State volleyball (Day 2)
West Fargo plays Bismarck at 6 p.m. tonight in the Class A bracket, and Bismarck Century takes on Grand Forks Red River at 8 p.m.
In the Class B bracket, Langdon plays L-M-M at 6 p.m., and Dickinson Trinity plays defending champ Kenmare at 8 p.m. in the semifinals.
So far today, Fargo South advanced to the consolation finals (Fifth-place game) with a 3-0 win against Bismarck-St. Mary's. North also beat Williston 3-1 for the right to square off against the Bruins for the consolation title.
In Class B, Lisbon beat Stanley 3-0 to reach the consolation finals. Center Stanton beat Thompson 3-2 for the right to play the Broncos for fifth-place.
More to come.
Posted by: Hotzler on 11/21/2008 at 2:24 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
State volleyball (first session)
The first session of the 2009 North Dakota state volleyball tournament is complete. The brackets now look like this with four games remaining.
Class A
West Fargo will play Bismarck in the upper bracket semifinal. The Packers beat Bismarck St. Mary's 3-0, and the Demons beat Fargo South 3-0 in the first round.
Class B
Langdon will play Litchville/Marion/Montpelier in the upper bracket semifinal. The Cardinals beat Lisbon 3-1, and the Rebels beat Stanley 3-0 in the first round.
More to come later.
Posted by: Hotzler on 11/20/2008 at 4:59 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Fun facts from Minot
Made it to Minot for the North Dakota state volleyball tournament (Whew, that drive from Fargo is something!!)
I thought I would give you a few fun Minot facts before the volleyball stuff starts tomorrow.
-Population: About 35,000. It's the fourth largest city in the state.
-The city is named for Henry D. Minot, a railroad investor who was a friend of the city's founder, James J. Hill. Makes you wonder why it wasn't named Hill City. But oh well. Aside: Hill was a railroad man who ended his push through the state in the winter of 1886. This essentially started the town.
-Notebale residents include:
Lengendary actor Boris Karloff (for a year)
Auto racer Donny Schatz (He now lives in Fargo)
America's Next Top Model participant Nicole Borud (I knew this because my wife REALLY loves the show)
Former LSU men's basketball coach Dale Brown
Actor Josh Duhamel (He's getting married to singer "Fergie" by the way. I also know this because of all the pop-culture magazines my wife has on the coffee table)
Current North Dakota Governor John Hoeven
Current Minot High School swimmer Dagny Knutson, who set a trio of national records during the latest North Dakota state tournament. Look for her in the Olympics some day.
There you go: All you need to know about Minot. Bring on the volleyball.
West Fargo, Fargo South and Fargo North will go for the title in Class A. Lisbon will try for the Class B title.
Posted by: Hotzler on 11/19/2008 at 6:31 PM | Comments (6) | Permalink
See the game, get a few autographs
There have been several stories floating on the Web this season about California's Oaks Christian High School football team.
You see, the quarterback is a kid named Nick Montana. Yes, his dad is NFL legend Joe Montana. Joe was one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game. I'm sure those fans of Tom Brady find it hard to believe anyone existed before the New England signal-caller, but it's true. Joe Montana was his generation's Tom Brady. ... Just better.
Anyway, there are a couple of other guys of note on the school's junior varsity. Trey Smith and Trevor Gretzky play receiver and quarterback, respectively. Trey is the son of actor WIll Smith, and Trevor the son of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky.
These kids aren't just getting attention because of their bloodlines. Well, Montana isn't, anyway. He's led the team to the playoffs, and has played so well he's been pulled at halftime of many of their games.
Gretzky and Smith have been very good players on the sophomore team, and will join the varsity for the postseason. They figure to play big roles for the team next season, according to the coach.
Check out some video of all three players here. It's worth the click of the mouse.
Posted by: Hotzler on 11/19/2008 at 10:56 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Are you ready for some ... volleyball ?!!!??!?!?
The North Dakota Class A and Class B state volleyball tournaments are set to get underway this week at the Minot State Dome in ... well ... Minot.
Several local teams, as well as yours truely, will be making the trip for the tournament.
Class A
West Fargo earned the top seed from the East after a perfect EDC season, and will face Bismarck St. Mary's at noon on Thursday in the first round.
Fargo South is a No. 3 seed, and it will take on Bismarck High at 2 p.m. on Thursday
Fargo North surprised a lot of people by taking out Shanley in the EDC state play-in game. They have a No. 4 seed, and will face one of the tournament favorites, Bismarck Century at 6 p.m.
Class B
Lisbon has reached state for the third-consecutive season as the Region 1 winner. The Broncos will play Region 4 winner Langdon at noon in the first round.
Look for my state preview in Thursday's Forum. It features surprising state participant Fargo North. We'll also have capsules of all our area teams. See you in Minot.
Posted by: Hotzler on 11/18/2008 at 8:52 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink