SPORTS FEEVER – May 9, 2024

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

PSA – Remember, this Sunday is Mother’s Day. Make sure to do something nice for your mom. She deserves it!

Last week, I was having fun with the HP Series, saying it was paycheck hockey.  It is factually paycheck hockey – period!  My issue with these programs (AAU Basketball included, and don’t get me started on how AAU has ruined basketball) is that parents think the kids will be Division 1 just because they play a few games in these HPs.
If you are doing it because your kid wants to and just wants to play…that is perfect and good for you. If you get the invite and tell your kid they are going, even if they don’t want to. You are the PROBLEM with youth sports.

If you have money and your kid likes to play…great.  BUT, this doesn’t mean you will be a great player. And there is a better chance your kid gets burned out instead.

Why is football by far the top sport in America with NOTHING coming close?  Because kids don’t have to play football year in the winter, spring, or summer. Parents don’t hate football because it doesn’t take away from their summer weekends. They don’t have to bring their football players to the cities to play on a SELECT team. Football is basically in the fall, and some summer work is during the week. That is it.  That is why it is so popular. People aren’t sick and tired of it.  And games are once a week during the season.

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Grygla School District will be cutting track and field next school year due to budget cuts. They will also be cutting the coop with the Northern Freeze in baseball, due to low numbers.

Thief River Falls School District is making cuts as well. I asked Superintendent Chris Mills and A.D. Chris McLean what they are doing as far as athletics goes.

Mr. McLean and I were tasked with reducing the athletic budget by $150,000 for the 24-25 school year due to the unsuccessful operating referendum in November 2023. The reductions have been made through a number of cuts in assistant coaching positions, doubling activity fees for athletics and activities, and reduction in support staff for activities.
In addition, we have reduced the number of events for athletics by 20% to reduce travel and other associated costs with hosting home events. This reduction was made in an effort to be equitable in our reductions and not reduce opportunities for our students.
Boys swimming was cut during this process, but the cut was due to declining numbers the last 3-5 years.
I think it is a pretty good summary of where we are at through the process – We will be bringing an operating referendum back to our community in the Fall of 2024.

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Warren-Alvarado-Oslo’s Adam McIntyre has committed to play basketball at Northland Community and Technical College next year.

East Grand Forks’ Maddy Stocker signed a letter of intent to play Volleyball at Alexandria Technical College

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The University of Minnesota Crookston baseball team had six student-athletes named to the All-NSIC Teams.

Jake Hjelle (Sr., East Grand Forks) and Teddy Giefer (Sr., Courtland) were named to the All-NSIC First Team.
Jake Osowski (Sr., East Grand Forks), Brody Sorenson (Sr., Grand Forks, N.D.), Caden Headlee (Sr., Fargo, N.D.) and Josh Dykhoff (So., Wadena) were selected as All-NSIC Second Team picks.
Sawyer Satrom (R-So., IF, Portland, N.D.) and Headlee were named to the All-NSIC Defensive Team.

FIRST TEAM-
Jake Hjelle is a back-to-back All-NSIC First Team selection. Hjelle was a unanimous All-America pick in 2023, as well as 2023 NSIC Player of the Year, and the 2023 NCBWA National Player of the Year. He hit .326 as a senior, with 52 runs scored, 12 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, and 50 RBIs. He is the all-time leader in Minnesota Crookston history for runs scored, home runs, and RBIs. Hjelle has a 1.043 OPS, and a .624 slugging percentage.

Teddy Giefer is a first-time All-NSIC honoree. Giefer went from splitting duties at first base as a junior, to being one of the best players on the team in 2024. Giefer has hit .366, with 36 runs scored, 14 doubles, seven home runs, and 50 RBIs. He has a .566 slugging percentage, and a 1.026 OPS.

SECOND TEAM-
Jake Osowski is a first-time All-NSIC pick. Osowski is one of the top pitchers in school history, setting a plethora of marks including the most wins in a single-season. Osowski is an unblemished 9-0 as a senior, with a 3.68 ERA in 71 innings pitched. He has struck out 65, and walked 22. He also has two saves. Osowski has a career 25-2 record as a Golden Eagle, with 223 career strikeouts, and only 70 walks.

Brody Sorenson is a back-to-back All-NSIC Second team selection. He received the award as a reliever in 2023, and a starter in 2024. Sorenson is 7-1, with a 4.39 ERA in 65.2 innings pitched. Sorenson has 63 strikeouts, and only 10 walks. He has a 1.16 WHIP. In his career, Sorenson is 13-9, with a 4.61 ERA, with 122 strikeouts.

Josh Dykhoff is also a back-to-back All-NSIC Second Team pick. Dykhoff was selected as a pitcher/utility. On the mound, he is 3-2 with a 6.14 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched, with 51 strikeouts, and 21 walks. At the plate, Dykhoff is hitting .315, with 49 runs scored, 13 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, and 45 RBIs.

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM-
Sawyer Satrom earns placement on the All-NSIC Defensive Team after posting a .943 fielding percentage at the hot corner, with 40 putouts, 76 assists, just seven errors, and six stolen bases.

Caden Headlee receives All-NSIC Defensive Team honors after notching a .983 fielding percentage in center field, with 115 putouts, three assists, and just two errors. He was also named to the All-NSIC Second Team, after hitting .364, with 42 runs scored, 13 doubles, six home runs, and 38 RBIs. Headlee is a first-time honoree.

NSIC TOP AWARD WINNERS-
Augustana University’s Jack Hines was named NSIC Player of the Year.
Augustana’s Ashton Michek was the NSIC Pitcher of the Year.
Bennett McCollow of Concordia University-St. Paul was the NSIC Newcomer of the Year.
Carter Beck of the University of Mary was the NSIC Freshman of the Year.
Tim Huber of Augustana earned NSIC Coach of the Year.

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The NFHS (rule-making body for high school sports) has come out with some changes in High School Basketball rules, including trying to curb flopping!!  Below is the latest rule changes in high school basketball –

A new definition and subsequent warning for faking being fouled (flopping) has been added to the NFHS Basketball Rules Book for the 2024-25 season.

This revision to high school basketball rules was one of 12 changes approved by the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee at its April 9-11 meeting in Indianapolis. All recommended changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Faking being fouled is defined in Rule 4-49-1 as when a player simulates being fouled or makes theatrical or exaggerated movements when there is no illegal contact. Examples include, but are not limited to, embellishing the impact of incidental contact on block/charge plays or field goal attempts, using a “head bob” to simulate illegal contact and using any tactic to create an opinion of being fouled to gain an advantage.

The new language also establishes a procedure for officials to issue a team warning on the first instance of faking being fouled. The warning is recorded in the scorebook and reported to the head coach. Any additional instances will result in a team technical foul and not a player technical foul, which was previously the case.

A change to Rule 3-4-4a removes the restriction of only lettering being allowed on the front of the jersey. If a logo or mascot is displayed on the front, it must be centered directly above the number in place of identifying names. This change does not require schools to purchase new uniforms and may allow some schools to wear current uniforms that were previously not permitted.

A new note to Rule 9-10-1a and edit to Rule 4-10 allows states that utilize a 35-second shot clock to choose to eliminate the five-second closely guarded provision while a player dribbles the ball. The closely guarded rules remain in effect while a player holds the ball regardless of whether or not a state utilizes a shot clock.

Other rules changes approved by the committee include the following.

Rule 1-19 clarifies that the use of electronic devices during the game must be limited to recording and tracking stats, reviewing plays or similar contest-related functions. The use of electronic devices for voice or video recording is prohibited.

Rule 2-11-11 notes that if multiple scorers are at the scorer’s bench, the scorer(s) that is not official is responsible for comparing records with the official scorer, who then would notify a referee immediately of a discrepancy. This allows the official scorer to remain focused on game play and places the responsibility of comparing scoring information on auxiliary scorers.

Rule 3-3-6 states that if bench personnel are beckoned to attend to an injured player, whether they enter the court or not, the player is subject to removal from the game unless the coach requests a time-out.

If a player is bleeding or has blood on the uniform, Rule 3-3-7 now allows the player to remain in the game if the issue can be resolved in 20 seconds.

A new exception to Rule 4-6-1 involving basket interference allows for the net to be contacted and play continue if the official determines the contact to not affect the try for a goal.

A collection of changes to rules 4-47-5, 10-2-1g and 10-4-5 allows officials to issue a team warning for delay of game when a ball is not immediately passed to an official when a whistle sounds. Any subsequent violations now result in a team technical instead of a player technical.

Rule 7-1-1 establishes that a player cannot be assisted by a team member or bench personnel outside the boundary line to remain inbounds.

Pregame violations were addressed in a series of changes in Rule 10. If both teams violate provisions listed in Rules 10-1-1, 10-1-2 and 10-2-7 in equal numbers, the penalties offset, and no free throws are awarded. Additionally, the head coach would not lose the privilege of the coaching box. Similarly, the penalty for dunking or attempting to dunk a dead ball in Rule 10-2-7 no longer requires the coach to lose coaching box privileges and no personal foul is assessed as it is now a team technical and not a bench technical.

According to the 2022-23 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, basketball is the third-most popular sport for boys with 537,438 participants in 18,369 schools, and the fourth-most popular sport for girls with 373,366 participants in 17,881 schools.

JOKES

Five Englishmen in an Audi Quattro roll up to an Irish border checkpoint. Paddy, the officer, halts them and sternly declares, “It’s illegal to cram five people into a Quattro. ‘Quattro’ means four.” 

The Englishman, incredulous, retorts, “Quattro is just the name of the car! Check the papers: it’s designed for five.” 

“You can’t pull that one on me,” replies Paddy. “Quattro means four. You’ve got five folks in there; it’s against the law.” 

The Englishman, now irate, demands, “Get your supervisor! I need someone with more intelligence!” 

Paddy quips back, “Sorry, Murphy’s tied up with two blokes in a Fiat Uno.

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A man has six children and is very proud of his achievement. He is so proud of himself, that he starts calling his wife, “Mother of Six” in spite of her objections. 

One night, they go to a party. The man decides that it’s time to go home and wants to find out if his wife is ready to leave as well. 

He shouts at the top of his voice, “Shall we go home now, ‘Mother of six?'” 

His wife, irritated by her husband’s lack of discretion, shouts right back, “Anytime you’re ready, Father of four.”

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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

Emily 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.