Everyone loves the underdog

August 14, 2019

The story is a familiar one. The star of the scenario is an underdog team who some how defies the odds and takes down the heavy favorite on the biggest stage. This subject again came up during a recent conversation I was having with a fellow sports fan. It got me to thinking about some of the more memorable local upsets I’ve seen over the years. The first one that comes to mind was a 1973 Class District D tournament basketball game between Chassell and Ewen-Trout Creek at old Sherman Gym. Ewen-TC came into the game with a 17-1 record, compared to Chassell’s rather paltry ...

A strange way to rebuild

August 7, 2019

The way the Detroit Tigers are going about their rebuilding job is one of the strangest I can recall. Now, I’ve watched many other major league teams go about the job of restoring their fortunes. Some prefer the “tear it down” method, which means they unload just about all of their talent. Most truly struggling clubs prefer this. Others prefer the “free agency” way. That’s simply to sign up every good player available. But that also means that a club must have unlimited deep pockets to sign players — especially nowadays when a reserve catcher or utility infielder ...

Mets back in playoff hunt

August 6, 2019

You may not have noticed them. That’s OK, I missed it too. At one point near the All-Star break, they were 40-51. Monday afternoon, the New York Mets pulled back to .500 at 56-56. They have won three games in a row, including a 6-2 victory over the Miami Marlins a handful of hours ago. The Mets have gone from woeful also-ran to a team on the rise, having gone 16-5 since being 11 games under .500. “It’s exciting,” Jacob deGrom said to the Associated Press after pitching the Mets over the Miami Marlins 6-2 in the opener of a Monday’s twi-night doubleheader. “We ...

NFL pundits way off on predictions

August 1, 2019

If the National Football League “experts” are correct. the following things will happen in the 2019 season: 1. The reign of the New England Patriots will end at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. 2. The Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs will meet in the Super Bowl in early February. 3. The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers will take up the bottom of the NFC North this season — with the Lions winning just three or four games and the Packers finishing below .500. It should be pointed out that the above predictions are coming from publications that make a living making such ...

Coaches are key in Legion ball

July 24, 2019

The Copper Country Flames American Legion baseball team had a successful weekend at the postseason tournament held last weekend. The Flames, a mixture of players from all over the Copper Country, were just one win away from qualifying for the state tournament. And the team gave eventual U.P. champion Gladstone a scare in the semifinals, leading by a 4-0 score early on before falling by a 9-4 count. Coached by Andy Crouch of Lake Linden and Rob Scholie of Hancock, the team played fundamental baseball for the most part. Like any sport, youngsters require sound leadership to have ...

Disrespect of the flag unacceptable

July 17, 2019

Any person has the right to do whatever they want to in our country. But dishonoring the American flag is not optional …. under any circumstances. Yet, such action seems to be taking place on a daily basis. And some of those violations are connected to sports. Oh, it’s not just the Colin Kaepernick controversy, which seems to be growing. As you will recall, Kaepernick is the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who refused to stand for the national anthem before games. The 49ers wisely parted ways with Kaepernick after he played his way out of the starting job with some ...