Two sides to March Madness

February 27, 2019

It’s a time of the year when special things can happen. But March Madness has two sides to it — hence you get the “Beware the Ides of March” concept. Oh, there is the special side when an underdog team rises up and knocks off the heavily favored opponent. Take the 1969 district basketball tournament at old Sherman Gym. Lake Linden was a heavy underdog to a strong Ewen-Trout Creek team that long ago winter night. The Panthers had a tall and talented squad and were ranked high in the state polls that winter. The Lakes, no surprise, had little size, and were coming off a ...

Still crazy (sort of) after all these years

February 13, 2019

Just the other day I was talking to Gogebic Community College men’s basketball coach Dennis Mackey after a game versus Finlandia University.  Mackey, the former Ewen-Trout Creek High product, said he recalled me covering a Panthers game back in the day. “You’ve been doing this for awhile, haven’t you?” he asked. “I think I was in junior high school at the time.” Dennis, you have no idea how long I’ve been covering sports and news. It was early November of 1965 when I was assigned to cover a Suomi College-Mackinac College game. The game at old Nikander Hall at ...

Super Bowl turns into super bore for most Sunday

February 6, 2019

There were times Sunday when I thought I was watching a rerun of the last World Cup of Soccer. That’s how lacking in real suspense the Super Bowl between New England and the L.A. Rams was. Now, the World Cup 2016 championship game managed to put me to sleep not once, but twice. That was a personal record. It wasn’t that the Patriots and Rams were all that bad — their defenses were very good. So much that the Rams punted on their first eight chances on offense. They could have at least had their punter Johnny Hekker, try a fake punt play. He’s been successful a few times with ...

Inept NFL messes up again

January 23, 2019

One can only guess what sort of blunder the National Football League will come up with next. By adopting rules, many with out any logical explanation, the league is ruining a sport that was once at the top of all professional sports. It was bad enough when the league couldn't decide what was a pass reception (see the Calvin Johnson Rule) was or was not. Or all but took away kickoffs (the most exciting play in the game). Now, the league can't even explain why a flagrant penalty is not called in a crucial game. The non-call not made in last Sunday's Los Angeles Rams-New Orleans ...

New schedule affects more than stories

January 15, 2019

At the time of writing this column this week, we are 14 days into our new printing schedule. In the past, we printed at around 11 a.m., which meant that you the reader received your finished product around 5 p.m. once delivered. Now, we print at about 1 a.m., which means you the reader can get your paper delivered by late morning. This is both a blessing and a curse. First off, I am getting more sleep, which does not affect you, but makes me happier because I awaken feeling more refreshed. Second, I think a schedule of covering a game, getting back to the office to write the story, ...

There was only one Mr. Norm

January 15, 2019

The Copper Country lost an original sports figure recently with the passing of Norm Koski. Koski, better known to his many fans as Mr. Norm, covered sports on the radio for the better part of six decades. The Calumet native came on to the local sports broadcasting scene almost by accident. In a feature I did on him a few years ago, he said that a local station was looking to get somebody to cover a few games. “One of my early assignments was to cover the 1964 state championship basketball game between Baraga and Britton-Macon in East Lansing,” he recalled. “It turned out to ...