SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
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SPORTS!!!!! How can you not love sports. The Gopher Men’s Basketball team has a brutal loss to Penn State, then bounces back to beat #10 Michigan State on Wednesday evening. But how about these stats!
Minnesota is the only Division I team in the last 30 seasons to: have 0 bench points get outrebounded by double digits allow 50+ points in a half …and yet still win.
Division I teams had been 0-25 over that span when doing that in a game, losing by an average of 21.7 points.
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The Minnesota Wild won another OT game on Wednesday night and are now in second place in the Western Conference with 78 points. One game ahead of Dallas (Norm Greene still sucks). The Wild have won 5 in a row and are 8-1-1 in their last 10!!!
With Matt Boldy at 32 goals this season, it marks the eighth time the Wild has multiple 30-goal scorers in a season:
2025-26: Boldy 32, Kaprizov 32
2023-24: Kaprizov 46, Eriksson Ek 30
2022-23: Kaprizov 40, Boldy 31
2021-22: Kaprizov 47, Hartman 34, Fiala 33
2017-18: Staal 42, Zucker 33
2007-08: Gaborik 42, Rolston 31
2006-07: Rolston 31, Gaborik 30
2005-06: Gaborik 38, Rolston 34
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are only 5-5 in their last 10 after their first win in Toronto since 2004, or as Anthony Edwards said, the first win in Toronto since Bruce Lee died!!
But, the T-Wolves are in fifth place in the Western Conference and only one game out of third place and three games out of second place. We will see what Thursday brings us. Will the Wolves get Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee? The Wolves dumped Mke Connely so they must be looking to make a move before Thursday’s deadline. BUT!!!!!!! If Mike Conley is bought out by Charlotte, he would be able to return to Minnesota on a minimum deal since he has now been traded twice. My head is spinning.
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There are a lot of area teams ranked in the latest state basketball, hockey, and wrestling rankings! Check out this weeks rankings by clicking the following link – Minnesota High School Rankings – KROX
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MILESTONES
Crookston’s Reggie Winjum scored his 1,000th career point on Monday.
Warren-Alvarado-Oslo’s Macey Boe scored her 1,000th career point on Monday.
Crookston’s Gavyn Hlucny picked up his 150th career victory on Friday at the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley tournament.
Climax-Fisher’s Peyton Hoffman grabbed the 1,000th rebound of her career on Friday.
Perham’s Eli Roiko recorded the 100th win of his career this past weekend.
Bemidji Girls Hockey’s Bailey Rupp recorded the 200th point of her career last weekend.
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SIGNINGS- (National Football signing day was on Wednesday)
Fertile-Beltrami’s Preston Hanson signed to play football at MSU-Moorhead
Red Lake County’s Masen Phalen signed to play football at Mayville State
Red Lake County’s Gunnar Halverson signed to play football at Mayville State
Fertile-Beltrami’s Gage Henrickson signed to play football at Mayville State
Goodridge/Grygla’s Abe Miller signed to play football at Mayville State
Mahnomen/Waubun’s Tanner Stech signed to play football at MSU-Moorhead
Mahnomen/Waubun’s Brody Lhotka signed to play football at MSU-Moorhead
Detroit Lakes’ Brenden Severson signed to play football at MSU-Moorhead
Park Rapids’ Parker Hunter has signed to play football at MSU-Moorhead
Bagley’s Ethan Rud signed to play football at Bemidji State
DGF’s Nolan Verdi signed to play football at Bemidji State
Roseau’s Landon Baumgartner has signed to play football at Minot State
Grand Forks Red River’s Matthew Dosch signed to play football at Jamestown
Grand Forks Central’s Naz Fischer signed to play football at Valley City State
Barnesville’s Major Ness signed to play football at Valley City State
Crookston High School graduates, Chris and Jennifer Tollefson’s son, Wyatt Tollefson (Peoria, AZ) has signed to play football at Minot State.
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Stephen-Argyle Central alum Zach McGlynn shattered the NDSU Men’s track record in the heptathlon, scoring 5,975 points! He breaks the previous mark by All-American Andy Lillejord by 182 points. Zach is number 4 in the NCAA this year!
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The Minnesota State High School League Region 8A “Triple A” Award winners were announced on Wednesday at the Shooting Star Casino ballroom.
SUB-SECTION WINNERS – One female and one male
Sub-Section 29 – Adelin Bjorklund of Nevis and William Gunderson of Bagley
Sub-Section 30 – Katrina Hitchen of Fertile-Beltrami and Drew Gullickson of Fertile-Beltrami
Sub-section 31 – Chloe Boll of Crookston and Ethan Ellerbusch of Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
Sub-Section 32 – Anna Ulvin of Roseau and Brody Scalese of Lancaster
Region 8A winners – (will represent the region at state and they will be honored at halftime of the State Class AA Boys Basketball championship game)
Katrina Hitchen of Fertile-Beltrami and Drew Gullickson of Fertile-Beltrami
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The Section 8A Girls Hockey seeding meeting was held on Monday morning, and the seeding went as expected. The seeding is below, with the tournament starting at high seeds on Thursday. The 10-time defending champion Warroad is the top seed once again.
TEAM SEEDS
1. Warroad
2. East Grand Forks
3. Thief River Falls
4. Crookston
5. Detroit Lakes
6. International Falls
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE – (Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students/children – No passes allowed)
FIRST ROUND – Thursday, February 5 at high seed
#1 Warroad and #2 East Grand Forks have byes
#5 Detroit Lakes at #3 Crookston at 6:00 PM (ON KROX Radio and KROX TV)
#6 International Falls at #3 Thief River Falls
SEMI-FINALS – Saturday, February 7 at East Grand Forks
1:00 PM – #1 Warroad vs Crookston/DL winner (ON KROX Radio and KROX TV)
3:30 PM – #2 East Grand Forks vs TRF/IFalls winner
CHAMPIONSHIP – Thursday, February 12 at East Grand Forks
7:00 PM – (ON KROX Radio and KROX TV)
Nobody asked, but here are my predictions.
Warroad and East Grand Forks in the Championship. Warroad wins for the 11th straight year!
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Section 8A Boys Hockey
We are getting down to the final week and a half of the regular season with the Section 8A play-in games (7 vs 10 and 8 vs 9) on Tuesday, February 17.
I have included the QRF rankings below for S&G’s. It means nothing and you can see why by where EGF and TRF is located. Below the QRF rankings is where I (Chris Fee) see each team as of Wednesday evening.
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warroad | 6-0-0 | 16-5-1 | 95.8 | 5 |
| Detroit Lakes | 4-2-0 | 14-8-0 | 87.0 | 8 |
| Crookston | 7-5-0 | 14-9-1 | 60.7 | 26 |
| Red Lake Falls | 6-3-0 | 13-9-0 | 60.1 | 28 |
| Bagley/Fosston | 6-3-0 | 16-6-0 | 59.5 | 29 |
| East Grand Forks | 3-3-0 | 9-12-1 | 59.1 | 30 |
| Thief River Falls | 4-4-0 | 10-12-0 | 52.6 | 41 |
| Park Rapids Area | 2-7-0 | 6-14-0 | 38.9 | 57 |
| Kittson Central | 3-6-0 | 5-14-0 | 32.7 | 62 |
| Lake of the Woods | 1-9-0 | 2-18-0 | 26.3 | 74 |
Here is where I see each team as of Wednesday evening –
1. Warroad (they have the top seed pretty much locked up – beating EGF twice, TRF twice, Crookston in the only meeting, and beating DL in their only meeting)
2. East Grand Forks (They lost to Warroad 4-2, Lost to DL 3-2 (OT), beat DL 5-1, beat Crookston 7-0, beat TRF 6-0, lost to Warroad 6-0. They have one section game with TRF on Feb. 10. If they win, I think they are the second seed, if they lose, all heck breaks loose. What EGF team shows up at playoff time will be the biggest ? of the tourney.)
3. Detroit Lakes (They beat TRF 3-1, beat EGF 3-2 (OT), lost to EGF 5-1, beat Red Lake Falls 5-4, lost to Warroad 7-4, beat Crookston 8-1. They DON’T have a section game left.)
4. Thief River Falls (They lost to DL 3-1 in their only meeting, lost to Warroad 6-0, beat Crookston 3-1, beat Crookston 6-1, beat KCC 10-0, lost to EGF 6-0, lost to Warroad 2-0, beat LOW 8-2, and have RLF on February 5 and EGF on February 10. If they beat RLF and EGF, they could make a bit of an argument to move up to 3. That would throw a huge question mark into who would be 2, 3, 4 between TRF, EGF, and DL)
5. Crookston (They beat KCC 7-0, beat RLF 5-4 (OT), beat Bagley/Fosston 6-4, lost to TRF 3-1, beat Park Rapids 9-1, lost to TRF 6-1, lost to EGF 7-0, beat Bagley/Fosston 7-5, lost to Warroad 7-0, beat KCC 8-4, beat Park Rapids 8-2, lost to DL 8-1. They have one section game left and it is a playoff game of sorts as they travel to RLF on February 10. Crookston wins, they are the fifth seed. RLF wins, they are the fifth seed.)
6. Red Lake Falls (They beat LOW 11-1, lost to Crookston 5-4 (OT), beat Park Rapids 7-2, beat Bagley/Fosston 4-3 (OT), beat LOW 11-1 (again), beat KCC 8-3, beat Park Rapids 7-3, lost to DL 5-4, lost to Bagley/Fosston 5-4 (OT). They have three section games left, TRF tonight (Feb. 5), KCC February 7, and Crookston on Feb. 10. If RLF wins all 3 they could make a pitch for the fourth seed! If they lose to TRF and beat KCC and Crookston, they probably would have the fifth seed locked up. If they lose to TRF and Crookston, they will be 6 or 7 as the loss to Bagley/Fosston in their last meeting could drop them below the Flyers in the seeds.)
7. Bagley/Fosston (They beat Park Rapids 10-2, beat LOW 12-1, lost to Crookston 6-4, lost to RLF 4-3 OT, beat KCC 6-0, beat LOW 9-3, lost to Crookston 7-5, beat RLF 5-4 OT, beat Park Rapids 7-2. They have one section game left against KCC. A win locks them at the worst seed possible of 6. I honestly think no matter what they are stuck at the sixth seed, unless RLF loses to KCC)
8. Kittson County Central (They lost to Crookston 7-0, beat LOW 9-6, lost to Bagley/Fosston 6-0, beat LOW 6-0, lost to LOW 5-3, beat Park Rapids 3-2, lost to RLF 8-3, lost to TRF 10-0, lost to Crookston 8-4. They have games against Park Rapids, RLF, and Bagley/Fosston. The Park Rapids game is a big one. If they win, they will be the eighth seed.)
9. Park Rapids (They lost to Bagley/Fosston 10-2, lost to RLF 7-2, lost to KCC 3-2, lost to Crookston 9-1, lost to RLF 7-3, beat LOW 8-2, beat LOW 2-1, lost to Crookston 8-2, lost to Bagley/Fosston 7-2. They have a game with LOW left and even with loss, I think they will be ninth.)
10. Lake of the Woods (They lost to RLF 11-1, lost to Bagley/Fosston 12-1, lost to KCC 9-6, lost to RLF 11-1, lost to KCC 6-0, beat KCC 5-3, lost to Bagley/Fosston 9-3, lost to Park Rapids 8-2, Lost to Park Rapids 2-1, lost to TRF 8-2. They have a game against Park Rapids left. If they beat Park Rapids they could make an argument for a ninth seed)
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Section 8AA Boys Basketball Standings
There seems to be a two team race for the top spot as of Wednesday with Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and East Grand Forks battling for the top spot. Osakis and Staples-Motley aren’t far behind. There is a quarter of the season left and there are a lot of big games coming up, although with the QRF, all games are big games. Perham, TRF, Warroad, and Barnesville are battling in the middle to move up for a first-round home playoff game. TRF is the toughest team to figure out. Part of it is that if they aren’t hitting the three-pointers, they are in trouble. If they are hitting them, they are tough to beat. So Thief River Falls is a team that could make a decent run the rest of the way to move up. The section is completely wide-open this year and there are a lot of teams that can all beat each other and whoever is playing the best in March could make a run to the state tourney and i would say realisticly, there are seven or eight teams that could do that.
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton | 7-2 | 13-5 | 80.3 | 34 |
| East Grand Forks | 8-0 | 13-5 | 78.9 | 38 |
| Osakis | 0-1 | 11-7 | 72.5 | 47 |
| Staples-Motley | 7-1 | 10-6 | 71.7 | 48 |
| Perham | 5-2 | 8-10 | 65.2 | 61 |
| Thief River Falls | 5-5 | 9-7 | 64.1 | 69 |
| Warroad | 4-2 | 11-7 | 62.1 | 72 |
| Barnesville | 4-3 | 8-9 | 61.7 | 74 |
| Hawley | 1-8 | 4-14 | 45.2 | 99 |
| Park Rapids Area | 2-6 | 6-10 | 40.9 | 108 |
| Wadena-Deer Creek | 2-4 | 3-14 | 32.5 | 118 |
| Roseau | 3-5 | 4-15 | 30.8 | 119 |
| Menahga | 0-3 | 4-13 | 30.5 | 120 |
| Crookston | 1-7 | 2-14 | 28.4 | 124 |
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Section 8A Boys Basketball – West Standings
Red Lake County is defending their title as good as you could have hoped if you are a Rebel fan with a perfect 17-0 record. A nice win over Nevis, big section wins and they do it with a mix of offense and a lot of defense. Will anybody be able to beat them? The answer is YES. Will anybody beat them? The answer is we will see, but it will be tough.
The section tournament will come down to matchups. There are teams that matchup better with others and we have seend that throughout the regular season. Fertile-Beltrami is a solid second place in the west. They are very good and cause a lot of matchup issues with their height and they can finesse or play physical.
The battle for the third seed is wide open! Northern Freeze, Stephen-Argyle, Sacred Heart, KCC, Goodridge/Grygla, and even Warren-A-O are all capable of making a run to finish the regula season and move up to the third spot!
How about this. WAO is currently eighth in the standings!!!!! If they finish in the eighth seed, I will die on the hill that they are the best 8th seed in the state for a section tournament! The west is stacked and I am predicting the final four teams will be all from the west!
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Lake County | 13-0 | 17-0 | 91.7 | 4 |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 8-1 | 15-2 | 79.3 | 14 |
| Northern Freeze | 8-4 | 11-5 | 70.8 | 27 |
| Stephen-Argyle | 10-5 | 12-6 | 66.6 | 33 |
| Sacred Heart | 7-6 | 10-8 | 61.0 | 42 |
| Kittson County Central | 7-5 | 9-7 | 56.7 | 48 |
| Goodridge/Grygla | 8-7 | 10-8 | 55.7 | 52 |
| Warren-Alvarado-Oslo | 5-7 | 8-10 | 52.3 | 60 |
| Climax/Fisher | 5-5 | 7-10 | 40.1 | 92 |
| Badger/Greenbush-Middle River | 2-13 | 5-14 | 39.9 | 94 |
Section 8A Boys Basketball- East Standings
The east belongs to Mahnomen/Waubun and rightfully so. They are the best team in the east. The second seed is a fight with Red Lake, Win-E-Mac, Northome-Kelliher, and Bagley. The teams are all tight still and the next three weeks are going to be huge for those teams looking to move up!
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahnomen/Waubun | 6-2 | 11-7 | 61.8 | 39 |
| Red Lake | 3-4 | 9-8 | 47.6 | 71 |
| Win-E-Mac | 8-4 | 8-10 | 46.2 | 77 |
| Northome/Kelliher | 4-5 | 12-7 | 44.4 | 82 |
| Bagley | 5-6 | 9-10 | 40.9 | 89 |
| Clearbrook-Gonvick | 3-11 | 4-12 | 37.3 | 101 |
| Lake of the Woods | 1-5 | 6-10 | 32.4 | 114 |
| Fosston | 2-8 | 2-13 | 28.7 | 131 |
| Blackduck | 2-9 | 3-14 | 23.2 | 141 |
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JOKES
One Sunday a pastor told the congregation that the church needed some extra money and asked the people to prayerfully consider giving a little extra in the offering plate. He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out three hymns.
After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had placed a $1,000 bill in offering. He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation and said he’d like to personally thank the person who placed the money in the plate.
A very quiet, elderly and saintly lady all the way in the back shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front. Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much and in thanksgiving asked her to pick out three hymns.
Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation, pointed to the three handsomest men in the building and said, “I’ll take him and him and him.”
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I don’t run from my problems. I sit on my couch, play on my phone and ignore them like all the other adults.
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A hillbilly father is sitting on his porch, shotgun in hand, as his three daughters are about to start dating.
The first boy comes up the steps and says to him: “Hi I’m Eddy, I’m her for Betty, we’re going for spaghetti, is she ready?”
The father looks at the harmless boy and yells up “Betty your date’s here,” and the two take off for the restaurant.
The second boy then comes up the steps and says to him: “Hi I’m Joe, I’m here for Flo, we’re going to the show, is she ready to go?”
The father looks at the harmless boy and yells up “Flo, your date’s here,” and the two take off for the movie theater.
The third boy then comes up the steps. “Hi I’m Rex”…..the rest is history.
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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
Teagen Lubinski is a freshman playing football at St. Scholastica
Addie Fee is a freshman playing tennis and hockey at Wisconsin-Superior.
Kambelle Freije is a freshman playing hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Riley Helgeson is a freshman playing football at Northern State.
Emily Bowman is a freshman playing Softball at North Dakota State College of Science.
Halle Winjum is a sophomore playing basketball at Minnesota Crookston.
Blake Melsa is a sophomore playing soccer and baseball at Alexandria Tech
Jackson Reese is a sophomore playing soccer at Alexandria Tech
Matt Contreras is a freshman playing baseball at Concordia College.
Naomi Johnson is a freshman playing soccer at Alexandria Tech
Paul Bittner is an assistant coach on the University of Wisconsin-Superior Men’s Hockey team.
Reese Swanson is a sophomore playing hockey at St. Olaf.
Carter Coauette is a sophomore playing football at Minot State.
Isaac Thomforde is a sophomore playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.
Halle Bruggeman is a Junior on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.
Ethan Boll is a Sophomore on the University of North Dakota Football team.
Breanna Kressin is a Junior on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Jacey Larson is a Junior playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Aleah Bienek is a Senior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Ty Hamre is Senior playing football at Bemidji State University.
Seth Heppner – Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Golf at Jessup University
Brady Heppner – Head Coach of Women’s Golf at UMC and Assistant Hockey Coach
Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Jason Cassavant is a Jr. High Baseball Coach and Head American Legion Baseball coach
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.
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.
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 North Dakota.
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
Jaren Bailey is serving our country and is currently in the Marines’ Boot Camp.
Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.
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..
