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SPORTS FEEVER – January 24, 2019

If you are new to the column, welcome.  If you are a long-time reader…thank you!   Each week I (Chris Fee) take a look at high school sports in Northwest Minnesota and University of Minnesota Crookston along with other area colleges.  We try to keep you up to date on what is going on in the area and if you ever have a tidbit of NW Minnesota Sporting news, email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com or text 218-280-4021!

It has been a busy week with a lot of big games and matches and as we wind down the regular seasons every game seems to have a little more importance this time of year.
This week we will take a look at Section 8A Boys and Section 8A Girls hockey and where the teams stand right now.  We also take a look at Section 8A wrestling and where teams stand as of Wednesday night.  We have several basketball milestones that were reached this past week along with updates on UMC Softball and Baseball and how practice is going for the two teams so far and a lot more.
Next week we will look at Section 8AA boys and girls basketball, and Section 8A boys and girls basketball.

Enjoy the last week of January and that means February and March madness is coming up soon!

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The Section 8A Boys Hockey teams have some big games coming up and the top 3 are pretty much set with a lot of teams fighting for seeds the rest of the way.  My thoughts on the section so far and what the seeds might look like if the seeding was done on Wednesday.  The top three are the same top three for the past 10-plus years it seems like.

  1. East Grand Forks (OT win over TRF on Tuesday solidified #1, but by a thread)
  2. Thief River Falls (as Frank Fee said at the beginning of the year, “That Berglund is a helluva coach and he will have them ready at playoffs.”)
  3. Warroad (They are a dangerous team)
  4. Crookston (Crookston lost to DL and bounced back to beat them pretty good and the boys are playing well right now and more than capable to win a game or two in the playoffs)

The rest of the teams are a real toss-up and it will be an interesting seeding meeting if they continue to beat each other.  It is going to be an interesting seeding meeting for the rest.

5. Kittson County Central (They have beat RLF twice, Park Rapids, LOW, Bagley-Fosston.  The big game to stay in the fifth seed will be Saturday when they play Detroit Lakes)
6. Detroit Lakes (They are a little up and a little down…right now they are a bit down)
7. Bagley-Fosston (They split with Park Rapids, beat LOW twice, lost to RLF twice and KCC)
8. Lake of the Woods (They beat DL last week and have some good wins, but some tough losses)
9. Red Lake Falls (They beat Bagley-Fosston twice, but lost to Park Rapids, KCC, and LOW two times each)
10. Park Rapids (They have been beaten pretty good in several games, but their last three games of the year against RLF, KCC and DL will be big for seeding purposes.

The big games coming up in Section 8A the rest of the season are below –

Friday –  January 25
East Grand Forks      at   Lake of the Woods

Saturday –  January 26
Kittson County Central       at  Detroit Lakes

Tuesday –  January 29
East Grand Forks      at   Crookston
Red Lake Falls       at   Detroit Lakes

Thursday –  January 31
Crookston      at   Thief River Falls
Kittson County Central      at   Lake of the Woods

Tuesday –  February 5
East Grand Forks       at   Warroad
Park Rapids      at   Red Lake Falls

Friday –  February 8
Crookston     at   Lake of the Woods

Saturday  –  February 9
Kittson County Central     at  Park Rapids

Tuesday –  February 12 (Big games all over the section – day before seeding)
Detroit Lakes      at  Park Rapids
Kittson County Central      at  Bagley-Fosston          6:00 PM
Red Lake Falls      at   Crookston
Thief River Falls     at   East Grand Forks
Warroad     at   Lake of the Woods

The seeding meeting will be February 13 and the section tournament begins February 19 with play-in games!

Check out the Section 8A Boys Hockey page with the standings, scores and master schedule by clicking https://kroxam.com/sports/section-8a-boys-hockey/ 

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The Section 8A Girls Hockey tournament will start February 7 and the seeds are pretty much wrapped up and there was a big game on Tuesday with East Grand Forks beat Thief River Falls on Tuesday night and that will give the Green Wave the second seed.

On Tuesday, January 29 Crookston will host Detroit Lakes.  If Crookston wins, they would be able to make a case for the fourth seed.  If DL wins, they are the fourth seed.

On Thursday, January 31, Detroit Lakes travels to East Grand Forks.  If DL wins they would still be the fourth seed, but they would be able to make a case for a third seed even if it isn’t likely to happen.

This is how the seeding will likely go –
1. Warroad 
(the top team in the state, regardless of class)
2. 
Thief River Falls (big win on Tuesday over EGF, I am giving them the)
3. East Grand Forks (tough loss to TRF this week)
4. Detroit Lakes (a solid fourth seed)
5. Crookston 
(own two victories over Park Rapids)
6. Park Rapids (it has been a tough season for the young team, but they are much improved from the start of the year)

Thursday –  February 7
Section 8A Tournament – 1st Round
#1 Seed has a bye
#2 Seed  has a bye
#6 Seed   at    #3 Seed
#5 Seed   at    #4 Seed

Saturday –  February 9
Section 8A Tournament – Semi-Finals at Crookston
6:00 PM –   Winner of  4/5         vs    #1 Seed
8:15 PM –   Winner of 3/6          vs    #2 Seed

Thursday –  February 14
Section 8A Tournament –  Championship  at  Crookston
7:00 PM   –

Check out the Section 8A Girls Hockey page with the standings, scores and master schedule at https://kroxam.com/sports/section-8a-girls-hockey/

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The Section 8A Wrestling tournament is also only a few weeks away and it looks like the top teams are pretty much set.  After the top two seeds, things will be interesting. The third through sixth seeds are basically a toss-up.

I see the seeds looking something like this (as of now.  There are a lot of big duals left) –
1. Frazee (beat BGMR in a dual)
2. Badger-Greenbush-Middle River (lost by three to Frazee)
3. United North Central (beat Fosston-Bagley 41-39 on January 4)
4. Fosston-Bagley (beat Crookston in a dual)
5. Crookston (has dual wins over Roseau, Fertile-Beltrami, Mahnomen-Waubun, RLCC)
6. Roseau (lost to Fosston-Bagley and Crookston)
7. Fertile-Beltrami (lost to Crookston, beat RLCC)
8. Red Lake County Central – (lost to Fertile-Beltrami, split with Mahnomen-Waubun and won the second dual giving them the edge)
9. Mahnomen-Waubun (split with RLCC)

Big duals coming up that will affect seeds –

Thursday, January 24 –
Roseau vs Fertile-Beltrami

Tuesday, January 29 –
Fosston-Bagley vs BGMR
Fosston-Bagley vs RLCC
Mahnomen-Waubun vs United North Central

Thursday, January 31-
Crookston vs BGMR
Fertile-Beltrami vs Mahnomen-Waubun

Tuesday, February 5-
Roseau vs BGMR

Thursday, February 7
Mahnomen-Waubun vs Fosston/Bagley

SECTION 8A TEAM TOURNAMENT –  At Ralph Engelstad Arena in TRF
11:00 AM
2:00 PM
4:00 PM
6:00 PM

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MILESTONES –

This past week was a busy week for basketball milestones and we have them listed below –

Nick Garmen of Crookston scored the 1,000th point of his career on Friday.  He becomes the 8th Pirate Boys Basketball player to accomplish the feat.

Isaac Falk-Stoskopf of Warroad scored the 1,000th point of his career on Saturday vs Bagley.

Kacie Borowicz of Roseau scored the 3,000th point of her career on Friday.

Adam LePard, of Roseau and currently on the boys basketball team earned his Eagle Scout court of honor! Only 4% of scouts achieve this high honor.  A big congratulations to him on the non-basketball honor! ⁦

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Kiley Borowicz, from Roseau and currently playing basketball for Minnesota State Moorhead was named the NSIC north player of the week after she scored a career-high 37 points and set an MSUM single-game record with nine 3-pointers in a win over Augustana on Saturday
She finished 14-of-26 from the field during the game and averaged 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the weekend.  It is the second time she has been named NSIC Player of the Week for the second time this season (11/26/18)

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Josh Jeziorski of Perham has committed to play basketball at Bemidji State next year.  The Beavers are getting a versatile player and he will be a good one for the good ole BSU!

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It is hard to believe, but University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Baseball and Softball have been practicing for over two weeks already.  I asked both coaches to give me a rundown of how practice is going, where are they practicing and anything else they would like to pass along.  Their responses are below –

UMC Softball Coach Travis Owen
We started practice on January 7.  We have of course been going inside- using our upstairs turf area, weight room, and gym.  While obviously everyone would love an indoor facility, our current situation is still certainly enough for us to make improvements as a team, and that’s part of our story as underdogs.  The attitude we take now will be huge in determining how our season starts.  We have been spending lots of time in the weight room, pitching bullpens and hitting up on our turf, and practicing defense in the gym.  In the gym we’re able to work on lots of ball handling, catching and throwing, and fundamentals of being in the right positions when we field, catch and throw.  We can also do some competing as far as hitting/pitching live in the cages, and do some short game- bunting and slapping competition in the gym.  Hopefully in around a month or so the turf will be back on the off-campus Crookston Sports Center, where we’ll be able to switch things up.
Our pitchers have been throwing more and progressing well as they’ve gone from stand-in batters, to bunts, to live just recently.  We still need to work quite a bit on our hitting but many of the players have worked hard on their swings and I believe having more live at-bats in the cage will help them track the ball and get more comfortable carrying the changes over that they’ve been working on.
Something I am looking forward to this season is seeing who will step up in different games.  The beauty of our sport is that everyone can pick each other up.  If say the pitching and defense is a little off, but we’re swinging it at the plate, we can still win games.  When you get it all clicking it becomes easy but the majority of our games are going to be a battle, and it will be exciting to have different people stepping up to help the team win.

UMC BASEBALL COACH STEVE GUST
It has been a productive first couple of weeks. We are pleased with the progress of our team in all areas of the game. Being indoors is not ideal for us, especially considering other teams in our conference have been outside practicing already or have indoor bubbles or other suitable practice areas. However, our focus has been on the fundamentals of the game, and being inside does not detour us from improving on the essentials of baseball.

We believe we have the players to help us achieve our goals this season. Obviously, we want to get back to the NSIC Tournament this year but our main focus so far has been centered around improvement and what each individual player needs to do to get our program to the next level. So far I like the progress we have made.

We lost some key guys from last year but we believe we brought in some players who can fill some shoes. Obviously, losing Zach Seipel to the draft was a major loss (but a good one), and we lost two other pitchers due to an injury and early graduation.

With that said, our fall season went well and our early season practices have been crisp and clean. Our returners have done a great job leading by example and our newcomers have done a good job of adjusting to the speed of the game. Reed Hjelle, the NSIC preseason player of the year, has taken his leadership skills to another level and continues to work hard to get better each day.

We also believe our newcomers (transfers & freshmen) will be able to step in and help us. We will have a team with a new look, but one that has the potential to perform well both on and off the field. We are proud that 30 of our players attained a 3.0 GPA for the fall semester and the overall GPA for our entire team was just under 3.4.

In addition to improving on the field, a lot of our time has been spent on off the field activities. Our players have spent hours working on fund-raising activities and volunteering for various community service projects. Meanwhile, the coaching staff has been working feverishly trying to improve the program off the field. We are fighting hard to increase scholarships which have not changed since I was hired. Also, we are hoping to improve our field by getting better seating for our fans. We are lucky to have three coaches who receive very little or no salary for coaching. Currently, we only have one full-time and one part-time coach on staff. We are hoping to change that in the future. Ultimately, to draw top tier recruits in and increase enrollment in Crookston, we need better facilities. How about a turfed indoor bubble for all of the area to use?

We would like to thank the support of many for helping us attain the success we’ve had in the last four years. Without our supporters, we never could have done the things we’ve done, both on and off the field. A special thank you to the Crookston Baseball Association for the commitment they have made to us and the Crookston baseball community. Other NSIC schools have gone above and beyond to increase scholarships, add coaches and improve facilities. We need to do the same in Crookston.

We are excited for our first games against a top 25 team in Central Missouri University Feb. 15-17. We believe we have a team that can consistently compete against the top squads in our conference and the country. We hope to see you at the ballpark!

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University of Minnesota Crookston men’s basketball player Harrison Cleary (Jr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) was among the 100 players named by smallcollegebasketball.com to the initial watch list for the 2019 Bevo Francis Award, for the top player in small college basketball (NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA).

Cleary comes into the weekend averaging 23.3 points per game for the Golden Eagles. He is shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 93.1 percent from the charity stripe. Cleary has had three games with over 30 points this season, including a career-high 47 points at home against Minnesota State University Moorhead. Cleary has tallied 12 games with over 20 points this season. Cleary is 12th nationally in scoring entering the weekend. He comes in 11th in NSIC history in scoring with 1,289 points. Cleary needs three points to surpass Brett Ervin the of University of Minnesota Duluth for 10th all-time. In his career, Cleary has 1,785 points. He needs 133 points to surpass Joe Hasz for the Minnesota Crookston school record for scoring.

The Bevo Francis Award Watch List was selected by a committee of coaches, who chose the elite group from over 1,100 colleges and universities based on individual statistics, previous awards, milestones and team success.  Members of the Bevo Francis Award committee include the following coaches: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.), Gerald Holmes – Bloomfield (N.J.), Gary Stewart – Stevenson (Md.), Arlen Galloway – Wentworth (Mass.), Chris Briggs – Georgetown (Ky.), Bill Dreikosen – Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Klint Pleasant – Rochester (Mich.), Ryan Kane – Ripon (Wisc.), Mark Berokoff – Hillsdale Baptist (Okla.), Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern, Rhett Soliday – Vanguard (Calif.), Sam Hargraves – Alma (Mich.), Greg Mason – Centre (Ky.) and Ryan Looney – Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.).

Bevo Francis played at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in Ohio in 1952-53 and 1953-54.  When he arrived on campus, the school had 38 male students enrolled in the school and was on the verge of bankruptcy, planning to close its doors at the end of the 1952-53 school year.  In the season before Bevo arrived at Rio Grande, the Redmen (now the Red Storm) had gone 4-19. During his two seasons at Rio Grande, Bevo became the most popular basketball player in the world, and ultimately helped to save the school from bankruptcy.  During his first year, the Redmen went 39-0, and Bevo scored 1,954 points and averaged 50.1 points per game.  Against Ashland College (KY), Francis scored 116 points, which included 55 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.

On February 15, Small College Basketball, which is a comprehensive website on small college basketball, will publish the next Watch List with 50 players. The list will be narrowed down to 25 players in a Watch List published on March 15. The finalists will be announced in a highlight video that will be released on April 6.  The 2019 Bevo Francis Award winner will be announced on April 8. The award will be presented to the award winner on May 11 at the SCB National Awards Show in conjunction with the SCB Alumni Association’s Celebration of the Game event at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

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Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Commissioner Erin Lind announced the recipients of the tenth annual NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award winners Friday, January 18. The Golden Eagles had eight recipients of the distinguished honor. Minnesota Crookston was one shy of their school-record nine selections during the 2014-15 academic year. The honor named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to senior NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their eligibility and are on track to graduate. Each student-athlete will be recognized by the NSIC with a certificate of achievement and a wristwatch. Furthermore, each institution is highly encouraged to have these student-athletes be publicly recognized at a home athletic event.

A record number of 156 student-athletes from the NSIC’s 16 institutions received the award in its tenth year, nine more than last year’s record of 147.

The Golden Eagles were represented by: Jordan Deadwyler (Baseball, Jacksonville, Fla., Communication), Mikayla Jones (Softball, Huxley, Iowa, Sports and Rec Management), Caitlin Michaelis (Women’s Basketball, Marshfield, Wis., Elementary Education), Maggie Morales (Softball, Tucson, Ariz., Exercise Science and Wellness), Chase Knickerbocker (Men’s Basketball, Annandale, Minn., Finance), Ryan Ratcliff (Football, Bloomer, Wis., Exercise Science and Wellness), Callie Schapekahm (Volleyball, Eagan, Minn., Health Management), and Nelson Uzonwa (Football, Lagos, Nigeria, Criminal Justice).
The softball team and the football team received the most honors for the Golden Eagles with two apiece.

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The Minnesota Wild, along with FOX Sports North and Minnesota Hockey, announced today that Minneapolis will host the 14th Annual Hockey Day Minnesota 2020 presented by Wells Fargo. Basking in the glow of the downtown skyline, Parade Stadium will serve as the venue for the 14th annual statewide hockey celebration.

The announcement was made following the Bemidji vs. Greenway high school hockey game at Lake Bemidji as part of Hockey Day Minnesota 2019 coverage on FOX Sports North. Additional details, including the date, match-ups and the official schedule for Hockey Day Minnesota 2020 will be announced at a later date.  “Minneapolis will be a great host and provide a fantastic setting for Hockey Day Minnesota 2020,” said Minnesota Wild President Matt Majka. “We are excited to bring next year’s event back to the Twin Cities and know Minneapolis will do a great job celebrating Hockey Day Minnesota.”

Minneapolis’ festivities will be part of a day-long television event broadcast on FOX Sports North, designed as a celebration of the game from peewees to pros. Proceeds of the event will benefit DinoMights, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Youth Hockey, Minneapolis Storm Youth Hockey and Minneapolis Titans Youth Hockey.  We are excited to welcome hockey fans from across Minnesota to Parade Stadium and the number one park system in the nation,” said Incoming Minneapolis Park Board Superintendent Al Bangoura. “Youth hockey is a great example of one of the many ways the Park Board works to give Minneapolis’ youth opportunities to make long-lasting friendships, learn about teamwork and discipline, and other life skills. This year, we have 26 youth hockey teams with players from every part of Minneapolis, with dedicated coaches who work hard to give these kids a great experience both on and off the ice.”

“Hockey Day Minnesota brings our local communities together throughout the State of Hockey to create lasting memories at the rink,” said Wells Fargo Region Bank President Jason Royce. “Skating outdoors is such an important part of Minnesota’s winter culture and this event creates a fun, winter experience for visitors of all ages.”

Parade Stadium is nestled between the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Parade Ice Garden. First conceived in the late 1800s, the park today contains 45 acres of sports facilities. Hockey Day Minnesota 2020 outdoor contests will take place with Minneapolis’ Wells Fargo Tower, Basilica of St. Mary and Lowry Hill in the background.

Minneapolis is the State of Hockey’s largest city and the birthplace of 41 NHL draft picks; home to two of the top men’s and women’s hockey programs in NCAA history and four different youth hockey programs serving a diverse array of players and families – boys and girls, various economic backgrounds and a variety of ethnicities.

Hockey Day Minnesota originated in 2007 by the Minnesota Wild to celebrate the game that has made Minnesota the State of Hockey. It is produced in partnership with FOX Sports North, Minnesota Hockey and the respective local community that serves as host each year. Previous locations include Baudette Bay (2007, 2008), Phalen Park (2009), Hermantown (2010), Moorhead (2011), Minnetonka (2012), Grand Rapids (2013), Elk River (2014), Saint Paul (2015), Duluth (2016), Stillwater (2017), St. Cloud (2018) and Bemidji (2019). For more information, visit www.wild.com/hockeyday.

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The Crookston Lions Club will host their 11th Annual Lions Winter Tailgate “Spud Bar”  of baked potatoes and toppings on Friday, January 25 from 5:15-7:30 p.m. in the Crookston High School Commons during the Crookston High School versus Climax-Fisher basketball game. It’s a free will donation with proceeds going towards Lions Community Projects.

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The University of Minnesota Crookston Baseball team will host a hitting/defensive camp in Crookston on February 10 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. for grades 9-12. The hitting camp will cover all aspects of becoming a fundamentally sound offensive player. The instructional camp will break down each individual camper from the physical to the mental side of hitting. Barrel control, bat path, and bat speed will be emphasized. Cost is $75 for the individual camp. The Golden Eagles are also holding a pitching/catching camp on the Minnesota Crookston campus February 10 from 1-3:30 p.m. The pitching and catching camp will include instruction from MLB Draft Pick Zach Seipel, who pitches in the Atlanta Braves organization. Seipel is a former Minnesota Crookston student-athlete. An emphasis will be placed on lower-half development and generating pitching velocity. The cost of the camp is $75 or $125 to do both the pitching and hitting camps.

Lastly, UMC Baseball is offering a kid’s camp February 18, which is President’s Day, for grades K-5 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on the University of Minnesota Crookston campus. The kid’s camp will center around fundamentals of baseball and fun. Skills include hitting, throwing and fielding. All activities will be broken down by age and skill level. The cost of the camp is $30. The camp

The camps will be coached by Head Coach Steve Gust, assistant coaches Taylor Steen and Colton Haight, along with Seipel, reining NSIC Player of the Year Reed Hjelle, along with other Minnesota Crookston players. To register for the camps visit https://baseball.umcsportscamps.com/index.cfm. If you have any questions contact Coach Gust at sjgust@umn.edu or Coach Steen at tsteen@umn.edu.

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The University of Minnesota Crookston volleyball program will have a jam-packed schedule with JO volleyball tournaments and camps coming up in early 2019.

The Golden Eagles will host a camp for all skill levels for boys and girls grades 12 and under on Sunday’s, February 3, February 10 and March 3. The camps will run 1-3:30 p.m. each day with check-in at 12:30 p.m. All camps will be held at Lysaker Gymnasium. Campers should wear athletic gear, knee pads, and bring their own water. Upon registering for the camp, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from Assistant Coach Anna Morgan. The price for the camps is $35 for one camp, $65 for two camps, $95 for three camps, and $125 for all four camps. The participants will get the opportunity to learn key volleyball skills from Head Coach Sarah Rauen, Morgan, and the Golden Eagle volleyball student-athletes. You can sign up by completing the attached form by clicking here and sending it back with payment to 2900 University Ave., Attn: Anna Morgan, Crookston, MN 56716. Checks can be made payable to Minnesota Crookston VB.

In addition, UMC is hosting four JO volleyball tournaments in 2019 on Saturday, March 30; Sunday, March 31; Sunday, April 7; and Sunday, April 14.
March 30 will be for 12-and-under teams
March 31 will be for 16-and-under squads.
April 7 will be for 14-and-under teams.
April 14 will be for 18-and-under squads.

The registration cost for a team is $105 for everyone except for 12-and-under teams, who will pay $80. Teams are responsible for all officiating duties. Following pool play, all teams will go into the playoffs. Pool play will begin at 8 a.m. More information will be provided the week of the event. All games will be played at the UMC Sports Center. The checks can be made payable to UMC Volleyball and sent to 2900 University Ave., Attn: Anna Morgan, Crookston, MN 56716. If you have any questions on either event you can contact Anna Morgan at amorgan@crk.umn.edu or by phone at 218-281-8410.  For the JO Tournament registration form click here.

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JOKES –

Some Rodney Dangerfield humor

I went to a massage parlor. It was self-service.

It’s tough to stay married. My wife kisses the dog on the lips, yet she won’t drink from my glass!

Last night my wife met me at the front door.  She was wearing a sexy negligee. The only trouble was, she was coming home.

A hooker once told me she had a headache.

I’m so ugly I stuck my head out the window and got arrested for mooning.

My wife is such a bad cook.  In my house we pray after the meal.

My wife likes to talk to me during sex; last night she called me from a hotel.

My family was so poor that if I hadn’t been born a boy, I wouldn’t have had anything to play with.

It’s been a rough day. I got up this morning and put a shirt on and a button fell off. I picked up my briefcase, and the handle came off. I’m afraid to go to the bathroom.

I could tell my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and radio.

I’m so ugly my father carried around a picture of the kid that came with his wallet.

I’m so ugly my mother had morning sickness AFTER I was born

I remember the time that I was kidnapped and they sent a piece of my finger to my father. He said he wanted more proof.

Once when I was lost, I saw a policeman, & asked him to help me find my parents. I said to him, “Do you think we’ll ever find them?” He said, “I don’t know kid. There’s so many places they can hide.”
I went to see my doctor. “Doctor, every morning when I get up and I look in the mirror I feel like throwing up. What’s wrong with me?” He said: “Nothing, your eyesight is perfect.”

My uncle’s dying wish was to have me sitting in his lap; he was in the electric chair.

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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, will start the season with the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket.  Paul suffered a knee injury and is still recuperating.

Haley Roed, a Junior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.  Haley was on the first place 400 Freestyle, third place in the 100 freestyle, third-place 200 Freestyle relay, fourth place on the 400 Medley Relay, fifth in the 50 freestyle, sixth place 200 Medley Freestyle, eighth in 100 Freestyle at the Dragon Invite.  The Dragon’s travel to Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday.

Kate MacGregor
, a Freshman swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.  Kate was on the first place 200 Yard Medley Freestyle, second in the 50 backstroke, third in the 100 Backstroke, third place in the 400 Medley Relay, fourth in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, fifth in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, 11th in the 200 Backstroke at the Dragon Invite.  The Dragon’s travel to Minnesota State Mankato on Saturday.

Ryan Bittner, is a Senior playing hockey for the #1 ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  Ryan didn’t score, but had two shots on goal in a 3-1 victory over #3 ranked UW-Eau Claire on Friday and he had two assists in a 6-2 victory over UW-River Falls on Saturday.  The Pointers will have this weekend off.

Brady Heppner, is a Junior playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville.  Brady didn’t score in a 2-1 loss and he recorded two assists in a 4-2 victory over Concordia College in Moorhead.  St. Johns will have this weekend off.

Aaron Hollcraft, is a Senior playing basketball and baseball for the UMC Golden Eagles.   Aaron didn’t play, because of an injury, in victories over Winona State and Upper Iowa this weekend.  UMC travels to Minot State and Mary this weekend.

Colton Weiland, is a freshman wrestling for #1 ranked St. Cloud State.  Colton is listed at 149 pounds. Colton was injured and had surgery and will miss the season.

Bailey Folkers, is a freshman on the University of Wisconsin-Superior women’s basketball team.  Bailey played two minutes and didn’t score in a 71-50 victory over Minnesota Morris on Saturday and she played three minutes and had one rebound in an 88-62 victory over Northland on Wednesday.  Superior hosts Martin Luther on Saturday and St. Scholastica on Wednesday.

Brita Fagerlund, is a Sophomore on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team.  Brita finished 10th in the Women’s Weight Throw with a throw of 37-05.75 at the Cobber duals in Moorhead on Saturday.  Jamestown will travel to the UND Heptathalon this weekend.

Ally Tiedemann, a Freshman playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Duluth.  The first match of the season is February 1 against St. Scholastica.

Bobby Tiedemann, is a Junior on the St. Mary’s University Men’s Tennis team in Winona.  St. Mary’s will host Martin Luther College on Friday, January 25, 2019.

Marietta Geist, a Junior on the Carleton College Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams.  Marietta didn’t run in the Carleton triangular.  Carleton will travel to the Mark Schuck Multi and Open in Mankato this weekend.

Amanda Trandem, is a Sophomore on the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Softball team.

Ben Trostad, a Freshman playing golf at the University of Minnesota Crookston.   UMC is off until the spring.

Ethan Magsam, a Freshman playing golf at the University of Minnesota Crookston.  UMC is off until the spring.

Elise Tangquist, is a Sophomore golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. Northwestern is done until the spring.

Isaac Westlake, a Junior playing golf for the Winona State Warriors.

Cade Salentine, is a redshirt Freshman playing football at the University of North Dakota.

Crookston School District Coaches –
Brody Davidson 
is an Assistant Pirate Football coach.
Tyler Brekken is a Pirate C team football coach and junior high Pirate Softball coach
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
Shelly Erdmann
 is the Assistant Girls Soccer coach.
Cody Brekken
 is the Assistant Pirate Girls Tennis coach, Pirate Boys Tennis coach and Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Mitch Bakken is the head Pirate Baseball coach.
Justin Johnson is the Pirate Junior Varsity 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
Wade Hanson
 is the 8th grade boys basketball coach
Travis Ross is the 7th grade boys basketball 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
Tori Demarais is the Pirate Girls Hockey assistant coach.

Non Crookston High 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.

Todd Kreibich, is the Coach and General Manager for the Minnesota Iron Rangers Junior Hockey team our of Hoyt Lakes.

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

Erika Wheelhouse
 is serving in the Peace Corp in the Philippines.

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.

Alan Mart, 2009 Crookston High School graduate, is currently serving his country for the US Army as a Cavalry Scout in Afghanistan.

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 Central is stationed at Hohnfels in Germany for the next 2 or 3 years.

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

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