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.
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.
posted by PulseofMN at 11:25 AM
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