When the Kohl Center cleared out last Saturday night, it was the official end to the winter high school sports season.   Congratulations should go out to not only all the teams that made it to state in March, but also the teams of officials who worked the games.

So often, the folks in the striped shirts are the target of criticism, contempt, and often outright hostility…but if you know them, you’d understand just how seriously they take their role, and how much effort they put into their craft.    Unlike the rest of us, who worry about who won and who lost, the officials’ obsession is simple: did we get it right.

With that, here’s a shout-out to the game officials from our area who worked games at the hockey and basketball state tournaments:

HOCKEY: Travis Ahlberg (Birchwood), John Christopherson (Eau Claire), Mike De Long (Woodville), Scott Gavin (River Falls), Jeff Hanzlik (Chippewa Falls), Ryan Humpal (Amery), Andy Krahenbuhl (Cameron), and Tim Rowan (Menomonie).

BOYS BASKETBALL: Tim Bassett (Rice Lake), Michael J. Breed (Cameron), Tom Fiedler (Eau Claire), Ryan Nelson (Eau Claire), Tyler Nelson (Eau Claire), Steve Sevals (Rice Lake), and Brian Trettin (Hayward).

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Wayne Brevik (Fairchild), Bart Matzek (Prescott), Brad Matzek (Prescott), Mike Matzek (Prescott), Tim McIntyre (Danbury), Chuck Morning IV (Menomonie), Tyler Moy (Eau Claire), and Tim Widiker (Danbury).

Officiating may look easy from the stands, but if you’ve ever actually done it–and had to make a tough call in an intense game at a crucial time–you realize it’s anything but easy. 

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports

There are twenty girls basketball teams that will compete for state titles in four divisions this week at the WIAA State Tournament.  While they compete, each coach and each player has a chance to create life-long memories.   

Sports also gives us a chance for life-long learning.  Consider Friday’s Division 3 semifinal between Osseo-Fairchild and Oostburg.   Chieftains senior forward Karlee Rosentreter won’t get to play, after suffering torn knee ligaments in the 3rd quarter of O-F’s sectional final win.   Still, after sustaining the injury, Rosentreter refused to leave the gym–choosing to sit courtside, in a wheelchair, so she could share in the experience of winning a sectional title.  

Today, at the shootaround, Rosentreter did everything but participate in the O-F practice.  She shouted encouragment from the sidelines, took pictures while sitting at halfcourt, all while talking, and laughing with her teammates.   Her left knee may be in a heavy brace, but nothing was going to keep her from being a part of the team–not the part she’d hoped she’d be playing, but a part nonetheless.

Oostburg players are getting some additional life lessons this season from head coach Lisa Immel, who was diagnosed with Hodgkins’ lymphoma on February 1.   Despite receiving chemotherapy treatments every other Saturday since then, Immel’s only missed one game.   Last Saturday, she had chemo in the morning and then coached in a sectional final that night.   It’s hard to imagine any coach anywhere setting a better example to their players about dealing with adversity.

Immel says basketball has been her escape; her players have been her second family.  In the meantime, the girls on the team have learend a great deal about responsibility, and what it means to be a friend.

Osseo-Fairchild and Oostburg may be opponents for 32 minutes on Friday morning, but there’s no question the two teams are united in the fight against cancer.  Rosentreter’s mother is waging her own battle against lymphoma.

No matter what the outcome of Friday’s game between the Chieftains and the Flying Dutchmen, it’s clear both teams will walk off the Kohl Center court as winners.

We on the broadcast crew hope you enjoy all the games in this year’s state tournament.

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports

Actually, the tournament won’t tip off until Thursday morning, but those of us on the broadcast crew are ready to get things going.

As you may have heard already, the broadcasts will be in high definition…we’ve gotten some great feedback about the state hockey championships a few weeks back, and HD will only enhance the quality of the basketball telecasts.

Speaking of quality, there are some solid teams that will be competing for state titles this week, as well as some standout performers.   The action tips off at 9:00 A.M. Thursday, when perennial Division 4 power Randolph battles Royall, a team making its first ever trip to state.  Next up will be 25-1 Clayton, versus Green Bay NEW Lutheran.   The Bears are lead by the high-scoring duo of Tyler Ketz and Taylor Dayton, who combined  for 58 of  the team’s 66 points in a sectional final win over Prentice.   The Blazers counter with Aaron Gosse and Kaylor Zimmerman, each of whom average around 14 points per game.

Scoring points hasn’t been a problem for Antigo’s Jordan Mach this season.  Mach, a UW-Parkside recruit, who’s averaging 29.6 points/game, leads unbeaten Antigo against Appleton East.   Patriots head coach John Mielke once coached at Antigo.   Marquette University recruit Vander Blue leads Madison Memorial at 17.2 points, as the Spartans make their 7th straight trip to state.  Milwaukee Hamlilton is loaded with talent, perhaps the best being Iowa State recruit Elgin Cook…and it doesn’t hurt that the Wildcats are coached by Tom Diener, who previously had turned Milwaukee Vincent into a state power.   Hamilton can’t look past Marquette University High, however…the Hilltoppers hammered Milwaukee King in a sectional final, 80-47, while  King is the last team to have beaten Hamilton.     7-foot, 1-inch Ben Mills, a Boise State recruit, leads Arrowhead into its Division 1 quarterfinal against Verona.  How good are the Wildcats?  Verona lost a pair of 6-point games to Madison Memorial, one of which went to overtime.   So, while many expect a championship game between Madison Memorial and Milwaukee Hamilton, there could be some surprises along the way.

Division 3 teams will take the court on Friday morning, with Eau Claire Regis taking on Brillion in the second semifinal.  Lions head coach Peter Kittel is also Brillion’s football coach, and has won two state titles in that sport.  Kittel is an Amery native, and a UW-Eau Claire grad.  While at UWEC, he did his teaching observation at Regis.   Kittel’s Brillion team features balanced scoring, with the top eight guys all averaging between 5 and 9.5 points/game.  The Ramblers have four players back from the last Regis team that was at state in ’08, and all four (Adam Ganske, Jack Eaton, Connor Miller, and Vincent Phillips) say they’re a lot more comfortable being in the Kohl Center this time around.

The Division 2 bracket should be entertaining, as a Sauk Prairie team riding a 14-game winning streak takes on a Catholic Memorial club led by the Derek Schell and T.J. Bray, both of whom are averaging more than 17 points per game.   On the topic of dynamic duos, they don’t come much better than Northwestern’s Donnie Hissa and Steve Tecker, but the Tigers will have their hands full with Kiel’s talented backcourt of Brandon Greis (24.7 ppg), and Joey Burris (14.3 ppg.). 

If you get a chance to park it in front of a big-screen, HD TV,  take time to check out some HS hoops–you’re sure to be entertained.   Otherwise, if you have internet access, we’ll also have live, streaming video, right on our website.   If that’s not enough, we’re taking another step this season–all of the broadcasters (myself, Bryon Graff and Jayson Geiser of WAOW in Wausau, Scott Emerich of WXOW in La Crosse, and Jake Zimmermann of WKOW in Madison) will be blogging about the action.   You can access that blog by clicking on the “WIAA State Hockey & Basketball Tab” on the main sports page, and then clicking on “WIAA Tournament Network Blog.” 

Enjoy the action!

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports

We’ll go on the “honor system” for Tuesday’s games, because I would not have forecasted any upsets….

Division 1

All season long, I’ve seen Menomonie use its pressure defense and quick-strike offense to outgun other teams.   Even though postseason games tend to be played at a slower pace, I think the Indians’ style will serve them well through the playoffs.   I wouldn’t count out EC North, however, especially with that potential sectional semifinal game set to be played at Wausau West.   Then, the winner of that one gets to board the bus the next day, so they can travel right back to WWHS.

Regional finals winners: Menomonie, ECN, Wausau West, Marshfield
Sectional semifinals winners: Menomonie, Marshfield
Sectional final winner: Menomonie

Other sectional winners: Middleton, De Pere, Oshkosh West, Verona, Milwaukee Pius, Milwaukee Vincent, Muskego

Division 2

There’s some outstanding talent in this sectional, including Morgan Lee of Hayward, Ellen Western of Rice Lake, and Sami Schoeder of Durand, who may be the best of them all.   There are also many solid coaches, led by the venerable Jim Bartlett of Barron.    Still, I think Hayward is the class of this bracket, although the Hurricanes are no shoo-in.

Regional semifinals winners: Hayward, Osceola, Rice Lake, Durand
Regional finals winners: Hayward, Rice Lake, Medford, Witt-Bern
Sectional semifinals winners: Hayward, Medford
Sectional final winner: Hayward

Other sectional winners: Pewaukee, Richland Center, Freedom

Division 3

Pull a name out of a hat in this sectional, since there are at least six teams that could make it to Madison, and you couldn’t call any of them a longshot.  Still, this is a blog about picking winners, so here goes:

Regional semifinals winners: St. Croix Central, Prescott, Osseo-Fairchild, Regis, Hurley, Flambeau, Fall Creek, Neillsville
Regional finals winners: SCC, O-F, Flambeau, Fall Creek
Sectional semifinals winners: O-F, Fall Creek
Sectional final winner: Osseo-Fairchild

Other sectional winners: Ozaukee, Brillion, Cuba City

Division 4, La Crosse Central Sectional

Regional semifinals winners: Eleva-Strum, Alma/Pepin, Independence, Cashton, Weston, Royall, Seneca, River Ridge
Regional finals winners: Eleva-Strum, Independence, Weston, Seneca
Sectional semifinals winners: Independence, Seneca
Sectional final winner: Independence

Division 4, Spooner Sectional

Regional semifinals winners: Northwood, Siren, Clayton, Luck, Prentice, Gilman, Owen-Withee, Columbus Catholic
Regional finals winners: Northwood, Clayton, Prentice, Owen-Withee
Sectional semifinals winners: Northwood, Owen-Withee
Sectional final winner: Owen-Withee

Other sectional winners: Black Hawk, Wausau Newman

Your thoughts?  Add your comments and/or picks in the comment section.

See you down the tournament trail….

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports

A belated congratulations go out to the players, coaches, fans, and bands who helped make the 2010 WIAA State Hockey Tournament one to remember.  

It was the 40th annual state boys hockey tourney, and it’s hard to imagine that the previous 39 were any more exciting.   On the boys’ side, all of the games were very close…even the 4-0 win by Notre Dame over Madison Edgewood in the quarterfinals was a 1-0 game heading into the 3rd period.   There were two overtime games, including Eau Claire Memorial’s heartbreaking loss to Wausau West in the semifinals.

It may have been heartbreaking for some in the ECM cheering section, but to the team’s credit, players were disappointed, but not despondent.   It seemed as if almost all the guys were happy that they’d had the experience, even if it didn’t quite turn out the way they wanted.  Give the coaching staff a lot of credit for how the players responded, since head coach Mike Schwengler made sure his guys didn’t do any unnecessary postgame sulking either on the ice or in the locker room.

This was the  9th annual girls tournament, and it’s absolutely amazing how far the talent level in the sport has increased in a very short time.  The St. Croix Valley Fusion is the first back-to-back girls hockey champs since the Hudson Raiders pulled off the feat in the first two years of the tournament.    I’ve been on the play-by-play call for all the girls hockey state championships, and the Fusion is, by far, the most talented Wisconsin girls team I’ve ever seen.   Head coach Matt Cranston graduates four seniors, forwards Lily Cranston and Heidi Van Dell, along with defenders Darcey Behringer and Tanis Klingler.   All were outstanding performers, but with players like Tara Frey, Alice Cranston, Hailey Rock, and goalie Kalli Armagost returning, the Fusion will be a force in 2010-11.

If you watched last Saturday’s championships, hopefully you enjoyed the HD broadcast.   The crew will reassemble next week, to be joined by the rest of our statewide broadcasters, for the 2010 WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament at the Kohl Center, as the Magic Of March continues!

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports

Actually, it looks quite familiar…the Doubletree Hotel in Madison, located at 525 West Johnson Street.   It’s the place where we on the WIAA broadcast crew camp out for the better part of three weeks each March.

My home away from home during the month of March is not that far away from a lovely, one-room efficiency apartment (134 East Johnson Street) that I used to call home during  my first year of graduate school at the UW.    A few blocks west of the Doubletree is Vilas Hall, home of the UW’s Communication and Journalism Department.  Between the Doubletree and the Kohl Center is the Madison Metropolitan School District building, a place where one enterprising grad student and some highly motivated undergrads used to tape “The Big 8 Prep Sports Report.”  One of those undergrads was Trent Windorski, who is one of the many talented videographers that free-lance on the WIAA crew.

A few times each week, Trent would go to the MMSD building, load his 4-door sedan with video gear, and drive to a field someplace in Madison, where we’d shoot games that would air on a tape-delayed basis on the school district’s cable channel.  No matter what the season, no matter what the weather, we were there…more often than not, we were not ready to go until literally seconds before the game began, but somehow, some way, we got it done.

My basketball color commentator back in those days was former Badger basketball player Tim Locum.  Tim later coached at Waupaca, with Fred Hancock, now the pro at my friendly, neighborhood golf course, Princeton Valley G.C.   Tim, when he played at the UW, was a road roommate of John Ellenson, who is the dad of Rice Lake sophomore basketball player Wally Ellenson, as well as the uncle of Eau Claire Memorial junior hockey player Hunter Scott.

Scott and his teammates had a 45-minute practice Wednesday afternoon at the Alliant Energy Center, and a number of the Old Abes veterans commented that they had very good memories from the last time they played in that facility, when they left with the state championship trophy.  Still, this group is very determined to leave its own legacy at Memorial, and the guys are looking forward to what should be a very entertaining quarterfinal with Superior.

Speaking of familiarity, the Spartans certainly know their way to Madison.   Superior has been to state 33 times in the 40-year history of this event.  Recent history has not been on Superior’s side, however, as Jason Kalin’s club has been knocked out in the semifinals in each of the last two seasons–in 2008, it was Memorial doing the honors.

Speaking of connections, Kalin and Memorial’s Mike Schwengler both attended UWEC, and they’ve made sure their teams meet up during the regular season.   Most of the players on these two teams know each other, and a lot of Superior guys watched the Old Abes practice on Wednesday, and vice versa.

I took a quick break from hockey coverage Wednesday night, to check out Wisconsin’s basketball game at the Kohl Center vs. Iowa.   The game was never really in doubt after Jon Leuer’s personal 10-0 run in the first half, and the Badgers coasted from there.   I didn’t even mind the lack of drama, because it gave me the opportunity to catch up with an old college friend, Doug Sauter, who made the drive over from Milwaukee.   Doug, a surgeon, often works a with an operating room nurse who is married to former News 18 weekend sportscaster Eric Kent.  

After the game ended, the UW athletic department did a very nice video tribute to the two seniors, Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes, who both closed out the home portion of careers with excellent games.  It doesn’t seem that long ago that I watched Hughes play for St. John’s NW Military Academy at a WIAA state basketball tournament.   Plenty of courtside observers questioned his readiness for Bo Ryan’s style, but some four years later, it appears that he was yet another Ryan recruit who fit in very well with the Badgers.

It also doesn’t seem all that long ago that I drove from Chicago to Madison with that same Doug Sauter.  I was going to check out the UW’s journalism school after a visit to Northwestern, while Doug was going to buy Badgers basketball tickets for Wisconsin’s game with Indiana.   It was that visit that convinced me that I should move to Madison and go to grad school at the UW.  A month or so later, four of us from college went to the Fieldhouse to watch the Badgers battle Bobby Knight’s Hoosiers–with Tim Locum and John Ellenson playing key roles, albeit in a losing effort, for Wisconsin.

During tonight’s game, I told Doug about my recent interview with Mickey Crowe, a high school basketball phenom from the mid-1970′s, who currently lives in Eau Claire.   The story I just finished up on Mickey Crowe will air during the WIAA basketball broadcast.   Among the things Mickey talks about in the story is his final high school game, played in front of nearly 11,000 people at the Milwaukee Arena…one of those fans was none other than Doug Sauter. 

What’s the point of all this rambling and reminiscing?  Simple…make sure you appreciate the friendships and contacts you make in life, because time passes very quickly.  Enjoy it, especially those special, magical moments that make this an exciting month. 

Seriously, what else would we in the northern climates be doing without sports in March besides grumbling that it’s taking too long for the snow to melt…

With that, now I’m getting impatient…time to drop the puck!

See you at the 2010 WIAA State Hockey Tournament.

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports