SPORTS FEEVER – March 9, 2023

SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com

Welcome to March Madness.  It is an eciting time of year with State Boys Hockey, Section Girls and Boys basketball and spring sports starting next week!…….

Yes, that is right.  Spring sports practice will begin next week.  The spring sports start dates are below –

Softball – March 13 is first practice
First available contest date is March 30. A maximum of 20 games

Boys and Girls Track – March 13 is first day of practice
First contest date is March 23

Baseball – March 20 with a conditioning/throwing start date of March 13.
First possible contest date of March 30 with a maximum of 20 games.

Boys and Girls Golf – March 20 first day of practice.
First possible contest of March 30.

Boys Tennis – March 27 is first day of practice.
First contest day is March 30 with a maximum of 16 contests.

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The Red Lake Falls School Board will be hosting a public meeting to hear perspectives regarding the consideration of cooping girls’ basketball. The meeting will be held on Monday, March 13th at 8:00 pm in the Lafayette High School Cafeteria.

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The Section 8AA Girls Championship game is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Detroit Lakes High School.

It will be Wadena-Deer Creek vs Perham.  It is an interesting match-up.  You have cinderella with Wadena-Deer Creek as the 11th seed and Perham as the favorite from start to finish.   You have Jordan Cresap, a Perham grad and son of Perham boys basketball coach Dave Cresap.  There is a lot going on in this match-up.

Perham has Willow Thiel, the tremendous junior post player who is an impossible matchup for any team in the section.  But, Wadena-Deer Creek is the scrappiest team I have seen play this year.  They have solid athletes and they have some athletic posts that can slow down Thiel.

I think Perham comes away with the win, but I would be surprised if it is more than 20 points.

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The Section 8A Girls Basketball Championship game should be a dandy.  Badger/Greenbush-Middle River will take on the Fosston Greyhounds at Ralph Englestad Arena at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

BGMR has been the top team in the west all season long.  They have been dominant with their athleticism, muscle, and usual hard-nosed style of play.  Defensively they are impressive, and that’s what makes them so good.  Fosston has a great mix of athleticism, size, and some stellar defense. Both teams are well-coached and this should be a tremendous game.

It will come down to which team is going to make their shots.  Whoever does that will likely be the winner.  Both teams got off to good starts in the semi-finals and both teams will have to do the same thing on Friday.

If I had to bet, I would say BGMR by three points, possibly in overtime!!!

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The Section 8AA Boys Basketball tournament officially kicked off Wednesday night with EGF beating Frazee.  The rest of the first-round games continue today.

Game 1 – #16 Menahga at #1 Thief River Falls
Game 2 – #9 Pelican Rapids at #8 Red Lake
Game 3 – #13 Crookston at #4 Hawley
Game 4 – #12 Park Rapids at #5 Wadena-Deer Creek
Game 5 – #15 Roseau at #2 Perham
Game 6 – #10 Fergus Falls at #7 Barnesville
Game 7 – #14 Warroad at #3 Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton
Game 8 – #11 Frazee beat #6 East Grand Forks

QUARTER-FINALS – Saturday, March 11 at high seed
Game 9 – Game 2 winner at Game 1 winner
Game 10 – Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner
Game 11 – Game 5 winner vs Game 63 winner
Game 12 – Game 7 winner vs Game 8 winner

SEMI-FINALS – Wednesday, March 15 at Detroit Lakes High School
Game 13 – Game 9 winner vs Game 10 winner at 6:00 PM
Game 14 – Game 11 winner vs Game 12 winner at 7:45 PM

CHAMPIONSHIP – Friday, March 17 at Detroit Lakes at 7:00 PM

Here are my predictions because I guess people love the bulletin board material!!!!

Game 1 – #16 Menahga at #1 Thief River Falls   – TRF wins BIG
Game 2 – #9 Pelican Rapids at #8 Red Lake – Red Lake wins a close one
Game 3 – #13 Crookston at #4 Hawley – Hawley wins big
Game 4 – #12 Park Rapids at #5 Wadena-Deer Creek  – WDC wins
Game 5 – #15 Roseau at #2 Perham – Perham wins big
Game 6 – #10 Fergus Falls at #7 Barnesville  – Barnesville wins
Game 7 – #14 Warroad at #3 Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – DGF wins big
Game 8 – #11 Frazee beat #6 East Grand Forks  – EGF won

Quarterfinals –
TRF beats Red Lake big
Hawley edges WDC
Perham beats Barnesville
DGF beats EGF

Semi-finals –
TRF over Hawley by 15
DGF over Perham by 2

Championship predictions are next week!

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The Section 8A Boys Basketball tournament‘s first round is Thursday.  My predictions are below –

FIRST ROUND GAMES – Thursday, March 9

EAST SUB-SECTION – at High Seed at 7:00 p.m.
Game 1 – Fosston wins big over Clearbrook-Gonvick
Game 2 – Ada-Borup-West edges Blackduck
Game 3 – Fertile-Beltrami beats W-E-M
Game 4 – Cass Lake-Bena cruises past Mahnomen/Waubun

WEST SUB-SECTION
Game 5 – Sacred Heart cruises past BGMR
Game 6 – Red Lake County edges Goodridge/Grygla
Game 7 – Warren-A-O over Stephen/Argyle
Game 8 – Northern Freeze over KCC

QUARTERFINALS – Saturday, March 11 at Ralph Englestad Arean TRF
NOON – GAME 9 – Fosston beats Ada-Borup by 10
1:45 PM – GAME 10 – Fertile-Beltrami beats Cass Lake-Bena on buzzer beater
3:30 PM – GAME 11 – Sacred Heart beats Red Lake County
5:15 PM – GAME 12 – Warren-A-O over a scrappy Northern Freeze

SEMI-FINALS – Tuesday, March 13 at Ralph Englestad Arena TRF
GAME 13 – 6:00 PM – Fosston edges Fertile-Beltrami
Game 14 – 7:45 PM – Sacred Heart over Warren-A-O

CHAMPIONSHIP – Friday, March 17 at Ralph Englestad Arena TRF – 7:00 PM
Prediction is next week!

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Several Northland Community and Technical College Women’s Basketball

Emma Osborn of Crookston – All Northern Division First team and All-MCAC First team
Riley Mooney
of Stephen-Argyle – All Northern Division First team and All-MCAC First team
Shavonda Bender
of Roseau – All-Defensive team
Chloe Kuznia
of Goodridge/Grygla – All-Northern Division Honorable Mention

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The Minnesota Hockey District tournament play wrapped up this past weekend.  The regional tournament play continued.  Some recaps are below –

Bantam A Regions
Proctor beat Crookston 2-1 in Overtime
Warroad beat Crookston 4-2

Squirt A District Tourney
Warroad beat Crookston 15-3
Bemidji beat Crookston 8-0
Roseau beat Crookston 9-1

Squirt A Finals –
Championship – East Grand Forks beat Warroad 7-1
3rd place – Thief River Falls beat Bemdij 9-1

Squirt B Finals –
Championship – Roseau White beat Walker 7-3
3rd place – Thief River Falls beat Bemidji Red 2-1
5th place – Lake of the Woods beat Bagley 4-3
Friendship game!!!!! – Bemidji Silver beat Roseau Blue 4-3

Squirt B1 Finals
Championship – Bemidji Blue beat East Grand Forks 2-1
3rd place – Red Lake Falls beat Bemidji White 10-2
5th place – Hallock beat Warroad 6-3

10U A Finals –
Championship – Alexandria beat Moorhead 5-4
3rd place – Warroad beat East Grand Forks 10-2
5th place – Roseau beat Thief River Falls 1-0

10U B Finals –
Championship – Bemidji Blue beat Crookston 5-3
3rd place – Bemidji White beat Warroad 6-2

REGIONAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS –

Bantam A – District 16 lost all four first-round games
Championship – Hibbing beat International Falls 3-0
True second place – Roseau beat International Falls 2-1

Bantam B – District 16 teams lost all four first-round games
Championship – Hermantown beat Rock Ridge 6-3
True Second – Duluth East beat Rock Ridge 5-1

PeeWee A –
Championship – Warroad beat Hibbing 10-7
True second – Hibbing beat Thief River Falls 5-3

PeeWee B –
Championship – Hermantown beat Duluth East 4-3
True second – North Shore beat Duluth East 4-0

Girls 12U A –
Championship – Thief River Falls beat Proctor/Hermantown 2-1 in OT
True second – Grand Rapids beat Proctor/Hermantown 7-3

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MILESTONES – 

Fosston Greyhound Girls Basketball’s Kinsley Duppong scored the 1,000th point of her career in the Section 8A semi-finals on Tuesday.

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“LACE ‘EM UP” BASKETBALL CAMP

Make plans now to attend the 28th annual “Lace ‘em Up” basketball camp to be held in Red Lake Falls high school at the Robert Matzke Gym from June 5-8, 2023.

The camp is open to any boys or girls who are currently in grades K-10.  The camp is set up to run from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 for grades 5-10 (grade they were in this past school year) each morning, and from 12:30 until 3:00 p.m. for grades K-4 (grade they were in this past school year).  The cost of the camp is $70 with a maximum cost per family of $100.  If you register before May 22,  you will also receive a camp T-shirt.  After May 22, ALL SINGLE REGISTRATION FEES WILL BE $80 AND THE MAXIMUM COST PER FAMILY WILL BE $120, DUE TO CAMP PREPARATION AND AWARD ORDERS.

Cut on the dotted line and return the following to: Steve Philion, 518 Champagne Ave., Red Lake Falls, MN 56750. (cell:  218-686-3608) (home: 218-253-2499). E-mail: sphilion@rlfedu.org

Make checks payable to: Lace ‘em Up Basketball Camp

If anyone needs help with the cost of the camp, let Mr. Philion know as we have people who have offered to cover costs for kids that need financial help.

_    _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _   _

Name____________________________________
Grade in 2022-2023________________ (GRADE JUST COMPLETED)

T-shirt sizes:     Please circle one:
Youth sizes:       EXTRA SMALL    SMALL    MEDIUM    LARGE
Adult sizes:        SMALL   MEDIUM   LARGE   X-LARGE    XX-LARGE

Address:________________________________________________

MALE____________              FEMALE____________

I, the parent of the above student agree to allow my child to participate in the 2023 “Lace ‘em Up” basketball camp in Red Lake Falls.  I also understand that the camp director, the City of RLF, and the RLF school district are not responsible for any injuries, accidents, or COVID that my child might incur.

SIGNATURE OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN:______________________________

Emergency cell number of parent or guardian:____________________________

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The Crookston Youth Basketball Association tournament is being held March 24-26, 2023, and teams can register through the Tourney Machine App or by following this link: CYBA Tournament Registration.

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The Crookston Figure Skating Club, in cooperation with the Crookston Park and Rec Department, present Dreams on Ice 2023 “Back to the 90’s” on March 11 and 12 at the Crookston Sports Center.  Show times are  6:00 p.m. Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday. Adults are $6, Senior Citizens and students $4, preschoolers are free, and a family weekend pass is $25.

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JOKES

After 25 years of marriage, I took a look at my wife one day and said:

“Honey, 25 years ago, we had a cheap apartment, a cheap car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black-and-white TV, but I got to sleep every night with a hot 25-year-old blonde.

Now, we have a nice house, a nice car, a big bed and a big-screen plasma TV, but I’m sleeping with a 50-year-old woman. It seems to me that you’re not holding up your side of things.”

But my wife is a very reasonable woman.

She told me to go out and find a hot 25-year-old blonde, and she’d make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap apartment, driving a cheap car and sleeping on a sofa bed.

— —

A new business was opening and one of the owner’s friends wanted to send him flowers for the occasion. They arrived at the new business site and the owner read the card, which said: ‘Rest in Peace.’

The owner was angry and called the florist to complain. After he had told the florist of the obvious mistake and how angry he was, the florist replied:

‘Sir, I’m really sorry for the mistake, but rather than getting angry, you should imagine this – somewhere, there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying: ‘Congratulations on your new location!”

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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

Breanna Kressin is a Freshman on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.

Emma Osborn is a freshman playing basketball at Northland Technical and Community College in Thief River Falls.

Jacey Larson is a freshman playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.

Olivia Huck is a freshman playing soccer at Minnesota State Moorhead.

Aleah Bienek is a freshman playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.

Elise Tangquist is the Assistant Girl’s Volleyball and Assistant Girl’s Golf Coach this year at Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove.

Kaleb Thingelstad is a sophomore playing golf at Dakota 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.

Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Norway.

Kate MacGregor is senior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.

Aleece Durbin is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.

Nick Garmen is a junior playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.

Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.

Crookston School District Coaches –
Ben Parkin
is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Emily Meyer 
is the Pirate head girls’ hockey coach and softball assistant coach.
Lacia Hanson is the Junior High softball 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
Cody Brekken
 is the Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls’ Swimming coach
Brock Hanson
 is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Ben Halos is a Pirate Baseball assistant coach.
Alex LaFrance 
is a 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 a youth wrestling Coach
Colton Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach

Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc –

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 is the Head Girl’s Tennis Coach and 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 Minnesota State Mankato 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 with the Army and is deployed to Iraq for nine months.

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.