SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.com
The Minnesota Twins snapped an 18-game losing streak and a 21-year series win drought in the span of 24 hours, and it has been glorious!!
Royce Lewis, Carlos Carrea (offensively and defensively), every pitcher that was on the mound, and the Toronto Blue Jay Manager were all players of the game for the Twins.
The Blue Jays showed how a coach can cost his or her team a chance to win by overreaching. Jose Berrios (who I really like and have met. One of the nicest guys in the world, and he loved the Twin Cities) was pitching a gem, and they took him out after 47 pitches!!! What a stupid move. A guy is dealing, and you pull him out. It is like the coach that pulls the kid that just hit five three-pointers in a short period of time to give him a “break” (to cool down???), or a coach that slows down the game when they don’t play that all year because they are trying not to lose instead of trying to win. And many other moves could be mentioned. like putting in the prevent defense to prevent the win.
The Twins had the second-best record since the all-star break and have played great baseball against the best teams this season. The Twins beat Houston in 4 of the six games this season.
With the series’ first game on Saturday, one would think that Pablo Lopez will start game one and Sonny Grey as the starter in Game 2. It is set up well for the Twins to bring a 2-0 lead back to Target Field on Tuesday!
You can hear all the Minnesota Twins playoff games on KROX Radio!!! Your home of Minnesota Twins Baseball since 1961!!
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The Minnesota State High School League BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING is being held today (Thursday, October 5, 2023, 9:30 a.m.). The agenda is below.
AGENDA
Action Items
A. Dance Team Rules Book 2022-2024
B. Spring Activity Advisory Proposals
I. Softball
II. Speech
III. Track and Field
C. Boys Volleyball Season for 2024-2025
D. State Tournament Seeding
E. State Football Semifinal Seeding
Discussion Items
A. Belief Statement – Regional Representation
B. Boys Volleyball Planning 2024-2025
C. Online Education Providers
Committee Reports
A. Eligibility Committee
B. Audit/Finance Committee
C. Marketing and Communications Committee
D. Education and Leadership Committee
Information Items
A. Board Members at State Tournaments
B. Board Workshop: Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 2 p.m.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, November 30, 2023
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The Crookston Blue Line Club will have equipment checkout/exchange/return on Mondays, October 9, and 16, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Crookston Sports Center. If you have BLC equipment from last year and it still fits your player, please stop down to recheck the equipment for this upcoming season. Be sure to check the expiration dates on helmets. Before you can check out equipment, you will need to be registered with the Crookston Blue Line Club. Visit www.crookstonbluelinehockey.com to register. If you have any questions, contact Katie at 218-470-0423 or crookstonhockey@gmail.com.
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We have received the format for the Section 8A Boys and Girls Soccer tournaments next week. It will be split into sub-sections again this year, which is great news for the teams in the north. They break into halves (subsections) until the championship.
QRF seeding – Sunday morning, 10/8. Games played on Saturday, 10/7, will count in the seeding.
Tuesday, 10/10 – High Seed (play in games)
Thursday, 10/12 – High Seed (Quarterfinals)
Saturday, 10/14 – High Seed (Semi-finals)
Tuesday, 10/17 – Championship at Sauk Centre – Girls at 5:15 pm and Boys at 7:30 pm
SECTION 8A BOYS SOCCER
Boys North – Crookston, East Grand Forks, Fergus Falls, FF Hillcrest, Pelican Rapids (need one play-in)
Boys South – Central Minnesota Christian, Melrose, Minnewaska, St. Cloud Cathedral, St. John’s Prep (need one play-in)
NORTH STANDINGS
Here is how I see things going in the north. Pelican Rapids and Hillcrest split during the regular season so it will come down to a second or third tie-breaker.
These are the Tiebreakers as agreed to by the MSHSL.
- The first tiebreaker is Head to Head competition *Beginning with the 2023-24 season, this Tiebreaker will be applied using two times the tie-margin. So if the tie-margin is 4.3, it would be within 8.6 QRF value.
- Ranking based on either Conference/Sub-District (C/D) winning percentage OR C/D point total based on the by-laws of the C/D * teams must be in the same C/D
- Overall winning percentage
- Section winning percentage (if at least 25% of the teams competitions are against section opponents – if not met, #4 is skipped)
- Soccer – 4
- QRF points
- Coin Flip
*Beginning with the 2023-24 season, this Tiebreaker will be applied using 2xTM
The top seed will be Hillcrest Lutheran Academy if they beat Detroit Lakes on Thursday. If they lose to DL, Pelican Rapids will be the top team. It looks like EGF or Fergus Falls will be the three and four seed and Crookston will be the fifth seed. There are still games on Thursday and Saturday so that could change things depending on who wins or loses.
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelican Rapids | 3-2-2 | 4-4-2 | 35.2 | 25 |
| Hillcrest Academy | 6-4-1 | 7-6-1 | 34.0 | 27 |
| Crookston | 2-3-2 | 5-7-2 | 26.6 | 44 |
| East Grand Forks | 2-3-0 | 3-9-0 | 26.3 | 47 |
| Fergus Falls | 2-4-0 | 2-11-0 | 25.2 | 50 |
Section 8A – South Standings
St. Cloud Cathedral will be the top seed hands down. It looks like Minnewaska will be the second seed and the third through fifth seed is going to be up in the air until seeding on Saturday!
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Cloud Cathedral | 9-0-0 | 15-0-0 | 64.9 | 1 |
| Minnewaska Area | 4-3-3 | 5-5-4 | 31.1 | 39 |
| St. John’s Prep | 1-7-1 | 2-10-2 | 23.3 | 55 |
| Melrose | 4-3-2 | 4-8-2 | 22.3 | 56 |
| Central MN Christian | 2-6-1 | 3-8-1 | 22.2 | 57 |
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SECTION 8A GIRLS SOCCER
Girls North – Crookston, East Grand Forks, FF Hillcrest, Pelican Rapids
Girls South -Albany, Melrose, St. Cloud Cathedral, St. John’s Prep, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (need one play-in)
SOUTH SUB-SECTION-
East Grand Forks is the top seed hands down. That is already decided.
If Crookston beats Pelican Rapids on Thursday, they will be the second seed. Pelican Rapids the third seed and Hillcrest Academy the fourth seed. If Pelican Rapids wins, that makes things a lot more complicated.
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Grand Forks | 4-0-0 | 10-2-1 | 54.6 | 9 |
| Pelican Rapids | 4-4-1 | 4-5-1 | 25.4 | 40 |
| Crookston | 4-4-0 | 4-7-2 | 25.1 | 41 |
| Hillcrest Academy | 2-7-0 | 2-10-2 | 22.2 | 48 |
| Team | Section | Overall | QRF Value | QRF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Cloud Cathedral | 6-0-0 | 11-2-1 | 57.8 | 5 |
| Albany | 7-2-0 | 11-3-0 | 51.2 | 12 |
| St. John’s Prep | 5-4-0 | 7-6-0 | 35.5 | 29 |
| Walker-H-A | 1-5-1 | 3-7-1 | 17.0 | 55 |
| Melrose | 0-7-0 | 0-13-0 | 13.2 | 59 |
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Congratulations to Roseau’s Noah Urness on his commitment to play hockey at St. Cloud State University.
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This is one of the coolest fundraisers I have seen by a school. Warroad and Roseau will have a Boys Volleyball game on Monday, October 30 at 7:00 p.m. at Warroad High School.
The event will have a free-will offering admission, with the winner getting 60 percent of the profit to donate to a charity of their choice, and the loser will get 40 percent of the pot for a charity of their choice.
Another cool fundraiser I saw was for Pelican Rapids homecoming. You paid money to take a sledgehammer to an old car. Not only do you get to raise some money, but it is a great stress reliever and nice anger release.
Kudos to the schools for doing some really cool fundraisers!!!
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2023-24 Division 1 College Hockey players come from 40 states.
The top 10:
Minnesota – 233
Michigan – 138
Massachusetts – 127
New York – 109
Illinois – 54
New Jersey – 52
Pennsylvania – 48
California – 47
Connecticut – 42
Wisconsin – 38
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To see the latest Minnesota High School Fall Sports rankings for Football, Volleyball, Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Soccer, and Swimming, click on the link below.
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The 9-Man West-North Sub-District Football stats after week 2 have been compiled by Dave Peterson. To see the stats for Clearbrook-Gonvick, Fertile-Beltrami, Kittson County Central, Stephen-Argyle, Win-E-Mac, Fosston, Goodridge/Grygla, Park Christian, BGMR, NCE/UH, Northern Freeze, and Warren-A-O, CLICK HERE.
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The Valley Plains District Football stats have also been compiled by Dave Peterson. To see the stats from Ada-Borup-West, Mahnomen/Waubun, Red Lake County, Lake Park-Audubon, Bagley, Menahga, Polk County West, and Red Lake, CLICK HERE.
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JOKES
My doctor told me to eat more Taco Bell.
Well he actually said “less McDonald’s”, but I’m pretty sure I know what he meant.
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A woman comes home early, and finds her husband in bed with a girl.
She is furious, threatens to kill them both… the husband says:
– Believe me, darling, this is just a misunderstanding. I was driving home, and saw this young lady trying to catch a ride. So I decided to give her a lift. I ask her where she needs to go, and she tells me she wants to visit some relatives, but isn’t sure about their address. So, I took her home so she could check our phonebook.
– Once there, I saw her dress is pretty ragged, so I decided to give her your old dress. Nearly two years that it’s been hanging in the closet, and you never wore it.
– Then, I saw her shoes are also about to fall apart, so I gave her your old shoes, which have been doing nothing but collecting dust for three years. Of course, she said thanks, and then asked:
“Excuse me sir, but is there anything else in this house your wife never uses?”
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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
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 sophomore playing golf at Dakota Wesleyan.
Joslynn Leach is a sophomore playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brady Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.
Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Norway.
Kate MacGregor is senior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Aleece Durbin is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Womens Track and Field team.
Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.
Crookston School District Coaches
Todd Miner is a Pirate Football assistant coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Emily Meyer is the Pirate head girls hockey coach and softball assistant 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
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Kevin Weber is a Pirate Boys Basketball volunteer assistant coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Colton Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc
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.
