Bison
Let me start by giving a minuscule measure of credit where it was earned. The Basketball team won a tournament. They made it to the second round of the Summit League. I wanted it to happen but did not expect it! Then they slept walked their way to a 21 point loss against the reigning champion Jackrabbits. I wrote about it a little bit over on Facebook in the wake of the defeat but let me reiterate. The cupboards aren't quite as bare as some, myself included, may have thought. With Geu, Hunter and Ward around for at least the next two years, they may be able to get back to Summit championship contention. That will hinge on some more arrivals managing to contribute but could happen. Would like to see them find a big big man that can play to go with the shooters that may be on the court next December. But even with all that, I don't think it's irrational to think that coach Richman's seat should start getting warm at the end of the year!
Beyond the hoops, the Softball team dropped two of it's three trips out of the dugout while their Baseball counterparts went 0 - 2 this week. The former could make it .500 weekend with a win today while the men should just try to scratch out a win. That is all that the Bison put out for competition this week.
Vikings
The rumor mill...related to free agency...is finally nearing it's conclusion. THANK THE LORD! I am so tired of all the talk while no action can happen!
Twins
The 40 men got a fresh face yesterday as the Twinks inked a one year deal with another starting pitcher. I gotta give em credit, they're working the extended free agency very well! Hopefully it all pans out in more W's but for now is refreshing compared to how things have worked so often in the past!
Timberwolves
They hit the skids to the tune of a three game losing streak but rebounded nicely today to beat the prohibitive favorite to win this year's championship. With no Steph Curry and no Jimmy Butler it'll be interesting to see how these teams do when back at full strength. The Warriors would obviously be favored but maybe the Wolves can use this win to gel and continue to grow! A lot of theorizing off the victory but just gotta wait and see how they do against the Wizards on Tuesday.
Dragons
The flamethrowers threw their schedule into overdrive this week. The Tennis team got it started with four days of play in Orlando. They alternated wins and losses over the four days, finishing with a 3 -2 record on the week. Not too shabby, but let's be honest, they got to spend most of the week in Disney World so win or lose on the court, they were winning!
The Softball team also got to take in Orlando's benefits over a five day, 10 game trip to the Western suburbs of D-town. They played nine different teams over their time in Central Florida, going 6 - 4 over the week. That highlights the destinations that MSUM's athletes were able to experience but is not the end of the list.
The women's Basketball team went to Sioux Falls for their first round tournament game against Central Missouri. They made their best effort but came up short on the national stage. With a majority of their team returning for the 2018 - 2019, they may be even better than they were this season but whatever the future holds, it was a tremendous season for them!
Cobbers
Talk about stark contrasts. Not only in comparison with MSUM but also with their previous week. After going 35 events deep last week, the Corncobs came back with a whimpering two. If not for the Baseball team already being in Florida, there may not have even been those two but they had to close out their time in the sun. Obviously it was doing them some good because they rallied to win both in convincing fashion. It seems early but the nearly two week long break is their Spring Break. It comes at a good time weather wise but means there isn't anything else to say about them.
High School
Playoffs. Yeah, we're talking about playoffs!
On the North Dakota side, West Fargo Sheyenne gets the crown for around town. They took second in state on Saturday night to Bismarck Century, making history with every win that they managed along the way. In other words, they have nothing to be disappointed about!
Meanwhile in Class B, Oak Grove fell to Wyndmere - Lidgerwood (who are heading to state for the first time as a co-op) while the reigning champs from Hillsboro - Central Valley made it back to the show. So even though the one true local team couldn't make it consecutive years, there are still teams within short driving distance of here that are off to the big tournament. To them, I simple say - bring it home! That's the beauty of being a neutral party but also a fan!
Across the river, Moorhead came a couple shots short of pushing their season all the way to a section final showdown with Maple Grove. Excuse me for just one second but how in the world is Moorhead in the same section as a school that is pretty much all the way across the state?!? It's stupid. But where they came up just a hair short, others were able to break through. The success for the Spuds came in Weightlifting and in Speech, both of which they claimed top honors. That'll never be front page news or even a back page blurb but it's every bit as important to those kids as the Basketball is to those players and is success worth recognizing. There's more that goes overlooked and under reported but that's always the case. For now, just know that your great work does not go unnoticed!