SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
I have a bunch of Gopher Women’s and Men’s Basketball tickets available. I have FOUR tickets for each game. Email chrisjfee@yahoo.com and include your cell phone number, and I can electronically transfer them to you. NO CHARGE! They are free for whoever can use them!
Tickets available –
Men’s games-
January 23 (Tuesday) vs Wisconsin at 6PM
February 18 (Sunday) vs Rutgers at 5:30 PM
February 22 (Thursday) vs Ohio State at 7PM
March 2 (Saturday) vs Penn State at 2:15 PM
Women’s games –
January 14 (Sunday) vs Nebraska at 2PM
January 20 (Saturday) vs Michigan State at 2PM
January 31 (Wednesday) vs Penn State at 7PM
February 17 (Saturday) vs Northwestern at 2PM
February 20 (Tuesday) vs Wisconsin at 6PM
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This year’s Minnesota High School Boys Hockey State tournament will be Hockey Legend Lou Nanne’s last as a TV announcer after 60 years on the job. He said it is a tough decision, but at his age, he thought it was time to give it up. He jokingly said he wanted to pass the torch while he could see somebody else do it.
Nanne is 82 years old and does a great job on the broadcasts, but is also a great person too.
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Minnesota basketball teams are having a great collective year so far.
The Northern Sun Conference has done something this year in Men’s Basketball that I have never seen before. They have the top two-ranked teams in the country, both from Minnesota.
Minnesota State Moorhead is ranked #1 (First time in program history)
Minnesota State Mankato is ranked #2!
MSU-Moorhead has 9 of the 12 on the roster from Minnesota and one from Fargo. 1 from New York and 1 from Illinois.
MSU-Mankato has 7 of the 15 on the roster from Minnesota. 3 from Iowa, 3 from Illinois, 1 from Wisconsin, 1 from Kansas.
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are 12-3 on the year and currently tied for second place in the Big 10 at 3-1.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are 26-10, the top team in the Western Conference, and second best record in the NBA behind Boston!
What the heck is going on????? It has been fun, even if I personally took in one of the most disappointing and disheartening losses for Gopher Men’s basketball when they blew a 20 point lead in a loss to Missouri earlier this year.
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SECTION 8AA BOYS BASKETBALL
Interesting fact – There are 123 teams in Class AA this year.
The Section 8AA Boys Basketball has a different look at the top of the standings and it is kind of refreshing to see some different teams up there. Especially with the outstanding coaches and great people they are, it is even more fun to see.
Here is how Minnesota-scores.net QRF ranks the team as of Wednesday. There is only 13 teams in the boys section this year.
1-Pelican Rapids 11-1 (72.5)
2. Park Rapids 8-4 (61.0)
3. Roseau 7-1 (55.2)
4. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 5-5 (51.0)
5. Barnesville 6-4 (50.1)
6. Wadena-Deer Creek 6-3 (46.8)
7. Hawley 5-5 (44.9)
8. East Grand Forks 4-6 (40.4)
9. Perham 2-8 (36.1)
10. Warroad 6-7 (30.7)
11. Thief River Falls 1-6 (27.4)
12. Crookston 2-7 (25.3)
13. Menahga 3-8 (22.2)
Here is my feelings so far this year.
My top team is Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, especially when they get everyone healthy. They play the best defense in the section, and if the offense is on, look out. They have a great coach with Coach Clark. The other top team is obviously Pelican Rapids. They have it all. They have great guards, shooters, some height, and play solid defense and also have a great coach with Coach Gullingsrud.
They are the top two teams in my eye right now.
I would put Park Rapids in the third spot after their big win over Barnesville on Tuesday night. You have Roseau, Barnesville, and Hawley in the mix for the third seed as well. East Grand Forks has a lot of very talented sophomores who will continue to get better as the year goes along, Hawley is always dangerous, too. The month of January will be an important month for seeding movement and with the QRF, every game is an important game.
Crookston Boys basketball has had a disappointing start to the season at 2-7. I was figuring the Pirates would be around .500 this year, and they are probably not going to make it. The most disappointing thing this season, maybe, isn’t the record but how they have lost a handful of games.
They lost to Warren-Alvarado-Oslo by 21 points
Lost to Pelican Rapids by 42
East Grand Forks by 39
Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal by 20 points
DGF by 35.
On the flip side, they lost to Roseau by one point!
As somebody who has watched every game, the frustrating thing is they have some talent. They have a junior, Hunter Nicholas, who is averaging a double-double and is a force inside. He needs to work on conditioning but is still a force. Reggie Winjum, a sophomore guard, has been solid the last handful of games and is settling in as a solid guard for the team. Tyler Michaelson is a junior shooting guard who has been solid the last handful of games, and the kid can flat-out shoot the rock. They are the three consistent players for the team. You pretty much know what you are going to get out of them. Rylan Lubarski has come off the bench and has been a nice spark for the Pirates in the last couple of games.
The problem with Crookston is they only have had three of the eight players (that they play) you can rely on getting you points.
They should look at going deeper into the bench or get in better shape if they want to get some wins in the second half of the season. And they have to play harder on defense, again playing more players will help keep them fresh.
The good news for the Pirates, the second half of the schedule is more favorable than the first half. So the Pirates need to keep plugging away, but most importantly, they have to get better on defense. That will change their record around and give them a chance to get close to .500 and get a decent seed come tournament time.
We shall see.
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SECTION 8A BOYS BASKETBALL –
Interesting fact – Ther are 165 Class A Boys Basketball teams!
Section 8A Boys Basketball is loaded with very good teams this year. Here is a look at the Minnesota-scores.net QRF rankings.
WEST SUBSECTION
1. Red Lake County 9-0 (71.5 – #5 QRF in the state)
2. Fertile-Beltrami 7-1 (57.7)
3. Goodridge/Grygla 8-2 (50.7)
4. Northern Freeze 8-5 (47.3)
5. Sacred Heart 9-4 (46.8)
6. Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 5-7 (34.2)
7. Kittson County Central 4-6 (34.1)
8. Stephen-Argyle 4-8 (22.2)
9. Climax-Fisher 1-10 (13.7)
10. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 0-9 (12.5)
EAST SUB-SECTION
1. Win-E-Mac 7-2 (46.2)
2. Red Lake 6-3 (43.6)
3. Cass Lake-Bena 5-6 (41.3)
4. Fosston 4-6 (23.4)
5. Bagley 3-4 (22.7)
6. Mahnomen-Waubun 3-7 (21.6)
7. Northome/Kelliher 2-5 (15.9)
8. Clearbrook-Gonvick 1-6 (15.2)
9. Blackduck 1-7 (11.8)
10. Lake of the Woods 0-8 (9.6)
This is my yearly request to have Region 8A finally want the best teams in the semi-finals and championship and do a full reseed using the QRF for the quarterfinals. They are all playing at the Ralph Englestad Arena, so travel isn’t an issue, and wanting the best teams to advance should be the main goal in the tournament.
Here is the issue I have, and this year is a perfect example. Win-E-Mac is the top team in the East, which is statistically much weaker this year, and they would be the SIXTH place team in the West sub-section!!!! In previous years with Cass Lake-Bena and Red Lake, they East has been better. It varies every year.
That is why they need to put all eight teams that make the quarterfinals into a reseed process or just cross-bracket at that point. #1 in the west plays #4 in the east. #2 in the west plays #3 in the east, etc.
That would make for a pretty entertaining semi-finals and championship too. If I was on the committee, that is what I would propose. Or just seed 1-8 according to the QRF and rock and roll. Plus, it would save the region money on the silly sub-section trophies and medals.
Basically, it is up to the coaches and A.D.’s to get it changed. I have no say. But please don’t be like Region 6A, which changes the format of the basketball tournament depending on how good the North teams are.
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SECTION 8A BOYS HOCKEY
Interesting fact – There are 72 teams in Class A Boys Hockey. (Another interesting fact – that is 29 more than Class A girl’s hockey)
Section 8A Hockey doesn’t use the QRF, so I will put them in order of where I see them. It was pretty easy, especially the top four, like usual.
1. Warroad 11-3 (3-0 in 8A)
2. East Grand Forks 10-5 (3-1)
3. Thief River Falls 7-5-1 (4-2)
4. Detroit Lakes 8-6 (2-4)
5. Park Rapids 7-3-2 (4-2) beat Crookston in OT to get the head-to-head so far
6. Crookston 7-5 (4-4)
7. Red Lake Falls 10-3 (5-2) lost to Crookston
8. Lake of the Woods 6-5 (2-5)
9. Bagley/Fosston 4-7 (1-4) beat KCC
10. Kittson County Central 2-13 (1-5) did beat LOW
Right now, Warroad is the top team, with East Grand Forks a very close second. Consistent goaltending will be the key for the Green Wave.
Thief River Falls is a solid three like usual and is the team nobody wants to play in the playoffs.
Detroit Lakes is the best of the rest right now. They have struggled in the third period against the big guys they have played, but are the clear four seed as of today.
The fifth seed is going to be a fun race, with Park Rapids, Crookston, and Red Lake Falls battling for that. Park Rapids beat Crookston in overtime and Crookston has beat Red Lake Falls in the first week of the season. Red Lake Falls also lost to Park Rapids in overtime. Crookston will play Park Rapids and Red Lake Falls again and Red Lake Falls and Park Rapids will meet again. Those games will be huge games as they fight for the fifth seed. A lot of big games coming up in January!
Crookston has had a solid start to the season with the 4-3 overtime loss at Park Rapids causing a little bit of a sting. The boys bounced back and struggled to find the back of the net against Bagley-Fosston until a five-minute penalty put Crookston on a power play where they broke open the gates and ended up scoring five goals.
The highlight so far this season would have to be how Parker Kelly has played in goal. He has been sensational at times and has single-handedly won a few games or has kept the boys in the game. He has been a pleasant surprise so far this year.
The boys have depth, but it seems like they have been worn down against Detroit Lakes. So that will be something they have to work on. On the flip side, they played a helluva third period against Thief River Falls while scoring two goals and came up short 3-2. Then a week later they fall to Park Rapids in overtime, so this team is an interesting one for sure.
They have seven section games left, including one each against the big two. They also have five IMPORTANT seeding purpose games with KCC, Park Rapids, RLF, LOW, and Fosston/Bagley. If Crookston goes 5-0 in those games, they would lock down the fifth seed for sure. Any loss in those five games could drop them anywhere from 6 to 9, depending on who they lose to. So, a lot of big games are coming up.
The team should be back to full strength after some injuries and players missing for other reasons. They also had some solid contributions from some younger players while several players were out and that helped develop even more depth. It will be a fun second half to see where they end up.
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MILESTONES –
Girls Hockey – Reese Swanson (Crookston) scored the 100th point of her career this week
Boys Basketball – Lewis Jones (Goodridge/Grygla) became the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball with 1,754 points, passing Caitlyn Jacobson.
Wrestling – Carter Coauette (Crookston) recorded the 150th win of his career on Tuesday.
Wrestling – Griffin Lundeen (TRF) recorded the 150th pin of his career on Saturday.
Wrestling – Dominick Neisen (Mahnomen/Waubun) recorded the 75th win of his career on Friday.
Wrestling – Blake McMullen (Mahnomen/Waubun) recorded the 75th win of his career on Friday.
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Thief River Falls’ Griffin Lundeen has signed a National Letter of Intent to wrestle at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, next year.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s golf team announced the signing of Victoria Olson (Cook, Minn./North Woods H.S.). Olson is the first signing for the Golden Eagles for the 2024 signing class.
“I’m excited to have Tori join our squad here for U of M Crookston Women’s golf!,” stated Head Coach Bryant Friskop. “Tori is a very impressive young woman who has a strong drive to be the best she can be both in her golf future and her academic future. Tori has a powerful swing that’ll translate to the collegiate level. I can’t wait to have her here next summer to get to work!”
Olson was an All-State selection in 2022 and 2023. She is a three-time All-East Range Conference pick. Olson was named the All-Area Golfer of the Year in 2022. She has helped North Woods H.S. to four Minnesota State Tournament appearances.
She is the daughter of Kandi and Todd Olson. Olson plans to major in elementary education at Minnesota Crookston. Her father Todd Olson played basketball at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Her brother Tate Olson golfed at the University of Jamestown. Her sister Nicole Olson also golfed for Jamestown.
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Do you like alcohol and want to support University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Athletics? Good news came out on Wednesday.
Gray Duck Spirits announced today there is a path for it to give $1,000,000 annually to support Dinkytown Athletes.
“If we can do 30% of the Minnesota market leader in vodka we will be close to our million-dollar goal. The rest of the goal would come through Duck Duck Beer and Fan Pack seltzer sales,” said Gray Duck partner Jerry Schulz. “On average consumers can save 25% versus the market leader for the same quality due to Gray Duck’s new premium filtration method. We have created a win-win. Fans get a quality product for less cost that supports our state and what we care about. Every dollar matters to the athletes and the success of our athletic programs. We are asking fans to join us and when buying vodka, beer or seltzers think about the impact you can have.”
Dinkytown Athletes, the Official NIL Collective of Gopher Athletics and Gray Duck are working to help provide NIL support for student athletes at the University of Minnesota to compete in a complex athletics environment. Gray Duck gives back 20% of beer and Fan Pack seltzer proceeds and 25% of vodka proceeds to Dinkytown Athletes. The partnership with Dinkytown Athletes highlights the natural cross section of Minnesota made products and enjoying Gopher sports.
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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 Crookston Pirate Winter Sports Schedules are available on our website. Click on the link below –
CROOKSTON PIRATE WINTER SPORTS SCHEDULES – KROX (kroxam.com)
JOKES
A guy walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter methodically placing “Love” stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying scent all over them.
His curiosity getting the better of him, he goes up to the balding man and asks him what he is doing. The man says, “I’m sending out 1,000 Valentine cards signed, ‘Guess who?'”
“But why?” asks the man.
“I’m a divorce lawyer,” the man replies.
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The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees was absent, but had not phoned in. Needing to have an urgent work problem resolved, he dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted by a child’s whispered, “Hello.”
“Is your Daddy home?” he asked.
“Yes,” whispered the small voice.
“May I talk with him?”
The child whispered, “No.”
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your Mommy there?”
“Yes.”
“May I talk with her?”
Again the small voice whispered, “No.”
Hoping there was someone with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, “Is anyone else there?”
“Yes,” whispered the child, “a policeman.”
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”
“No, he’s busy,” whispered the child.
“Busy doing what?”
“Talking to Mommy and Daddy and the Fireman,” came the whispered answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, “What is that noise?”
“A helicopter,” answered the whispering voice.
“What is going on there?” demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, “The search team just landed a helicopter.”
Alarmed, confused, and a little frustrated, the boss asked, “What are they searching for?”
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle…”Me!”
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Math Teacher: “If I have 5 bottles in one hand and 6 in the other hand, what do I have?”
Student: “A serious drinking problem.”
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A family took their frail, elderly mother to a nursing home and left her,hoping she would be well cared for. The next morning, the nurses bathed her,fed her a tasty breakfast, and set her in a chair at a window overlooking a lovely flower garden.
She seemed okay, but after a while she slowly started to tilt sideways in her chair.Two attentive nurses immediately rushed up to catch her and straighten her up.
Again she seemed okay, but after a while she slowly started to tilt over to her other side.The nurses rushed back and once more brought her back upright. This went on all morning.Later, the family arrived to see how the old woman was adjusting to her new home.
“So Ma, how is it here? Are they treating you all right?”
“It’s pretty nice,” she replied. “Except they won’t let me fart.”
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Three men were playing golf. The course was a wicked dogleg with a large water hazard.
The first man stepped up to the tee and hit a sharp slice into the water hazard. He walked up to the water; it parted and he lofted his ball within one foot of the hole.
The next man steped up and hit the ball. Sure enough, he sliced it so that it landed on top of the water. He walked across the surface of the water and and hit the ball within six inches of the hole.The third man stepped up, hit the ball, and sliced it. The ball was just about to land in the water when a trout jumped out of the water and grabbed it in his mouth. An eagle swooped down, scooped up the fish, and flew off. As the eagle banked over the green, lightning struck it, it dropped the fish, the fish dropped the ball, and it landed in the hole for a hole in one.
Moses turned to Jesus and said, “I really hate playing golf with your Dad.”
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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.
