Tag: Sports

City should build an event center

A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting in a room with some lifelong community members.

Like men who like to talk do, we started fixing the world’s problems — starting with Dickinson’s.

Because this happened inside of a room at Trinity High School during the Region 7 boys basketball tournament, the conversation quickly turned to sports and the 2,300-person crowd packed into the Knights of Columbus Activities Center gymnasium just down the hall.

Each March, thousands of fans sardine themselves into arguably the best high school gymnasium in North Dakota to watch high school basketball tournaments.

Why? Because it’s all Dickinson, a regional hub city, has to offer.

So finally, I asked everyone a question: “Do you think this community would support a 5,000-seat event center?” The resounding answer was, “Yes.”

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For New England, reaching state tournament is ‘dream come true’

NEW ENGLAND — The party didn’t stop after the post-game celebration.

In New England, the revelry for winning the Region 7 boys basketball championship game last Thursday night in Dickinson lingered until the team and fans got home. Then it spilled over onto the city’s Main Street, led by fire trucks blasting sirens, a stream of cars honking horns, and the hoots and hollers of fans in this town of about 650 people relishing something that hasn’t occurred in nearly a generation.

New England, with only 69 kids in high school, will be both the smallest school and community participating in this year’s Class B state tournament, which begins today at the Bismarck Event Center.

“For us, this is the ultimate,” said Daryl Jung, the school’s longtime athletic director. “It’s actually a dream come true.”

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Getting a fan’s perspective on Super Bowl XLIX

Seattle Seahawks fan Wendy Wilson, left, and New England Patriots fan Jace Schillinger — both employees at Dickinson State University — spoke with me about why they like the teams they do and about the hate each team receives heading into Super Bowl XLIX

Do we really have to watch the Super Bowl today? Does anyone actually like the Seattle Seahawks? Or did they just get fans about three years ago.

How could anyone — especially in western North Dakota — really be a fan of the New England Patriots? I’m from New England, N.D., and I don’t know anyone there who likes the Patriots.

Around here, we’ve got cheeseheads, people who know the lyrics to “Skol Vikings” and a few who are praying that Peyton Manning starts aging like Benjamin Button. Then there are those staunch supporters of more traditional powerhouses who still wax poetic about the days of Steel Curtains, Super Bowl Shuffles or “America’s Team.” And, of course, there are people like me, who support a team that no longer knows how to beat the Seahawks.

So, with all the hubbub over the Patriots’ Deflategate, Marshawn Lynch’s interview skills, and the general dislike levied upon the two Super Bowl teams by opposing fans — including myself — I decided to seek out both a Seahawks fan and a Patriots fan to see what they had to say about today’s game, and chat about what made them fans of their teams.

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UnFOURgettable: Champions showed up when it mattered most to lead NDSU to fourth straight title

Was there ever really a doubt?

Trailing by four points with about 1½ minutes remaining and with a fourth consecutive FCS championship on the line, did anyone expect the North Dakota State football team to falter Saturday afternoon?

The Bison made history by defeating Missouri Valley Football Conference rival Illinois State 29-27 for the title in dramatic and downright astounding fashion.

They were nowhere near perfect. But when it mattered most, NDSU displayed every bit of that championship swagger it had accumulated over the past four seasons. Continue reading “UnFOURgettable: Champions showed up when it mattered most to lead NDSU to fourth straight title”

Soccer is a sport worth watching

As someone who spent nearly a decade watching sports for a living, I can tell you without pause that if you like sports at all, you should be watching World Cup soccer.

Now, first off, I won’t call it football. It may be football to the rest of the world, but here, to all of us, it’s soccer.

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