SPORTS FEEVER – January 2, 2025 | KROX

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

Happy New Year! Now that 2024 is complete, I hope you have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!

Thanks for reading the column again this year!

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We have updated the latest Minnesota WINTER SPORTS Polls. To check them out, CLICK HERE.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  This week’s column is the annual A to Z list. I hope 2025 is your best year ever and thanks for making 2024 a fantastic year.

Enjoy the list.

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Now it is time for the 2024 A to Z New Years list. I have used a few suggestions that I received over the past week. It is a tough list to make, and we miss several people that should. We try to highlight people who have had important impacts on KROX, Crookston, and area athletics. Here is this year’s list –

A – Advertisers – The lifeblood of all media. We thank all the advertisers on KROX Radio and KROXAM.com. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. We thank all the advertisers, and the best way for you to thank them is to patronize their businesses or tell them thank you for sponsoring KROX programming!

B – Boll – Chloe Boll. The Junior multi-sport student-athlete for Crookston High School has done something that is very rare. In her sophomore year, she went to state swimming in two events. Crookston cut swimming (she was the only swimmer) so she decided to go out for tennis. The Crookston Pirate Girls tennis team and Chloe Boll went to state this past fall and made it to state in two separate fall sports. She is also the leading scorer and overall leader on the Girls Basketball team and is also a solid track and field athlete. Not only is she a great athlete, she is a great kid and student.

C – Crookston Pirate Booster Club and Crookston Fine Arts Booster Club – The two clubs raise money each year to give to the Crookston Pirate athletic teams and the Crookston School District music, arts, and drama departments. The financial impact is well over $40,000 each year and that helps every activity in the Crookston School District, thanks to the many people that donate to one or both of the clubs.

Crookston Baseball Association – There hasn’t been an organization that has done more for their sport than the Crookston Baseball Association over the last five to 10 years. They have helped with facilities at the UMC Baseball field and added scholarships. They have made upgrades to Jim Karn Baseball Field, the highland complex, and at some point in the hopefully near future would like to do a grandstand at Jim Karn Field.  So when you are out at Crookston establishments, make sure you play some pulltabs or electronic pulltabs because the proceeds go to the Baseball Association.

CYBA and Crookston Blue Line Club – for their promotion of youth basketball and hockey while trying to keep it as affordable as possible and giving the kids as many opportunities to play the two great sports.

D – Doctors – Dr. Steve and Lucas Biermaier from Biermaier Chiropractic; and Dr. Collin Fennel, Dr. Erik Kanten, and a few others from RiverView Health volunteer their time and services at Crookston Pirate sporting events. How many high school football teams have an orthopedic surgeon and two chiropractors at home football games? You see Dr. Erik Kanten and Steve Biermaier on the boy’s and girls’ hockey benches is reassuring to parents. The doctors listed give their time, services, and overwhelming peace of mind to the kids, parents, and coaches.

E – Eric Schmidt – Eric was named the head coach of the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Football team in December. Eric started as a player at the University of North Dakota, where he became a captain, All-American, and National Champion. After college, he took a teaching job in Crookston and was the head football and girls basketball coach. He went back to UND, before moving up the coaching ranks, including coaching for the Washington Huskies last year in the National Championship game where they lost to Michigan. He took the defensive coordinator job at San Diego State University and this December he took the University of North Dakota Head Coach. He is back to his roots and he has created a lot of excitement at his alma mater. If Schmitty can’t get UND to the next level……..I don’t know if anybody will!

F – Fertile-Beltrami Falcon Football/Basketball/Boys Golf – Coach Brian Nelson, his staff, and, of course, the players of Fertile-Beltrami have made it to three straight State Football playoffs and have also made it to four straight state semi-final games and made it to the state championship for the second time in four years.
The Fertile-Beltrami Falcon Boys Basketball team won the Section 8A championship last March and made it all the way to the state championship. They lost to a very good Cherry team and finished state runner-up with a lot of the same athletes.
The Fertile-Beltrami Boys golf team won the State Class A Championship again last spring. We might have to switch Fertile-Beltrami to Winnersville USA.

Frank Fee – He still helps KROX once in a while. He is a member of the Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame and was the one to start KROXAM.com and create the monster it has become. He covered high school sports for over 40 years and served on the Region 8A committee as a school board member, he was a long-time Section 8A Boys Hockey statistician when hockey had one class and has broadcast thousands and thousands of high school sporting events and hundreds and hundreds of state tournament games. He taught me the importance of hard work and doing things the right way.

G – Girls Tennis – The Crookston Pirate Girls Tennis team won another Section 8A championship this past fall. Crookston beat Providence Academy 5-2 in the first round before losing a heart-breaker to Litchfield 4-3 in the semi-finals and lost another heartbreaker 4-3 to Pine City in the third-place match. It’s pretty impressive for a team with half of the state tournament team from the year before graduating. So, Crookston reloaded, and the new varsity players played great tennis and continued to improve as the season went along, as Pirate girl’s tennis usually does because they are multi-sport athletes and don’t only play tennis. 

H – Halle Winjum – The freshman guard on the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Women’s Basketball team is back and playing some great basketball. She missed her senior season at Crookston High School with a torn ACL and it took her a little time this season to get the rust off and get used to playing at the D-2 level after missing a season. She has started the last two games for the Golden Eagles and she has been outstanding. Her season stats are impressive. She has made 6 of 9 three-pointer attempts, she has made 8 of 17 two point attempts, made 4 for 6 free throws. She has added 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 9 steals.  Before she started the last two games, 11 minutes was the most she played. The has played 34 and 25 minutes respectively in the last two games. It has been fun to see her settle in during her freshman year.

I – Indiana Feever star Caitlyn Clark. She has turned women’s basketball into a must-watch sport. TV ratings are at all-time highs, jersey sales are at all-time highs, and she is only a rookie. What she has done for College Women’s Basketball and the WNBA. She is the face of women’s sports, and that is a good thing.

J – Jokes –

Why do hipsters love field hockey?  Because it’s ice hockey before it gets cool.

Why are hockey players so good at making friends? They’re quick to break the ice.

Soccer is surprisingly relevant to my life. Just consider the lack of goals.

What does a Minnesota Sports fan do after they win their team wins the championship? Turn off the playstation.

Real golfers don’t miss putts, they get robbed.

K – KROX Staff – The KROX staff keeps things moving. It is a typical small business where we all do more than one job, partially because of the website. I have the best staff working at KROX. I am lucky to have dependable, hard-working employees who truly care about KROX and our listeners and are doing the best we can do each day. I thank them and without them, we have nothing.

K- Kambelle Freije – The Crookston Pirate Girls Hockey goaltender is the all-time leader in shut-outs, she has recorded over 1,000 career saves and is the glue that keeps the team together. Not only is she a great goalie, she is a solid softball player and maybe one of the funniest people you will meet. She keeps the mood light, but as soon as she puts the first skate blade on the ice, she turns into a warrior.

L – Listeners and Website visitors – Without the listeners and website visitors, we wouldn’t be able to continue to do what we do. Your continued support of all of KROX’s coverage is appreciated, and we’re looking forward to providing another full year of Crookston and Northwest Minnesota sports coverage in 2024.

M – Miller (Emma Miller) – Emma Miller, the Sophomore guard on the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Women’s Basketball team. She was just named the NSIC player of the week last week. She is averaging just shy of 20 points per game and leading her team to a 7-5 overall record and 4-2 in the NSIC.

N – Nate Lubarski – Crookston High School Activities Director Nate Lubarski has had a year. The district built a new football/track/soccer/softball facility and oversaw everything and incurred the headaches of going through the process, the excitement and relief of it being completed. He also is the head football coach so he was very busy this late summer and fall. He, along with Kayla Snyder, were able to make sure everything went well and it did and turned out to be a great project. Hats off to Nate! I know he is relieved to have the project complete.

O – Officials – No matter how good, or bad, they might be, they are an important part of high school, college, and pro athletics. Without them, we have call your own….which we all know would get ugly. We thank them for their commitment to athletics and the willingness to take the yelling and screaming of fans and coaches to make sure we can watch our favorite sports!. Thank all officials for their hard work and dedication to keeping sports going!

P – Philion, Steve Philion – Steve Philion is in his 51st year of coaching basketball, and his Red Lake County Rebels are ranked in the top 10 and off to another great start this season. Steve is not only a great coach, but he has many years of officiating football, baseball, and softball. Not only is he a great coach and solid official, but he is one of the best people you will meet. He also does a lot of volunteer work for the Knights of Columbus, Lions Club, has the Lace Em Up Basketball camp, and does a lot of things around the Red Lake Falls community. He is a member of the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and has well over 600 career wins. Hats off to Steve!!

Q – Quotes –

They say nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they’d make up their minds.  Walt Chamberlin.

Tampa Bay Coach John McKay about his 0-14 team in 1976 – “We didn’t tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking.”

Basketball Coach Billy Tubbs – “This year we plan to run and shoot. Next season we hope to run and score.”

1930’s Basketball Coach Weldon Drew – “We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors.

Hank Aaron – It took me 17 years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.

Charles Barkley – These are my new shoes. They’re good shoes. They won’t make you rich like me, they won’t make you rebound like me, they definitely won’t make you handsome like me. They’ll only make you have shoes like me. That’s it. 

R – Rick Niemela – The Crookston School District Transportation Director has been a magician every year.   The Pirate sports teams have been able to get busses for every trip without any problems (that we know of), and they have started all the games on time this year.

S – Todd Selk – The Region 8A Executive Director continues the tradition of having outstanding leadership in Region 8A. Not only is he doing great things as Superintendent at Fosston High School, but he is continuing the great things that Region 8A does.

T – Tiffany Fee – My wife, the better half. She is like a fine wine. She keeps getting better with age. She really is the best!! Tiff has done a great job raising our kids, making meals, keeping the house clean, and everything else she does all while working 40 to 60 hours a week. She is so busy, I can’t get a haircut! She is basically the opposite of me……she is nice and friendly, and everybody likes her. Most importantly, she puts up with me!! She is the best wife a guy could ask for, and I thank her for everything, including dealing with somebody like me that isn’t easy to be married to with all the time I am gone at night and the stress related-anxiety and everything that goes with that!

U – Underdogs. I always like cheering for the underdogs and like to see some different teams make it to big games.

V – Vichita Ounchith. The head Warroad Boys Basketball coach has his team off to a 9-0 start, including winning the Pequot Lakes Holiday tournament. Not only is he a great guy, but he is a great coach and when he has talent, the Warriors are as dangerous as any team in the section.

W—Wins. No matter who we cheer for, it seems like we are always looking for one more win. Spots are fun, frustrating, exhilarating, and depressing—all emotions wrapped into one. No matter what team you cheer for, enjoy the wins. You never know when the next win will come.

X – X-Factor – Crookston Pirate Winter athletic teams X-factors –
Boys Hockey – The first line has been fantastic all season. It will be the second line and third lines that are the X-Factors. Can they continue to improve and find a way to be consistent point-getters and tough on the defense side.
Girls Hockey – Consistency. The girls have played some great games, but haven’t played like they are capable. The Warroad tourney was a perfect example. They didn’t play like they are capable against Warroad and Mound Westonka then played a great game and beat Albert Lea. So playing like they are capable is the X-Factor.
Boys Basketball – This is a team with some potential. They have been getting better each game and once they put it all together, they could be a top half of the section team. The X-Factor – Taking care of the ball. They have to take better care of the ball and also move on offense. If they do those two things, they will be in every game they play.
Girls Basketball – The X-Factor for the girls teams is finding their offense. They have been decent on defense, but offensively, besides Chloe Boll, they have struggled especially on the consistency end. They have played a pretty favorable schedule so far and still has struggled on the offensive side. So that will be huge the rest of the season.
Wrestling – Being able to get close to filling the lineup will be the X-Factor. Giving up six points an open weight has been costly to the Pirates, so getting those filled will be key for team success.

Y – YOU! – If you are reading this, thank you!  

Z – Zygi Wilf and the Wilf family. What they have been able to pull off with the Vikings this year and nothing short of unbelievable. When they need to get a player, they go out and make a trade. They seem to be good owners willing to do whatever it takes for the Vikings to win. Is this year the year? Who knows, but lets enjoy the ride because it has been a lot of fun!

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The latest Minnesota High School sports rankings are available by clicking the link below.

Minnesota High School Rankings – KROX (kroxam.com)

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JOKES

See jokes above.

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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

Reese Swanson is a freshman playing hockey at St. Olaf.

Carter Coauette is a freshman playing football at Minot State.

Isabelle Smith is a freshman playing Tennis at Concordia College.

Isaac Thomforde is a freshman playing Tennis at Northwestern College in St. Paul.

Emilee Tate is a Sophomore playing Softball at Northland Community and Technical College.

Halle Bruggeman is a Sophomore on the University of Wisconsin-Stout Women’s Rugby team.

Ethan Boll is a Red-shirt Freshman on the University of North Dakota Football team.

Breanna Kressin is a Junior on the Hockey Cheer Team for THE University of Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey team.

Jacey Larson is a Sophomore playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.

Aleah Bienek is a Junior playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.

Joslynn Leach is a Senior playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.

Brooks Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.

Ty Hamre is redshirt Junior playing football at Bemidji State University.

Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.

Crookston School District Coaches
Blake Bergeron is the head Pirate Wrestling Coach.
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls Soccer coach
Marley Melbye is an assistant girls golf coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ben Trostad is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Ethan Magsam is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling 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 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.

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.

Tags: sports, Sports Feever