SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
What a week. The Vikings offense was about as brutal as can be, and less than 24 hours later they are making a trade for KIRK-O-Chains!!! That is right, Kirk Cousins is back, and he is the savior to all Vikings fans and literally the final hope for the Vikings to even make the playoffs at this point. The offense has been bad all season (dead last in the NFL is pretty bad), but the defense has been the best in the NFL. It was a move they had to make, but I have to ask the question….Why in the world didn’t the geniuses in the Vikings organization do something in the offseason?? Anyone who knew ANYTHING about football knew the little guy they signed sure wasn’t the answer!!! So now they make a move. It has fired up most of the fan base, while about 20 to 25 percent are saying, “What the heck.”
We will see. I personally like Kirk Cousins. He is a great person, a Christian, a family man, and just a good human. I am cheering for him to bring the Vikings to the promised land for the first time in franchise history. Will he do it? Who knows, but let’s enjoy the ride. If Cousins gets hurt…..I say the Vikings have to go with Max Brosmer at QB because you can’t try the other two ever again.
Anyway, here is an interesting tidbit of info –
Touchdowns scored this year:
Kirk Cousins, passing: 20 and rushing 2
Vikings, passing, rushing, special teams and defense: 12
— — —
East Grand Forks, Minnesota, is Volleyball town Minnesota!!!! The Sacred Heart Eagles and the East Green Wave volleyball teams will both play in the Minnesota State High School League State Volleyball tournament in St. Paul this week. As far as I could tell, this is the first time in the Minnesota High School League State Volleyball tournament that two teams from the same city have competed in the same season. That dates back to when the state tournament started in 1974.
Sacred Heart got a pretty good first-round draw and right where they were realistically thinking they could end up. It is always nice to start with a team you have already beaten this year!!!
TEAM SEEDS-
1. Minneota (28-3)
2. Fillmore Central (25-6)
3. Mayer Lutheran (19-12)
4. Sacred Heart(29-3)
5. Chisholm (28-3)
6. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (19-7)
7. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (25-4-1)
8. Pine River-Backus (19-9)
FIRST ROUND – Thursday, November 12 at Grand Casino Arena
5:00 PM – #1 Minneota vs #8 Pine River-Backus (Court 2)
5:00 PM – #4 Sacred Heart vs #5 Chisholm (Court 1) ON KROX RADIO
7:00 PM – #2 Filmore Central vs #7 Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s (Court 2)
7:00 PM – #3 Mayer Lutheran vs #6 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (Court 1)
SEMI-FINALS – Friday, November 13 at Grand Casino Arena
1:00 PM – Minneota/PRB winner vs Sacred Heart/Chisholm winner (Court 2) ON KROX IF SACRED HEART
3:00 PM – Fillmore Central/SESM winner vs Myer Lutheran/BBE winner (Court 2)
CONSOLATION SEMI-FINALS – Friday, November 13 at Grand Casino Arena
1:00 PM – Minneota/PRB loser vs Sacred Heart/Chisholm loser (Court 1) ON KROX IF SACRED HEART
3:00 PM – Fillmore Central/SESM loser vs Myer Lutheran/BBE loser (Court 1)
CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, November 14 at Grand Casino Arena
1:00 PM – Court 2
THIRD PLACE – Saturday, November 14 at Grand Casino Arena
12:30 PM – Court 1
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, November 14 at Grand Casino Arena
10:30 AM – Court 1
The Minnesota State High School League has released the State Class AA Volleyball tournament seeds and bracket, with the East Grand Forks Green Wave getting the #8 seed. They will play the #1 seed New Life Academy (Woodbury) on Thursday, November 12, at 1:00 p.m. at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
East Grand Forks played three teams in the state volleyball tournament and lost to Southwest Christian and Watertown-Mayer by 2-0 scores. They beat Sacred Heart (in Class A tourney) 3-2.
The tournament seeds and schedule are below-
TEAM SEEDS-
1. New Life Academy of Woodbury (26-1)
2. Southwest Christian (24-8)
3. Minnewaska Area (30-1)
4. New London-Spicer (26-1)
5. Dovery-Eyota (28-3)
6. Rush City (28-3)
7. Watertown-Mayer (23-7)
8. East Grand Forks (22-10)
FIRST ROUND – Thursday, November 12 at Grand Casino Arena
1:00 PM – #1 New Life Academy vs #8 East Grand Forks (Court 1) ON KROX RADIO
1:00 PM – #4 New London-Spicer vs #5 Dover-Eyota (Court 2)
3:00 PM – #2 Southwest Christian vs #7 Watertown-Mayer (Court 1)
3:00 PM – #3 Minnewaska Area vs #6 Rush City (Court 2)
SEMI-FINALS – Friday, November 13 at Grand Casino Arena
5:00 PM – NLA/EGF winner vs NLS/Dover-Eyota winner (Court 1) ON KROX IF EGF
7:00 PM – Southwest Christian/Watertwon-Mayer winner vs Minnewaska/Rush City winner (Court 1)
CONSOLATION SEMI-FINALS – Friday, November 13 at Grand Casino Arena
5:00 PM – NLA/EGF loser vs NLS/Dover-Eyota loser (Court 2) ON KROX IF EGF
7:00 PM – Southwest Christian/Watertwon-Mayer loser vs Minnewaska/Rush City loser (Court 2)
CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, November 14 at Grand Casino Arena
3:30 PM – Court 2
THIRD PLACE – Saturday, November 14 at Grand Casino Arena
2:30 PM – Court 1
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, November 14 at Grand Casino Arena
10:30 AM – Court 2
— — —
The Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association announced the All-State Volleyball teams this week and there were three area players named to the teams.
CLASS AA –
Lanee Hams – Middle Hitter – East Grand Forks
Payton Gravelle – Middle Hitter – Wadena-Deer Creek
CLASS A-
Finley Horken – Setter – Sacred Heart
MISS VOLLEYBALL –
Kaelyn Bjorklund – Lakeville South (Clemson commit)
— — —
The Kittson County Central Bearcats cruised through the Section 8 9-Player Football playoffs and are making their fourth trip to state in the last six years and second straight! The Bearcats will take on Cook County in the first round of the state playoffs for the second straight year. Last year Cook County was hit by the injury bug and KCC blasted them by scoring on five of the first six drives and cruised to a 49-0 victory at Grand Rapids.
This year, the teams will meet at Moorhead High School on Thursday (November 12) at 6:00 p.m. KCC earned the top seed in the North.
NORTH SEEDS
1. Kittson County Central
2. Cromwell-Wright
3. Clearbrook-Gonvick
4. Cook County
SOUTH SEEDS
1. Hills-Beaver Creek (defending state champ)
2. Border West
3. Wabasso
4. Spring Grove
FIRST ROUND GAMES – Thursday, November 12
Kittson County Central vs Cook County at Moorhead High School (at Moorhead High School at 6:00 PM)
Cromwell-Wright vs Clearbrook-Gonvick (at Grand Rapids High School – 7:00 PM)
Hills-Beaver Creek vs Spring Grove (at Southwest MN State in Marshall – 7:00 PM)
Border West vs Wabasso (at Dover-Eyota High School at 7:00 PM)
SEMIFINALS – Thursday, November 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis
1:00 PM – Top seed from the North vs the bottom seed from the South (would be KCC if they win) ON KROX IF KCC
4:00 PM – Top seed from the South vs the bottom seed from the North
CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, November 28 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis
10:00 AM – ON KROX IF KCC
— — —
The Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association has announced the 2026 Academic All-State teams and individuals.
GOLD teams have a 3.26 to 4.00 team GPA
SILVER teams have a 3.0 to 3.25 GPA
The State Champion for highest team GPA was the Stephen-Argyle Storm with a GPA of 3.70.
9-PLAYER –
Champion – Stephen-Argyle (Coach Ethan Marquis) – 3.70 GPA
Gold awards-
Fertile-Beltrami (Coach Chris Zimmel) 3.54 GPA
Win-E-Mac – (Coach Aaron Cook) 3.47 GPA
Norman County East/UH – (Coach Dustin Flaten) 3.39 GPA
CLASS A –
Champion – Nevis (Coach Keven Longtin) 3.58 GPA
Gold Awards –
Park Christian (Coach Matt Baasch) 3.43 GPA
Lake Park-Audubon (Coach PJ Peterson) 3.38 GPA
Red Lake County (Coach Brian Remick) 3.31 GPA
CLASS AA –
Champion – Maple River (Coach Dusty Drager) 3.64 GPA
Gold Awards-
Hawley (2nd place) Coach Nathan Brager – 3.59 GPA
Pelican Rapids (Coach Eli Beachy) 3.51 GPA
Silver Awards –
Frazee (Coach Russ Hackel) 3.16 GPA
Warroad (Coach Brandon Barker) 3.09 GPA
CLASS AAA –
Champion – Albany (Coach Mike Ellingson) 3.51 GPA
Gold Awards –
East Grand Forks (Coach Ryan Kasowski) 3.28 GPA
Minnewaska Area (Coach Jared Lyle) 3.26 GPA
Silver Awards –
Pequot Lakes (Coach Bill Magnuson) 3.22 GPA
INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC ALL-STATE AWARDS-
A lot of area players received All-Academic All-State awards and they are listed below by class.
9-PLAYER –
Will Foss (BGMR)
Jack Erickson (Fertile-Beltrami)
Hoyt Jensen (NCE/UH)
Hayden Johnson (Win-E-Mac)
CLASS A –
Boe Nelson (Red Lake County)
CLASS AA –
Grady Larson (Pelican Rapids)
Parker Moes (Warroad)
CLASS AAA –
Cormac Doty (East Grand Forks)
Alex Asmus (Morris Area)
— — —
MILESTONES –
Sacred Heart’s Lydia Riskey picked up the 1,000th kill of her career in the Section 8A championship.
— — —
SIGNINGS –
Sacred Heart’s Lexie Lawrence signed to play basketball at Minnesota State Moorhead
Sacred Heart’s Finley Horken signed to play volleyball at the University of Jamestown
Climax-Fisher’s Peyton Schroeder has signed to play basketball at M State next year.
Goodridge/Grygla’s Sophia Beck signed to run track and cross country at Bemidji State
Warroad’s Jaylie French has signed to play hockey at Bemidji State.
Warroad’s Tyson McKeever has signed to run Cross Country at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
— — —
The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Athletic programs announced some signings on Wednesday. The list of names from each sport are below –
Baseball
Zachary Rieland/OF/1B, 6-4 190, Tea, S.D./Tea Area H.S.
Leighton Egger/RHP/5-9 175/Woodbury, Minn./Stillwater Area H.S.
Cameron Carpinello/RHP/OF/6-1 187/Littleton, Colo./ThunderRidge H.S.
Cody Busch/C/RHP/6-1 180/Jamestown, N.D./Jamestown H.S.
Lucas Christiansen/RHP/6-3 183/Casselton, N.D./Central Cass H.S.
Ryne Richau/IF/5-11 210/Grand Forks, N.D./Red River H.S.
Rylan Flack/RHP/6-3 215/Wahpeton, N.D/Wahpeton HS.
Women’s Basketball
Ava Grosboll/G/F/6-2/Johnstown, Colo./Roosevelt H.S.
Men’s Cross Country and Track
Peyton Tetzlaff/Hartford, S.D./West Central H.S.
Zayne Richardson/Mondovi, Wis./Durand H.S.
Ty Uhlir/Grand Forks, N.D./Grand Forks Central H.S.
Chase Johanson/Osakis, Minn./Osakis H.S.
Women’s Cross Country and Track
Ella Arntson/East Grand Forks, Minn./Riverside Christian School
Dezi Aldinger/Hawley, Minn./Hawley H.S
Women’s Golf
Bailey Petersen/Monticello, Minn./Monticello H.S.
Volleyball
Addison Hackel/OH/MH/5-9/Perham, Minn./Perham H.S.
Equestrian
Ashley Gonyo/West Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic H.S.
Violet Fisher/Long Beach, Calif./Grier School
— — —
JOKES
The lawyer was cross-examining a witness.
“Isn’t it true, “he bellowed, “that you were given $500.00 to throw this case?”
The witness did not answer. Instead, he just stared out the window as though he hadn’t heard the question. The attorney repeated himself, again getting the same reaction – no response.
Finally, the judge spoke to the witness, “Please answer the question.”
“Oh,” said the startled witness, “I thought he was talking to you.”
— — —
Guy : Doctor, my Girlfriend is pregnant but we always use protection and the rubber never broke. How is it possible?
Doctor : Let me tell you a story: “There was once a Hunter who always carried a gun wherever he went. One day he took out his Umbrella instead of his Gun and went out. A Lion suddenly jumped infront of him. In order to scare the Lion, the Hunter used the Umbrella like a Gun, and shot the Lion, then it died!
Guy : Nonsense! Someone else must have shot the Lion…
Doctor : Good! You understood the story. Next patient please…
— — —
A group of kindergartners were trying to become accustomed to the first grade. The biggest hurdle they faced was that the teacher insisted on no baby talk.
“You need to use ‘big people’ words,” she’d always remind them. She asked Chris what he had done over the weekend. “I went to visit my Nana.”
“No, you went to visit your GRANDMOTHER. Use big people words!” She then asked Mitchell what he had done. “I took a ride on a choo-choo.”
She said, “No, you took a ride on a TRAIN. Use big people words.” She then asked Bobby what he had done. “I read a book,” he replied.
“That’s WONDERFUL!” the teacher said. “What book did you read?” Bobby thought about it, then puffed out his little chest with great pride and said, “Winnie the Shit.”
— — —
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
Ashlyn Bailey is a freshman playing hockey at the University of Wisconsin River Falls.
Reggie Winjum is a freshman playing basketball at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Chloe Boll is a freshman playing basketball at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Emma LaPlante is a freshman playing hockey and tennis at Wisconsin-Superior.
Ava Martin is a freshman playing golf at Gustavus Aldolphus.
Matt Contreras is a Sophomore playing baseball at Concordia College in Moorhead.
Conner Hanson is playing Club Hockey at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Brandon Colborn is playing Club Hockey at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Teagen Lubinski is playing Club Hockey at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Riley Benson is playing Club Hockey at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Kadin Edwards is playing Club Hockey at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
Garrett Fischer is playing junior hockey for the Pueblo Peppers in the NAHL.
Jay Reese is playing junior hockey for the Gillette Wild in the Na3hl.
Greyson Ecker is playing junior hockey for the Gillette Wild in the Na3hl.
Parker Kelly is playing junior hockey for the Bandlands Sabres in the Na3hl.
Nathan Kelly is playing for the NDSU Club Hockey team
Addie Fee is a Sophomore playing hockey at Wisconsin-Superior.
Kambelle Freije is a Sophomore playing hockey at Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Riley Helgeson is a Sophomore playing football at Northern State.
Emily Bowman is a Sophomore playing Softball at North Dakota State College of Science.
Halle Winjum is a Junior playing basketball at Minnesota Crookston.
Naomi Johnson is a Sophomore playing soccer at Alexandria Tech
Reese Swanson is a Junior playing hockey at St. Olaf.
Carter Coauette is a Junior playing football at Minot State.
Isaac Thomforde is a Junior playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.
Halle Bruggeman is a Senior on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.
Ethan Boll is a Senior on the University of North Dakota Football team.
Breanna Kressin is a Senior the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.
Jacey Larson is a Senior playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Paul Bittner is an assistant coach on the University of Wisconsin-Superior Men’s Hockey team.
Seth Heppner – Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Golf at Jessup University
Brady Heppner – Head Coach of Women’s Golf at UMC and Assistant Hockey Coach
Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Colton Weiland is an assistant Pirate Wrestling Coach
Jason Cassavant is a Jr. High Baseball Coach and Head American Legion Baseball coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Head Pirate Boys Hockey coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
Elise Tangquist is the Head Girls Golf Coach at Horace High School in Fargo, ND.
Carmen (Kreibich) Johnson is the head Little Falls Volleyball coach.
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.
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 North Dakota.
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
Jaren Bailey is serving our country and is Lance Corporal in the Marines.
Ben Andringa is serving our country in the Army and is now a Ranger.
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..
