Welcome to another Sports Feever column. I am just coming off a quarantine period after coming in close contact with three people that had COVID and a few days later testing positive for COVID-19.
It has been interesting, to say the least. My wife, Carter, and I started getting symptoms and stayed home from work and went and got tested. We were all positive while Macy and Blake didn’t have any symptoms.
I had terrible body aches – like nothing I have experienced for two days (night time was the worst). Some mild headaches and a lot of sweating at night. The second day after experiencing symptoms I went on a 2.5-mile walk and I instantly felt better. That night I had some terrible back and neck aches and night sweats. The next morning I felt much better and mowed my lawn, which was probably a little more than I should have done, but it felt good. That night I got a good night’s sleep and felt great in the morning. My wife and I went for a three-mile walk and I felt back to “normal” and I have been back to about 95 percent the last three or four days.
We were lucky to have a mild case like many do! It seemed the younger the person, the lesser the symptoms.
So…..to take away from my experience. COVID-19 isn’t a hoax, it is super contagious, and is a little worse than the flu mainly because of the bad backaches. By far the hardest part of COVID-19 has been the quarantine! I missed my first Pirate football game since 1997 because of it, but on the positive side….I had a lot of quality family time including beating Carter in MLB the Show twice. Blake quarantined by going into the woods on family land and shot his first ever deer!!!! We decorated the inside of the house for Christmas. Got a lot of work done from home. Life could be worse….and we are thankful if this is the worst of it.
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The Crookston Pirate Volleyball team has added a match to their schedule and will travel to Win-E-Mac on November 20.
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Wednesday was National Signing Day and it was an active day for many kids that are “hoping” they get to play sports in college next year.
Katie Borowicz, of Roseau, signed with Lindsey Whalen and the Minnesota Golden Gopher Women’s Basketball program.
Former Crookstonite (for a few years), Ellie Hasz (daughter of Ted Hasz and granddaughter of Herb Hasz) signed a letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Mary. According to Mary Coach Rick Neuman – Ellie is a do it all perimeter player for Pine City. She shot 46% from 3 (70 makes) and has the single-season made FT record as well! She’ll get buckets from Day 1.
UMC had some signings as of Wednesday evening –
UMC BASEBALL –
Isaac Roers, Baseball, RHP, 6-1 170, Stacy, Minn./Forest Lake H.S.
Cameron DeMaria, Baseball, 1B/RHP, 6-7 250, Fresno, Calif./Caruthers H.S.
Americo Sculati, Baseball, OF, Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins H.S.
Max Weber, Baseball, IF/RHP, St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall H.S.
Angelo Pacyga, Baseball, OF, 6-1 183, Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Thomas Academy
Dalton Garbers, Baseball, OF/IF, 6-3 225, Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Lincoln H.S.
Cam Quinlan (IF, 5-11 165, Maplewood, Minn./Hill-Murray H.S.)
SOCCER
Kathryn Brainerd, Soccer, GK/D, 5-7, Corcoran, Minn./RCTC
Lanie Padelford, Soccer, D, Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi H.S.
Abby Fettinger, Soccer, D, 5-5, White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake H.S.
Brooklyn Fischbach, Soccer, GK, South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul H.S.
Inanna Hauger, Soccer, MF, 5-1, Boyne City, Mich./Boyne City H.S.
Morgan Laplante, Soccer, F, 5-9, Desoto, Kan./Johnson County Community College
SOFTBALL
Emerson Thompson, Softball, C/1B, 5-5, Lincoln, Neb./North Star H.S.
Sydney Huwe, Softball, C/UT, 5-7, Carver, Minn./Chaska H.S.
Whitnee Curry, Softball, SS/2B, 5-5, Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln East H.S.
Nicole DeDen, Softball, RHP, 5-6, Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo H.S.
Brittney Mengel, Softball, OF/UT, 5-5, Sullivan, Wis./Jefferson H.S.
MENS GOLF
Layton Bartley, Men’s Golf, 5-8 155, Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne H.S.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Denali Johnson, Women’s Golf, 5-4, Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids H.S.
EQUESTRIAN
Josie Mills, Equestrian, Brandon, S.D./Brandon Valley H.S.
Keira Boedigheimer, Equestrian, Colorado Springs, Colo./Lewis-Palmer H.S.
Clara Lemarr, Equestrian, Sleepy Eye, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran H.S.
TENNIS
Kaydance Hinn, Tennis, Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids H.S.
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There has been schedule changes all over the place and one of the more unique changes was last night (Wednesday night). Morris was looking for a football game and so was Mahnomen-Waubun. John Clark Jr. (Mahnomen-Waubun football coach and activities director), came up with a great idea. He approached Bryan Strand, head football coach at Barnesville about playing Morris and Mahnomen-Waubun would go to Crookston.
Barnesville and Morris are both 5-0 and two of the top teams in Class AA. So it is a win-win for both those teams.
Mahnomen-Waubun would take Barnesville’s spot on Crookston’s schedule and travel C-town to play the Pirates. A win-win for Mahnomen-Waubun (they get a game) and Crookston still gets an extra home game!!
As we said last week, the area Activities Directors are being flexible and doing what is best for the kids. They could easily say forget it and not try to figure it out, but the AD’s are finding ways to get kids games and that is pretty cool what they are doing. KEEP up the GREAT WORK AD’s.
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Caledonia School District has announced they are canceling sports starting November 16 running through December 7. That means the multi-defending state champion football team won’t play in the playoffs.
Bloomington School District has announced they have suspended activities and as it stands would start winter sports until 2021.
Duluth School District announced they are canceling sports through December 13.
Northfield School District is canceling the remainder of their fall sports season. They won’t be able to participate in the playoffs.
Eveleth-Gilbert has canceled the remainder of the football season.
Zumbrota-Mazeppa has postponed all sports through November 23
Stewartville Volleyball has announced they are canceling their matches over the next two weeks. Stewartville is the defending Class AA state champ and ranked #1 in the state!!
Thief River Falls Football has a positive COVID-19 case on the team and they have canceled the rest of the season.
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg football‘s season has come to an end because of COVID-19.
St. Peter School district has canceled all sports through January 4.
Fisher School has announced they will go back to in-person learning on November 16 and will resume sports.
Those are just some of the many announcements made this week alone!!
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The Liberty League, a Division III league, has announced they won’t have winter sports this year and have canceled the season. RIT is a member of the Liberty League and even though they have Division 1 hockey which is not in the Liberty League, all schools have to abide by the winter sports shut down so they won’t be able to play hockey. That move will affect the Atlantic Hockey League.
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Big Ten Hockey has released the Coaches pre-season hockey poll and the 100th year of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey is promising to be a good one.
1. Minnesota
2. Michigan
3. Notre Dame
3. Ohio State
5. Wisconsin
6. Michigan State
7. Penn State
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The WCHA Men’s Hockey preseason poll is out and Crookston’s Mike Hastings Minnesota State Mankato team is the unanimous favorite-
1. Minnesota State
2. Bemidji State
3. Bowling Green
4. Northern Michigan
5. Michigan Tech
6. Lake Superior State
7. Alaska
8. Ferris State
9. Alaska Anchorage
10. Alabama Huntsville
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We received an email from one of our favorite coaches….Hall of Famer Mike Geffre. Mike is not only a former coach of mine, but a good friend. Mike is now teaching high school in Michigan and sent the following email –
Hey Chris, I thought I would drop you a line and say that I have been following KROX 3-4 times a week since I have been in Michigan. I have often bragged up KROX and the coverage it gives to the community, there is nowhere else that comes close to what you guys do.
I have had a chance to compare athletics from here to NW Minnesota and I have found differences depending on sports. Soccer would be about a wash with both areas about the same, there is very little swimming and diving here so I can not compare. Cross Country running is huge, we have about 30-40 boys and girls out for each. Girls tennis is definitely stronger in NW Minnesota. Hockey is almost non-existent here, I hear a lot about Michigan hockey but there is only one team within 50 miles of me. Girls basketball I think is stronger over there, especially as strong as NW Minnesota has been the last 10 years. Boys basketball is probably better here as the kids are huge, Last year we had a 6’10” and 6’9″ kid on the team with guards that can shoot. Not as much discipline as the teams I have seen over there. Crookston having CYBA is a definite plus, there is nothing similar here and as parents you need to take your kids to everything, it creates a kind of have and have not. Boys tennis would be similar, but I believe section 8 has more depth then the section here. Baseball is big here as Derek Jeter grew up 10 miles from Paw Paw. Football is the biggest difference, I believe because of Michigan college football. There are five D1 colleges in Michigan. Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western, and of course Michigan and Michigan State. There is also Ferris, Grand Valley and Wayne State. The kids grow up with a football in their hands and they have tackle football starting in 1st grade. By third grade hey have names on their jersey, play on the varsity fields on Saturday and have cheerleaders.
Any way take care, I miss the people of Crookston, not so much the cold weather.
Thanks for checking in Mike! It is always good to hear from former coaches, friends, and CHS alumni in the column.
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Minnesota Hockey released the following guide for safely monitoring locker rooms, saying no kids should be in the locker room alone.
A QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR SAFELY MONITORING LOCKER ROOMS
The presence of adults in the locker rooms is critical to maintaining a safe and positive environment. Over the past five years, it has become clear that more than half of all SafeSport incidents reported each year occur in locker rooms. In all but a few cases, there was no locker room monitor present.
Whenever players are present in the locker room, there must be at least one screened and SafeSport- trained adult present either in the locker room or near the door (within arm’s length and so the monitor can sufficiently hear inside the locker room), frequently checking and communicating with the players so they understand they are being monitored. Coaches can act as locker room monitors, however, we strongly encourage volunteer parents to fill this role to enable the coaches to focus on game or practice planning and preparation.
The prevention of hazing, bullying, harassment, or other inappropriate behaviors in addition to physical harm caused by horseplay, can be lessened by following some fundamental strategies outlined below.
Hold a team meeting focused on locker room monitoring and behavior expectations:
Include players, parents, coaches, team managers, and locker room monitors.
Clearly explain the rules and expectations for players.
Clearly explain the rules and expectations of the locker room monitor……including the corrective action that will be taken if necessary (player could be benched, suspended, or worse).
Ensure players and parents understand the locker room monitor is there to help ensure there is a safe environment for all members of the team.
Opening and use of the locker room:
Ideally, the designated locker room will only be opened once players arrive.
If a single player is present, the locker room should be monitored by at least two adults until additional players arrive.
If there is only one adult present, whether a coach or volunteer parent, they should wait for multiple players to arrive before allowing access to the locker room.
Limit the time the players are in the locker room to the amount of time necessary for them to get ready for their game or practice.A
If the coach needs additional time to address the team, the coach should be in the locker room as well.
Locker rooms must be monitored for any team event, regardless of location (not just games, and not just at home).
Location of Monitor:
It is preferable to have the monitor/supervisor actually inside the locker room whenever possible.
The physical presence of an adult(s) is far more effective in deterring and stopping misbehavior, and also enables the adult(s) to visually monitor the behavior of the individual players and to intercede prior to an incident getting out of hand. Additionally, it affords the opportunity to ensure that players are not using their electronic devices inappropriately.
When an issue arises:
Monitors/team managers/coaches need to be respectful and keep their own emotions in check.
Speaking quietly and calmly to a player, to help avoid embarrassment, may be best. However, it may be appropriate and necessary to use a strong verbal command to stop misbehavior.
If the attempt to intercede is ignored, or the problem persists, and there is no immediate threat of potential harm, the monitor/supervisor should seek assistance from another adult to remove the misbehaving player from the locker room and address the issue separate from the rest of the team. If the player’s parent(s) are present, they should be engaged immediately.
Situations where misbehavior could lead to the threat of immediate harm are very rare (especially with monitors present); however, if a situation arises, it may become necessary to intercede to stop the problem (examples include fighting, wrestling, hitting with sticks, throwing items, dangerous use of skates, etc.). If you are uncomfortable directly engaging to separate players in these circumstances, send someone for help and continue to calmly attempt to de-escalate the situation until it can be resolved. However, with an adult in the locker room, none of these potential scenarios should occur.
Immediately report any misbehavior occurring in a locker room to your local SafeSport coordinator or any other official. Identify as best you can both the participants as well as anyone who closely witnessed the incident and the actions of those involved.
Report any incidents of unmonitored or inadequately monitored locker rooms to your local or Affiliate SafeSport Coordinator.
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JOKES
I’m giving up drinking until Christmas!
Sorry, bad punctuation.
I’m giving up, drinking until Christmas!
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A young woman visits her parents and brings her fiancé to meet them. After an elaborate dinner, the mother tells her husband to find out about the young man.
The father invites the fiancée to his library for a drink. So what are your plans? The father asks the young man. I am a Torah scholar. He says. A Torah scholar, Hmmm, the father says. Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in, as she is accustomed to? I will study, the young man said, and God will provide for us.
And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves? asks the father. I will concentrate on my studies, the young man replies, God will provide for us.
And children? asks the father. How will you support children? Don’t worry, sir, God will provide, replies the fiancé.
The conversation continues like this, and each time the father questions, the young idealist insists that God will provide.
Later, the mother asks, How did it go, Honey?
The father answers, He has no job and no plans, but the good news is he thinks Im God
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An angry wife to her husband on phone: “Where the hell are you?”
Husband: “Darling, you remember that jewelery shop where you saw the diamond necklace and totally fell in love with it, and I didn’t have money that time, and I said ‘Baby it’ll be yours one day’?”
Wife, with a smile and blushing: “Yeah I remember that my love!”
Husband: “I’m in the pub just next to that shop.”
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A man goes in to a bar. He approaches the bartender.
“Hi mate. Listen, I don’t have any cash on me at the moment, do you think you can spot me a pint?”
The bartender scoffs. “No chance mate, we’re not here for that.”
The man pauses for a moment, and then makes an offer. “What if I show you something that you’ve never seen before? If you’ve never seen it, all my drinks are on the house for the night.”
“Pfft,” the barman scoffs. “Yeah, alright. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The man reaches in to his bag and pulls out a frog, and a tiny piano. He sets them on the bar, the frog hops over to the piano and starts to play a beautiful rendition of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
The barman is stunned. “Well, I’ll be! You’ve got something there, I’ll give you that. Fair enough mate, drinks are on me…but I want the frog and the piano. How about 1,000 for them?”
“I couldn’t do that. The frog is my livelihood.”
“How about 2,000?”
“Deal.”
The man spends the entire night drinking, partying away, and stumbles home at closing time.
Fast forward a few days, and the same man returns. “Listen mate. For the sake of the joke, I’ve spent all the money you gave me and I’m strapped for money again. Any chance of spotting me for a pint?”
The barman says, “No, we already went through this. We’re not a charity.”
“Ahh, but what if I show you something you’ve never seen before?”
The barman is amused. “You came here last with a frog that plays a piano, I’ve seen it all! But go on then, what have you got?”
The man pulls out a mouse and sets it on the bar. It sits there, looking around and minding his own business.
“That’s just a mouse! I’ve got enough mice to deal with, I don’t need another one!”
The mouse pipes up. “Just a mouse?! I’ll have you know I’ve been quite well educated, sir!”
The barman jumps back. “The mouse…the mouse just spoke! It’s a talking mouse! Listen mate, all your drinks are on the house, but I’ve got to have the mouse as well! I will give you 3,000 for him!”
The man accepts the money, and continues his evening of free drinks. But as the night goes on, and the man gets more belligerent, he stumbles over to the bar to talk to the barman.
“Listen mate, here’s you 3,000 back. I feel terrible about what I’ve done.”
The barman scoffs. “Sorry mate, but a deal is a deal, and I’ve bought the mouse off you fair and square. I’m keeping him!”
The man says, “I don’t care, just please take the money. It was all a trick! The mouse doesn’t talk…the frog is a ventriloquist.”
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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
Brady Butt is a freshman playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Paul Bittner is playing for the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Bluejacket.
Brady Heppner, is playing hockey for the Roanoke Raildogs in the SPHL.
Aleece Durbin, is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Brita Fagerlund, is a Senior on the University of Jamestown Jimmy Women’s Track team.
Ben Trostad, is a Junior member of the University of Minnesota Crookston golf team.
Elise Tangquist, is a Senior golfer for the University of Northwestern in St. Paul.
Mason LaPlante, a sophomore, is playing soccer at the University of Jamestown.
Rachel Hefta, a Sophmore, 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 sophomore playing basketball and tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.
Caden Osborn, is a freshman playing basketball at the University of Minnesota Morris.
Thea Oman, a sophomore, is swimming at St. Ben’s.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Emily Meyer is a girls hockey and softball assistant coach.
Carrie Clauson is a Junior High girls tennis 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
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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