Welcome to another Sports Feever column. Last week’s column seemed to be a big hit. It was the most read column since we got our new website last January. The feedback has all been in agreement and I have been getting emails, text messages, handshakes at games and thank you’s from people. I appreciate the comments and I am glad you all enjoyed the column.
This is great news for us Twins fans. Look at this possible line up next year.
Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson, Miguel Sano, Mitch Garver, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Luis Arraez, Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario!!!! WOW!!! The pitching has received minor additions, but I think we are all waiting for the big deal/trade/signing. I don’t think it will happen now because all the pitchers are taken. The only way is a trade and i don’t see the Twins making a big trade at this point in the offseason.
The summer of 2020 is going to be another exciting one with home runs galore!!!
Perham, Fergus Falls, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and Barnesville have solid schedules. East Grand Forks has, by far, the weakest schedule the rest of the way and it is a little disappointing that the Green Wave didn’t beef up their schedule this year. Hopefully, that won’t hurt them when it comes to the playoffs.
Section 8AA North standings – Team – QRF – Record
1. East Grand Forks (80.5) – 10-0
2. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (69.2) – 10-3
3. Thief River Falls (49.7) – 6-5
4. Hawley (40.1) – 3-8
5. Warroad (39.2) – 6-6
6. Bagley (38.7) – 5-6
7. Crookston (38.2) – 5-7
8. Roseau (17.3) – 2-10
9. Park Rapids (17.0) – 1-12
Section 8AA South – (Team – QRF – record)
1. Perham (123.7) – 11-0
2. Fergus Falls (104.4) – 9-3
3. Barnesville (78.2) – 9-3
4. Pelican Rapids (66.7) – 10-4
5. Frazee (45.0) – 5-5
6. Breckenridge (44.3) – 6-7
7. Wadena-Deer Creek (44.0) – 5-5
8. Menahga (39.6) – 6-5
9. Staples-Motley (24.9) – 2-9
Section 8A Boys Basketball has two teams, Fertile-Beltrami and Ada-Borup/West, at the top and a handful of teams that have a good shot at making a run.
Fertile-Beltrami is the only undefeated team and has the third best QRF in the state in Class A. The second highest QRF in the section is Ada-Borup with a 9-1 record and their only loss to #2 ranked Henning. The two teams will meet on February 7 in Fertile.
The best of the rest would be Badger-Greenbush-Middle River, Kittson County Central, Red Lake County, Cass Lake-Bena, Clearbrook-Gonvick and Blackduck. Once again, the West subsection is the stronger of the two sub-sections. I hope at some point Section 8A goes to a cross-bracket tournament in the semi-finals.
The Section QRF and records are below (the QRF was updated on Monday and the records are as of Tuesday night) – QRF from www.minnesota-scores.net –
Section 8A West standings – (team – QRF – record)
1. Fertile-Beltrami (81.5) – 14-0
2. Ada-Borup (71.2) – 9-1
3. BGMR (63.3) – 8-4
4. Kittson County Central (56.4) – 7-4
5. Red Lake County (53.5) – 9-3
6. Stephen-Argyle (40.0) – 7-8
7. Northern Freeze (36.1) – 6-5
8. Sacred Heart (29.9) – 3-8
9. Warren-A-O (27.7) – 3-8
10. Climax-Fisher (16.4) – 1-9
Section 8A East Standings (team – QRF – record)
1. Cass Lake-Bena (57.7) – 9-5
2. Clearbrook-Gonvick (57.0) – 9-2
3. Blackduck (47.7) – 9-3
4. Red Lake (44.9) – 5-7
5. Goodridge-Grygla (25.2) 3-8
6. Northome/Kelliher (21.5) 2-9
7. Win-E-Mac (21.4) – 1-11
8. Fosston (15.4) – 1-9
9. Lake of the Woods (8.5) – 1-11
My thoughts on where the teams are in the standing as of Tuesday.
- Warroad 14-1 (5-0)
- East Grand Forks 11-3-2 (3-1)
- Thief River Falls 9-6-1 (3-2)
- Kittson County Central 10-4 (6-1)
- Detroit Lakes 8-8-2 (4-3)
- Red Lake Falls 10-5 (4-2)
- Lake of the Woods 4-11 (3-4)
- Crookston 1-15 (1-6)
- Park Rapids 4-12 (1-7)
- Bagley-Fosston 4-9 (1-5)
Big Section 8A games coming up –
January 16 – Warroad vs Thief River Falls
January 23 – Kittson County Central vs East Grand Forks
January 28 – Red Lake Falls vs Detroit Lakes
February 4 – East Grand Forks vs Warroad
February 11 – Crookston vs Red Lake Falls
February 11 – Kittson County Central vs Thief River Falls
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Softball team started practice the first day of the Spring semester (Monday, January 13). Coach Travis Owen gave us a rundown of what they will be doing and how they are attacking the start of the season as they prepare for the first game.
“We will be practicing in our gym and upstairs turf. Besides revisiting the fundamentals at this important time of year, with only three weeks until our first game, we’ll be doing lots of hitting competitions…pitching live in our cages to hitters…and doing team defense in the gym along with some bunting/slapping scrimmages to get live defensive situations.
We’ll continue lifting about three times per week in our pre-season. We have 16 weeks until the end of the regular season, so how we’re breaking it down is:
Pre-season (practices up until games start)
Pre-conference (we play several conference teams during non-conference games)
Non-conference (a big chunk of non-conference games will be in Florida during our spring break, right before we start conference play)
Conference – where we’re looking to be at our peak and turn some heads this year.
We had several close games last year and we’re looking to get over that hump and make the conference tournament. I believe our team has the ability to do so. As you probably know, the top 10 of 16 teams in our conference make the tourney. What I love about that is, it’s certainly not easy, having some of the top teams in the nation sewing up the top spots. Augie (defending national champs), Winona (undefeated last year in conference), Mankato (has made several national championship appearances), Duluth, and St. Cloud all made the NCAA tournament last year. So basically, the remaining 11 teams are competing for five spots to make the tourney. We are looking to be one of them!
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More UMC Football players have announced they have committed to play football somewhere else next year –
Jacob Langevin – Upper Iowa
Isaac Durand – Upper Iowa
Austin Erdmann – Waldorf University
Austin Steele – Waldorf University
Johnson Fallah – University of St. Thomas
Add those names to our list from last week –
Tysen White – Wayne State
Eli Solberg – Bemidji State
Dylan Wheeler – Bemidji State
Ben Branscom – Southwest Minnesota State
Skyler Quinn – Southwest Minnesota State
Ryan Martin – Concordia-St. Paul
Zay MCCray – Upper Iowa
Alex Folz – Eastern New Mexico University
Reece Walno – Chadron State College
Terrance Nicholason – Dakota State University
Gustavo Bonilla – Dakota State University
Kam Clayton – Dakota State University
Will Cross – Lindenwood (Missouri) – He will use his medical redshirt while going to grad school.
Andy Groebner will stay at UMC for the spring semester then transfer (I believe to Jamestown)
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Section 8A Boys Hockey has the top three and seven of the top 11 point-getters in the state as of Sunday.
1. Grant Slukynsky (Warroad) 24 goals – 34 assists for 58 points
2. Zak Kennet (Red Lake Falls) 20 goals – 32 assists for 52 points
3. Calvin Hanson (Kittson Central) 25 goals – 18 assists for 43 points
7. Ty Kennett (Red Lake Falls) 18 goals – 21 assists for 39 points
9. Anthony Foster (Warroad) 21 goals – 16 assists for 37 points
11. Adam Gustafson (Kittson Central) 10 goals – 26 assists for 36 points
11. Jayson Shaugabay (Warroad) 10 goals – 26 assists for 36 points
Section 8A Girls Hockey has three of the top eight point-getters in the state as of Sunday-
1. Hannah Corneliusen (Warroad) 38 goals – 19 assists for 57 points
2. Geno Hendrickson (Warroad) 17 goals – 29 assists for 46 points
8. Sydney Phaneuf (Warroad) 15 goals – 20 assists for 35 points
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Thief River Falls will host their annual Wrestling tournament on Saturday, January 18 at the Ralph Englestad Arena (weather permitting). The teams competing will be Thief River Falls, BGMR, Blackduck-CLB, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, Fertile/Beltrami, Bertha-Hewitt, Minnewaska, Ottertail Central, Park Rapids, Pelican Rapids, Red Lake County Central, Roseau, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley-Nevis, Nashwauk-Keewatin, and Grand Forks Red River.
Additional Teams for JV: Fergus Falls, Bemidji
Varsity Tournament: Will begin wrestling on 4 mats with minimal breaks and run straight through the day, finals starting around 4:00 pm and finishing up around 6:00 pm.
They will wrestle through 8th place.
JV Tournament: Will be run on 2 mats and continuous with only minimal breaks throughout the day. Weight classes will be the same as varsity, with the addition of a 95 lb. weight class.
JH Tournament: Will be run on 2 mats and continuous with only minimal breaks. There will not be specific weight classes but we will bracket the wrestlers that day. All JH Wrestlers will weigh-in individually and need to fill out a weigh-in form.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball program is hosting camps on Feb. 9 at the Minnesota Crookston Sports Center. The Golden Eagles will hold a hitting and defensive camp for grades 7-12 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. The cost for the individual camp is $75. Minnesota Crookston will also hold a pitching and catching camp for grades 7-12 from 1-3:30 p.m. on Feb. 9. The cost is also $75 for the individual camp. If someone wants to attend both camps they get a discounted price of $125.
The objective of the hitting and defensive camp is to cover all aspects of becoming a fundamentally sound offensive player. The campers will do drills that current Minnesota Crookston players use to develop better movement patterns and train a more consistent and successful swing path. Through the use of Rapsodo, each player will get measured in their exit velocity, launch angle, and distance each ball is hit.
The pitching and catching camp will include instruction from Head Coach Steve Gust and assistant coach Alec DeMaria, a former Division II pitcher at the University of Mary. Through the use of weighted balls and Rapsodo technology, this camp will place an emphasis on lower-half development, as well as arm speed to safely and effectively generate pitching velocity. Both the pitching and catching segments of the camp will be centered on the fundamentals of each position.
For more information on the camps, visit https://baseball.umcsportscamps.com/ or contact Coach Steve Gust at sjgust@umn.edu or Assistant Coach Max Casper at caspe100@umn.edu.
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JOKES
A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by the police. “What are these matches and lighter fluid doing in your car?” asks the cop.
“I’m a juggler and I juggle flaming torches in my act.”
“Oh yeah?” says the doubtful cop. “Let’s see you do it.” The juggler gets out and starts juggling the blazing torches masterfully.
A couple driving by slows down to watch. “Wow,” says the driver to his wife. “I’m glad I quit drinking. Look at the test they’re giving now!”
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A man asked his wife what she’d like for her birthday. “I’d love to be six again,” she replied. On the morning of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and off they went to a local theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park: the Death Slide, the Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear, everything there was! Wow!
Five hours later she staggered out of the theme park, her head reeling and her stomach upside down. Right to a McDonald’s they went, where her husband ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake. Then it was off to a movie, the latest Star Wars epic, a hot dog, popcorn, soda, and M&Ms. What a fabulous adventure!
Finally, she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed. He leaned over and lovingly asked, “Well, dear, what was it like being six again?”
One eye opened. “You idiot, I meant my dress size.”
The moral of this story: Even when the man is listening, he’s still gonna get it wrong.
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A boss was complaining in a staff meeting the other day that he wasn’t getting any respect. Later that morning he went to a local sign shop and bought a small sign that read, “I’m the Boss”. He then taped it to his office door.
Later that day when he returned from lunch, he found that someone had taped a note to the sign that said. “Your wife called, she wants her sign back!”
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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
Paul Bittner is playing for the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket. Paul didn’t score while getting three shots on goal and two penalty minutes in a 5-2 loss to Binghamton. Paul had an assist in a 4-2 loss to Hershey and he didn’t score in a 2-0 loss to Lehigh and he didn’t score while getting one shot on goal in a 5-2 loss to Binghamton on Wednesday night. The Monsters will travel to Rochester (NY) on Friday, Utica on Saturday and host Rochester on Wednesday.
Thea Oman, a freshman, is swimming at St. Ben’s. St. Ben’s is off until January 17 when they travel to Gustavus.
Brady Heppner, is a Senior, playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville. Brady didn’t score in a 6-2 loss to UW-Superior and scored a goal while getting three shots on goal in a 3-2 victory over Northland. St. John’s will travel to Hamline on Friday.
Nick Garmen, is a freshman playing basketball and tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris. Nick didn’t play in an 81-80 loss to St. Scholastica on Saturday and he didn’t play in a 96-86 loss at Northwestern on Wednesday. Morris will travel to UW-Superior on Saturday and Martin Luther on Wednesday.
Aleece Durbin, is a Sophomore on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team. UND will travel to Brookings, South Dakota for a duel with South Dakota State on Saturday.
Brita Fagerlund, is a Junior on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team. Brita finished fourth place in the Women’s Weight throw at the Gulf Shores (Florida) Preview Meet with a throw of 42’1.25. The Jimmies will travel to Aberdeen, South Dakota for a duel with Northern State University.
Ben Trostad is a sophomore member of the University of Minnesota Crookston golf team. The Golden Eagles will be off until the spring.
Isaac Westlake, is a Senior on the Winona State Warrior Men’s Golf team. Winona State will be off until the spring.
Elise Tangquist, is a Junior golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. Northwestern will be off until the spring.
Mason LaPlante, a freshman, is playing soccer at the University of Jamestown.
Rachel Hefta, a freshman, is playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Cade Salentine is a redshirt Freshman playing football at the University of North Dakota.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach and assistant volleyball coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the Head Pirate Girls and Boys Tennis coach and Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Mitch Bakken is the head Pirate Baseball coach.
Brock Hanson is the 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 an Assistant Wrestling Coach
Nate Merten is an Assistant Wrestling Coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching –
Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle School.
Justin Johnson is an assistant softball coach at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
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.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson, is Head Volleyball coach at Little Falls High School.
Katy Westrom, is Head Girls Tennis Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
Matt Harris, is a Director of Athletics at the British International School of Houston.
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 a Tennis Pro on Nevis Island in the West Indies
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
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.
Scott Riopelle is head of Crookston Parks and Recreation
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
