SPORTS FEEVER – January 31, 2019

We all survived the Polar Vortex and all games but one on Tuesday were cancelled.  Not even record-breaking cold temps and wind chills could stop the Warroad vs Roseau Boys Hockey game.
The Section 8A Girls Hockey seeding meeting will be held next week and the first section playoff game is upon us.  Wow, it always amazes me on how the longest sports season (winter sports) goes by so quick.   I will look at the Section 8A Girls Hockey playoffs next week.

Next week, February 6 is the Division II National Football signing day.  Football takes center stage and we should have a full breakdown of who is going where.  We will have UMC’s class and update you on any players from NW MN and where they are going.

Last week I said I would take a look at 8AA Basketball and 8A Basketball.  I decided to just go with 8AA this week and will have 8A basketball next week.  I simply ran out of time with the storms, looking for and hiring a new evening announcer and the end of the month work.  Luckily we will be fully staffed next week and I am excited about that.

With the Super Bowl this Sunday….I am picking Tom Brady and the Patriots to win another one by 13.

Enjoy this weeks column and remember if you have anything you think should be in the column send it to me or ideas to chrisjfee@yahoo.com

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I wanted to start off the column with something pretty cool.  Nevin Lubarski, and the Stephen-Argyle Storm Boys Basketball program will hold a Military Appreciation game on Tuesday, February 5 at Stephen.  The Storm host Warren-Alvarado-Oslo.

At 4:45 p.m. all military members will meet in the cafeteria at the Stephen school and will be served a free spaghetti supper.  All military members will also receive a t-shirt. There will be reserved seating for military members and spouses at the game.  All military members in attendance will be recognized before the start of the varsity game.
The Junior Varsity game will start at 6:00 p.m. with the varsity to follow.

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Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball senior, Nick Garmen, broke the Crookston Boys basketball career made three-pointer record on Monday after making four three-pointers for his 195th three-pointer.  He was tied with Ryan Porter at 191 coming into the game and will set a new record everytime he makes a three the rest of this season.

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MILESTONES –

Congratulations Sophomore Ellie Hasz on scoring her 1000th point last week for the Pine City Girls Basketball team.  The sophomore is the daughter of Crookston Central High School grad and former Pirate baseball and basketball coach Ted Hasz and she is the granddaughter of former longtime Crookston Boys Basketball coach Herb Hasz.

Eric Hoffer of Roseau scored his 1000th career point in an overtime win over Red Lake County.  He becomes the 13th player to achieve the mark in program history.

Crookston Pirate Wrestler, Lukas Meier won his 100th match of his career at the Grand Rapids Skip Nalan tournament.

Cade Lundeen of Thief River Falls won his 200th match last week.  The senior also recorded a school record 117th pin last week.

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Congratulations to East Grand Forks’ Roger Hanson for being named the recipient of the Butch Nash Award (Assistant Football Coach of the Year for the State of Minnesota.) Coach Hanson will be recognized at the Minnesota Football Coaches Association State Football Banquet on March 30 in Minneapolis.

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Barnesville’s Hunter Zenzen, a junior multi-sport athlete has received an offer from Iowa State to play football.  This is the first of many for the standout that is a tremendous athlete.

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Alexandra Syverson, of Bagley, recently signed a Letter if Intent to play Basketball at Northland Technical and Community College.

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We have received the Pine to Prairie Conference stat leaders.  Check out the stats by clicking on the links below.

Pine To Prairie Boys Basketball Stat Leaders 2018-19

Pine To Prairie Girls Basketball Stat Leaders 2018-19

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SECTION 8AA NORTH SUB-SECTION

There are only a few seeds that look like they are still up in the air.  The top seed is still up in the air with Hawley and East Grand Forks fighting for the top spot with Roseau having a minimal chance of getting the top seed in the North.  All the teams are past the halfway mark as far as games go and it looks like the top seed could come down to one game in the final month.  Hawley plays East Grand Forks on February 12 and that will give one team the head to head tie-breaker going and will likely solidify the top seed for whoever wins.  Hawley’s only section loss so far is to the mighty Perham Yellowjackets, so that is a pretty respectable loss.  East Grand Forks’ only section loss also came at the hands of Perham, but EGF wasn’t in the game from the start, which Perham can do better than anybody.  Hawley has a consistently competitive schedule throughout the year and if you look at EGF’s January schedule, minus the Perham game, it is a much weaker schedule than Hawley’s, but the February Green Wave schedule is an impressive one with a lot of good teams so we will see what happens in the fight for the top spot.
It looks like Roseau has a pretty good beat on the third seed, but I could see them make a run at the Green Wave for the second spot.  There are about 10 to 12 games left for most of the teams and there is a lot of QRF points left.
DGF looks like they are a solid fourth seed no matter what happens the rest of the way, so they will be at home in the first round and will likely play Crookston, Thief River Falls or Warroad in the first round.
Crookston, TRF and Warroad will be fighting for the fifth seed.  Crookston beat Warroad and they play again on Friday.  Thief River Falls beat Crookston and will play them again on February 7 and they beat Warroad in the first game of the year and will play again on March 1.  They haven’t posted the tie-breaker margin yet, but Crookston and Thief River Falls will likely be within the tie-breaker and the Prowlers would have the lead.  Whoever wins on February 7 will likely have the advantage.  Again, it is to early to see with a lot of games left for Crookston to expand their lead or TRF to close the gap.
Warroad has eight wins, but only one section win so it will be interesting to see how they end the season.  A big run and wins over TRF and Crookston could catapult them to the fifth seed.
Bagley is pretty much set in the eighth spot.

SECTION 8AA SOUTH SUB-SECTION

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SECTION 8AA GIRLS NORTH SUBSECTION BASKETBALL

Once again the North is the top dog and the Roseau Rams look like they will be the top seed again. The Hawley Nuggets could make a run and they have a little bit of a tougher schedule than Roseau does the rest of the way so they could close the gap and the two don’t play each other.   Roseau will be the favorite going into the postseason, but this year will be significantly different than other years.  They won’t be 10 to 20-point favorites in their games.   Perham, East Grand Forks, and others have proven this year that teams, if they play well, will have a chance to knock off the defending champs.
East Grand Forks has one loss in the section and that is an eight-point loss to Roseau earlier this year and it looks like they will have the third seed.  Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton is looking to be the fourth seed and they split with Crookston so the tie-breaker would likely go to a section record and right now DGF has the advantage.  Crookston has a very difficult schedule the rest of the way and it will be tough for them to bump up to the fourth seed.  Thief River Falls is looking like they are the sixth seed no matter what happens the rest of the way and Bagley and Warroad are in a battle for the seventh seed and Bagley won the first meeting and the two will meet again on February 7 and if Bagley wins again they will be the seventh seed.

SECTION 8AA SOUTH GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Park Rapids Panthers are the top team in the south with a 7-0 record and they own a sizable victory over Perham and unless something crazy happens the rest of the season they will be the top seed in the south.  Perham and Breckenridge will be fighting for the second.  Breckenridge beat Perham in their first meeting and they meet again tonight (January 31).  Barnesville looks to be a solid fourth seed as of now.
Staples-Motley and Wadena-Deer Creek are fighting for the fifth seed and the Cardinals beat WDC in overtime in the first game of the year for the tie-breaker if it comes to that.
The battle for the seventh seed will be settled tonight (January 31) when Long Prairie-Grey Eagle and Frazee play.

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The third annual Warroad Celebrity Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, June 29 at the Warroad Estates Golf course.  The four-person, 18-hole scramble is a fund-raiser to help keep ice time free for the youth hockey players and to strengthen all programs from tots to high school.  Each team will be paired with a celebrity.  Sponsorships are available.  You can find out more information at www.hockeytownusa.org or email whockeytownusa@gmail.com.

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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 on 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 –

An Irishman’s first drink with his son!

While reading an article last night about fathers and sons, memories came flooding back to the time I took me son out for his first pint.

Off we went to our local pub only two blocks from the cottage.  I got him a Guinness He didn’t like it, so I drank it.

Then I got him a Kilkenny, he didn’t like that either, so I drank it. Finally, I thought he might like some Harp Lager?  He didn’t. I drank it.

I thought maybe he’d like whisky better than beer so we tried a Jameson’s; nope! In desperation, I had him try that rare Redbreast, Ireland ‘s finest whisky.

He wouldn’t even smell it.  What could I do but drink it!

By the time I realized he just didn’t like to drink, I was so drunk I could hardly push his stroller back home!!!

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“A wee bit of alleged Irish Humor to Improve Your day”.

After 10 years, the wife starts to think their kid looks kinda strange so she decides to do a DNA test. She finds out that the kid is actually from completely different parents.

Wife: Honey, I have something very serious to tell you.

Husband: What’s up?

Wife: According to DNA test results, this is not our kid…

Husband: Well you don’t remember, do you??? When we were leaving the hospital, you noticed that our baby had pooped, then you said: “Please go change the baby, I’ll wait for you here. ” So I went inside, got a clean one and left the dirty one there.”

Moral: Never give a man a job for which he is not qualified.

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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.  We are happy to report that Paul was back in the line up after a knee injury last week and scored a goal and added an assist in a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Marlies.  He didn’t record a point in a 5-1 loss to Chicago or a 4-3 OT victory over Chicago.  The Monsters will be back in action when they travel to Wilkes Barre Scranton on Friday, Syracuse on Saturday and Charlotte on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Haley Roed, a Junior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.  Haley finished sixth place in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 25.94, seventh in the 200 Medley relay with a time of 1:58.88, ninth place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 57.75 and didn’t place in the 200-yard freestyle relay.  The Dragons will host Concordia on Friday.

Kate MacGregor, a Freshman swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.  Kate was second place in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:21.27, she was on the fourth place 200 Yard Freestyle relay team with a time of 1:46.84, on the sixth-place 200 Yard Medley relay team with a time of 1:57.80.  she was 16th in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 27.06.  The Dragons will host Concordia College on Friday.

Ryan Bittner, is a Senior playing hockey for the #1 ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  The Pointers had the weekend off and will travel to UW-Stout on Friday and host UW-Superior on Saturday.

Brady Heppner, is a Junior playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville.  St. Johns had the weekend off and will host Augsburg on Thursday and travel to Augsburg on Friday.

Aaron Hollcraft, is a Senior playing basketball and baseball for the UMC Golden Eagles.   Aaron didn’t play, because of an injury, in losses at Minot State and Mary.  UMC will travel to Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls 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 11 minutes and scored four points and had three rebounds in an 89-30 victory over Martin Luther on Saturday.  Superior will host St. Scholastica on Thursday, they will travel to Crown College on Saturday and play at Northwestern on Wednesday.

Brita Fagerlund, is a Sophomore on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team.  Brita finished 24th in the Women’s Weight Throw with a throw of 35-03.25 at the UND indoor open.  Jamestown will travel to the DWU Alumni Open in Mitchell, South Dakota on Saturday.

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.  Bobby won his first doubles match 8-2 and his first singles match 6-3, 6-0 in a 6-3 victory over Martin Luther College on Friday.  Bobby lost his first doubles match 8-0 and his first singles match 6-0, 6-0 in a 9-0 loss to Carleton.  St. Mary’s will host the University of Northwestern on Friday.

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

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