The best part of yesterday was how fans found managed to entertain themselves during the dismally boring evening. There are aspects of the showing against Indy that could beneficial when they travel to Cincy in a few weeks but they got swallowed up in the morass of the overall showing. Have to keep waiting for the pieces to be put together before actually forming opinions about whether this team can win a game, let alone 10+. Like it or not, we have to keep waiting for Cook, Jefferson, Peterson, Smith, etc. to be out there for their normal amounts of work before we'll really know anything.
As the team moves toward the second cut day they let WR Warren Jackson & CB Dylan Mabin go which leaves them three above the next threshold.
The ⚽️ team moved from exhibition season to the games that count. It started with a visit by Idaho that finished 1 - 0 but the home team was on the wrong end of the score. They moved up in class over the days that followed and hosted Baylor Sunday afternoon. The Bears jumped out to a 3 - 0 lead & finished ahead by 4. Which is kind of the sour end to a week that started out sweetly, with Ellie Schneider & Olivia Lovick being named players to watch by the Leagues coaches.
The Winter/Spring juggernaut (track & field) added a highly-decorated coach from Bismarck to helm the cross country & distance running portion, coach Dennis Newell.
Then, Wednesday the women's 🏀 team announced their schedule, beginning with a trip to Milwaukee November 11 & crescendoing the end of January when the SoDaks come to town. With more than a month between those games and Sioux Falls they will have time to regroup, if needed, before taking another shot at the best in the League. Jory Collins has done nothing short of a terrific job through two years in Fargo but now the challenge increases exponentially. If they're able to manage even close losses in the four games against USD & SDSU then maybe he'll be able to start beating them for recruits & eventually make it a true three-team conversation. That's the next goal & we will find out soon how close the team is to achieving it.
And then came Sunday with it's flurry of news. Before Easton Stick & Trey Lance took to the opposite sidelines it was reported that Carson Wentz will return to practice for Indianapolis Monday. Considering the initial estimates for recovery it's miraculous that he will be able to get out & do some work on the field. He's still most likely to begin the season with a tablet in hand but if things go well he may only miss a quarter of the season instead of half to three quarters of it! In the last few hours him & his organization announced a $250,000 donation toward earthquake relief in Haiti. Those who have followed Carson's career off the field probably weren't too surprised by the announcement but it's great to see literal money going along with statements!
In the first edition of NDShowdown, Stick finished 10/14 with a td while Lance was 8/14 with 2 TDs & an INT and the score finished with the Red & Gold ahead 15 - 10. Each of the two made highlight throws, which means more for Easton since he's competing for a chance to get on the field somewhere - the only way it's happening with San Diego is if Justin Herbert gets hurt. It's surreal that 3 of the 64 best quarterbacks in the world came through Fargo! Not the first to say it, won't be the last but it should not be taken for granted at all.
Another week closer to the seasons & Moorhead had a couple more players recognized for what they may do this Fall. McKenzie Ickert & Kayleigh Sedlacek were included on the conference's "⚽️ players to watch." The ladies then got on the field for an exhibition against Jamestown Sunday afternoon. Anna Steadland hit the net five & a half minutes into the game and Sami Farrell doubled their output just before the second break of the match which proved to be the game winner, 2 - 1. They will go again Wednesday afternoon against Concordia
Minnesota waved the white flag on Vegas when they didn't qualify for the championship game by sitting Jaden McDaniels & Jaylen Nowell in the final game. Better to not risk an ankle injury than to get one more win. That came after they made their most significant move of the offseason, acquiring Patrick Beverly from Memphis for Juancho Hernangomez & Jarrett Culver. The knock on Beverly is a lack of availability over the last couple of seasons. But as a reserve player who will provide some much-needed doggedness on the court for a couple of guys who brought little of anything off the bench, it's already a won trade by Rosas!
If he's able to help Edwards develop some of the same intensity characteristics then it will be all the better. We'll begin to see the development take shape October 20th when Houston comes to town, followed by a pair of home games against New Orleans. It's kind of the Association to let Minnesota ease into the season against a couple teams that are not clearly better than them & may prove to be far worse, looking at you H-town. You can see their whole schedule there.
The Birds opportunity to leap over Milwaukee & Chicago will not be better than now. That drum has been beaten for a couple weeks on here & on some of the tentacles but it is too true to not keep repeating!
The team answered the bell with an offensive week like few others in the history of the franchise. They peaked with a 6 home run, 26 hit, 20 run drubbing of Kane County Wednesday. That started a five game stretch during which they scored at least eight runs every game while giving up more than four scores just once. Within the numbers, Kevin Krause tallied 16 RBIs during the home stand, capped by a grand slam Sunday.
The hot bats propelled them past Milwaukee but still were not enough for them to gain ground on Chicago, 2.5 back.
They'll close out the long stretch at home against Gary Tuesday - Thursday before heading to Chicago for a potentially season defining triplet of games. With just over two weeks left in the regular season taking at least two of three against the Dogs is kind of a must in order for the Birds to have a chance at the top spot.
The first full week of high school action has already passed
Tuesday included a visit to South by West Fargo
Which leaves the first Friday night of lights. It's still a puzzling scheduling quirk but all the nearby schools opened the season away from home but that didn't stop a few of them from making statements. Most notably, Kindred steam-rolled Grafton 48 - 8 while F/S/H/P breezed by Tri-State 54 - 18. M/P/C/G's defense hung a 0 on Richland while putting up 36 points of their own. Central Cass rounds out this week's best four (still workshopping the name) with their 31 - 12 win over Hillsboro/CV
One final note from last season also was announced Friday as Moorhead's Kevin Feeney was named the MN 5A Coach of the Year. That's as banner-worthy as the championship that they started the year with!
The Fusion women got some good news when the Northern Division All-Conference team was announced. Sheyenne standout turned UMary midfield Yasmina Dokara, current Spud mid Kadyn Sharpe & goalie Emily Soukup made the honor. It's especially surprising for the Moorhead junior but may be the catalyst for college eyes to start monitoring her this Fall!
While their stay in Shelby was as short as it could have been a couple of the 400's best managed to make enough of an impact for special recognition. Tate Gustafson & Kobe Senn were among the All-Tournament selections while Senn was awarded as the ALB Slugger for his .542 batting average in national competition.
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