On the Road Again.L

Life on the road is tough and especially the Football Playoff Road. Over the past two years the
Tigers have played five playoff games and all on the road. The spectre of that ghost does
indeed hang over the heads of the Tiger Faithful one more time this year. With a 4-1 log
presently and three mediocre opponents-Crow Creek, Miller and Chamberlain -remaining
a 7-1 final log is in the offing and a playoff spot assured but then the old road bug-a-boo
raises its ugly head again. The unbeaten Winner Warriors are sitting at 5_0 with three games
remaining and only Belle Fourche really in their way toward a perfect season are almost assured of the No. 1 Seed in the Region and a first-round home play game. So the Tigers
at 7-1 are assured the No. 2 Seed and a first-round home playoff game. Not on your
tin type Lizzy!!!! The ever-present Bennett County Warriors are also sittiing there
at 4-1 and presently enjoying a three point edge in playoff points. The Warriors have as
do the Tigers three remaining games. Two they should handle, Hill City and Little Wound,
but the third Todd Co. is currently unbeaten and rated no. 6 in the present Class A
poll. Bennett County and Todd County clash October 16th in Mission, home lair of
the Todd Co. Falcons. The outcome of that contest may well decide the fate of the Tiger
first round home playoff ambitions. With the Winner Warriors all but assured a first
round no. 1 seed against Stanley Co. and a second round home game in the Regional
Champioship affair against the Mobridge-Bennett Co. winner, it may very well be:
HIT THAT LONG LONELY FAMILIAR PLAY ROAD FOR THE TIGERS AND
THE TIGER FAITHFUL!!! PAT MORRISON .H
TIGEREE
,do the
ke
as the Tigers do, but have a
ng

Rod's Wednesday Ramblings 9/30/09

Wednesday (today if your reading this on Wednesday) is my birthday, so here are a few birthday gifts that I would like to see. The Twins and Tigers tie for the AL Central and the Twins win the playoff game. I like to see the playoff to see who wins in getting the Metrodome on Monday. Or at least what Major League Baseball or the NFL would do. If the Twins are going to get aced out by the Vikings, then by all means, win the thing on Sunday and forget the playoff game. I want to see the Bears and the Bengals in the Super Bowl in February. My house would be the place to be don't you think!! I want the Huskers to at least beat Oklahoma this year and then get to the Big 12 championship and beat them again!! And then win their bowl game whichever one that will be!!! I want the Governors to get home field advantage thru the football playoffs and Stanley County stun Winner in the opening round of the football playoffs, and have an all central South Dakota finals in the football championships in November. Take that Argus Leader. I want the Lady Gov volleyball team to win the state tournament this time! I want the Governors basketball team to win that first round game in the state tournament after they get there in March and then win Friday and Saturday. Lady Govs, you might as well do it also!!!! What the heck, every team, golf, tennis, hockey and soccer, lets do it, for the old guy, and yourselves of course. Post 8 baseball, lets beat Post 22 and eliminate them in the region tournament on Post 320's field next July. And let's go out and do it Rattlers and 4 Corners in the amatuer tournament next August. You'll like playing in the "Birdcage". Get to the championship and you get on TV aaaand Radio. And I want next year to be the Cubs year. After all, when you get to be my age, you never know how many years are left to do it. Theres a few personal wishes too, but that will be between me and God. Have a good Wednesday gang and be sure you get a piece of cake from someplace and enjoy it.

Rod's Weekend Thoughts on Monday 9/28/09

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire took a page out of the Brad Childress book of coaching on Sunday. He went with Franciso Liriano against Zack Grienke and the KC Royals. Lirianao didn't get out of the second inning and the Twins lose instead of gaining a game and go into Detroit only 1 game back instead of 2 tonight. The Twins realistically will have to win 3 of 4 to have a shot at winning the AL Central. From the Vikings game yesterday. Brad Childress almost overcoached his team into a loss but he has Brett Favre so Mr. Smug (Childress) sounded like he is the coach of the year in decision making after the game. Still, if theVikings are a Super Bowl Contender which Mr. Smug says they are, they should not have to score on the last play of the game to beat San Francisco. Matthew Stafford, with only 3 games of NFL experience under his belt is the top quarterback in the NFC North. Favre is second. Aaron Rogers and Jay Cutler are tied for 3rd. Cutler is 2-1 only because of field goal ineptness by Pittsburgh and Seattle. Cutler should be quarterbacking a 0 and 3 team at this stage. Is it too early to ask for the trade for Kyle Orton to be rescinded? K.O. is 3-0. Bottom Line. The Huskers should have gotten a little confidence back this weekend but now the big test. At Missouri a week from Thursday night on National TV. We will find out just how good SDSU is next week. They are at Cal Poly. As far as USD, I have no thoughts either way except they are good at home. And this is homecoming week for the Goverors. So far, so good. And what about the defense!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Coach Poppinga has the crew playing defense the way it is supposed to be played. Yea, the two fumble receptions returned for touchdowns are the highlight of their win at Yankton on Friday but what about stopping the Bucks not once, but twice inside the 10 yard line! Rapid City Stevens will be a good test. They gave up 55 to Roosevelt but let's face it, Roosevelt, why still probably the 3rd best team in Sioux Falls is still one of the top 4 teams in the state. Stevens also had two of their better players injured in that game and word is they will not play on Friday. That will hurt their defense especially since the two were among their top tacklers and players. And rain is in the forecast...........................And NO! I will not be watching the Monday night football game from Jerry's House of Greed (aka the new cowboys stadium) which leaves another question. Is Monday Night Football still the big thing it used to be now that it is on cable only or has Sunday Night taken over as the big thing? I think Sunday. Afterall, MNF is going head on against Two and a Half Men and the Big Bang Theory.

Darren Boyle's Weekly words of wisdom the adventures of VSK and the Metrodome Miracle.

I was sick last weekend and missed my first games since 1995. Thanks to Brian Oakland for covering my games and to Pat Morrison for covering the game Brian had to miss. Of course my streak is no big deal compared to the streak of VSK. I dont think he has missed a game since 1993 or something like that. Looks like he passed the first test yesterday. The 49ers did what I said and stopped AP and made VSK become the hero. VSK threw for close to 300 yards, and that last play will be in the Vikings archives forever. But will it be the beginning of a magical season or the last big play from an aging legend? I am sure all the other games on the Vikings schedule are gonna learn from this last game and will continue to stop AP, the question will be can VSK continue to rise to the challenge? What will the offensive genius that coaches the Vikings do to adjust? Keep track of how many times VSK gets sacked and knocked down, that may be the most important stat the rest of the season.. Our area teams did well in some of the big games of this past weekend, Lyman, Winner, and Philip better get some love when the polls come out or we know who to blame dont we? I have to make a road trip and will be gone for a few days I will talk to you later in the week.

Gov Golfers falter in ESD

Pierre did not have a good day at the ESD Conference golf tournament Saturday in Huron. The Governors had one of their highest team scores of the year firing a 335, 28 strokes off the pace of ESD champion Yankton. Watertown was second at 328 and Brandon Valley was 4th at 329. Huron, Aberdeen Central, Brookings and Mitchell came in 5th through 8th. The Governors had two golfers place in the top 15 to win all ESD Conference honors. Seth Stadel and Miles Schock each had rounds of 81 for 9th and 11th. Tyler Frick of Yankton won the individual medalist honors with a 73. Yankton golfers finished in 4 of the top 5 spots.

Brian's view of Week4

Things are gettin' good as we reach the midpoint of the season. This week is loaded with games that I would love to see, all around the state, so let's take a look at what's on tap. Here are the picks for the games involving area teams, and I'll just have to say to the area teams, if you don't like the picks, pull a Sully Buttes and prove me wrong! Please? :o)

AREA GAMES:
PLATTE-G/DC at Chamberlain (KPLO)
DUPREE at Edgemont
HARDING CO. at Faith
HERREID/SELBY at Gettysburg -- should be a great Homecoming game! Battlers, see above
SULLY BUTTES at Ipswich
LANGFORD/ROSLYN at Hoven/Edmunds Central
Timber Lake at LEMMON/McINTOSH
TODD CO. at Little Wound/Crazy Horse
HIGHMORE-HARROLD at Lower Brule
McLaughlin at EUREKA/BOWDLE
MILLER at Crow Creek (KPLO)
Stanley Co. at MOBRIDGE-POLLOCK -- Buffs, see above - a knock-down, drag-out here!
Cheyenne-Eagle Butte at RED CLOUD
FAULKTON at Warner -- Trojans continue to impress
Sunshine Bible at WESSINGTON SPGS/WOONSOCKET
WHITE RIVER at New Underwood
PHILIP at Wall -- go watch this one on Saturday!!

MARQUEE MATCHUPS:
HOWARD at Lyman -- Raiders, see above! Best game of the day!!
Winner at ST. THOMAS MORE -- only time I'll go against Winner this year
AVON at Viborg -- Viborg is a 9B sleeper team, but Avon still way too good
Castlewood at ESTELLINE -- Redmen are making some noise in 9A
HANSON at Emery/Ethan -- Perennial power Hanson at 9AA #2 Emery/Ethan - whoa!!
Douglas at HARRISBURG -- not much of a contest - just pointing out a cross-state road trip ;)
Dakota Valley at TRI-VALLEY -- #1 T-V gets a solid 11A opponent here
Canistota/Bridgewater at WHITE LAKE/PLANKINTON -- not much attention here, but should be a good game

11AA:
PIERRE at Yankton -- I think this will be a very tough game for the Govs - call this a homer pick
Brookings at BRANDON VALLEY
Mitchell at ABERDEEN CENTRAL -- Aberdeen picked a cupcake for Homecoming
WATERTOWN at Huron
RC Central at SF WASHINGTON
SF ROOSEVELT at RC Stevens -- how good is Stevens, really?
SF O'GORMAN at Spearfish
Sturgis at SF LINCOLN

My pick percentage skyrocketed last week, but it'll be tough to keep that pace this time. Eight games I consider marquee matchups this week, plus a lot more that are BIG games for the teams that are involved. This is what it's all about! Have fun at the games tonight - stay dry - and get well wishes to the President of the VSK Fan Club!!
-- Radioooo

Rod's Thursday & Friday Ramblings 9/24/09

Things that I have wondered about lately. Why did Jim Hendry wait so long to get rid of Milton Bradley. He really didn't get rid of him, he just suspended him, for the rest of the season. For whatever reason, Bradley has had trouble where ever he has been. But he is also a good ball player. This year, was not a good year for him, but putting that Cub uniform has done that to better players than Milton in past years for whatever reason. One does not know what goes on in the clubhouse or locker room and that is the way it should be at all levels of sports and all ages. Coaches would not have as many parental headaches as many have had if the kid would have just followed that unwritten rule. What goes on in the (dugout, lockeroom, clubhouse, whatever) stays in the whatever. That is all a coach, who usually is hired to do the job, needs. Have some dimwit parent think they can do a better job because they played little league baseball, or watch sports on TV and are a fan!!!!! Now there is a resume for you.

I have also thought about my Cornhuskers and how they lost last week. While it hurt to watch that winning touchdown pass play unfold, lets give the blackshirts some credit. The fact that play went the way it did was because they played good defense, but sometimes players make plays. VT's QB did. I also think, listening to Brett Favre, he isn't 100 percent sure if he did the right thing. And I wonder how he has been accepted in that Viking locker room?

And how Michael Tveidt is handling his buddy Freddie Coleman's season ending ACL. That is a major blow for Michael and his NDSU basketball mate's hopes for the coming year.

Brian's Week 3 in Review

Well, if you've been reading the pick segments so far this season, you may have been wondering at times if I really know what I'm talking about. And I'm sure Sully Buttes fans are probably still wondering that, after I grossly underestimated them last weekend. But other than that, I'd call it a pretty good week after picking 62 of 69 games correctly in Week 3, including a perfect 8-0 in 11AA games, for the first time this season. 21-2 in the rest of 11-man and 33-5 in the 9-man games - I'll take that. But even in the 7 losses, I find I'm still learning some things about some teams that are worth noting, not the least of which is that Sully Buttes is well worth watching this year. They've got a couple of games to look forward to in 3 & 4 weeks, but they're next game is against another team I'm learning a lot about, but for a different reason. It seems that Ipswich has really fallen hard after playing in the Dome last year. They can still score, but it seems they can't keep opponents from scoring more.

One other thing I'm not necessarily learning, but I am starting to question, is whether the gap between the Sioux Falls schools and the Black Hills schools is starting to shrink a little. Well, the gap between the best (SF Washington) and the worst (Spearfish) might still be a huge one, but how about that Stevens-O'Gorman game last weekend - 13-6? Stevens led 3-0 at the half, and I know they've got OG's respect now. We'll see how they do against Roosevelt this weekend. And even on a slightly smaller scale, Belle Fourche went to West Central and gave the Trojans all they could handle. Belle was better last year, but this year's team still had a 14-3 halftime lead before West Central figured things out and won 23-14.

I think the bottom line in most classes this season is that there are certain teams we can all expect to appear in the Dome this year, but there are sleeper teams in all classes that the top dogs had better watch out for, and that's what is making this season so fun and interesting so far.

Week 4 picks will be submitted Thursday or Friday, but here are the season totals:
Overall: 204-52 (.797)
11AA: 26-6 (.813)
11A/B: 68-20 (.773)
9-man: 110-26 (.809)

Big games to really look forward to for some area teams:
Pierre at Yankton - if anyone still doesn't believe in the Govs, a win at Yankton should answer any remaining questions.
Stanley Co. at Mobridge - 11B Region 4 is overloaded with playoff caliber teams, and this game will go a long way in deciding the seedings.
Howard at Lyman - 9AA #1 at #3 - how bad do you want it, Raiders?
There are others coming this weekend worthy of marquee matchup status, so look for those in this weekend's picks, coming soon.......

Rod's Ramblings for Wednesday 9/23/09

Sunday should feature one of the best pitching matchups of the year. The Twins play the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City. The Royals are hot. They have won 12 of their last 15. They have made the Red Sox look silly the last two games. The Twins have a nice string going of their own and are in a pennant race. So going to Kansas City for the weekend is like a trap weekend. And Sunday's pitching probables should make it, one of the games of the year. Nick Blackburn for the Twins. Zack Grienke for the Royals. Grienke has to win the Cy Young Award. He pitches for a bad team, gets no run support and still has 15 wins. Has not allowed an earned run in 35 innings. The second time this year he has a 30 plus inning streak without allowing an earned run. He may be the best pitcher in all of baseball let alone the American League. And Blackburn is no slouch either. When the pressure is on, Blackburn has usually come through with a stellar performance. If your sitting at home on Sunday wondering, should I watch or listen to the Vikings or the Twins (you would have to be interested mainly in the Vikings and Twins to wonder this), I think, I would pick the Twins vs. Royals. And I just might, since the Bears don't start until 3:15 and the Cubs are, well, the Cubs.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom the adventures of VSK chapter two

The Vikings are 2-0, after their scrimmage with the Lions yesterday. Although they trailed 10-7 at the half they took care of business with 20 unanswered points. VSK's performance would be best described as "Dilferesque" (thanks Brian's brother Brett). Game management beats the Browns and Lions, but can it beat teams that can play defense. We will find out Sunday when the purple play the 49ers, noon kickoff on KPLO/KMLO by the way. This weeks games told us that the Packers, Patriots, Steelers and Cowboys arent as good as we thought, and the Bears,Ravens,49ers and Giants are as good as advertised. And as long as Norv Turner is a head coach in the NFL, Raider fans will have someone to laugh at. Wasnt the Ravens-Chargers game a perfect example of how a team can beat themselves? My esteemed colleage Mr. Fisher is a little bit too reluctant to get on the Jay Cutler bandwagon, he played much better this weekend. I believe he is the best QB the Bears have had since Jim McMahon. As far as Kyle Orton and the Broncos being 2-0, they got lucky once and then played the Browns. They should be 2-0, in the same circumstances they would have been 2-0 with Chris Simms as QB. I caught the tailend of the NASCAR race yesterday, Mark Martin got the win and extended his lead in the point standings but the most interesting thing to me is the sound bites from Dale Jr. who got wrecked by David Reutemann while he was having his best run in weeks. He actually was ticked off. Not the calm, measured responses we heard from him when he has had his issues this season maybe he is starting to become tired of his own performance this season and will turn things around. I am not a Dale Jr fan but as much scrutiny his career has been under over the last couple of seasons you cant help but root for the guy. On the highschool level,we saw Gettysburg bounce back from their loss to Eureka-Bowdle by defeating Kimball. Also, Sully Buttes handled Eureka Bowdle quite handily last Friday night. Does this mean that the Chargers will have little trouble with the Battlers when they play in a few weeks? We will find out together, that matchup happens to be on the KPLO schedule. I am going to try a double header this Friday, Miller @ Crow Creek in the afternoon and then Platte-Geddes-Dakota Christian vs. Chamberlain Friday night. Hope you enjoy our coverage. Do you think that VSK will play for the Cowboys next season? Just a thought.

Rod's Monday Ramblings 9/21/09

From the weekend I have derived the following thoughts. My Huskers lead the nation in finding ways to lose games that they should have won. The Vikings are 2 and 0 because of their weak schedule at the beginning. The Patriots are no longer the team of the century. I am still not sold on Jay Cutler. Bottom line. Kyle Orton is 2-0 quarterbacking Denver. Jay Cutler is 1-1 and has lost to the Packers. The Packers lost to the Bengals. Bottom Line, Cutler isn't playing 6 games against the defenseless AFC West this year. And Jerry's House of Greed (AKA the new Cowboys Stadium) is more impressive than the football team that plays in it 8 games a year. Too bad a normal person can't afford tickets to watch the game in it.

The Governors are a pretty good football team, but still untested. A better test will be this week at Yankton. But if Pierre is going to fumble the ball 3 times a game like they did at Brookings and going to get stupid penalties, like unsportsmanlike conduct and personal fouls like they did, they are not going to go to great heights. Smart players prevail on the football field.

And those complaining about the hall sweeping and tardiness policy at Riggs are probably the same people who usually show up to work late most if not every day. But it's not their fault.

Saturday's Gov-Lady Gov Sports recap

Saturday saw the Lady Govs Tennis team win a dual and lose twice. The Lady Gov tennis team beat Roncalli 6-3 before losing to Aberdeen Central and Rapid City Stevens by identical 8-1 margins at the Elliot Invitational in Aberdeen.. Top performer for Pierre was Diede Beck who won two singles and two doubles matches for the day. With the matches the Lady Govs go to 8-6 on the season.
　　
　
The Pierre Governor Cross Country team finished 5th with a 123 score at Saturday’s Huron Invitational Meet. Kris Monroe was the only top 10 place finisher for the Governors with a fifth place finish in a time of 16:35. The Lady Govs also had a 5th place finish in the girls division with 147 points but did not have any runners place in the top 10. Pierre won both the boys and girls JV division races. And Pierre also won both the boys and girls Middle School divisions and had individual titles won by Chris Rumrill and Tabitha Simmons.

The Pierre Lady Governor volleyball team broke their 4 game losing match skid Saturday in Sturgis. The Lady Govs defeated Spearfish in 3 games 25-12, 25-13, 25-10 and then needed 5 games to beat Sturgis 25-11,25-22, 25-15, 25-15, 15-7
Pierre is now 4 and 5 on the season as they travel to Huron on Thursday for their next match.

Brian's view of Week3

Can you believe the season's almost half over? My high school football picks were pretty decent again in Week 2, but although I did better in picking the 11AA games, I'm finding that I'm not showing much knowledge of the marquee matchups each week. Let's see how this week goes.

First of all, weekly stats from last week: 52-16 overall; 7-1 in 11AA; 16-6 in other 11-man classes; and 29-9 in 9-man games.

Totals through 3 weeks of games (first week was technically Week 0):
Overall: 142-45 (.759)
11AA: 18-6 (.750)
11A/B: 47-18 (.723)
9-man: 77-21 (.786)
Fairly consistent across the board so far, but again, let's see what this week of interesting games brings up - picks in ALL CAPS.

In our listening area:
Jones Co. at WHITE RIVER - Coyotes look for 2 in a row, but WR a little bettern than Colome
DOUGLAS at Chamberlain
Bison at FAITH
HITCHCOCK-TULARE at Sunshine Bible - can anyone stop the Patriots this year?
Hoven/Edmunds Central at HERREID/SELBY AREA
WALL at Kadoka - tough opponent for Kougar Homecoming - Eagles look impressive
GETTYSBURG at Kimball - respectful rivalry with recent history, but Battlers are better
LEMMON/McINTOSH at Dupree
McLaughlin at LEOLA/FREDERICK
LITTLE WOUND at Crow Creek
Gregory at LYMAN - a marquee matchup last year (Raiders are still marquee)
MOBRIDGE-POLLOCK at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte
Miller at PLATTE-GEDDES/DAKOTA CHRISTIAN
SANBORN CENTRAL at Faulkton
EUREKA/BOWDLE at Sully Buttes - this should be a fun one, but Pats might score last
HARDING CO. at Timber Lake
TODD CO. at Pine Ridge
WESSINGTON SPRINGS/WOONSOCKET at Highmore-Harrold
Valentine at WINNER

Marquee matchups:
Britton-Hecla at ABERDEEN RONCALLI - huge game in 11B Region 1 - both 3-0 so far
Belle Fourche at WEST CENTRAL - BF was great last year, but not here (note the road trip!)
Estelline at DELL RAPIDS ST. MARY - both ranked but DRSM is a #1 team (until they meet H/T)
HANSON at Canistota/Bridgewater - just a good ball game to be expected here

11AA:
PIERRE at Brookings - tell-tale game for confident Govs, playing Homecoming spoiler tonight
Huron at BRANDON VALLEY - Tough loss last week for Lynx - Huron will be their punching bag tonight
ABERDEEN CENTRAL at Watertown - 3 straight losses for preseason ESD fave to go 1-3?
YANKTON at Mitchell
RC Stevens at SF O'GORMAN - dose of reality for 3-0 Stevens
SF LINCOLN at RC Central
Spearfish at SF ROOSEVELT
SF WASHINGTON at Sturgis

Don't forget, Stanley Co. plays Saturday in Deadwood against Custer, during the annual Prospector's Bowl. Kickoff scheduled for 5:00 Central Time, but there might be a couple of blowouts before them, so tune in earlier. Schedule of games in Deadwood:

Oelrichs vs. NEWELL
PHILIP vs. New Underwood
STANLEY CO. vs. Custer - I'm taking the homer pick in this one and looking forward to it
BENNETT CO. at Lead-Deadwood

Great night for football - enjoy the games, and GO TWINS!!!
-Radioooo

Rod's Thursday Ramblings on Wednesday

What is with the Kansas City Royals. They swept Detroit last week. They beat them bad Tuesday and are giving the Tigers alot of fits Wednesday night. They are like late bloomers. You know, like the high school or college athlete who finally comes into their own and becomes good the year after they graduate! And what's with the Twins. Find out you don't have Jason Morneau the rest of the year and now Michael Cuddeyer starts hitting the ball when it counts. And Nick Punto isn't going away anytime soon. A 4 game winning streak and a sweep of the Indians who made them look bad a month ago under the teflon sky of the Metrodome. And what's up with the Cubs. They are winning more than they are losing now, after they are all but eliminated from the NL Central and wild card. Could it be that they could not overcome the outfielding exploits of Alphonso and Milton? Bradley at least hit a little in August, when no body else did. Now he is struggling and the team is hitting and scoring, except for Wednesday night as I blog this. Soriano is done for the year. Only 6 more to go. Years on his contract after this year. Possibly, just possibly, this is all the doings of ACORN!!!!!

Rod's Monday Ramblings 9/14/09

I was not a fan of the Bears trade for Jay Cutler. Anyone who questions that, I can give you the phone numbers of my kids or talk to my wife. Why get a whiney cry baby who didn't get his way in Denver so he wanted to be traded. I was told by Bears fans it was a good thing. I am still sticking to my guns. Cutler was terrible last night. Absolutley terrible. And don't point out the second half. The only reason that the Bears were in the game with the Packers was Aaron Rogers similar inability to be good except that he made one more play that Cutler. NO EXCUSE that the Bears had lost 3 starters to injury. That they committed a bone head fake punt on 4th down. Cutler was terrible. So here are the ratings by me for the NFC North's quarterbacks after game 1. Number 1: Brett Favre. Number 2: Matthew Stafford. Number 3: Aaron Rogers. Number 4: Jay Cutler.

Kyle Orton was equally inept in his debut with the Bronco's, but oh wait. His team won. Which Orton quarterbacked teams do more of than losing. Orton might have gotten lucky at the end but bottom line. Denver 1-0. Chicago 0-1. Case Closed.

And, after having to listen to Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth last night I would have to have these ratings for TV announcing crews. 1. Any crew from FOX. 2. Any crew from CBS. 3. (Tie) Michaels and Collinsworth and any crew ESPN puts on.

Like the Simon and Garfunkel song Mrs. Robinson says 'Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio". I say, where have you gone Ray Scott or Lindsey Nelson or Curt Gowdy or Charlie Jones.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom The adventures of V.S.K. chapter one

Since the summer is coming to a fast end I didnt get the chance to be a recliner pilot and watch the season opener for the Vikings. I sat on my tractor and listened to the radio call from the Vikings radio crew. After a ho-hum first half, Adrian Peterson threw up, then dominated the Browns with 180 plus rushing yards. With or without VSK, the Vikings are only going to go as far as A.P. takes them. When the Browns put 8 men in the box to stop the run in the first half the Vikings scheme couldnt take advantage in the passing game. Also VSK was sacked four times which puts him on pace to not be playing very long. I know it was only the first game of the season, but the Vikes will see much tougher competition and there will be defensive teams like the Steelers, Ravens, Packers and Bears that will stop the run then the pressure will be solely on VSK. Some team is going to make VSK throw for 300 plus yards for the Vikings to win, the question will be if he can rise to the challenge. VSK 's performance today was kind of like having a substitute teacher, they come to class knowing they are in charge but they dont really change the lesson plan. The Vikes are 1-0 thats good, but I am not quite ready to drink the purple Kool-aid, I guess as long as the Vikings have to punt the other team has a chance. We saw the Lyman Raiders Friday night and they too care of business by defeating Kadoka 60-6. The Raiders have alot of experience back and it shows. Class 9AA is wide open, and barring injury I expect the Raiders to once again go deep into the playoffs. We have two games this week Thursday night the rivlary between White River and Jones County is renewed then on Friday, we have the matchup between Kimball and Gettysburg two teams who have met up in the playoffs over the past few years and are developing quite a rivalry of their own. Dont forget volleyball on Tuesday. Hope you enjoy our coverage.

Rod's thoughts from Saturday

Serena Williams should be spanked for her behavior on the tennis court at the U.S. Open. Use the F word and you get what you recieve. The boot. I grew up in Nebraska and Husker football hates Notre Dame football. Some of it jealousy cause the Fightin Irish always landed on tv. But Charlie Weiss didn't help himself by losing to Michigan yesterday. The Governor football team hopefully got a wake up call by not looking good against a NOT very good team in Mitchell on Saturday (first half mostly). Lady Gov volleyball team didn't play all that bad in losing to Brookings in 3 straight. Not quite sure how to figure out the Governor golf team but yesterday they were good. And once again, the only one on ESPN SportsCenter NFL Game Day Live that knows what he is talking about is "Da Coach".

Governor Saturday Sports from Rod Fisher

Lady Gov Volleyball


Pierre vs. Brookings @ PierreBrookings wins 3 - 0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-22) `Brookings moves to 5 - 0 on the season and 3 - 0 in the ESDBrookings will play next @ Watertown on Tuesday September 15thPierre falls to 2 - 3 on the season 1 - 3 in the ESDPierre will be in action next on Thursday September 17th @ Mitchell
Stat Leaders:
Brookings
Kills: Erinn Osborne - 14Dani Selberg - 7Katie Gordon - 7Assists: Chelsie Seas - 34Blocks: Dani Selberg - 2Jessica VanLiere - 2Aces: Erinn Osborne - 3Katie Gordon - 2Digs: Kristen Miller - 10Katie Gordon - 9
Pierre
Kills: Amber Olson - 13Kelsey Oligmueller - 9Aces: Mandi Atkins - 2Amanda Stout - 1Blocks: Amber Olson - 2Laura Severyn - 2Assists: Amanda Stout - 27Digs: Mandi Atkins - 20Amber Olson - 7

Lady Gov tennis team goes 1-1 Saturday at Huron.
Pierre 8 Brookings 11. Helen Vandersluis d Megan Vockrodt(P) 10-5,2. Crystal Ortbahn(P) d Julianna Diddle 10-5,3. Molly Burke(P) d Amy Leiferman 10-3,4. Alexi Gusso(P) d Reagan Nielsen 1O-7,5. Eileen Leong(P) d Nikki Anderson 10-2,6. Diede Beck(P) d Lydia Lucchesi 10-2.
Doubles1. Vockrodt/Beck d Vandersluis/Nielsen,2. Leong/Ortbahn d. Diddle/Leiferman 11-10(12-10),3. Inman/Burke d. Anderson/Lucchesi, 10-2.
Watertown 8 Pierre 1 1. Shealyn Bakke d Megan Vockrodt(P) 10-4,2. Morgan Delange d. Crystal Ortbahn(P) 10-8,3. Lori Foltz d Molly Burke(P), 10-2,4. Alexi Gusso(P) d Krista Schoenfeld, 11-9,5. Kirsten Titze d. Eileen Leong(P) 10-3,6. Mariah Hericks d Diede Beck(P) 10-6.
Doubles1. Bakke/Delange d. Vockrodt/Beck 10-6,2. Foltz/Schoenfeld d Leong/Ortbahn 10-8,3. Titze/Hericks d. Inman/Burke 10-3.

Governor’s defeat Mitchell 42-14 in ESD Football Saturday night.
Score by quarters: Pierre 0 6 29 7 - 42
Mitchell 0 0 0 14 - 14
Scoring
1st:Pierre - Adam Deneke - 8 yd run - kick blocked 6 - 0
3rd:Pierre - Graham Schuetzle - 15 yd run - Terrelle Walker run 14 - 0
Pierre - Tanner Schaefer - 36 yd run - Travis Adney Kick 21 - 0
Pierre - Deneke - 1 yd run - Adney kick 28 - 0
Pierre - Deneke - 40 yd run - Adney kick 35 - 0
4th:Mitchell - Justin Greenway - 22 yd run - Cody Plamp kick 35 - 7
Pierre - Terrelle Walker - 60 yd run - Adney kick 42 - 7
Mitchell - Travis Sedlemeier - 55 yd run - Plamp kick 42 - 14
Stat Leaders:
Pierre - Rushing Leaders:Terrelle Walker - 5 carries 68 yds - 1 TDTanner Schafer - 11 carries 64 yds - 1 TDAdam Deneke - 7 carries 52 yds - 3 TD's Jordan Drapeaux - 7 carries 40 yards
Mitchell Rushing Leaders:
Brent Havlik - 8 carries 81 Yards
Byran Buck - 11 carries 42 Yards
Pierre Passing:Graham Schuetzle - 3 of 7 40 Yards
Jarred Nielen - 0 for 1
Pierre Receiving Receivers:
Jordan Drapeaux - 2 receptions 16 Yards
Danny Mayer - 1 reception 24 Yards
Mitchell Passing:
Brent Havlik - 7 of 14 for 44 Yards and 1 interception
Mitchell Receiving Receivers:
Tyler Vole sky - 3 receptions 4 Yards
Justin Greenway - 1 reception 24 Yards
Jason Greenway - 1 reception 7 Yards

From Riggs High Athletic Director Dan Whalen: The Monday September 14th JV football game with Rapid City Stevens @ Pierre has been cancelled. We will host Rapid City Stevens on the October 12th date instead of traveling to Rapid City. Game time 1:00 pm. The Freshman team will still travel to Rapid City on October 12th for their game.
　
Governor Golfers win the Brookings Invitational with a 301 team score. Miles Schock shoots a round of 68 to win individual medalist honors. Govs have 3 other golfers place. Seth Carter, Willie Welch and Zach Smalley

Governor soccer team and Sioux Falls Roosevelt tie 2-2. Lady Govs and Roosevelt tie 1-1

Rod's 9/12/09 Ramblings

No upsets (kind of) last night in ESD football. Yankton beats Watertown 24-14. Yankton was up 24-0 in that one. Watertown was a little overrated at the beginning it would seem. Brookings pulled away from Huron to win 20-7 so the Governors will have a tough one next week. It is also Brookings homecoming. And the big game of the night saw Aberdeen Central outlast Brandon Valley 36-30 in triple overtime. It was quite a game I hear. The Golden Eagles will be tough to beat the rest of the way now. They have disposed by Sioux Falls O'Gorman and Brandon Valley in two of the first three weeks. Barring injuries, the ole Golden Eagles will probably be the no. 2 seed behind S.F. Washington when it comes playoff time. Washington still has to play O'Gorman at seasons end. Governors and Mitchell kickoff at 7 tonight on River 92.7. Get their early. Pierre Booster Club tailgating begins at 5.

Brookings is 4-0 in volleyball as they head into Riggs High Gym this afternoon for a 2:30 p.m. match against the Lady Govs. Brookings has won all four of their matches in 4 games. Katie Gordon, daughter of former Pierre Riggs grads Allen and Karen (Koistinen) Gordon is one of their better players. Allen was the starting quarterback on the Governors very first playoff qualifying team (back in those days not all teams qualified for the first round). He also played on the Governor basketball teams that won the 1982 state championship and was runner up in 83. Karen was a very good and fast track athlete for the Lady Govs. We will have the match on River 92.7.

And, it was a wet day to play golf yesterday at the Yankton Invitational Here is how it went for the Governor golfers. It was their lowest finish in the tournament this year as they play in the Brookings Invitational today at the Brookings Country Club.


Governor Golfers 6th out of 18 total teams at Yankton on Friday
Team Score: 320
Winning Score: Yankton 302 Individual Medalist: Gabe Messler of Yankton 73 (won 3 way playoff)
Pierre Scores and place winners after playoffs: Seth Carter 76 ( 10th) Miles Schock 77 (14th) Willie Welch 80 John Breckenridge 87 Zach Smalley 93

Brian's view of Week2

Week 2 - actually the third week of the high school football season. We're rolling now, and here are the area picks of the week, with some real interesting games to note (picks in ALL CAPS, as usual):

Colome at JONES CO. -- I like the fact that the Yotes scored 46 at Philip, regardless of when
GETTYSBURG at Eureka/Bowdle -- should be a good one here, but Battlers are the team to beat right now
IPSWICH at Faulkton -- not sure here, Tigers laid an egg last week; Trojans may be favored at home
HERREID/SELBY at Langford/Roslyn -- Shoe's pick of the week, but I think an easy win for H/S
Cheyenne-Eagle Butte at LITTLE WOUND -- I had to flip a coin
LYMAN at Kadoka -- Raiders obviously looking good early
LOWER BRULE at Marty Indian -- I think the Sioux want to get Marty back for last year's loss
McLaughlin at HOVEN/EC
WINNER at Mobridge-Pollock -- Tigers will be up for this (they have to be), but Warriors too good
FAITH at Oelrichs
PHILIP at Newell
SANBORN CENTRAL at Highmore-Harrold
Chamberlain at STANLEY CO. -- Buffs comfortable back home - Homecoming, too (7:00 KGFX)
Dupree at TIMBER LAKE -- just taking the home team in this matchup
Crow Creek at TODD CO.
WAGNER at Miller -- Red Raiders looking strong
New Underwood at WALL
Kimball at WHITE LAKE/PLANKINTON -- this'll be a good game!
GREGORY at White River

Marquee games around the State:
HOWARD at Chester Area -- the SE part of the state will love this game
Aberdeen Roncalli at MILBANK -- both team looking good, although Milbank lost to West Central
Tri-Valley at DELL RAPIDS -- 11B champ at 11A champ (T-V might be better, but taking home team)
St. Thomas More at VERMILLION -- Love the long road trip, but Cavs record in Dome not so good :)

11AA games:
Mitchell at PIERRE -- Govs home opener, still on a high from last week's big win
Brandon Valley at ABERDEEN CENTRAL -- game of the week in ESD, could decide ESD champion
BROOKINGS at Huron
Watertown at YANKTON -- we'll see if Arrows bounce back from loss to Govs
SF WASHINGTON vs. SF Roosevelt -- plenty of media coverage with this one, I'm sure
RC STEVENS at Speafish -- Stevens surprising so far, should have no trouble in this one
RC Central at STURGIS
SF O'GORMAN vs. SF Lincoln

Enjoy the games, but take your umbrellas!
- Radioooo

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom NFL season opener special

The NFL season is upon us, just a few short days before the VSK (Viking Season Killer a/k/a Brett Farve) era begins. And, although there hasnt been a single regular season play run, I have counted at least three excuses why the VSK era will not be successful according to Mr. VSK himself. First the torn rotator cuff, it was disclosed he had a partially torn rotator cuff which was ok enough to pass a physical from the Vikings medical staff but of course it could completely tear at any time. Excuse #2, it was reported by ESPN during the Monday Night game vs the Texans that Farve thought he had a couple of broken ribs. Have we heard at any point that he was checked out on his assumption by any of the Viking staff? Excuse #3, now VSK says that at his age he wouldnt be afraid to come to the coach and remove himself from a game at anytime if he felt he didnt "feel right". If you counted the reason he stayed in retirement back in June, his "bad ankles" There are four excuses why the VSK era will be a bust. And all of them coming from the mouth of VSK himself. Lets give him the benefit of the doubt and hope all the things he has said are to just keep the expections of those who are loyal to the purple to a minimum. Whatever the outcome there will be alot more people than normal paying attention as the Vikes play Cleveland Sunday. Noon kickoff on KPLO and KMLO by the way. I wonder what would happen if I began to make up excuses for things that might happen in the future. Look boss, I may watch tv too late one night and I will be late for work. Sorry honey, I have a stiff shoulder and probally wont be able to mow the lawn next week. Lets have some fun with this and see what kind of "excuses" we can come up with. The NFL season begins tonight, Pittsburg plays Tennesee. I think the Steelers will find out, just how hard it is to repeat as champs in week one. Our game Friday night has the Lyman Raiders traveling to Kadoka to take on the Kougars 7:00 mountain time kickoff on KPLO. The Raiders have some unfinished business to take care of after losing in the semifinals last year. Should be a good game, we may play in the rain,See ya then

Brian's Week 1 in Review

A better week picking games this time: 59-14 overall, but still only 5-3 in 11AA (darn Governors!) :) Also went 22-5 in other 11-man games, and 33-6 in the 9-man ranks, which ain't too shabby. After 2 weeks:

Overall: 90-29
11AA: 11-5
Lower 11's: 31-12
9-man: 48-12

We've got some interesting games coming up next this weekend:
Brandon Valley at Aberdeen Central (the ESD's two best)
Washington vs. Roosevelt (GDC's two best?)
Tri-Valley at Dell Rapids (11B & 11A defending champions)
St. Thomas More at Vermillion (what? a cross-state road trip?)
...and a few others that will be tough to pick, but we'll do our best. Look for picks on Friday.
Later.....

Andy Shoe's Scuttlebutts

Week one for KMLO is under our belt and now we look forward to one of the most anticipated games of the entire football season. Herreid, Selby Area versus Langford, Roslyn! I knew when I put this game on the schedule that it would be the buzz game early in the season. Now that it is time to play I have to admit I am just a little excited to see what the out-come will be. The Herreid, Selby Area Wolverines are the bigger team but it might be game that comes down to who is faster. For years the two programs up there in Langford and Roslyn have had some of the best athletes in the area and in some cases in the state. It will be an exciting game both for the players and the fans not to mention the coaches. Well this is one broadcaster that can't wait to see the game from kick off to the final seconds it will be a thrill to call on the radio. I hope to see many of you there but for those of you who can't make the trip I will again try to make you feel like you are there.

The Class 11AA rankings

I am dissapointed to say the least, but not surprised with the South Dakota Sportswriters latest Class 11AA ratings. But cmon guys and maybe a gal or two, Pierre gets no consideration whatsoever? It's no big deal to the coaching staff. As a matter of fact, they are probably happy with the fact that they are still under the radar. But it just irks me. You beat the preseason ESD pick "of the ESD Coaches no less" on their home field. No you don't beat them, you embaress them. They were rated 5th last week. That should at least earn the title of "Getting some votes but not enough to crack the top 5". It's almost as bad as the power point rankings. Oh by the way, we better keep winning. Douglas won last Friday. Beat Custer 38-14.

Governors Football team impressive

Guess what, people in Sioux Falls that I know in the broadcast media are following Pierre. They tell me that we did everything but win the game against S.F. Lincoln last week. They admit it. Then they saw what Pierre did to Watertown on Friday and guess what, there is life west of I-29. Or at least the broadcast media. Print media guys still think the earth ends just west of West Central High School. If Pierre takes care of business against Mitchell on Saturday, I like thier chances at Brookings (Bobcats Homecoming). Yankton will be a test at thier place the following week but it is a winable game. Stevens and our homecoming game could be a feature game of the week statewide. Brandon Valley will be tough even if it is here. At Huron, we will win and we could beat Aberdeen Central the final game. 7-2 could be reached. 6-3 is very attainable. 5-4 would be reasonable. Less wins than losses would be dissapointing at this point. Now injuries and other things off the football that could occur and all bets are off. I don't believe in predictions like I just did, but it's a blog so what the heck. By the way, Pierre's win over Watertown was just the 4th in the last 19 years.

More Governor Friday sports results

Black Hills InvitationalBoulder Canyon Golf Course, SturgisTeam Scores—Rapid City Stevens 310, Pierre 311, Sturgis 316, Rapid City Central 338, Lead-Deadwood 341, Custer 344, Douglas 375, Spearfish 379, St. Thomas More 408.

Pierre Scores - Zach Smalley 75, Willie Welch 75, Miles Shock 77, Hans Leong 84, John Breckenbridge 89, Seth Carter-Stadel disqualified.

Gov sports from Friday

Lady Gov Tennis
Pierre defeated Mitchell 6-3 and Yankton 6-3 Friday in. Mitchell.
Pierre v Mitchell
1. Angie Lorenzen d Megan Vockrodt(P) 10-3,2. Kayla Inman(P) d. Marissa Tubbs 11-10(7-4),3. Megan Solberg d Molly Burke(P) 10-6,4. Alexi Gusso(P) d Courtney Wells 10-5,5. Eileen Leong(P) d. Haley Bathke, 10-6,6. Diede Beck(P) d Chelsea Kracht 10-5.Doubles1. Lorenzen/Tubbsa d. Vockrodt/Gusso(P) 10-7.2. Leong/Crystal Ortbahn(P) d Solberg/Kracht 10-5,3. Inman/Burke(P) d. Wells/Kayla White 10-4.
Pierre 6, Yankton 3
1. Vanessa Rockne d Megan Vockrodt(P) 10-1,2. Lexie Klimisch d. Kayla Inman(P) 10-3.,3. Molly Burke(P) d Heidi Olson 10-7,4. Alexi Gusso(P) d Jesse VanMannen 11-9,5. Leslie Henderson d Eileen Leong(P) d. 10-8,6. Diede Beck(P) d Daniella Gill 10-7.Doubles1. Vockrodt/Beck(P) d. Rockne/Klimisch 10-5.2. Leong/ Ortbahn(P) d Olson/VanMannen 10-4,3. Inman/Burke(P) d. Henderson/Gill 10-4.In exhibition action, Freshman Abby Burke went 6-0 on the day.
　
Lady Gov Volleyball
Pierre vs. Mitchell @ PierreMitchell wins 3 - 1 (25 - 11, 25 - 20, 21 - 25, 25 - 13)Mitchell moves to 3 - 1 on the season and 2 - 0 in the ESDMitchell will play next @ Yankton on September 8thPierre falls to 2 - 2 on the season 1 - 2 in the ESDPierre is in action next Saturday September 12th vs Brookings @ PierreStat Leaders:MitchellKills: Lexi Weier - 15Dana Misiaszek - 15Assists: Charlee Nelson - 39Blocks: Dana Misiaszek - 2Charlee Nelson - 2Kerri Young - 2Serving: Kerri Young - 15/15Aces: Taylor Piper - 2Digs: Taylor Piper - 20Kendell Smith - 15PierreKills: Amber Olson - 13Paige Underberg - 7Aces: Amanda Stout - 2Amber Olson - 1Blocks: Amber Olson - 3Paige Underberg - 3Assists: Amanda Stout - 14Digs: Mandi Atkins - 20Amanda Stout - 16
　
Governor Football
Governors upset Watertown 28-7. Led 13-0 at half and led 28-0 til Watertown scored with 2:04 left in 4th quarter. Pierre rushed for 335 yards. No passing yards. Tanner Schaeffer scored two touchdowns and rushed for 91 yards. Terrelle Walker had two interceptions and returned the second one 27 yards to make it 28-0. Danny Mayer also scored a rushing touchdown. Pierre’s defense held Watertown to 150 total yards.
Pierre improves to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in Conference play. Host Mitchell Saturday
Watertown falls to 1-1 and 0-1 in Conference play.

Darren Boyle's weekly words of wisdom

Game one of the voyage known as the high school sports season is in the books for me and the Sully Buttes Chargers came away with a 52-6 victory over Highmore- Harrold. To me it was a game where you could definitely tell that Sully Buttes had played the week before and Highmore Harrold had not. If this game was played in the second half of the season, I would expect it would be much closer. If the Pirates plan was to shut down the run they were successful but there committment to stop the run gave Sully Buttes the chance to have some big plays in the passing game. On the other hand, Highmore Harrold suffered through some of those things you would expect in their first game under head coach Ken Jones. I would bet both coaching staffs are pouring over the game films today and will figure out what they need to do to get better the rest of the season. Next Friday we get our first look of the season at the Lyman Raiders, a team I expect to make some noise in class 9AA. The following week it is Gettysburg @ Kimball. So we have some good games to start off the season Keep listening, and keep your comments coming. Its going to be a fun season. Just think, it is just over a week away from the real beginning of the VSK era. We will talk about that next week, have a safe and happy labor day weekend

Brian's best guesses for Week 1

After Week 0 in high school football, I went 31-15 in my picks, a .674 winning percentage, which included going 6-2 on the 11AA games, a lackluster 10-7 in all other 11-man games, and a decent 15-6 in picking 9-man games. Here are my picks (guesses) for Week 1, when everyone is getting into the swing of things. My picks in ALL CAPS...

Pierre at WATERTOWN - Arrows had offense against Spearfish last week; we'll see how confident the Govs are in a tough place to play
Stanley Co. at WINNER - I don't feel bad about abstaining from this one. I'm betting Winner is extremely good.
Chamberlain at VALENTINE - never hear much about Valentine, but they're always pretty fair
Crow Creek at CHEYENNE-EB - Braves rolled it up last week
Dupree at FAITH - best guess in season opener for both
Faulkton at GETTYSBURG - expecting big things from Battlers again
HITCHCOCK-TULARE at Wolsey-Wessington
EUREKA/BOWDLE at Hoven/Edmunds Central
Jones County at PHILIP - Scotties too good in this one
Kadoka at NEW UNDERWOOD - an assumption here, Tigers were decent last year
Colome at KIMBALL
Leola/Frederick at IPSWICH
Lower Brule at SUNSHINE BIBLE
Hill City at MOBRIDGE-POLLOCK - Tigers will open it up in this one
SIOUX VALLEY at Miller - SV surprised last week
St. Francis at BENNETT CO.
Highmore-Harrold at SULLY BUTTES - a game last week helps Chargers in this one (home opener, too)
Timber Lake at HERREID/SELBY
Red Cloud at TODD CO.
White River at LYMAN - Raiders have unfinished business this year

Other marquee games:
PLATTE at Bon Homme - this will be a tough game for both very good teams
HOWARD at Marion/Hurley - both ranked in 9AA (#1 at defending champ)
Madison at HOT SPRINGS - I just like the road trip that's being taken here (and no complaining from Madison folks)
Groton at ABERDEEN RONCALLI - Cavs have had enough of seeing Groton go to the Dome
HARRISBURG vs. Tri-Valley
Avon vs. HANSON - 2 games being played in SF (matchups almost like a "Hanson Classic")

The rest of 11AA:
Yankton at BRANDON VALLEY
ABERDEEN CENTRAL at Huron - is Aberdeen the team to beat this year in ESD?
Mitchell at BROOKINGS
sf Lincoln vs. SF WASHINGTON
sf o'gorman vs. SF ROOSEVELT
Spearfish at RC CENTRAL - the question here is who is worse?
STURGIS at RC Stevens - should be a good game in this one

Let's hear your comments on these and anything else of interest this weekend......enjoy the games!
- Brian

Andy Shoe's Scuttlebutts

Time to get started! I get so worked up when it comes to football season. I love to watch high school football. The band playing the fight song, the home town moms all huddled together like a pack of rabid dogs, just waiting for the official to call the wrong penalty, dads all grouped together with their chest's swollen with pride. There really isn't anything like watching the interaction and of course a great game. I look forward every year to reuniting with the fans who have become Friends to me. I can't wait to see the student athletes give their all with grace and ability. You could say I'm a fan. I have good reason to be excited this year, as I start my twelfth season on the air at KMLO. I have to tell you fans that it has been, and continues to be a great pleasure of mine to be able to add a little excitement, and emotion to your high school sports experience. i hope that I have and continue to do a service to those who can't make it to the games in person. My mission is to make those fans feel like they are there in person. I know it is said repeatably that one loves what they do but with me it is more than just a love for what I do I live for this. I can't see myself doing anything else. Thank you all for the opportunity to be a part of your lives and I hope, once again I can continue to bring the games to you through my play-by-play.

Brian's thoughts on his....thoughts

Well, it's always hard to pick high school games during the first week of the season, and my stats from Friday and Saturday will show it. I think I went 31-15, which is pretty good if you're a baseball team, but not as good as I had expected. Maybe I should rethink what I'm doing here. Right off the bat, I missed both of my picks of the must-see games of the week around the state this past weekend, West Central-Harrisburg and Marion/Hurley-Hanson. I guess, like Boyle would say, you have to leave east of Salem (or at least east of the James River and south of Highway 38) to really fully understand what goes on down there.

Anyway, I was impressed with the effort of the Governors on Saturday, and even more so with the effort of the Buffaloes on Friday night. Bennett Co., like SF Lincoln, must not be near what they were last year, but Stanley Co. sure looked like they had something to prove, at least to themselves, in the second half, scoring 34 unanswered and bustin' out the whoopin' sticks on D like they did. No denying, Bennett Co. is no Winner, though, and we'll see just what the Buffs are made of this Friday night down south.

Look for Week 1 picks later in the week, but listen up for volleyball on the air tonight!!
- Radioooo