NBA=National Banning-Thugs Association

NBA commissioner David Stern must be having flashbacks to the glory days of Larry Legend and Magic when marketing the NBA was so simple. Stern is worried that the NBA is turning into a scene off a Bronx playground and that the NBA's white audience is going to start losing interest in an increasingly rough and tough league. Take the suspension of Indiana Pacer Ron Artest for example. Artest seems to taking over as the leagues next Dennis Rodman and Stern is having nothing of it. Artest was given a harsh four game suspension for bumping shoulders with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley. Artest probably deserved a one or two game suspension at the most. I wouldn't be suprised if Stern banned cornrows and tatoos in the near future and forced teams to wear v-neck sweaters as uniforms.

3 days, 8 hours, 55 minutes and 33 seconds until...

The next Real World/Road Rules Battle of the Sexes episode! Or as my friend Sara and I like to call it, "BOTS." I mean the suspense is killing me here. The questions are mounting: Is there really someone stupid enough to marry "The Puck?" Will Ellen cry again in fear that someone might kick her baby ass? Will Colin recover from a nagging ankle injury to compete for the men? And hello, when are we going to start seeing some nudity on this show, because I thought that's what these shows were all about?

Report: Republicans complain of sore hands

I read that George W. Bush was interrupted around 70 times last night for applause and standing ovations during his State of the Union address. I find this habit at presidential speeches to be so silly. The President will make some vague blanket statement like "I think every child in this country should receive a quality education." Then everybody stands and applauds for twenty seconds. One question. Why? Why is this statement and others like it worthy of applause. I should hope that the President of our country wants every child to receive a quality education. This isn't new and intelligent stuff here people. "I want the streets of America to be safe." I'm sorry, but if I'm in attendance, I'm not getting up off my seat or even applauding for that matter for that comment.

It's too bad that...
-Raiders coach Bill Callahan had a glazed look on his face during the entire Super Bowl.
-Rich Gannon had a spectacular year, but didn't even show up on Super Bowl Sunday.
-The Super Bowl halftime show lasted longer than Andre Agassi's straight set victory in the Austrailian Open Final.
-Coaches can't be named MVP of the Super Bowl, because Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin would get my vote.
-The Dixie Chicks can't sing the national anthem at every Super Bowl.
-John Madden solidified himself as the most overrated color commentator in sports broadcasting history.

Best Super Bowl Commercial
Without a doubt, my favorite commercial during yesterday's Super Bowl was Reebok's add featuring Terry Tate the office linebacker. If you missed the spot, it featured a large man in football pads crushing office workers for typical office behavior such as playing solitare and forgetting to put a cover sheet on a TPS report.

Hopkins Falls at Target Center
By Matt Thomas (From 01/28 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

With three players headed for division I scholarships next season, the Hopkins boys basketball team was largely deemed the most talented team in the state. The Royals received some attention in national polls and got four games against out of state powers on their schedule.
The Royals completed the four games with a 1-3 record after they fell 67-65 to Laurinburg Institute of North Carolina.
“Probably contrary to what a lot of people think, I think that those games have kind of set us back a little bit,” head coach Ken Novak, Jr. said. “I don’t think we’re as good right now as we should be and we haven’t defined our game enough.”
Before the two-point loss to Laurinburg, the Royals went 1-1 in the Slam Dunk to the Beach Tournament in Delaware. The Royals also lost to St. Anthony (NJ) High School at Cameron Indoor Stadium on the campus of Duke University.
The game with Laurinburg on Jan. 25 was nip and tuck the entire way as neither team led by more than seven points the entire game.
The Royals got seven points in the first quarter from junior Mitch Henke to take a 16-14 lead.
After the Royals built their biggest lead of seven at 29-22, Laurinburg ended the first half on a 14-2 run.
Royals senior Kris Humphries struggled from the field in the first half as he scored nine points on 3-11 shooting from the field.
The Royals made a concerted effort to get Humphries better looks at the basket in the second half and it worked.
Humphries started the quarter with a backdoor cut for a slam dunk and showed Laurinburg why he is the top recruit from Minnesota by scoring 12 points in the third quarter to bring the Royals back within two.
Humphries started the fourth quarter by making his first three shots from the field, but then mysteriously didn’t take a shot the remainder of the game.
The Royals took a 58-53 lead, but Laurinburg battled back to lead 64-59.
The Royals battled back to get within two and senior Darren Clarke hit a three pointer with 26 seconds remaining to put the Royals up by one.
Laurinburg didn’t even look concerned as they came down the court and found Theo Brown open for three in the corner. Brown knocked the shot down with six seconds to play to give Laurinburg the victory.
Humphries finished with a game high 28 points on 10-20 from the field. Clarke and senior Dan Coleman added 14 points apiece.
“We play well in streaks, but we still play way to much of a pick-up basketball game,” Novak said. “Offensively we have to be much more consistent with what we do and defensively we have to get much tighter and sharper because we allowed too many easy baskets.”
Earlier in the week, the Royals remained perfect in conference play at 5-0 with a 79-54 victory over Minnetonka.
Humphries scored 30 points against the Skippers while Coleman added 16. John Manley led the Skippers with 23 points and Kevin Martin added 11.
The Royals had a scare during their Jan. 21 game against Wayzata as junior guard Kyle Reynolds suffered a stroke in the middle of the game.
Reynolds staggered off the court and soon lost feeling in the left side of his body. He was rushed to the hospital where doctors found a blood clot in his neck.
Reynolds has been showing continuous improvement since doctors performed an angioplasty on him. The team was hoping that Reynolds would be released from North Memorial Hospital for a few hours to watch the game at Target Center, but doctors and the Reynolds family decided against that.
“They’re hoping for [a full recovery], but I think it’s kind of a fifty-fifty deal which means he’s got a shot at it,” Novak said. “It’s definitely not a sure deal, but Kyle’s a fighter and we know he’ll go after it.”
While the team is still sorting out the emotions of Reynolds’ situation, they know they have to come to the court focused the next two weeks. The Royals face Edina on Jan. 31 before a marquee matchup with Minneapolis Henry on Feb. 4.
“Right now I think we are a good team, but that’s all we are,” Novak said. “There are times when our level raises up, but there are also times when it goes down.”

Royals Take Control of Classic Lake
By Matt Thomas (From 01/28 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

Now that every team in the Classic Lake Conference has had a shot to knock off the Hopkins Royals things have become crystal clear. The Royals are unquestionably the top team in the conference after beating their six counterparts by an average of 37 points per game.
The latest victims last week were the Wayzata Trojans and the Minnetonka Skippers who fell at the hands of the Royals by 36 and 34 points respectively.
The Trojans actually held the Royals to just 24 points in the first half on Jan. 21 and trailed by only 11 at the break. A halfcourt zone defense by the Trojans limited the number of touches for Royals junior Leslie Knight.
The Royals were subsequently forced to take several perimeter jump shots on successive possessions and the shots were not falling.
Royals freshman guard Abby Greene hit two three pointers early in the first quarter to give the Royals a 17-6 lead.
Both teams struggled to find quality shots in the second period as the Royals shot just 33 percent compared to 38 percent for the Trojans.
“We needed to stop turning the ball over because we had nine turnovers at halftime,” Knight said. “They were playing that zone and we weren’t executing our offense like we could have.”
The Royals must have figured something out at halftime because they started the third quarter with an 11-2 run that pushed the lead out to 20.
Knight, senior Jordan Barnes and sophomore Kaitlyn Lillemoe combined to score 15 of the Royals 17 third quarter points.
The Trojans meanwhile had difficulty creating open shots for their leading scorer, Jowan Ortega. Ortega was limited to just seven points on 4-9 shooting from the field.
With a 41-20 lead in their hands, the Royals continued to pour it on in the fourth quarter. Greene hit three more three pointers in the fourth quarter to end the night with 15 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arch.
Knight shrugged off some early missed lay-ups to finish with a game high 16 points on 5-8 from the floor and a perfect 6-6 from the line.
Barnes finished with 11 points on 5-10 from the field, while Lillemoe also had 11 points on 4-10 from the field.
The Royals followed the trouncing of the Trojans with a 73-40 victory over Minnetonka.
Knight led the Royals with 20 points, while Lillemoe and Barnes added 14 and 11 points. Barnes scored the 1,000th point of her career on Jan. 17 in the Royals 79-36 victory at St. Louis Park.
“I think it really means a lot and it’s a really nice thing to achieve,” Knight said, who also has over 1,000 points in her career. “I don’t think anybody on this team cares that much about their points, but its still a nice thing to be recognized for so we were happy for her.”
Some would think that the Royals might lose focus with so many lopsided victories in their favor, but last year’s State Tournament semifinal loss to Blaine still lingers in the team’s memory.
“If we make it to state we know there are going to be tougher teams like Eastview, Lakeville and Elk River,” Knight said. “We just have to keep that in mind and keep working hard.”
The closest any conference team has come to knocking off the defending conference champions came back on Jan. 3 when Edina came within 17 points of the Royals.
The Royals were scheduled to play a non-conference game with Minneapolis Henry on Jan. 27. The team will then head back into conference play when they host Cooper on Jan. 31.

Mis-Informed Website of the Week

William S. Purdy of South St. Paul Minnesota has some disturbing ways of getting his point across on the abortion issue. Purdy has been in court recently and was told that he has to stop using trademarked names like "lovemcdonalds.com" and "washingtonpostchristian.com" to promote his anti-abortion views. If you enter in www.lovemcdonalds.com it will take you directly to www.robbinsdale.org where Purdy will tell you the city of Robbinsdale has blood on their hands because it promotes the killing of unborn babies. Purdy also makes reference to the belief that abortion and the September 11th terrorist attacks are linked. That God is somehow punishing Americans for allowing abortions to be legal. Beware of some grusome pictures on this site as well. To top it all off, Purdy and his son are Johnnies. Figures.

Trojans seize control of the Classic Lake
By Matt Thomas (From 01/28 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

With half the conference season in the books, the Wayzata Trojans have rebounded from a down year in 2001-2002 to take sole possession of first place in the Classic Lake Conference. With one round of games left to go, five teams still have a chance at the conference crown.
Wayzata 5-0-1 (12-5-1)
The Trojans secured first place last week with a 6-3 victory over the second place team from St. Louis Park. After grabbing a 4-1 lead, the Trojans allowed the Orioles to get within one in the third period.
Junior Dominique Barber gave the Trojans a 5-3 lead with an insurance goal at the 11:45 mark and sophomore Tom Cekalla sealed the deal with an empty net goal.
The Trojans are currently unranked in the latest Lets Play Hockey poll despite their 5-0-1 conference record.
While nobody stands out on the roster as a prolific goal scorer, the Trojans have had somebody different step up each night. Senior goaltender Kevin Johnson has been more than solid in net with a 2.50 goals against average.
St. Louis Park 4-2 (11-4-2)
The Orioles have opened some eyes this season and have been ranked as high as third in the Class A rankings.
Impressive results include a 5-4 overtime win over Edina, a 5-2 win over Blake and a four-all tie against Rochester Lourdes.
The Orioles are still looking for some consistency as they have lost two conference games to Wayzata and Armstrong by three goal margins.
The Orioles have plenty of talented goal scorers including David Martinson, Alec Rabine, Jon Kesely and Brian Rose, but need to look to improve their defense if they want to be contenders in Class A.
If the Orioles can give talented goaltender Ben Levy more support, they could return to the State Tournament for the first time since 1998.
Armstrong 4-2 (10-8-1)
The Falcons took a hit when three players left the team to play junior hockey after last season.
The team recently followed a disappointing 1-0 loss to Minnetonka with a 4-2 upset over Edina.
Senior forward Evan Kaufmann sparked the victory with a hat trick including the game-winner in the third period.
Junior Erik Dahl has stepped in as the team’s full-time goaltender and seems to be improving game by game.
The Falcons will need players like Kaufmann, Mike Hosfield and Dan Batdorf to continue to step up if they want to make a run for the conference title.
Edina 3-2-2 (14-2-2)
After a terrific non-conference season that saw the Hornets rack up an 11-0-1 record, the team has stumbled to a 3-2-2 conference record.
The overtime loss to St. Louis Park was the first loss of the season for the Hornets. The team managed only nine shots on goal in their 4-2 loss to Armstrong on Jan. 18.
Despite their recent struggles, the Hornets are still rated second in the latest Lets Play Hockey Poll.
While they may not be able to recover to win the Classic Lake title, you can guarantee head coach Curt Giles will have them ready to play come section playoff time.
Minnetonka 3-3 (8-10)
The Skippers have shown some signs of life in the recent weeks under the direction of head coach Tim Hanus.
Senior goaltender Dan Steinkamp came up huge with 24 saves in a 1-0 shutout over Armstrong on Jan. 16.
After a 4-2 start to the season, the Skippers went through a nine game stretch where they went just 3-6.
Senior forward Brent Hanus is the teams leading scorer with eight goals and 11 assists. Junior Drew Aikins is next with seven goals and five assists, while senior Peter Shenk has five goals and seven assists.
Hopkins 1-5 (3-15)
Wins have been few and far between in Royals camp as the teams lone conference victory came in a 3-0 win over Cooper on Jan. 18.
Junior wing Ryan Doyle scored all three goals for the Royals in that victory, while junior goaltender Luke Edwall made 16 saves to earn the shutout.
The win snapped a six game losing streak for the Royals.
Cooper 0-6 (5-11)
The Hawks look like they will be hard pressed to earn a conference victory this season. The Hawks have been outscored 32-5 in six conference contests thus far this season.
The team’s best chance to snag a conference victory will be the last game of the regular season on February 13 against Hopkins.

Tennis Anyone?

American Andy Roddick and Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui played a 4 hour, 59 minute match in the quarterfinals of the Austrailian Open on Wednesday. Roddick outlasted El Aynaoui (pronounced El-Ah-now-ee) 21-19 in the fifth set which took two hours and 23 minutes. The match was spectacular for several reasons including the sportsmanship that was shown after the match by both players. Former star and current commentator John McEnroe interviewed both players after the match. The two showered each other with complements and proved again that some athletes in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB could use a lesson in sportsmanship from professional tennis players.

Thin Ice

Another tragedy struck on the frozen lakes of Minnesota this week. A 17-year old girl and a 16-year old boy, both juniors at Minnetonka High School, drove out on Lake Minnetonka and had their car fall through the ice. The 17-year old girl, just recently identified as Jacqueline Fricke, made her way out of the water and crawled several hundred feet towards shore before freezing to death. The boy, identified as Evan Wilson, never made it out of the water. The deaths are part of a growing problem in the state as people continue to ignore signs near lakes warning people of thin ice. Perhaps the DNR needs to take further pre-cautions to avoid future deaths. Another possiblity would be to require schools to spend a day educating students on the dangers of walking or driving on the ice in Minnesota.

A Tear Jerker

If you're in the mood for a tear jerker, check out this website dedicated to an aquaintance of mine who is battling Leukemia.

Having Second Thoughts?

I always wonder if athletes have second thoughts when they pick one team over another in the free-agent market for more money and then end up on dismal team. The Timberwolves courted free-agent Ricky Davis last off-season, but Davis elected to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers for more money. The Timberwolves are currently four games above .500 and fighting for playoff position, while the Cavaliers are 8-34. Davis has also had a couple of run-ins with head coach John Lucas who was fired on Monday morning. I wonder if Davis is wishing he was playing with KG and for Flip Saunders.

Super Bowl Set

The John Gruden rematch Super Bowl is set as Gruden's current team, Tampa Bay, will face Gruden's former team, Oakland. Odds makers are favoring the Raiders right now by three to four points depending on where you place your bet, but I'm of the belief that the Bucs are going to squash the team's horrific history and pull this one out. If the Bucs score a defensive touchdown in this one like Ronde Barber's 92-yard interception return yesterday against the Eagles, I think Gruden's current team will be the one holding the Lombardi trophy. My prediction: Tampa Bay 31 Oakland 20

Battle of Unbeaten's

A big match-up is in store tonight in St. Peter, Minnesota as the Carleton women's basketball team brings its 13-0 record to 13-0 Gustavus Adolphus. Both the Gusties and the Knights have topped #2 St. Benedict in the past week by one point. The Gusties won 43-42 and the Knights prevailed 76-75 setting up tonight's game for first place.

Flying in the Nude? How Rude!

A travel agency that specializes in clothing-optional vacations is set to fly as many as 172 passengers from Miami to Cancun with clothing being optional. Castaways Travel in Spring, Texas is promoting the vacation as the world's first flight for nude passengers. The kicker is that for passengers safety, no hot food or drinks will be served to nude passengers. A spokesperson for the travel agency says that this idea is a way for people to relieve stress, but I don't buy it. Take some frickin zoloft if you want to relieve stress people!

Rapport Stars In Blake Victory
By Matt Thomas (From 01/21 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

With decisive advantages in size and athleticism, the Blake boys basketball team looked as if they would pull away from an outmatched Concordia Academy team.
The Bears let the Beacons hang around for three quarters, but finally took control in the fourth for a 77-66 victory.
Junior guard Adam Rapport got off to a slow start by scoring only two first quarter points, but ended up leading the Bears with 21.
“That’s probably his best varsity game in two years,” Bears head coach Dan Yesnes said. “He had a really nice offensive game.”
The Bears appeared to have things firmly in control late in the first quarter. Seven points from senior Joey Hartman and eight from senior Gerrit Conover gave the Bears a 24-10 lead.
Just a minute into the second quarter, however, the Beacons had trimmed the lead to six.
Rapport scored eight of the Bears 13 second quarter points, but the Beacons grabbed a two-point lead by halftime.
“We’re obviously still really inconsistent,” Yesnes said. “There are times we look really good and then we go flat for awhile and let the other team right back in the game.”
The Beacons led by as many as five in the third quarter, before the Bears finished the quarter with a 10-2 run.
A lay-up by Rapport put the Bears up 48-47, and Conover stretched the Bears lead to three before quarters end with an offensive rebound and putback.
The turning point came midway through the fourth quarter with the Bears holding a 58-55 lead.
Rapport scored two field goals and junior Ryan Cathcart made good on two free throws to stretch the lead to nine with under two minutes to play.
The Bears went to the line 18 times in the closing minutes and made 13 of them to seal the victory.
Rapport’s game high 21 points came on 10-19 shooting for the field. Conover added 16 points on 5-9 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line. Hartman also had 16 points on 3-7 from the field and 9-13 from the line.
Jeff Leintz, Cathcart and Yuk Talijan all chipped in eight points apiece for the Bears.
The Bears made 26-57 shots from the field, while the Beacons went 20-51. The Beacons made eight three pointers, which allowed them to stay in the game until the fourth quarter.
The win improved the Bears record to 7-5 overall and 2-2 in Tri Metro Conference play.
The team has a big week ahead with two key conference games on the slate.
The Bears travel to conference leader DeLaSalle on Tuesday, Jan. 21 and then welcome Minnehaha Academy to Blake on Friday, Jan. 24.
“We had a disappointing one-point loss to St. Paul Academy a week or so ago so we’re 2-2 right now in the conference,” Yesnes said. “It’s pretty competitive this year, but we’re just looking to be a little more consistent.”

Steinkamp Shuts The Door on Falcons
By Matt Thomas (From 01/21 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

After a poor showing in a 7-1 loss to the Wayzata Trojans a week before, the Minnetonka boys hockey team wanted to prove it didn’t belong in the cellar of the Classic Lake Conference.
The Skippers responded as senior goaltender Dan Steinkamp stopped 24 shots including a penalty shot to lift the Skippers over the Armstrong Falcons 1-0 on Jan. 16.
The only goal of the game came early in the first period on a Skippers powerplay. Armstrong senior Dan Batdorf was called for interference with 11:47 left in the period and the Skippers took advantage with a man up.
Senior Peter Shenk received a pass from Brent Hanus just inside the blue line and snuck a shot through the pads of Falcons goalie Erik Dahl.
The Skippers dominated the first period and held a 14-5 shots on goal advantage, but it was Steinkamp and the Skippers defense that secured the victory in the final two periods.
With 3:15 remaining in the second period, the Falcons were awarded a penalty shot after a player was dragged down from behind on a breakaway.
Senior captain Mike Hosfield took the penalty shot for the Falcons and was turned away by Steinkamp.
“He skated down and I just had a lot of confidence going into it,” Steinkamp said. “He tried to pull it across and I just poke checked it away.”
Steinkamp’s work wasn’t done yet as he was forced to make several spectacular saves during a Falcon powerplay late in the second period.
The Falcons didn’t get many quality scoring chances in the third period as the Skippers stayed out of the penalty box and held on to the lead. It was Steinkamp’s first shutout since the opening game of the season when the Skippers topped Osseo 5-0.
“I feel like I’m playing really strong. I had kind of a tough week last week, but I feel like I’m back on track,” Steinkamp said. “The team’s meshing and working real hard so I think we’re coming together at the right time.
The Skippers tried to get a winning streak going, but unfortunately fell 4-3 to St. Louis Park just two days after the victory over the Falcons.
Steinkamp made 22 saves and Shenk, Drew Aikins and Michael Schutt scored goals, but it wasn’t enough to top the Orioles who are in second place in the conference at 4-1.
The loss dropped the Skippers to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play with a tough match-up against Edina upcoming on Jan. 23. The Skippers will also face Hopkins on Jan. 25 at the Hopkins Pavilion.
The Skippers will look to continue getting strong play from their leading scorers in the week’s ahead. Hanus leads the team with eight goals and 11 assists, while Akins has seven goals and five assists. Steinkamp currently holds a 2.78 goals against average.
The Skippers hope their depth and hard work will start to pay off in the latter part of the conference schedule.
“All three of our lines are going at it and playing real strong,” Steinkamp said. “If we keep working hard we’ll be at the top because not many teams in this conference have a good strong three lines like we do.”
The Falcons meanwhile rebounded from the loss to Minnetonka with an impressive 4-2 victory over Edina.
Senior captain Evan Kaufmann recorded a hat trick and scored two of his goals in the third period.
The Falcons are now 9-8-1 overall and tied with the Skippers at 3-2 in conference play.
The Falcons have their easiest week ahead on the schedule as they face Hopkins on Jan. 23 and Cooper on Jan. 25.

Spartans Looking Up After Two Wins
By Matt Thomas (From 01/21 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

A strong first quarter that saw contributions from all five starters pulled the Orono boys basketball team out of a mini slump as the Spartans topped Fridley 66-55 on Jan. 14.
After losing two of their previous three games to Columbia Heights and Annandale, the Spartans needed a solid effort to break back into the winning column.
“We’re 9-3 now and the three games we lost all came down to the final minute of play,” Spartans head coach Mike Blanski said.
The Spartans made 9-14 shots in the first quarter as they raced out to a 22-6 lead.
Senior guard Andy Spilseth scored the Spartans first eight points of the game and finished the quarter with ten.
“That was our goal, because in our losses to Columbia Heights and Annandale we came out and didn’t start playing until the second or third quarter,” Blanski said. “So we wanted to get off to a good start so we didn’t have to fight to get back in the game.”
Seniors Ross Devor and Matt Roybal scored seven points apiece in the second quarter as the Spartans took a 38-22 lead into halftime.
The Tigers cut the lead ten late in the third quarter with a 6-0 run as the Spartans got careless with the ball for a brief span.
Leading 47-37, the Spartans got a lift off the bench from junior Jared Reynolds who scored six straight points of his own to put the Spartans comfortably ahead 53-37.
Devor, the teams leading scorer, made sure the final outcome would remain in the Spartans favor as he scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Devor finished with a game high 24 points on 10-15 shooting from the floor.
He’s a competitor and an intelligent and confident player and that’s what makes him the player he is,” Blanski said. “He might have had 24 points tonight and he was double and triple teamed most of the time.”
Devor’s ability to draw two or three defenders at a time, opens things up for teammates like Roybal, Spilseth, Ryan Tims and Bobby Innes.
Roybal finished with 11 points on 4-10 from the floor, while Spilseth and Innes finished with ten and nine respectively. Tims hit two three pointers and finished with six points. The Tigers were led by six foot, six inch senior Mike Sielaff’s 12 points.
Another aspect of the Spartans game which has allowed them to win nine of their first 12 games is their ability to get out on the fast break and score easy baskets.
“We’ve got a good fast break team and when we get a rebound or a turnover we feel we have a good chance to score if we push the ball up the court,” Blanski said.
The Spartans improved to 10-3 on the season and 4-1 in Metro Alliance play with an 70-67 victory over St. Anthony on Jan. 17.
Devor led the Spartans with 21 points, while Tims added 19.
The Spartans now have three non-conference games before a rematch with Columbia Heights on Jan. 28. The Spartans will travel to Monticello on Jan. 21 and to St. Michael-Albertville on Jan. 23.

Inside The Head Of A Dyslexic

In the future I will be publishing stories about a friend of mine who will remain nameless. I've sworn for years that this person must be dyslexic, but I'll let you decide for yourself.

The other day I got an email from my friend and in it she spelled the word "rumor", r-o-o-m-e-r. I asked her about it a couple of weeks later and this was her response: "Well room is spelled r-o-o-m so there's no reason why rumor shouldn't be spelled r-o-o-m-e-r!"

I followed this comment up by explaining to her that rumor was actually spelled with a "u". Her response was: "What? r-u-m-e-r? That makes no sense." I said, you're right, r-u-m-e-r doesn't make sense, because it's spelled r-u-m-O-r!"

Bush The Hypocrite

President Geroge W. Bush recently announced that his administration will be urging the Supreme Court to clamp down on America's colleges and universities whose admissions policies favor students of certain races or ethnic backrounds. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor has drawn considerable criticism for its policy which awards minority students 20 points if they come from a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group. Bush claims this policy and others around the country are unconstitutional. Funny, but its been commonly known for years that George W. himself earned acceptance into Yale University based on an equally unconstitutional policy. The policy is know as the "legacy" policy. The legacy policy basically means that if your grandpa and daddy got into a specific school that you will be given preferential treatment to attend the school, even if your grades and test scores don't meet the requirements. If Bush is going to stand up against unconstitutional collegiate admissions policies that pertain to race, he better stand up against the exact policy that got him into college!

The Most Over Protective Mom In History

If you've never heard of Amy Borkowsky and her over protective mother's answering machine messages, you're missing out. Get a taste for what this CD has to offer on Amy's website. Included on the CD are messages left by her mother including one that warns Amy not to use lambskin condoms. Amy's mother also calls on Halloween and warns Amy to check her trick or treat bag for candy bars with holes in them, because "it could mean that someone stuck it with a hypodermic needle." Another personal favorite of mine is when Amy's mother tells her not to wear her red robe when she goes out to get the mail, because she heard that "red is a gang color."

Staying In The Hunt

In an attempt to stabalize their roster for the future, the Minnesota Twins announced Friday that they have signed All-Star Center Fielder Torii Hunter to a long term deal. Hunter led the Twins with 29 home runs and 94 RBI in 2002, while his defensive abilities in center field have all but erased the memories of one time Minnesota hero Kirby Puckett. The deal is reportedly worth $32 million over four years, although the team hasn't officially announced the contract.

They Take A Licking and Keep On Ticking

Over the years, many sports fans have thrown the Duke Basketball team in the same catagory as the Yankee's and Lakers. They are a sports dynasty which causes many fans to hate the team. The Dukies are another example of a team that doesn't rebuild, but a team that simply re-loads. Last year the Blue Devils were ranked #1 for a majority of the season and then lost Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Boozer to the NBA. Where have the Blue Devils fallen to? Nowhere. They are still ranked #1 and have the only undefeated record in all of division I basketball. The reason why I respect the Duke dynasty over teams like the Yankees and Lakers, is because money is not involved. The Blue Devils attract talent because Mike Krzyzewski is arguably the greatest coach in the game. Another factor that lures talent to Durham is that the student fans at Duke are crazy and who wouldn't want to play in that environment. The Duke men's basketball program is as classy as it gets these days and for that the Blue Devils should be respected by sports fans.

Gusties upset St. Ben's 43-42

The Gustavus Adolphus College women's basketball team (#14 D3Hoops.com) upset the second ranked St. Benedict Blazers 43-42 in a defensive battle in St. Peter on Wednesday night. With the Gusties holding a slim 43-42 lead, the Blazers had the ball out of bounds with 1.2 seconds remaining. Sophomore center Kim Johnson was fouled on her last second shot attempt which sent her to the line for two shots with no time remaining. Johnson missed the first shot and Gustavus proceeded to call timout. Johnson stepped to the line following the timeout and saw her shot rim in and out as the Gusties prevailed. Gustavus senior Kelly Etzel (Hamel, MN) led the Gusties with ten points, while Leah Laurich led the Blazers with ten. The win propells the Gusties into a first place tie with Carleton at 9-0 in MIAC conference play.

Because He's Black

LeBron James's high school athletic eligibility is being questioned because he is now driving a brand new, $50,000 Hummer. It is obvious that James is being questioned because high school officials are not used to seeing a black teenager from Akron drive such a nice car. How many atheltes at Edina or Wayzata high schools do you think pull into their respective high school parking lots behind the wheels of expensive sport utility vehichles. Do they get questioned? Of course not. They are fortunate enough to live in the white suburbs where such an occurance is deemed normal. Why should James be punished simply because his mom or dad isn't a vice president for General Mills?

Rude Homecomings

Over the past month, four Robbinsdale Armstrong graduates have returned to Minneapolis for basketball games at Williams Arena.
The University of Minnesota women’s team hasn’t been too friendly to the Minnesota natives as the Gophers have won all three contests in blowouts.
1999 graduate Amanda Neby’s Radford team came to Minneapolis on November 23 and lost 93-53. Neby had a strong performance with ten points and eight rebounds.
2000 graduates Katie Wiberg and Randi Meissner came to town with the University of Missouri-Kansas City and lost 88-53.
Meissner tallied 12 points and seven rebounds, while Wiberg didn’t get many looks at the basket and finished with two points.
Former Metro Player of the Year and Ms. Basketball, April Calhoun returned to Minneapolis on Jan. 12 with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The Gophers jumped out to a 30-5 lead and topped the Hawkeyes 94-65. Calhoun started and played a team high 36 minutes for the Gophers Big Ten Rivals.
Like Wiberg, Calhoun didn’t get many looks at the basket and finished with five points and five rebounds.

Falcons Lose Two Close Ones
By Matt Thomas (From 01/14 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

Going into last week the Armstrong boys basketball team was undefeated, yet they knew they had their toughest week ahead of them.
The second ranked Jefferson Jaguars traveled to Armstrong and came away with a 66-55 victory. Two days later, the Falcons traveled to fourth ranked Hopkins and fell 62-50.
The Falcons found themselves in the middle of both games, but ran out of gas in the second half in both contests.
Senior Billy Wiberg and junior Everette Pedescleaux combined for 12 first quarter points against the Jaguars as the Falcons trailed 20-18.
The Jaguars scored the last five points of the first half as senior Dan Wheeler hit a three pointer to widen the Jaguars lead to 36-26 at halftime.
The Falcons battled back and looked to gain some momentum when the Falcons executed an ally-oop out of a time out.
Wiberg fed junior DeAnte Ferguson for a slam dunk to get the Falcons within nine. Pedescleaux trimmed the lead to seven with a turnaround jumper, but the Jaguars outside shooting took over after that.
Two three pointers by Brent Augustine and another by Wheeler in the last two minutes, pushed the Jaguars lead back to ten after three quarters.
The Falcons got as close as seven in the fourth quarter, but the Jaguars put the game away by going 6-7 from the free throw line down the stretch.
“We thought we played pretty good, but we were a little tight in the first half and missed some easy shots,” head coach Greg Miller said.
The Falcons shot 66 percent from the field in both the first and third quarters, but were hurt by poor shooting in the second quarter when they went just 2-12.
The Jaguars had their stroke going from the outside all night as they connected on 8-14 three point attempts.
Wheeler led the Jaguars with 23 points on 9-13 from the field. Augustine hit four three pointers and finished with 14 points.
The Falcons had three players in double figures, led by Pedescleaux’s 18 points. Wiberg added 14, while DaWon Ferguson chipped in ten.
Although Pedescleaux is the type of player who can score twenty points or more per game, Miller is looking for a more balanced scoring attack.
“We have four guys averaging in double figures right now and a team like that is hard to defend,” Miller said. “Obviously Everette inside is one of the premier players in the state, but Billy Wiberg is a heck of a play and then we have players like Chris Babcock and Dawon as well.”
The Falcons are now 6-2 overall and just glad that they have their starting center, Pedescleaux, back in the lineup after he missed several games due to injury earlier in the season.
“He pretty much scored at will on us tonight,” Jaguars head coach Jeff Evens said. “He’s a good ball player and we had some things designed to try and shut him down but it obviously didn’t work.”
Pedescleaux had the daunting task of playing against Hopkins senior Kris Humphries two days after the loss to Jefferson.
The Falcons again hung around and trailed by only nine at halftime. The Royals proved to have too much size inside as Humphries scored 20 and Dan Coleman added 16 in the Royals 62-50 victory.
Pedescleaux led the Falcons with 16 points, while junior Phil Knutson added 12.
Pedescleaux has the possibility of a big week ahead as the Falcons face two of the smaller teams in the conference in St. Louis Park and Cooper.
The Falcons will host St. Louis Park on Jan. 14 and will travel to Cooper on Jan. 17.

Edina Too Much For Skipper Boys
By Matt Thomas (From 01/14 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

If the Minnetonka boys basketball team could replicate its play in the first quarter of last Friday’s game with the Edina Hornets, they would make head coach John Hedstrom a very happy man.
The Skippers jumped out to a 17-9 first quarter lead and eventually led 25-16 two minutes into the second quarter. That’s when the Hornets went a 30-6 run as they made 12-17 shots to put the Skippers in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.
“We lost our intensity on defense after the first quarter,” Hedstrom said. “And we started to take shots too quickly. Edina is an experienced team and when they started to make shots, we were forced to try to shoot our way back into the game.”
Much of the Skippers early success was due to the outside shooting of junior guard Brian Ranwick. The six foot guard went a perfect 3-3 from outside the arch to give the Skippers their early lead.
The Skippers leading scorer on the season, Tom Conboy, hit a three of his own to open the second quarter and it looked like the Hornets would have all they could handle on this night.
The Hornets did not panic as their quartet of senior captains calmly brought their team back into the lead by halftime.
Seniors Tim March and Brad Hildebrand both hit three pointers in the second quarter, and the Skippers had no answer for Senior Ricky Presthus.
Presthus scored 12 points in the second quarter alone and finished with 21 points. His three pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Hornets momentum and a 35-29 lead.
Presthus and March combined for three three pointers early in the third quarter as the Hornets took their biggest lead at 46-31.
“We knew that stopping Hildebrand and Presthus would be the key and that March would hit a three pointer if he was open,” Hedstrom said.
The Skippers settled down and got back to their game plan on offense to cut the lead to ten after a jumper by Conboy.
An offensive rebound and putback by Conboy to start the fourth quarter, cut the Hornets lead to eight, but March countered with a three pointer as the Hornets never led by less than ten after that.
Ranwick ended up leading the Skippers with 19 points, while Conboy added 17. Seniors Kevin Martin and Vaughn Hedberg were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.
March led the Hornets with a game-high 23 points, while Hildebrand and senior Dan Aagard added 17 and 11 points respectively.
The game was the conference opener for both teams and dropped the Skippers overall record to 5-6 on the season. The Hornets are now 1-0 in conference play and 7-6 overall.
The big story for the Skippers thus far this season has been the absence of leading returning scorer John Manley. Manley has played sparingly this season due to ankle, elbow and knee injuries, forcing Conboy to step up and score on a more consistent basis.
Conboy, a six foot, seven inch junior, has responded and has led the way for the Skippers in several of their five victories.
The Skippers only game this week is a home contest on Jan. 17 against Wayzata. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15.
Hedstrom is looking forward to having four days of practice and also getting Manley back into the line-up.
“We’re going to get back to the basics and focus on getting better this week,” Hedstrom said. “We’re going to spend this week getting John back into the fold. I’m fairly optimistic he’ll play Friday against Wayzata.”

Trojans Cruising in Conference Play
By Matt Thomas (From 01/14 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

It’s common for high school coaches to say that they set up a non-conference schedule to get ready for the conference schedule. In the case of the Wayzata boys hockey team, that theory appears to be true.
After an up and down non-conference schedule in which the Trojans posted six wins and five losses, the team has picked up its intensity to earn a 3-0-1 conference record.
The Trojans jumped out a 3-0 lead over a hapless Hopkins team and hung on for a 5-3 victory on Jan. 9. Two days later, the Trojans didn’t give the Minnetonka Skippers a glimmer of hope as they buried the Skippers 7-1.
The game against Hopkins appeared to be a major mismatch as the Royals came into the game with a 2-11 overall record.
The Trojans looked like a much better team in the first two periods as they dominated play on both ends of the ice.
Senior forward Travis Olson opened the scoring with 9:26 left in the first period with a wrist shot just inside the blue line. Sophomore Matt Woods got the assist on the goal and the Trojans led 1-0.
With 2:55 left in the first period, the Trojans padded their lead to 2-0. The Trojans controlled a face-off in the Royals zone and sophomore Kurt Davis skated in and scored past Royals goalie Luke Edwall.
Trojans goalie Kevin Johnson did his part to keep the Royals off the scoreboard in the waning seconds of the first period. The Royals had a two on one opportunity and Johnson made a sprawling save to preserve the shutout.
Less than five minutes into the second period, the Trojans went ahead 3-0 when junior Nate Anderson left a drop pass for John Zmuda who scored.
The Royals got on the board with 1:41 left on a rebound goal, but the Trojans countered with 8.6 seconds left.
Senior Matt Sundberg centered to junior Kevin Kolkind who gave the Trojans a three goal cushion heading into the third period.
The Trojans opened up a 5-1 lead when Woods scored in the opening minutes of the third period. The Royals scored two goals after that, and put 20 shots on goal in the third period, but the Trojans prevailed 5-3.
Johnson ended up making 42 saves on the night, while Edwall made 24 for the Royals.
Two days later, the Trojans continued their strong offensive play, as they notched seven goals against Minnetonka.
Six different Trojans scored goals, while Woods was the only player to score two in the victory. Sundberg and Ryan Freeland each had a goal and two assists.
Johnson made 21 saves as the Trojans improved to 9-5-1 overall and 3-0-1 in conference play.
The Trojans will go back outside the conference to face Osseo on Jan. 14 before resuming conference play against Cooper on Jan 16 at the Plymouth Ice Arena.

Get Over It

A statue of Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad is to be unveiled this April at the Civil War Visitor Center in Richmond, Virginia. Simple enough right? The idea of the statue in what was the capial city of the confederacy, however, is enraging the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Brag Bowling, the commander of the SCV described the statue as a "slap in the face" and "rubbing salt in the wounds." I'm sorry Brag, but those wounds have had almost 140 years to heal. Deal with it.

Believe Bilas

Jay Bilas has become one of the best basketball commentators in sports broadcasting today. His recent column on espn.com confronts a major problem in youth basketball around the United States. The difference between coaching youth and teaching youth. This is something that I, as a youth basketball coach, am guilty of myself. Kids spend way too much time learning plays and defenses that help teams win games and not enough time learning skills like passing, footwork and ball handling that are so crucial to a players development.

Shake, Rattle and Roll (Another Joint)

If anyone caught Jay Leno's interview with the Osbournes last night, I hope you were as taken back as I was with Ozzie's noticable shaking problem. The guy can't even sit still for two seconds, and my grandpa picks up a coffee mug with more ease than he does. Talk about prime material for a this is your brain; this is your brain on drugs commercial. And by the way, the TV show is overrated.

Slap On The Wrist?

In a story out of Willmar, Minnesota this week, 25-year old Tyler Bratsch was sentenced to one year in prison after he admitted fault in the drowning death of his one year old son. Bratsch apparently put his infant son in the bathtub and went off to surf sports and porn sites on the internet. When he came back 2 HOURS LATER, the boy had drowned. I don't care how much remorse Bratsch showed, he deserves more than one year in prison. Just another story proving that our criminal justice system needs major reform.

Roger Dodger

During ESPN's pregame show before the National Championship game between Ohio State and Miami, reporter Jeremy Schaap interviewed Ohio State Alum and hall of fame golfer Jack Nicklaus. Schapp asked Nicklaus for his views on the current debate surrounding the absence of women members at Agusta National. Nicklaus conveniently dodged the question saying he was there to watch a football game and not to comment on the situation at Agusta. I don't understand why it would be so hard for someone like Nicklaus to come out in favor of having women members at Agusta National. It's amazing to me how many men still believe that a woman's place is in the kitchen with an apron on.

Best Week of Football

The conclusion of this week brought an end to one of the greatest week's in football history. First Ohio State topped Miami in the National Championship game in a contest that people gave the Buckeyes a chance to win. Then the NFL gave us one of the most entertaining wild card weekends in history. First the Packers lost their first playoff game ever at Lambeau Field on Saturday. The blank stare on Brett Favre's face during the entire game was priceless. This loss is also beneficial to the average sports fan because we will no longer have to hear that statistic that Brett Favre has never lost a game when the temperature is below 34 degrees. Then on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49'ers made two of the greatest comebacks in NFL playoff history. And who isn't happy that we don't have to watch Jeremy Shockey of the Giants talk trash for the remainder of the playoffs.

Klein Lifts Wayzata Past Maple Grove
By Matt Thomas (From 01/07 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

Wayzata senior Joey Klein was just a role player on the Trojans boys basketball team last season. With players like Steve Woodbury and Damola Obadina graduating, Klein has stepped up to lead the Trojans in scoring this season.
Klein’s expanded role on the team couldn’t have been more evident than in the Trojans 66-65 victory over Maple Grove on Jan. 3.
The six foot, one inch guard scored 21 points and the game winning three point basket with 14.5 seconds left to rally the Trojans past the Crimson.
Before Klein’s heroics, the Trojans hadn’t held a lead since early in the second quarter and the Crimson appeared to have the game in hand until a tentative last minute cost them the game.
The Crimson took a 19-14 lead into the second quarter when Klein got hot from the outside. Three straight three-pointers by Klein gave the Trojans a 26-21 lead that they held for a short time.
Klein and the Trojans went cold in the third quarter as the Crimson took control. Sophomore Greg Martin scored on three consecutive driving lay-ups to the put the Crimson up 46-39.
The Trojans defense appeared to relax as the Crimson made their last five shots of the third quarter to take a 53-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Trojans raised their defensive intensity in the fourth quarter and gave the Crimson only seven shots from the field.
Joey Klein’s twin brother Jeremy turned a steal into a dunk at the other end to get the Trojans within two.
Joey Klein tied the game at 55 with a lay-up at the 3:52 mark to bring the Trojans all the way back from the nine-point deficit.
The Crimson took a 65-60 lead with 1:07 remaining and that’s when Joey Klein hit his fourth three pointer of the game to make it 65-63.
The Trojans got the ball back on a steal to set up Klein’s game winning three pointer.
The Crimson had two chances to win the game, but both shots came up short as the Trojans survived.
Joey Klein went 8-20 from the field, including 5-10 from long range. Jeremy Klein added 16 points on 7-17 from the field before fouling out late in the game.
The Trojans attempted 23 three pointers and made six of them. The team’s offensive success is often predicated on its perimeter shooting due to the fact that its tallest starter stands just six feet, two inches tall.
Senior John Wagener is the team’s best low post player and had nine points in the victory over the Crimson.
Senior Ryan Champ, juniors Marcus Hughes, Ryan Saunders and Dotun Obadina along with sophomore Tyrone Ruffin are also contributing valuable minutes.
Several of the Trojans are sharing ball-handling duties after the team lost last year’s starting point guard, junior Grant Fossum, to a knee injury that was sustained during the football season.
The victory over the Crimson marked the Trojans final non-conference test before heading into Classic Lake Conference play.
The Trojans open conference play on Jan. 10 at home against Cooper before traveling to Edina on Jan. 14.

Tonka Boys Hockey Looks To Shake Off Slump
By Matt Thomas (From 01/07 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

After starting the season with a 5-3 record, the Minnetonka boys hockey team has gone up against some tough competition and has lost four out of their last five games to drop to 6-7 on the season.
The Skippers caught the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars at a bad time when the Jaguars invaded Pagel Arena on Jan. 2. The Jaguars were coming off consecutive 6-5 losses to Roseville and Duluth East in the Capital City Classic.
The Jaguars thoroughly dominated the contest 4-0 and if not for the strong play of Skippers goaltender Dan Steinkamp the score could have been a lot worse.
“It was a situation where our team could learn that consistency is a key,” head coach Tim Hanus said. “You have to be prepared and focused and ready for every game.”
The Jaguars got on the board first with 6:31 remaining in the first period. The Jaguars executed a two on one to perfection as Brad Peterson scored on a pass from Beau Karn.
The Skippers had held up fairly well in the first period, but a late period goal gave the Jaguars a decisive early advantage.
A deflected shot bounced right to Peterson in front of the net with 1:33 left and the senior captain buried it for a 2-0 Jaguars lead.
The Skippers had a chance to get back in the game with their first power play with 8:44 remaining in the second period, but never got a good shot on Jaguars goalie Drew Glowa.
With 1:44 remaining in the second period, the Jaguars struck again. Senior Dan Willman caught a puck in the air in front of the net, set it down and scored to give the Jagaurs a 3-0 lead.
They would tack another goal on early in the third period to finish out the scoring.
The Jaguars outshot the Skippers 44-10 on the night as Steinkamp made 40 saves for the Skippers.
“He’s been strong for us this year,” Hanus said of Steinkamp. “He’s really shown enthusiasm and excitement to get better and he gave us a chance to win that game.”
The Skippers looked like they would shake off their losing streak on Jan. 4 as they scored two first period goals against Holy Angels.
Junior Michael Schutt and senior Peter Dauwalter both scored goals in the first four minutes of the game.
The Skippers couldn’t hold the lead, however, as they were again outshot 30-18 in the game by the Stars.
Holy Angles went on to score two goals of their own in the first period and a goal in each of the second and third periods to earn a 4-2 victory.
The Skippers have been outscored 16-6 in their last four losses and are in need of an offensive spark to take some pressure off of Steinkamp.
Senior Brent Hanus leads the team in scoring with six goals and seven assists. Dauwalter, Drew Akins and John Arundel have four goals apiece. Peter Shenk is second on the team in scoring with three goals and six assists, while Sam Bickel is the team’s leader in assists with eight.
“It’s hard to pin point individuals on offense,” Hanus said. “We’re getting contributions from all three lines so it really is a team effort for us.”
The Skippers will look to improve on their 1-0 conference record when they play road games at Cooper on Jan. 9 and Wayzata on Jan. 11.
“There are a lot of good teams out there in our conference,” Hanus said. “When it comes to conference play, anyone can win on a given night because the kids get so fired up for those games.”

Best Show In Town

I wonder if Kevin McHale has given any thought to signing Lindsay Whalen to a free-agent contract for the playoff run? The University of Minnesota women's basketball team is by far the most entertaining basketball team in the Twin Cities right now. The team is off to a school best 12-0 start and is ranked 10th in the current AP poll. The team is led by the savvy play of Whalen and the sharp shooting of off-guard Corin Von Wald. The Gophers just toppled conference foe Michigan, 98-70, in the team's conference opener. The crowd was brought to its feet when Whalen fed sophomore Janel McCarville with a behind the back pass for a lay-up during the rout. The Gopher women are by far the best ticket in town considering the circumstances and compared to the two other major teams the Twin Cities. The show at Target Center has gone completely stale as Kevin Garnet tries to give the team legitimacy playing along side a bunch of have beens and have nots. The Gopher men's team does little to excite me, especially considering they just struggled to an 85-80 victory over Oral Roberts. Oral Roberts? The other advantage of going to a Gopher women's game is that the tickets are cheaper and the seats are better. I'd much rather watch Whalen score 30 from row 15 for ten bucks than watch Troy Hudson brick another three from the upper deck at Target Center for twenty bucks.

Lobdell Named All-Conference in Sophomore Season
By Matt Thomas (From 01/07 edition of The Lakeshore Weekly News)

Tera Lobdell had seen her respective volleyball teams go 56-6 the past two seasons. It must have been a shock to her system when her Northern Illinois Huskies struggled to a 13-17 mark this past fall.
Despite the Huskies’ struggles, Lobdell continued her stellar play. The six foot, one inch sophomore and Plymouth native has asserted herself as one of the best mid-major conference players in the NCAA.
Lobdell was named the Mid American Conference Freshman of the Year last season after leading the Huskies in kills with 354. Lobdell’s presence helped the Huskies solidify an NCAA Tournament berth after posting a 24-6 record.
This season, Lobdell led the Huskies in kills for a second straight season with 348. Her steady performance earned her All-Conference Honerable Mention honors.
“It always feels good to be recognized,” Lobdell said. “However, I would rather have the team do well in the conference.”
Things were looking up for the Huskies early in the season as they jumped out to a 10-6 overall record and a 3-1 mark in conference play. After that things turned sour as the team lost eleven of its final 13 games and missed qualifying for the postseason conference tournament.
Besides having to work through some long losing streaks this season, the team had the task of getting aquainted with a new head coach after the departure of Todd Kress.
Kress recruited Lobdell to Northern Illinois, but left to take over the head job at Florida State University after being named Mid American Conference Coach of the year in 2001.
“We had some of our same hitters, but with a new setter, a new coach and a missed recruiting year, we were rebuilding when I had hoped to improve on last year,” Lobdell said.
The Huskies new coach is Ray Gooden, and while the Huskies didn’t secure any top recruits last year, Gooden already has commitments from two prospects for next year.
Fellow Minnesotan April Hankton will join the Huskies next year and Gooden hopes she can follow in the footsteps of Lobdell and make a major impact as a freshman.
Hankton attended DeLaSalle High School and earned All-America honors last summer at the AAU Nationals Tournament.
Lobdell thinks that bringing in a couple of talented freshman could help the Huskies turn things around next year.
“We need to figure out our setter position and continue to bring in quality players,” she said. “Several seniors will graduate this year so I feel my role will expand next season. We will need leadership on and court and in the practice.”
Lobdell is certainly no stranger to the leadership role. During her senior campaign at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in 2000, Lobdell led the Falcons to 32 straight victories and a State Championship.
The Huskies will lose three seniors who combined for 862 kills last season, so look for Lobdell to step up and become an even more dominant offensive force next year