A big thanks goes out to all the people who helped organize Wednesday’s Eau Claire Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Banquet.      Eau Claire, as most area sports fans are aware, has a long, rich tradition of baseball…and a local Hall of Fame is a great way to preserve those many memories.  

Allowing those inducted individuals to be recognized publicly is even a better idea.   Thanks should also go out to all the many people, both old and young, who purchased tickets and took part in the door prize drawings and silent auction.   The event was well-attended, the conversations were engaging, and guest speaker Bruce Froemming (37-year veteran Major League Baseball umpire) was wildly entertaining.  

We could argue all day about what sport is America’s pastime, but baseball occupies a special place in the hearts of fans.    Local fans should be proud of not only the history of Eau Claire baseball, but also the recent success of the area teams, from Little League, to Babe Ruth, to the four high school programs, American Legion, CRBL, Cavaliers, and Express.   

Carson Park is a gem of a baseball stadium, and incorporating a Eau Claire Baseball Hall of Fame onto its plaza only adds to its charm.   It won’t be that long until the weather warms up, and we can be enjoying a sunny day at that wonderful ballpark.

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports

The WIAA postseason is not that far away…wrestling regionals and boys swimming & diving sectionals begin in two short weeks.   Hockey regionals get underway on February 17, with the girls basketball postseason beginning the following Tuesday, and boys basketball starting its playoff series the week after that.

In the meantime, there are a lot of conference titles to be decided across the spectrum of the winter sports, and a number of key matchups that’ll help sort it all out:  

BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING

Thursday, January 29: Chippewa Falls at EC Memorial

Neither the Cardinals nor the Old Abes have lost a Big Rivers Conference dual meet this season.  Saying Memorial has dominated the BRC recently is like saying Michael Phelps had a pretty good Olympic Games…the Old Abes have reeled off 16 straight conference titles.   Can the Cardinals be the team to stop that streak? 

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BOYS HS HOCKEY

Tuesday, January 27: River Falls at EC Memorial, Rice Lake at Hudson

Tuesday, February 3: EC Memorial at Rice Lake

Tuesday, February 10: Hudson at EC Memorial

Thursday, February 12: River Falls at Rice Lake

Unlike the last few years, when the only BRC race was for 2nd place behind Memorial, this season the Old Abes have company at the top of the standings.  Right now, it looks like this: River Falls 6-1-1, Memorial 6-1-0, Rice Lake 6-2-0, Hudson 5-2-1.  Beyond the BRC bragging rights, the 1/27 and 2/3 games will have big-time seeding implications with River Falls & Hudson battling for the #1 seed in the New Richmond sectional, and Rice Lake & ECM going after the top seed in the EC North sectional.  FYI, the seeding meetings are scheduled for Sunday, February 8.

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GIRLS HS HOCKEY

Thursday, January 29: Chippewa Falls at St. Croix Valley

The Fusion is responsible for the Cardinals’ only BRC loss this season…can the Cards hand St. Croix Valley its first loss?    These two teams will wind up in different WIAA sectionals, so there’s a chance they could meet again…at the state tournament.

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GIRLS HS BASKETBALL

Thursday, February 5, EC Regis @ Osseo-Fairchild

O-F has all but wrapped up the Western Cloverbelt title, but the Ramblers are probably the only team left on the schedule with enough firepower to stop the Chieftains’ quest for an unbeaten regular season.

Friday, February 6: Durand at Amery

The Panthers beat the Warriors in Durand earlier this season; on this night, it’s Amery’s chance to even the score and split the Middle Border Conference title.  Both these teams will wind up in the same WIAA Division 2 sectional, but in different regionals…with the seeding meetings scheduled for 2/14, it’s possible that both could land #1 seeds.

Tuesday, February 10: Owen-Withee at Neillsville

Much like O-F has done in the WC, Neillsville is closing in on a title in the Eastern Cloverbelt…Owen-Withee is the lone team left that could put a blemish on the Warriors’ record.

Saturday, February 21: Cloverbelt Conference 1st & 2nd place games at Neillsville

Great tuneups for the WIAA regionals, with the matchups probably being either Regis or Altoona taking on O-W in the 2nd place game, while O-F and Neillsville collide for 1st place.

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BOYS HS BASKETBALL

Tuesday, January 27: Rice Lake at EC North

The Huskies look to bounce back after a home loss to River Falls.   North’s 6-11 junior Evan Anderson may see the court after being out since 12/12 with a sprained & dislocated ankle…the Huskies will need his defensive presence and rebounding if they’re going to make another run through the postseason as they did last year.  The Warriors are starting to hit their stride, and with Alex Culy, Rice Lake has the firepower to compete with anyone.

Thursday, January 29: Colfax at Mondovi

The Vikings are the surprise team of the Dunn-St. Croix, while the Buffaloes expected to contend for a conference title.   Colfax won at home earlier this season over Mondovi, 50-46, and another Vikings’ win over the Buffs would all but send the DSC title back to Colfax.  Their rivalry may not end with this game…both Mondovi and Colfax are in the same WIAA Division 3 regional, which features other solid teams as Luck, Eleva-Strum, and EC Regis.

Saturday, February 7: Hudson at EC North

The Raiders look to complete the season sweep over the Huskies, and in doing so, can move closer to a BRC title and a #1 seed for the WIAA Division 1 regional.

Thursday, February 12: Fall Creek at EC Regis

The Crickets are unbeaten, but have had some close calls along the way.  Will that make them vulnerable or battle-tested?   It’ll be a tournament-type atmosphere when these two meet at the Ramblers’ gym–the type of game that’ll help both teams come playoff time.   Speaking of the poststeason, Fall Creek and Regis are in different WIAA regionals…so a potential third matchup could come in a Division 3 sectional final.

Monday, February 23: Colby at Owen-Withee

The Hornets are steamrolling toward an Eastern Cloverbelt title, and while the Blackhawks may not be able to overtake Colby, they could be the team to spoil the Hornets’ unbeaten season.   This game will be played after the regional seeding meetings, and with Colby, Owen-Withee, and Fall Creek all in the same Division 3 regional, it could be an interesting vote for the #1 seed if both Colby and Fall Creek are both unbeaten.

Saturday, February 28: Cloverbelt Conference 1st & 2nd place games at Osseo-Fairchild

A “tournament” before THE tournament.   If it turns out to be Colby vs. Fall Creek in the 1st place game, it’ll be interesting to see whether Hornets coach Paul Knetter and his Crickets counterpart Rick Storlie save a few surprises for a potential meeting one week later in the regional.

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This is just a partial list, mind you…there are countless other games that will matter in terms of conference races and playoff seeding.   Beyond that, you never know what kind of drama you’ll see and when you’ll see it when it comes to high school sports.   Again, if you’re looking for value out of your entertainment dollar, get out to your local high school and catch a contest….when you get home, catch the highlights on News 18 Sports or at www.wqow.com.   We’ll have it all covered, all the way through the WIAA state tournaments in March.

-BOB BRADOVICH

   

Posted under Hometown Sports

There are more than 400 girls high school basketball teams in the state of Wisconsin, and with each team playing approximately 20 games each season, that’s more than 8,000 games each season.  So what makes a random Monday night non-conference matchup so special that it leads our sportscast?

For starters, January 19, was no random Monday–it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, an appropriate time for a girls basketball team from a Christian school from Milwaukee’s inner city to venture north to the Osseo-Fairchild school district.   The day included much more than basketball, with the girls on the Hawks’ team joining with the Chieftains for lunch, classes, and a trip to O-F senior forward Sarah Lundberg family’s farm.   

During the 2007-08 season, Osseo-Fairchild traveled to Milwaukee for a game at The Hope School.   O-F head coach Matt Korger and Hawks head coach Stephanie Bahr agreed to play again this year, and worked out a day’s schedule full of activities, capped off by the game and a meal afterward.

For the record, the game was close, with Osseo-Fairchild pulling away late for a 54-47 win to stay unbeaten on the season.  The box score, however, won’t be able to quantify just how much all these players managed to learn and grow in just a single day. 

Congratulations go out to coaches Korger and Bahr for scheduling this game, as well as the administrators from both schools for working out the logistics.   Kudos also to players from both teams, who showed that no matter if you’re black or white, urban or rural, there’s plenty of common ground when you’re a teenage girl who loves playing basketball.

News 18 reporter Ben Kroeplin and videographer Kyle Jorgensen did a very nice job capturing the day at OFHS–you can see their work on the news section of this website.   Sports reporter Bill Port picked up the story by shooting game highlights as well as additional interviews…you’ll be able to watch his re-cap of the day during the WIAA State Tournament broadcasts in March.

You’ll often hear us talk about “The Magic of March,” but clearly, when it comes to high school sports, magic can happen year-round.

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports

Sometimes the WIAC Sports Information Directors are a little off in their preseason predictions, but so far this basketball season, the SID’s have been right on.

We’re roughly one-third of the way through the conference basketball seasons, and we haven’t had any major surprises.   The usual suspects (Stevens Point, Platteville, and Whitewater) are at the top of the men’s standings, with a similar situation in the women’s race, with Point, Whitewater, and Eau Claire battling for the top spot.  

The two races take on a little extra meaning this season, with the WIAC changing the format for its postseason conference tournaments.   In past years, eight of the nine teams in the WIAC would advance to the tourney, but this season, only six of the nine make it in–with the top two seeds getting first-round byes.     The idea behind the change is to give the WIAC team or teams advancing to the NCAA tournament a better chance to make a run through the NCAA’s…it remains to be seen whether playing one fewer tourney game has any effect.   In any event, both conference races should be very interesting.  The teams at the top will be going after that top seed and home court advantage, with the middle-of-the-pack teams just trying to get into the tourney.  

Here’s what the WIAC website has to say about conference tournament seeding tiebreakers:

1. Head-to-head competition between tied teams.

2. Cumulative Won/Loss record vs. teams placed higher in the conference standings.

3. Record vs. teams in conference standings in descending order (i.e., #1 seed, #2 seed).

4. Team with the best road record in conference games.

5. Coin toss conducted by the WIAC commissioner.

[Note:  If two teams remain tied after a third or other teams are eliminated, the tiebreaker reverts to criteria No. 1.  For example, if four teams are tied with 4-2, 3-3, 3-3, 2-4 head -to-head records, the 4-2 receives highest seed and the 2-4 team the lowest seed in the grouping.  Since two teams remain tied at 3-3, we revert back to criteria #1 (head-to-head) between those two teams and then (if necessary) utilize the remaining criteria in order.]

Now we understand, right?  Actually, it’s pretty simple for teams–win games.   The formula has always been the same, protect your home court and steal a game or two on the road.  

The UWEC men, with perhaps their best team in recent years, have to be kicking themselves for losing a lead at home vs. Superior, and then going on the road and rallying from double-digit deficits at Whitewater and Oshkosh, only to lose both of those contests.   That sets up an interesting matchup Saturday when the 2-4 Blugolds host 2-4 RIver Falls.   That same afternoon, Stout gets a chance to play spoiler with Whitewater coming to Johnson FIeldhouse.  The Blue Devils showed they can compete with tough teams by taking a halftime lead at Stevens Point Wednesday, now Ed Andrist’s crew has to prove it can play well for 40 minutes.

That’s a theme echoed by both Mark Thomas and Tonja Englund about their respective women’s teams.   Thomas’s Stout Blue Devils looked to have Stevens Point down and out Wednesday night, before the Pointers rallied over the last 10 minutes of the second half to steal a win at Johnson Fieldhouse.   As disappointed as Thomas and the Blue Devils have to be about that, they have no time to dwell on the loss with Whitewater, the #3 team in the latest D3Hoops.com national rankings, coming to town Saturday.   Englund says she’s still looking for a complete game out of her Blugolds.  UWEC played 20 solid minutes in a win over Oshkosh, then looked stagnant over the second half but still came out with a win.   UWEC will host River Falls Saturday, and the Blugolds better be ready for a Falcons team which, like the Titans, is young but improving.   UWRF doesn’t have a lot of depth inside, but the Falcons have a youthful, talented core of players on the perimiter.

If you’ve read along this far, you’re probably a WIAC basketball fan.   If you haven’t checked out a game yet, I urge you to do so–as it is with WIAA sports, you’ll not get more value for your entertainment dollar.   And in these times, we’re all trying to get as much value out of our dollars as possible.

-BOB BRADOVICH 

Posted under Hometown Sports

Football season, that is.   And it's over over there, for that matter….there being Minnesota, here being Wisconsin.   Speaking of that state to our west, when was the last time that in the same football season, the Gophers played their bowl game after the Badgers, and the Vikings' season lasted longer than that of the Packers?

This isn't to claim superiority for one side over the other, especially since it's a fairly easy argument to say the Badgers played in a higher profile bowl (Champs Sports Bowl on ESPN) than the Gophers (Insight Bowl on NFL Network).   Besides, both teams lost by double digits.

However, in the NFL, 10-6 and an NFC North Division title certainly trumps 6-10 and no playoffs.   Still, watching the Vikings squander home field advantage against the Eagles, I don't think we're looking at a Minnesota dynasty within the division, as long as Brad Childress sticks to his belief that Tarvaris Jackson can be a franchise quarterback.   

Call me a cockeyed optimist (especially if you enjoy quoting semi-obscure "Seinfeld" dialogue), but I think the Packers can bounce back next season–mainly, because they have the best QB in the division.  Aaron Rodgers will only get better, and his first season as a starter was very impressive: 4,038 yards passing, a 63.6 completion percentage, with 28 TD's and only 13 INT's.  I don't want to hear about how he didn't rally the team to a 4th quarter win, either…if Mason Crosby kicks late FG's at the Metrodome or at Soldier FIeld, there's two wins right there.   Or, how about the Green Bay defense coming up with a 4th-quarter stop vs. the Panthers or Texans?

Speaking of that defense, we now know it's going to look different in 2009, mainly because of a completely new coaching staff on that side of the ball.  Hopefully, that's not the end of the changes.  Mike McCarthy made a bold move by cleaning house on his coaching staff, but that and a possible scheme change won't matter unless GM Ted Thompson does something to acquire some more defensive playmakers, especially along the line.  Add a pass rush, develop more consistency in the running game, clean up special teams mistakes, and the end result should be a reversal of that 6-10 record and a playoff spot in '09.   If not, then McCarthy is the next coach who'll have a "FOR SALE" sign in front of his Green Bay house.

I'm a lot less optimistic about the Badgers in 2009.   Dustin Sherer certainly gave a good effort, but I can think of 11 other Big Ten quarterbacks from this past season that I'd rather have running the offense.   I don't know what Curt Phillips and Jon Budamyr bring to the table, but the spring football QB competition should be wide open–and if one of the new guys shows potential, name him the starter right then and there and move forward.  I don't think it helps having a QB controversy carry over into August practices.   John Clay should give Wisconsin its featured back, but beyond that, the Badgers have a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the ball.   Bret Bielema's recruiting prowess was one reason he got the head coaching job at a young age…but if the Badgers don't bounce back with a solid season in '09, even more fans across the state will be calling for athletic director Barry Alvarez to fire the coach.

Across the St. Croix River, the Gophers will get a boost by moving back into an open-air stadium on campus.  Whether that translates into another winning season remains to be seen.  Minnesota has also upgraded its non-conference schedule to start the season: at Syracuse, followed by home games against Air Force and California before the Badgers come to TCF Bank Stadium to kick off the Big Ten portion of the schedule.  Of course, there's always room for one cupcake on the slate, and that's a home game with South Dakota State on November 14.  Like Bielema, Tim Brewster is known as a relentless recruiter…but a lot of skeptics want to see if he can win with his own guys, and not those players who were brought in by former coach Glen Mason.

As for the Vikings, Brad Childress is Minnesota's equivalent of Ted Thompson.  Both are very bright football guys who don't function well in the media spotlight, which only exacerbates their image problem among the masses…consequently, anything that goes wrong with the team is their fault.   For Childress, it's pretty simple…keep moving the franchise forward and he'll keep his job.  If not, he's gone.   

I won't make any win-loss predictions for any of these teams until we get closer to the fall, but I'll say at least one of these four head coaches will be clearing our his office either during or after the 2009 season.  In order of most likely to get canned to least likely, it goes like this:  Childress, Bielema, McCarthy, Brewster.

In other words, it'll be over for someone over here or over there.

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports