, March 6. The NCAA Elite Eight will take place on March 22, 24, 26 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Top 10 team rankings –
1. Augustana 19-2
2. Upper Iowa 22-4
3. Minnesota Duluth 20-4
4. Northwest Missouri State 21-3
5. Central Oklahoma 18-4
6. Fort Hays State 17-4
7. Southeastern Oklahoma State 16-5
8. Southern Nazarene 17-7
9. Wayne State 11-9
10. Winona State 13-9

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The first edition of the NCAA Division II women’s basketball regional rankings were released, and the NSIC has three of the top ten teams in the central region.  St. Cloud State ranks second, followed by Minnesota Duluth in third, while Minnesota State is eighth in the first of three rankings.

The NSIC, the Great American Conference (GAC), and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) make up the 42-team NCAA Central Region again this year.  The top eight teams in the region advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament on March 11-12-14.  Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the NSIC, GAC, and MIAA postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots being awarded on an at-large basis.

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show is set to air on NCAA.com at 9 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, March 6. The NCAA Elite Eight will take place on March 21, 23, 25 at the at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.

Team rankings – record-
1. Fort Hays State – 19-3
2. St. Cloud State – 19-3
3. Minnesota Duluth – 19-4
4. Southwestern Oklahoma State – 21-4
5. Harding – 17-6
6. Missouri Western – 17-5
7. Missouri Western – 17-5
8. Minnesota State – 17-5
9. Nebraska-Kearney – 17-5
10. Central Missouri – 15-9

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The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball program will hold a pair of Winter Volleyball Camps at Lysaker Gymnasium Sunday, February 27 and Sunday, March 27. All skill levels are welcome for girls and boys grades 12 and under. The camp will provide the opportunity to learn from Head Coach Sarah Morgan, Assistant Coach Nick Meseck, and the Golden Eagle student-athletes.

The cost of the camp is $40 for one camp, and $75 for both camps. Check-in will be at 12:30 p.m. both days, with the camp running from 1-3:30 p.m. To register for the camp, visit https://volleyball.umcsportscamps.com/winter-camps.cfm

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The National Federation of State High School Associations, the rule-making body of high school sports, has announced new/relaxed rules for high school volleyball in the fall.

Hair adornments such as beads are now legal in high school volleyball as long as they are securely fastened and do not endanger other players. This rule change, along with eliminating manufacturer reference size and quantity restrictions on uniform bottom waistbands, headline new rules adopted for the 2022-23 season.

In all, seven rules changes were recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Volleyball Rules Committee at its annual meeting January 16-18. All rules changes were reviewed and approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

To align officials’ rulings on flat barrettes and other hair adornments, the Volleyball Rules Committee eliminated size restrictions of 2 inches or less that were previously cited in Rule 4-1-6. The rule now allows for bobby pins, flat clips, flat barrettes, and other adornments to legally be worn in the hair as long they do not present a safety hazard to the player, teammates or opponents.

The adoption of changes to Rule 4-2-1f presents student-athletes with the opportunity to wear uniform bottoms featuring multiple manufacturer logos, trademarks or references that exceed 2¼ inches on waistbands. Oftentimes, student-athletes are responsible for supplying their own uniform bottom. Given current trends in the sport of volleyball, the rules committee recognized the lack of uniform bottoms available to student-athletes without substantial manufacturer representation.

Another focal point of the committee was the alignment of Rule 5-6-3b, e, and Rule 5-7-3e, addressing scorer and libero notification procedures. The committee’s actions eliminate the use of the sounding device when an improper server is used and aligns the notification to that of a discrepancy in the score, at which point the second referee is notified during the first dead ball.

Other changes adopted by the Volleyball Rules Committee include additional allowances for time-out and substitution-related requests by a head coach, assistant coach or playing captain.

Changes to Rule 11-2-1 now allow for verbalized requests for a time-out on a dead ball by the head coach or playing captain prior to the first referee’s signal for the ensuing serve. This allows the second referee to grant a time-out during a dead ball without visual signal when heard verbalized by a head coach or captain and not require the visual signal.

The introduction of new language to Rule 12-2-5a clarifies that assistant coaches may ask the second referee for the number of their team’s substitutions during a dead-ball situation. Previously, the rule allowed for assistant coaches to review the accuracy of the score, verify the number of time-outs, request the serving order of the assistant coach’s team, and verify the proper server for the opponent.

According to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, volleyball is the second-most popular sports for girls (trailing track and field) with 452,808 participants in 16,572 schools nationwide. In addition, there are 63,563 boys participating in the sport at 2,692 schools, and 25 states conduct state championships in boys volleyball.

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JOKES

A preacher, newly called to a small country town, needed to mail a letter. Passing a young boy on the street, the pastor asked where he could find the post office. After getting his answer, the minister thanked the boy and said, “If you’ll come to the community church this evening, you can hear me tell everyone how to get to heaven.” “I don’t know, sir,” the boy replied. “You don’t even know how to get to the post office!”

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I mowed the lawn today, and after doing so I sat down and had a cold beer. The day was really quite beautiful, and the drink facilitated some deep thinking on various topics. 

Finally, I thought about an age-old question: Is giving birth more painful than getting kicked in the nuts? 

Women always maintain that giving birth is way more painful than a guy getting kicked in the nuts.

Well, after another beer, and some heavy deductive thinking, I have come up with the answer to that question.

Getting kicked in the nuts is more painful than having a baby; and here is the reason for my conclusion.

A year or so after giving birth, a woman will often say, “It might be nice to have another child.”

On the other hand, you never hear a guy say, “You know, I think I would like another kick in the nuts.” 

I rest my case. 

Time for another beer.

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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

Emma Boll, a freshman, is playing softball at Northwestern University in St. Paul.

Emma Borowicz is a freshman running track at Minnesota State Mankato.

Ben Trostad is a senior playing Men’s Golf at UMC.

Kaleb Thingelstad is a freshman playing golf at Kansas Wesleyan University.  KWU is done for the fall season.

Joslynn Leach is a freshman playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead.  The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.

Brady Butt is a sophomore playing football at the University of Jamestown.

Rachel Hefta, is a junior playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.

Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.

Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Sweden.  He is the only American playing for Mora IK of the Allsvenskan league.

Gretchen Theis is a sophomore at NDSU on the Equestrian team.

Kate MacGregor is a senior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.

Aleece Durbin, is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.

Nick Garmen is a junior playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.

Crookston School District Coaches –
Emily Meyer is the Pirate head girls hockey coach and softball assistant coach.
Lacia Hanson is the Junior High softball 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
Cody Brekken is the Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Brock Hanson is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Ben Halos is a Pirate Baseball assistant coach.
Alex LaFrance is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant 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 –

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

Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle School.

Josh Edlund is an assistant football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.

Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach in Champlin Park

Jeff Olson is 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, is Head Girls Tennis Coach and 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 Minnesota State Mankato Men’s head Hockey coach

Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Thief River Falls High School

Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football and volleyball and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for the 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 with the Army in New York.

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 also a grad of West Point and is currently is 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.