SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
*** With Independence Day next Thursday, I will have a minimal column next week unless something happens.******
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!!! The Minnesota State High School League blackout period is coming up. I hope and pray that they do the same from Christmas to New Years. We will see, but with hockey and basketball coaches thinking you need to play 25 to 26 games during the regular season it will probably never change. Any way,
The Summer Coaching Waiver No-Contact Period for 2024 is Saturday, June 29, through Friday, July 5.
As per Bylaw 208.4:
During the no-contact period, salaried and non-salaried coaches MAY NOT:
- Have any contact with members of their high school program,
- Travel with members of their high school program,
- Supervise members of their high school program in an open gym, strength and conditioning program of any sport-specific training session, or
- Schedule any activity, including leadership or team-building programs.
Please contact the Activities Director at your school for more information or with questions.
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The search for a new Crookston Pirate Girls Hockey coach is still ongoing. They have had ONE application, and that person took the Mandan Girls Hockey Head Coaching Job. He was from Bismarck, North Dakota so that made more sense for him to stay home.
Only one application so far and that person took another job.
Activities Director Nate Lubarski continues to work hard at finding somebody and has talked to several people, but so far no luck as the time committment seems to be the biggest obstacle for most, so there is a possibility of a co-head coach or whatever it takes to fill the position at least for one year.
Yes, a girls hockey coach is extremely hard to find, especially after being named Section 8A Coach of the Year and leading the team to a Section Championship game where they lost to eventual state champion Warroad by one goal. So…..people in their right mind aren’t knocking down the door to deal with whatever happened to Coach Meyer, whether it is wrong or right.
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Grandmas Marathon was held last weekend and several people from Crookston competed.
Katie Davidson (a CHS alum now living in Minneapolis) finished with a time of 3:29:15, good for 357th place out of 3,137 women. This time is also Boston Marathon qualifying.
Half Marathon competitors from Crookston-
Coral Brekken
Jana Brekken
Forrest Laporte
Katie Lariviere
Jack Ricord
Missy Ricord
Tom Staehnke
Leasa Welter (now living in Moorhead)
Jochum Wiersma
Jennifer Wiersma-Acker
William A. Irvin 5K participants –
Katie Lariviere
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Crookston Pirate Girls Hockey’s, Brynley Coleman will compete for the Concordia College Track and Field team in the upcoming school year. The Hatton, North Dakota product finished fifth place at the North Dakota State Track meet in the pole vault with a vault of 9’6. Her season best was 10’9. She also competed in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles, the 200 meters and the 4×100 and 4×200 relay.
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The Minnesota State High School League State Clay Target competition was held last week and several area teams and individuals competed.
TEAM Results –
1. Prior Lake – 480
5. Bemidji – 475
8. Thief River Falls – 473
14. BGMR – 470
16. Park Rapids – 467
Individual Results –
1. Ross Huper (Alden-Conger) – 100
1. Lance Kiersey (Monticello) – 100
3. Eric Bittman (Bemidji) – 99
11. Eric Eischens (Park Rapids) – 98
19. Peter Forgit (Fertile-Beltrami) – 97
30. Henry Finney (Kittson Co. Central) – 96
20. Guillford Finney (Kittson Co. Central) – 96
37. Tate Dale (Roseau) – 95
37. Hunter Bozovsky (Park Rapids) – 95
37. Avery Kapaun (Park Rapids) – 95
55. Andrew Higgins (Lake of the Woods) – 94
66. Ethan Omdahl (TRF) – 92
90. Wyatt Wilkens (Crokston) – 72
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Vintage Minnesota Hockey has compiled a list of Minnesotan’s that have won the Stanley Cup. I include it because of the first name and birthplace, but also several players have compete in Crookston.
(HTTPS://WWW.VINTAGEMNHOCKEY.COM)
YEAR NHL TEAM PLAYER BIRTHPLACE
1907 Kenora Thistles *Roxy Beaudro Red Lake Falls (see bottom of the list)
1934 Chicago Blackhawks Leroy Goldsworthy Two Harbors
1934 Chicago Blackhawks Doc Romnes White Bear Lake
1938 Chicago Blackhawks Cully Dahlstrom Minneapolis
1938 Chicago Blackhawks Virgil Johnson Minneapolis
1938 Chicago Blackhawks Mike Karakas Eveleth
1938 Chicago Blackhawks Doc Romnes White Bear Lake
1939 Boston Bruins Frank Brimsek Eveleth
1941 Boston Bruins Frank Brimsek Eveleth
1977 Montreal Canadiens Mike Polich Hibbing
1980 New York Islanders Dave Langevin St. Paul
1981 New York Islanders Dave Langevin St. Paul
1982 New York Islanders Dave Langevin St. Paul
1983 New York Islanders Dave Langevin St. Paul
1984 Edmonton Oilers Don Jackson Bloomington
1985 Edmonton Oilers Don Jackson Bloomington
1986 Montreal Canadiens Tom Kurvers Minneapolis
1986 Montreal Canadiens David Maley Edina
1989 Calgary Flames Joel Otto Elk River
1993 Montreal Canadiens Sean Hill Duluth
1995 New Jersey Devils Neal Broten Roseau
1995 New Jersey Devils Tom Chorske Minneapolis
1995 New Jersey Devils Chris McAlpine Roseville
1995 New Jersey Devils Mike Peluso Coleraine
1999 Dallas Stars Jamie Langenbrunner Cloquet
1999 Dallas Stars Derek Plante Cloquet
2001 Colorado Avalanche Dan Hinote Elk River
2001 Colorado Avalanche Shjon Podein Rochester
2003 New Jersey Devils Jamie Langenbrunner Cloquet
2004 Tampa Bay Lightning Ben Clymer Bloomington
2006 Carolina Hurricanes Matt Cullen Virginia
2006 Carolina Hurricanes Bret Hedican North St. Paul
2007 Anaheim Ducks Ryan Carter White Bear Lake
2007 Anaheim Ducks Joe Motzko Bemidji
2009 Pittsburgh Penguins Alex Goligoski Grand Rapids
2010 Chicago Blackhawks Dustin Byfuglien Roseau
2013 Chicago Blackhawks Nick Leddy Eden Prairie
2016 Pittsburgh Penguins Matt Cullen Virginia
2017 Pittsburgh Penguins Matt Cullen Virginia
2018 Washington Capitals Travis Boyd Edina
2018 Washington Capitals Shane Gersich Chaska
2018 Washington Capitals Matt Niskanen Virginia
2020 Tampa Bay Lightning Ryan McDonagh St. Paul
2021 Tampa Bay Lightning Ryan McDonagh St. Paul
2022 Colorado Avalanche Eric Johnson Bloomington
2024 Florida Panthers Kyle Okposo St. Paul
* Roxy Beaudro, born in Red Lake Falls, MN in 1884, moved to Rat Portage (Kenora) around 1890 and was the 1st American born & Minnesota player – along with teammate Si Griffis of Onaga, Kansas – to capture the Stanley Cup in January of 1907.
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Joe Mauer was a three-sport standout in football, basketball and baseball at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul from 1998 to 2001, and ranks as one of Minnesota’s most celebrated athletes of all time. He is one of 11 inductees in the 2024 class of the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.
In football, he led Cretin-Derham Hall to two consecutive Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) championship games, winning the Prep Bowl title in his junior year in 1999. In those two seasons as the team’s quarterback, Mauer threw for nearly 6,000 yards and 73 touchdowns.
In basketball, as the team’s starting small forward, he was a triple threat as a scorer, rebounder and playmaker. He finished his career with more than 1,000 points and averaged more than 20 points a game as a senior.
However, it was baseball where Mauer shined most brightly. In 222 at-bats during his high school career, he batted .567 with 43 home runs and 170 runs batted in and, remarkably, he struck out only one time! As a senior, he led Cretin-Derham Hall to the MSHSL Class AA state championship while batting .605 and hitting a home run in seven consecutive games.
Mauer was the USA Today National Player of the Year in both football and baseball – an unbelievable feat. He was a Parade All-American in football and two-time all-state in basketball. He was the youngest player ever selected to the U.S. Junior National Baseball team as a 16-year-old, and he later became the No. 1 ranked high school catcher in the nation in the 2001 graduating class.
Although he gave a verbal commitment to play football at Florida State University, the Minnesota Twins selected Mauer as the first overall pick of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, and the rest is history. Mauer played 15 years with the Twins and had a stellar career, which led to his selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year. He will be inducted this summer in Cooperstown. As one of the sport’s all-time top catchers, Mauer won three batting titles (most ever by a catcher), was named to six all-star teams, won five Silver Slugger and three Gold Glove awards, and was selected American League Most Valuable Player in 2009. He led the Twins to four playoff appearances.
Mauer and his wife, Maddie, are active in the community and work diligently to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. They are active supporters who assist individuals with disabilities at Gillette Children’s Hospital and Healthcare in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.
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I came across a well-done and interesting video about Caitlin Clark. It is a must-watch –
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The Crookston High School Summer Weight Room will be open at the following times for CHS student-athletes.
(Grade Levels are based on the grade you will be in next school year)
6:30 am – 8:00 am (Monday – Friday) – Grades 10th-12th
8:00 am – 9:30 am (Monday – Friday) – Grades 10th- 12th
10:00 am – 11:00 am (Monday, Tuesday & Thursday) – Grades 7th- 9th
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The University of Minnesota Crookston men’s basketball team is holding a Development Camp for grades 3-8 July 17-19 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The cost of the camp is $100. It will run from 1-3 p.m. If you are interested in registering for the camp please visit mensbasketball.
Campers will receive instruction from the Minnesota Crookston men’s basketball staff. The camp will help with skill development for kids going into grades 3-8. It is catered to both boys and girls interested in participating.
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JOKES
A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, “What’s with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!”
The doctor chimed in, “I don’t know, but I’ve never seen such inept golf!”
The priest said, “Here comes the green-keeper. Let’s have a word with him.”
He said, “Hello George, what’s wrong with that group ahead of us? They’re rather slow, aren’t they?”
The green-keeper replied, “Oh, yes. That’s a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime.”
The group fell silent for a moment.
The priest said, “That’s so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight.”
The doctor said, “Good idea. I’m going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there’s anything he can do for them.”
The engineer said, “Why can’t they play at night?”
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Little Johnny was sitting in class doing math problems when his teacher picked him to answer a question, “Johnny, if there were five birds sitting on a fence and you shot one with your gun, how many would be left?” “None,” replied Johnny, “cause the rest would fly away.”
“Well, the answer is four,” said the teacher, “but I like the way you’re thinking.” Little Johnny says, “I have a question for you. If there were three women eating ice cream cones in a shop, one was licking her cone, the second was biting her cone and the third was sucking her cone, which one is married?”
“Well,” said the teacher nervously, “I guess the one sucking the cone.” “No,” said Little Johnny, “the one with the wedding ring on her finger, but I like the way you’re thinking.”
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A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss his use of the car. His father said to him, “I’ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut, then we will talk about it.”
A month later the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss his use of the car. His father said, “Son, I’m real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you’ve studied your Bible diligently, but you didn’t get your hair cut!”
The young man waited a moment and replied, “You know Dad, I’ve been thinking about that. You know Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair.” His father replied, “Yes son, and they walked everywhere they went!”
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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
Emilee Tate is a freshman playing Softball at Northland Community and Technical College.
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
Emilee Tate is the Pirate 7th grade volleyball coach.
Todd Miner is a Pirate Football assistant coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball 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
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
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.
