Peterson: ‘Snake pits’ that never lived up to name

December 9, 2020

Anyone who has ever played sports will remember one place that stood out from all the others. In the old days, such places were simply called “snake pits.” They could range from basketball courts that had their own idiosyncrasies, to hockey arenas that were just plain cold to opposing teams. In basketball, I vividly recall a couple of non-favorite places: Bergland and Chassell. The Bergland High Gym had all the assorted and sundry things that made playing there an experience. First off, the visitors dressing room was so warm, it could have doubled as a sauna. The Boston ...

Peterson: Not hard to see U.P., Packers tie

December 2, 2020

After watching a show on NMU-TV the other night about the early days of the Green Bay Packers, I began to understand how close Upper Peninsula fans are to the Pack. After all, the Packers of the early 1920 used to play semi-pro teams in the U.P. back in those days. In fact, they probably even “borrowed” some of the more notable players to play with them. More on that later. The show, “Linked to Legends” will be shown again on Thursday on Channel 13. And if you ever wondered, like I often did, why there were so many Green Bay rooters up here, this is a must to see. I was ...

Peterson: Athletes deserve kudos

November 18, 2020

In this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic crisis, there’s no shortage of blame to go around. First off, you can point an accusing finger at China, which failed to properly warn other countries of the problem. The Chinese should be dealt a long — and serious — penalty. Secondly, you have to look at our elected officials in Washington, D.C, who took a laissez faire about the pandemic, and caused it to worsen. The latest legal action over COVID-19 in Michigan has effectively ended the football, and quite possibly, the volleyball postseasons with a three-week embargo. This comes on ...

Peterson: Rebuilding in Motown never ends

November 12, 2020

As they used to say in Washington, D.C., the rebuilding season is never-ending But that term would also aptly describe the current sports scene in Detroit. It wasn’t always this way. Not long ago, the Red Wings, Tigers and Pistons had championships to celebrate. The town was even referring to itself as the City of Champions ... for a short time. Indeed, the moribund Lions even had a rare winning season or two. But all of that has drastically changed in recent years. All four of Detroit’s four professional franchises are closer to train wrecks than anything else in this ...

Peterson: Copper Bowl memories varied

October 21, 2020

The Copper Bowl was to be played for the 68th time this Friday night before it was canceled. It’s a sporting event with many — and varied — memories for me. Many of those memories were of great individual feats by players. But some involved the weather, which as any longtime resident knows, can be unpredictable in the Copper Country this time of the year. Here’s a few of those memories. In the 1974 game, Hancock was rolling to an easy 53-0 win when tailback Steve Salani broke loose for a long run late in the game. The play was interrupted when a Houghton player (Tom ...

Niemi: Without fans, games lose their pageantry

October 10, 2020

Fans are irreplaceable at sporting events. There’s no way around it. Fans breathe life into the pageantry and tradition behind our favorite teams across all sports. Without fans at this year’s games and events because of COVID-19 restrictions, it certainly gives interesting insight as to ...