Welcome to the Sports Feever column. It is officially March Madness and believe it or not, the first day of practice for several spring sports is Monday, March 9. The first day of practice for spring sports is listed below –
March 9 – Softball, and Boys and Girls Track and Field.
March 9 – Baseball will have a week of conditioning.
March 16 – Boys and Girls Golf
March 16 – Baseball will have their first full practice
March 23 – Boys Tennis
Enjoy this week’s columns and if you have any info or ideas to cover – email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com.
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The Section 8AA Girls Basketball tournament had a great final four with Pelican Rapids coming from behind to beat the Hawley Nuggets and Fergus Falls held Katie Borowicz in check (16 points) and cruised to a victory. Roseau’s streak of five straight section championships comes to an end and Fergus Falls will have a chance to go back to the state tournament for the second straight year after winning Section 8AAA last year.
In the first game, Pelican Rapids trailed by 13 points at one point in the first half, but played a tremendous second half to win the game. Pelican Rapids used outstanding defense from Maddie Guler (the best defender I have seen in many years) and the physical offense and defense.
In the championship game, I am going to go with the preseason favorite Fergus Falls to win the title. They probably have the best sophomore in the section with Ellie Colbeck (she had 19 at halftime and finished with 37 in the semi-final game) and a great all-around team and a very good coach. It is tough to see the new team in the section go, but they are the best team and deserve
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The Section 8A Girls Basketball championship will have Badger-Greenbush-Middle River vs Red Lake on Friday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m. in Thief River Falls.
I saw BGMR play earlier this year and thought they might have the best chance to win the section championship with their athleticism, work ethic and hard-nosed style of play. A few weeks ago I was wondering if I was wrong as they hit a slump, but recovered quickly and have played some great basketball in the section tournament. Red Lake has been red hot the second half to the season and it hasn’t surprised anybody that follows the section that they are in the title game again. Red Lake has won 16 of the last 17 games.
The championship will likely come down to the final seconds and I am going with a Red Lake victory 61-57.
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The Section 8AA Boys Basketball tournament first-round games are tonight. I am not going to pick the first-round winners, but I will tell you who I think will be in the final four. I am not going out on a limb, but I predict it will be Fergus Falls, Perham, East Grand Forks, and the DGF/Pelican Rapids winner. I have had several people ask if East Grand Forks can make it to the title game this year. I say it will be a heckuva game on Wednesday, March 11 if they both make it. East Grand Forks has the athleticism and can play some solid defense, but they might struggle matching up with Perham’s Finn Diggins. It should be two very good semi-final games and KROX will have both of them on the radio.
The Section 8AA Boys Basketball semi-final games at 6:00 PM and 7:45 on Wednesday, March 11 will be on KROX Radio, online at kroxam.com, or Alexa (listen to KROX in Crookston)
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The Section 8A Boys Basketball tournament first-round games are also being played today (Thursday) and I am going to predict the final four –
Ada-Borup and Fertile-Beltrami and from the East I am predicting Cass Lake-Bena and Red Lake. If Ada-Borup doesn’t win the section there would be a lot of people that would be surprised, but if there is a team that could pull it off, it would be Neil Steffes and the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons!
KROX will have all four quarter-final games on Saturday from the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls. You can hear the games on KROX Radio, online at kroxam.com (click on listen live) or on Alexa (Listen to KROX in Crookston).
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Congratulations to the Warroad Warrior Boys Hockey team on winning the Section 8A Championship and making it to state for the first time in a decade!!! Yes, that is correct. It is Warroad’s first time at state since 2010! They are led by one of the best players in the state, Grant Slukynsky, and received the #1 seed in the state tournament. You have to like their chances of making it to the championship game as they are looking for their sixth state championship.
Warroad had a great start and jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led 6-1 after the first period. Slukynsky had five points in the period!!!! Warroad won the game 9-3.
It will be a great final four with St. Cloud Cathedral vs Hermantown and Warroad vs Mahtomedi.
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The Crookston Pirate Wrestling team capped their season in tremendous fashion with five wrestlers at the State Tournament. Zach Brown (junior) finished fifth place and Ethan Boll (freshman) finished sixth place! Carter Coauette (8th grader), Ethan Bowman (Freshman), and Hunter Knutson (freshman) had their first state tournament appearances and got valuable experience.
They had a great season and were only a wrestler or two away from a section team championship. If the Pirates can find a heavyweight, a 182/195 pounder I am thinking they could be one of the favorites to start the season. That is a big IF, but there are a couple of kids that could fill the spots. They will have everybody that went to state back and pretty much all of the team back. They had an impressive schedule and it looks like next year could be another solid schedule.
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The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey team wrapped up their season and had to say goodbye to eight seniors. Leyton Salentine, Ty Hamre, Quinn Westlake, Joe Doda, Ben Andringa, Nick Schulz, Jade Selzler, and Peyton Swanson.
Coming into the season most close to the program knew it was going to be a challenging year, but most didn’t think they wouldn’t win a game until the calendar flipped to 2020. The boys kept plugging away and finished the season strong and played one of their best games of the season in a win against International Falls.
Crookston scored one-third of their goals this season in their wins over Park Rapids (21 goals in three games). Offensively they struggled and Jack Doda (Freshman) scored one-third of the team’s goals with 22 of the 60. Another Freshman, Alex Longoria, was tied for second with seven goals. So that is the good news. The bad news is they lose almost half of their goal scoring with 25 goals coming from seniors this season. They can’t expect a lot of scoring coming up after Crookston only had a Bantam B team this year.
They will have all three goalies coming back next year so that competition will be good and Noah Dragseth had a solid year while facing a lot of shots throughout the season.
The thing I liked the most with the Pirates was the fact that they played as hard in the final games of the regular season as they did in the first game. They always played hard and represented Crookston well. They didn’t get as many wins as they had hoped but gave it everything they had and that is all you can ask for once the season starts.
Crookston will have some different teams on the schedule next year and we will get into the schedule changes in a later sports feever column when Mr. Garmen finalizes them.
What do the Pirates have to do to get better before next winter?
1. They have to work on skills (shooting, passing, skating, etc) and the nice thing is you can do most of it without ice.
2. They have to get stronger (WEIGHT ROOM!!!)
3. They have to get bigger (Drink milk and eat plenty of steak and milkshakes and whatever they can to get bigger)
4. Did I mention they have to get stronger?
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The Crookston Pirate Girls Basketball team wrapped up their season with a 21-7 record capping a great year. The line “Life isn’t fair” fits Crookston this year. They finished the last three weeks of the season without their best all-around player, Emma Borowicz, after an ACL injury. The crazy thing, Crookston still had a chance to beat anybody they played even without their best player.
You could really tell in the final weeks how important and valuable Emma was to the team. Without her, the offense struggled. Points per game went down significantly. Teams picked up the physical play in the final weeks and that caused some problems for the girls on the offensive end.
While Crookston had 21 wins this season, they never beat one of the top teams. They lost to Roseau both times they played. They lost to Pelican Rapids both times they played and lost to Hawley both times they played. Granted, they didn’t have Emma Borowicz both times they played Pelican Rapids and if they would have had her in the lineup I guarantee Crookston wins both games.
With all that said, Crookston had a great season and was one of the best defensive teams in the section. They used their defense to turn steals into instant offense. They were fun to watch, they played hard, and had some great games.
Crookston loses three seniors, Kasey Cwikla, Gretchen Theis, and Dani Boyle. They will be three tough players to replace and will have given some great minutes over the past couple of years. The good news…..They will have everybody else coming back.
Crookston’s weakness all year was the lack of strength. In the Pelican Rapids game, they had NOBODY that could stop the big, strong, and athletic Greta Tollefson. They will all need to hit the weight room hard and put on a lot of muscle if they want to compete for a title next year.
The future is bright for the Pirate girls basketball team, but Roseau, Fergus Falls, Pelican Rapids, Perham, and others are going to be very good again next year too.
Crookston will have Hayden and Halle Winjum, Emma and Abby Borowicz, Emma Boll, and Jenna Coauette as returning key players.
Players that I think could be a big help next year is Emma Osborn, Ally Perreault, and the rest of the girls that played Junior Varsity showed signs at times and there are some freshmen on the C-Squad that showed they could push for some minutes IF they work hard this off-season.
I told one of the C squad girls after the Pelican Rapids playoff loss that she better work her butt off this spring and summer because they need a big/strong player in the paint next year. We will see what happens.
Here is what the girls need to do –
1. Get stronger (Hit the weight room)
2. Become better shooters (There was too many three-pointers that didn’t even hit rim this year and too many missed layups)
3. Learn to play with an edge. Get a little mean and not be so nice on the court.
4. Play physical
5. Develop depth
6. Get stronger
7. They have to get bigger (Drink milk and eat plenty of steak and milkshakes and whatever they can to get bigger)
8. Did I mention get stronger?
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Men’s Basketball team wrapped up a disappointing season last week, in the first round of the NSIC tournament with a loss to Winona State. As I was driving home from Mankato after the women’s game I listened to the game through my phone/car Bluetooth. I like how honest/blunt Coach Dan Weisse was in the interview after the game. He said it was a frustrating and disappointing season. A lot of times college coaches won’t say the truth, so it was refreshing to hear Dan say that. I know how frustrating this season is and know next year will be better. I would put a lot of money on it.
UMC had one of their best offensive players in the history as a four-year program, but it didn’t correlate to wins. Several guards quit the program over the past couple of years and the Golden Eagles didn’t seem to have the “TEAM” camaraderie that other teams had. That is me from the outside looking in, but I have played on teams and can read teams and UMC didn’t have “IT” as a team for whatever reason.
Coach Weisse was on the road recruiting the next day and they are getting some quality players and looking at possibly getting some Junior College players to come in too.
I am excited about next season and more of a team offense and team concept next year. I believe it will turn into more wins next year.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Women’s Basketball team is coming off a season-ending loss at Minnesota State Mankato last week. The women are basically all freshman and sophomores and have a chance to be a good team next year, but they need to find some big strong post players and they could really have something special. That is easier said than done, but the Mankato 6’5 sophomore post killed UMC and did whatever she wanted.
The women suffered some injuries and have had bad luck with the last two graduating classes. The team could see drastic improvement if they can find a solid post player and we could see a possible home playoff game if everything goes right. It could be an exciting season next year for the women. The one thing I noticed is the other teams in the NSIC are relatively young too.
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The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Baseball team has had a good start to the season while playing games in Kansas in Florida. They are currently in the middle of a two week trip to Florida. As you can see below, most of the teams they have played have been solid teams and have been great competition.
The opponents, records, and how they have done against other NSIC teams are below –
Pittsburgh State (Kansas) is 10-7 on the year. They were 1-2 vs Winona State and 2-0 vs Upper Iowa.
Point Park University (an NAIA School) is 8-1.
Florida Tech (DII school) is 5-12
Rockhurst University (DII school) is 6-4. They were 1-2 vs Bemidji State at US Bank Stadium.
Saint Anselm (DII school) is 4-3 on the year.
Gannon (DII school) is 0-6 on the year.
St. Leo University (DII school) is 3-14 on the year.
West Virginia Wesleyan (DII school) 0-10 on the year.
The teams UMC has played have a combined 36-57 on the year and if you take away the last three teams the record is 33-27!!! Most of the teams they have played so far are competitive and quality teams. Wins and losses aren’t the most important thing in the non-conference season, but of course, the more wins the better. The important thing for teams up north like UMC is getting outside and getting on the field, the mound, in the batter’s box and getting the experience before the NSIC Conference starts in less than two weeks! The Golden Eagles have had a nice mix of quality pitching and a solid offense so far and when they get to the “real season (conference play)” they should be ready to rock!
We will dive more into who is playing well in next week’s column.
Speaking of UMC Baseball – Alumn and former coach Travis Magdzas will be the head baseball coach for his alma-mater Duluth Denfeld. Travis is leaving Duluth Marshall.
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The Section 8A Girls Basketball coaches have announced the coaches of the year awards –
Section 8A Girls Basketball Coaches of the Year:
Head Coach-Mark Bagaason-RLCC
Assistant Coach-Mitch Bernstein-RLCC
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Milestones –
Brady Kasprick of Thief River Falls won his 100th career match on Friday.
Jonny Hamnes of Clearbrook-Gonvick scored his 1,000th point vs Fosston on February 14.
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The Minnesota Minute Men announced the Top Ten Candidates for the 36th Annual Mr. Hockey Award are: Blake Biondi (Hermantown), Jake Boltmann (Edina), Matthew Gleason (Cretin-Derham Hall), Luke Gramer (Moorhead), Wyatt Kaiser (Andover), Blake Perbix (St. Cloud Cathedral), Carsen Richels (Blaine), Nate Schweitzer (Benilde-St. Margaret’s), Grant Slukynsky (Warroad) and Ben Steeves (Eden Prairie).
The Minnesota Minute Men also announced today that Carter Clafton (Grand Rapids), Hudson Hodges (Moorhead) and Remington Keopple (Hill-Murray) are the finalists for The Frank Brimsek Award, in recognition of the state’s top senior goaltender. The Hendrickson Foundation is the recipient of the third annual Mr. Hockey Ambassador Award, given to an influential leader dedicated to the growth and development of hockey in Minnesota.
The 36th annual Mr. Hockey Awards Banquet will be held at noon on Sunday, March 8 in the Saint Paul RiverCentre Grand Ballroom (175 Kellogg Boulevard) and hosted by Brian Bonin.
The Mr. Hockey Award is given to the outstanding senior high school boys’ hockey player in the state of Minnesota and is selected by a panel of National Hockey League Scouts, Junior Scouts/Coaches and selected media members from around the state. Four other awards will be presented at the banquet: The Frank Brimsek Award, The John Mariucci Award, given to the Class A and Class AA high school coaches of the year, The Cliff Thompson Award, presented to the “Old Timer Coach” of the year and the Mr. Hockey Ambassador Award.
Previous Mr. Hockey Award winners are: Bryce Brodzinski (2019), Sam Walker (2018), Casey Mittelstadt (2017), Riley Tufte (2016), Jake Jaremko (2015), Avery Peterson (2014), Grant Besse (2013), Justin Kloos (2012), Kyle Rau (2011), Nick Bjugstad (2010), Nick Leddy (2009), Aaron Ness (2008), Ryan McDonagh (2007), David Fischer (2006), Brian Lee (2005), Tom Gorowsky (2004), Nate Dey (2003), Gino Guyer (2002), Marty Sertich (2001), Paul Martin (2000), Jeff Taffe (1999), John Pohl (1998), Aaron Miskovich (1997), Dave Spehar (1996), Erik Rasmussen (1995), Mike Crowley (1994), Nick Checco (1993), Brian Bonin (1992), Darby Hendrickson (1991), Joe Dziedzic (1990), Trent Klatt (1989), Larry Olimb (1988), Kris Miller (1987), George Pelawa (1986) and Tom Chorske (1985).
Previous Frank Brimsek Award winners are: Charlie Glockner (2019), Atticus Kelly (2018), Jake Begley (2017), Nick Althaus (2016), Dyllan Lubbesmeyer (2015), Hunter Shepard (2014), David Zevnik (2013), Michael Bitzer (2012), Alex Lyon (2011), Zane Gothberg (2010), Casey O’Connor (2009), Joe Phillippi (2008), Reid Ellingson (2007), Austin Lee (2006), Alec Richards (2005), Matt Lundin (2004), Jon Anderson (2003), Josh Johnson (2002), Eric Aarnio (2001), Jake Brant (2000), Adam Laaksonen (1999), Adam Coole (1998), Kyle Kolquist (1997), Karl Goehring (1996) and Todd Kelzenberg (1995).
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The Minnesota State High School League Boys’ Hockey State Tournament is scheduled for March 4-7 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. Here is a look at the tournament:
The schedule:
Class A
Wednesday, March 4 – At Xcel Energy Center
Mankato East/Loyola (14-13-1) vs. No. 2 seed St. Cloud Cathedral (23-3-1), 11 a.m.
Monticello (20-7-1) vs. No. 3 Hermantown (21-3-4), 1 p.m.
Hutchinson (19-8-1) vs. No. 1 Warroad (26-2-0), 6 p.m.
No. 5 Delano (22-6-0) vs. No. 4 Mahtomedi (20-8-0), 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 5
At 3M Arena at Mariucci, University of Minnesota
Consolation semifinals – 10 a.m., noon
Friday, March 6
At Xcel Energy Center
Championship semifinals – 11 a.m., 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 7
At 3M Arena at Mariucci, University of Minnesota
Consolation final – 10 a.m.
At Xcel Energy Center
Third place – 9 a.m.
Championship Noon
Class AA
Thursday, March 5 At Xcel Energy Center – Quarterfinals
Maple Grove (20-8-0) vs. No. 2 The Blake School, Minneapolis (22-6-0), 11 a.m.
Lakeville South (21-7-0) vs. No. 3 Eden Prairie (22-5-1), 1 p.m.
St. Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights (18-8-2) vs. No. 1 Andover (24-3-1), 6 p.m.
No. 5 Hill-Murray, Maplewood (19-6-3) vs. No. 4 Moorhead (21-5-1), 8 p.m.
Friday, March 6
At 3M Arena at Mariucci, University of Minnesota
Consolation semifinals – 10 a.m., noon
At Xcel Energy Center
Championship semifinals 6 p.m., 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 7
At 3M Arena at Mariucci, University of Minnesota
Consolation final – Noon
At Xcel Energy Center
Third place – 4 p.m.
Championship – 7 p.m.
Tickets: Single-session tickets for all sessions at Xcel Energy Center are $19 for adults and $12 for students. Single-session tickets at 3M Arena are $14 for adults and $9 for students.
Gates open: One hour prior to each session.
Class A quarterfinal highlights
Mankato East/Loyola vs. No. 2 St. Cloud Cathedral — These teams met in late December with St. Cloud Cathedral winning 9-3. Mankato East/Loyola returns to the tournament after a one-year hiatus. The Cougars are making their third appearance overall. Layten Liffrig had two assists for Mankato East/Loyola in their 3-1 victory over Mankato West in the section final. The defending champions from St. Cloud Cathedral are making their second consecutive appearance and 10th overall. Jack Smith netted three of the Crusaders’ first four goals as they defeated Alexandria Area 8-1 in the section championship game. Smith finished the game with four goals.
Monticello vs. No. 3 Hermantown — Monticello, which includes students from Maple Lake, is making its second appearance in this format. They made their last in 2018. The Moose made one additional trip with Annandale in their co-op in 2017. Hermantown returns after a one-year absence. The Hawks are making their 16th appearance and won previous titles in 2007, 2016, and 2017. Blake Biondi tallied two goals and two assists as Hermantown defeated Duluth Denfeld 6-0 in the section final. Zach Kilen added two goals and three assists for the Hawks.
Hutchinson vs. No. 1 Warroad — Hutchinson is making its fourth appearance as a solo program. The Tigers made one additional appearance as a co-op with New Century Charter School in 2009. Austin Jozwick leads this year’s Hutchinson squad, scoring 33 goals and adding 26 assists during the regular season. Hayden Jensen was also key for the Tigers with 20 goals and 36 points this season. Warroad return for its 22nd appearance, but first since 2010. The Warriors are looking for their fifth title, having won previously in 1994, 1996, 2003, and 2005. Grant Slukynsky scored a goal and added two assists as Warroad defeated East Grand Forks 4-1 in the section title game.
No. 5 Delano vs. No. 4 Mahtomedi — Delano, which includes students from Rockford, returns for its second consecutive appearance and third overall. The Tigers took consolation honors in 2019. The Delano offense has nine players that posted at least 14 points this season. Adam Brown leads the Tigers with 39 points, and Jesse Peterson and Gunnar Paulson added 33 apiece. Mahtomedi was third in the 2019 state tournament. The Zephyrs are making their fourth consecutive appearance and 12th overall. Ethan Peterson scored twice for Mahtomedi in the Zephyrs’ 5-1 victory over South St. Paul in the section final.
Class AA quarterfinal highlights
Maple Grove vs. No. 2 The Blake School — These teams met in the regular-season finale with Maple Grove winning, 5-4. Maple Grove returns to the tournament after a one-year hiatus. This is the third overall appearance for the Crimson. Jack Wieneke made 45 saves for Maple Grove as it defeated Blaine, 3-0, in the section final. The Blake School is making its sixth tournament appearance, but first since 2008. Gavin Best scored on a penalty shot in overtime to secure this year’s appearance. The Bears defeated Benilde-St. Margaret’s 4-3 in the section title game.
Lakeville South vs. No. 3 Eden Prairie — Lakeville South was sixth in 2019. The Cougars are making their second consecutive appearance and fifth overall. Lakeville South scored three unanswered goals in its 3-2 section final victory over Hastings. Cade Ahrenholz scored the game-winner for the Cougars. Eden Prairie, which took runner-up honors in 2019, returns for its second consecutive and 12th overall appearance. The Eagles won previous championships in 2009 and 2011.
St. Thomas Academy vs. No. 1 Andover — St. Thomas Academy is making its fourth consecutive appearance and 13th overall. The Cadets placed fourth last season. St. Thomas Academy captured titles in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Tommy Aitken made 29 saves, including 12 in the first period, as St. Thomas Academy defeated Burnsville 2-0 in the section title game. Andover is making its first tournament appearance. Gunnar Thoreson had a goal and an assist in the first period as Andover defeated Elk River/Zimmerman 8-1 in the section final.
No. 5 Hill-Murray vs. No. 4 Moorhead — Hill-Murray defeated Moorhead 4-3 in the regular-season finale. Hill-Murray returns after a one-year absence to make its 30th appearance. The Pioneers are searching for their fourth title, winning previously in 1983, 1991, and 2008. Nick Pierre scored a short-handed goal in the third period as Hill-Murray came from behind to defeat White Bear Lake Area 3-2 in the section final. Moorhead is making its second consecutive and 17th overall appearance. The Spuds lost in the consolation semifinals in 2019.
2019 State Tournament Recap
Class A — St. Cloud Cathedral, the No. 2 seed, won its first championship after defeating No. 4 Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin 5-2 in the championship game. Mahtomedi took third-place honors after defeating East Grand Forks 7-3. Delano, which included students from Rockford, won the consolation final with a 2-1 victory over North Branch.
Class AA — Top-seeded Edina earned its 10th title after defeating No. 3 Eden Prairie 3-2 in overtime. Blaine defeated St. Thomas Academy 5-1 in the third-place game, and Duluth East won the consolation final with a 5-0 victory over Lakeville South.
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JOKES –
One day President Donald Trump was out jogging — and accidentally fell from a bridge into a very cold river.
Three boys, playing along the river, saw the accident.
Without a second thought, they jumped in the water and dragged the wet president out of the river.
After cleaning up he said, “Boys, you saved the President of the United States today. You deserve a reward. You name it, I’ll give it to you.”
The first boy said, “Please, I’d like a ticket to Disneyland!”
“I’ll personally hand it to you,” said Trump.
“I’d like a pair of Nike Air Turbos,” the second boy said.
“I’ll buy them myself and give them to you,” said the grateful defender of the Western Hemisphere.
“And I’d like a wheelchair with a stereo in it,” said the third boy.
“I’ll personally … wait a second, son, you’re not handicapped!”
“No — but I will be when my father finds out whom I saved from drowning.”
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A policeman sends his wife and kid to a resort for a vacation. After a week he joined them in the hotel. As soon as he came to the hotel room he wanted to make love to his wife and gave her “the look”.
Whispering under her breath, the wife says, “No darling, we can’t do it here, our kid is watching!”
Husband replies, “You’re right, let’s go to the beach.”
After a while they make their way to the beach, they start to make love on an empty beach. All of a sudden, a policeman walks up to them. “Put your cloths on immediately, shame on you, you can’t do that in public!”
Embarrassed, the husband admits, “You are right, but I had a moment of weakness. We hadn’t seen each other for an entire week. Now, I’m a policeman too, and it would be very embarrassing if you fine me.”
The cop thought for a second and said, “Don’t worry… you are a colleague and it is your first time. But this is the third time I caught her making love on this beach in the last week and she will have to pay.”
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On their honeymoon, the new husband told his bride, “I have a confession to make that I should have made before, but I was concerned that it might affect our relationship.
“What is it?” his new bride asked lovingly.
“I’m a golf fanatic,” he said. “I think about golf constantly. I’ll be out on the golf course every weekend, every holiday, and every chance I get. If it comes to a choice between your wishes and golf, golf will always win.”
His new bride pondered this for a moment and said, “I thank you for your honesty. Now in the same spirit of honesty, I should tell you that I’ve concealed something about my own past that you should know about. The truth is, “I’m a hooker.”
“No problem,” said her husband, “just widen your stance a little, and overlap your grip, and that should clear it right up.”
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How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com
Paul Bittner is playing for the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket. Paul had an assist and two shots on goal in a 5-1 loss to Belleville on Friday. He didn’t score, but had two shots on goal in a 4-1 loss to Belleville on Saturday.
Cleveland will host Laval on Thursday and Friday and will travel to Charlotte on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Brady Heppner, is a Senior, playing hockey at St. Johns University in Collegeville. Brady didn’t score in a 4-1 loss to St. Thomas in the MIAC Conference tournament semi-finals while getting two shots on goal. St. John’s season came to an end with the loss.
Aleece Durbin, is a Sophomore on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team. Aleece finished 12th place in the 60 meter hurdles at the Summit League championships. UND will kick-off the outdoor season with two meets in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on March 13 and 14 and again on March 20 and 21.
Brita Fagerlund, is a Junior on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team.
Jamestown will be off until they kick off the outdoor season with meets at Spearfish, South Dakota and Laurel, Montana on March 20 and 21 respectively.
Ben Trostad is a sophomore member of the University of Minnesota Crookston golf team. UMC will start the spring portion of their schedule at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University invite in Prescott, Arizona March 7-10.
Isaac Westlake, is a Senior on the Winona State Warrior Men’s Golf team. Winona State will start the spring portion of their season at the Minot State Vegas inite March 6-7.
Elise Tangquist, is a Junior golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul.
Mason LaPlante, a freshman, is playing soccer at the University of Jamestown.
Rachel Hefta, a freshman, is playing volleyball at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Cade Salentine is a redshirt Freshman playing football at the University of North Dakota.
Nick Garmen, is a freshman playing basketball and tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.
Thea Oman, a freshman, is swimming at St. Ben’s.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach and assistant volleyball coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the Head Pirate Girls and Boys Tennis coach and Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls Swimming coach
Mitch Bakken is the head Pirate Baseball coach.
Brock Hanson is the Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Kevin Weber is a Pirate Boys Basketball volunteer assistant coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Blake Fee is an assistant wrestling coach
Colton Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching –
Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown
Kaylee Desrosier is a softball coach for Fargo Davies Middle School.
Justin Johnson is an assistant softball coach at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Josh Edlund is an assistant football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach in Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is Head Wrestling coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Delano.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson, is Head Volleyball coach at Little Falls High School.
Katy Westrom, is Head Girls Tennis Coach and Head Boys Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
Matt Harris, is a Director of Athletics at the British International School of Houston.
Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.
Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of Wyoming
Mike Hastings is the Minnesota State Mankato Men’s head Hockey coach
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Thief River Falls High School
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football and volleyball and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for the Bison media relations
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College
Chris Myrold is a Tennis Pro on Nevis Island in the West Indies
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and also a grad of West Point and is currently is serving in the U.S. Army.
Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.
Philip Kujawa class of 2004 from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
Scott Riopelle is head of Crookston Parks and Recreation
Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome
That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com
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