Thursday’s Hockey Attendance
Montreal 21,105
#mshsl
AA session 2 19,214
Tampa 19,092
#mshsl
AA session 1 18,989
Carolina 18,680
Washington 18,573
Colorado 18,117
St. Louis 18,096
Boston 17,850
Pittsburgh 17,557
Seattle 17,151
Buffalo 14,174
TOURNEY LEGENDS ... 71 YEARS APART
After Prior Lake's Alex Bump scored 5 goals in today's
#mshsl
state hockey semifinals, he was congratulated by the legend, John Mayasich, who set the tourney single-game record of 7 goals in 1951 ... 71 years ago.
*Photo by John's son Dan.
The Bemidji football team left this morning for the four-hour drive to play at Edina tonight. The Hornets have rented the Braemar Dome for the Lumberjacks to stretch, get dressed and warm up. Edina parents will send the Lumberjacks home with stacks and stacks of pizza.
@BemidjiFB
Results from 394 schools that responded to
#mshsl
survey:
Want Fall volleyball 76%
Want Spring volleyball 24%
Want Fall football 80%
Want Spring football 20%
Here’s the final motion on football: Practice starts Sept. 28, first games Oct. 9-10, six-game regular season, two-week postseason, format to be determined.
Roll-call vote happening now…
This is one of the best stories of the year. The teams involved, LeRoy-Ostrander and Houston, agreed to trade TDs to start the game, giving Brody Larson the opportunity to do something he has only dreamed of. Well done by everyone.
Leroy-Ostrander’s Brody Larson spent his whole high school career as a team manager. He lives with Hurler Syndrome.
Until tonight. He scored a touchdown on Senior Night. What a moment.
1/2
Prolonged standing ovation at
#mshsl
state wrestling tournament as announcement is made to thank tournament medical staff who saved a wrestler's life earlier today. They performed CPR on the young man, who gave a thumbs-up as he was carried out of the arena.
Updated guidance from MN Dept of Education on fans at indoor events...
Each team at indoor events allowed up to two spectators per participant. Spectators must be separated by at least 6 feet between households/spectator groups, event spaces can’t exceed 25% of total capacity.
The Minnesota State High School League board of directors will hold a special meeting Monday beginning at 9 a.m.
Items on the agenda:
--Reconsider Placement of Fall Activities Seasons
--Postseason Competition for Fall Activities
I will be Tweeting from the meeting.
Updated guidance from MN Dept of Health to
#mshsl
today: Masks are no longer required for student-athletes in outdoor contests and practices. BUT masks must be worn when participants are not actively practicing or playing and cannot maintain social distancing.
Been chatting with a friend who was cursed at by an athlete's mother for wearing a mask.
When asked why he used a mask, he responded, "Because I apparently love your children more than you do."
#MaskUpMN
Girls/boys soccer is go for this fall…
#mshsl
board votes to start soccer practices on Aug. 17 (as scheduled) with 20% reduction in weeks, 30% reduction in number of competitions, no scrimmages, 1-2 games per week. Decision on postseason events to be determined.
Kudos to
@MnDOT
, which will honor 2020 Minnesota high school graduates by lighting up the 35W bridge over the Mississippi River on Thursday and Friday night this week with 86 different color combinations -- changing every five minutes -- representing all
#mshsl
schools.
Pretty high on the Oooh Aaaah scale at Target Center as St. Cloud Cathedral's 6-7 Mitchell Plombon goes lefty slam over Minnehaha Academy's 6-10 Chet Holmgren.
Congratulations to Farmington High School on a stupendous
Victory Day event. Victory Day allows children who are physically or cognitively disabled to experience the game of football as the crowd and cheerleaders cheer and the band plays. This was really something special.
With girls tennis, cross-country, girls swimming and diving,
#mshsl
board approves…
-Limit of 3 teams in xc events
-Limit 2 teams in tennis and swim/dive
-Limit 1-2 events per week per team
Meaning those sports have been cleared for this fall.
My phone rang at Maturi Pavilion. It was
@Lindsay_13
calling from down the hall at Williams Arena, asking very nicely if she could use my courtside seat when I wasn't there. Like I'm gonna boot her out of her own gym...
In his State of the State speech,
@GovTimWalz
tells high school students: "What you are doing matters. Your sacrifice is keeping people safe...Someday when you have children of your own, you'll tell them about this moment in history and what you and your neighbors did to help."
With the eyes of a whole arena on him, our fast-acting doctor Mark Berg revived the wrestler who collapsed at the state
@MSHSL
tournament. Wishing you a full recovery
@braybray243
! ➡️
Bonus Twitter points if you can correctly identify the logo on the shirts worn by these Goodhue lads. Double bonus points if you reside in a non-rural town.
Does this Nine-Man football semifinal between Kittson County Central and LeRoy-Ostrander set a record for distance between opponents? 514 miles, 7 3/4 hours on the road between the two.
Begin the debate ...
Play of the Day: Edina High School paying for dome space to allow the Bemidji football team to relax and warm up before tonight's game, then sending the Lumberjacks' three busloads home with pizza for everybody. Nothing but class.
@edinahornets
The Bemidji football team left this morning for the four-hour drive to play at Edina tonight. The Hornets have rented the Braemar Dome for the Lumberjacks to stretch, get dressed and warm up. Edina parents will send the Lumberjacks home with stacks and stacks of pizza.
@BemidjiFB
Here's wishing everyone great experiences and lifelong memories as a new year of Minnesota high school activities begins. Work hard, treat others well and don't forget to smile. I can't wait to tell your stories.
#mshsl
Sportsmanship Always Wins
During Saturday’s Class 3A Section 8 football championship game, Donovan Verdi of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton suffered a leg cramp and without hesitation, Luke Newman of Fergus Falls reacted to alleviate Donovan’s pain. A selfless act of sportsmanship.
#mshsl
dance teams involved in Super Bowl halftime show:
Holy Angels
Burnsville
Eastview
Eden Prairie
Farmington
Hopkins
Lakeville North
Lakeville South
Maple Grove
Minnetonka
Prior Lake
Rockford
Spring Lake Park
Wayzata
ONE OF THE NEATEST THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN...
After beating Brainerd 12-7 in the first Battle for Babe's Bell, the Bemidji Lumberjacks ride the bus a mile from the stadium down Paul Bunyan Drive and sing the school song with Babe and Paul.
#mshsl
Teary-eyed, special moment today. I was sitting in my car at a cross-country meet when a runner whom I've never met walked up and said quietly through the open window, "I'm sorry about your two friends who died yesterday." Thank you, young man.
Our hearts are in tatters today for the McDonald and Schumacher families, but we are blessed to have been fortunate enough to know Bob and John and we are better people because of the examples they set.
It's always wonderful to hear high school sports fans cheer for their team without mocking or taunting the opponent. That's what happens when the fans are classy.
For those issuing Tweets threatening to send their kids to schools across state lines if Minnesota fall sports don't happen, we wish you nothing but luck.
We are so fortunate in Minnesota to hold our high school tournaments in world-class facilities like
@XcelEnergyCtr
@usbankstadium
@TargetCenterMN
etc. Here are four photos from state volleyball tournaments in four different states today. Can you find the one in Minnesota?
Hopkins senior Paige Bueckers has been named the Gatorade national girls basketball player of the year.
She is the third Minnesotan to receive this honor:
--Joe Mauer, Cretin-Derham Hall baseball 2001
--Ashley Wittman, Shakopee volleyball, 2010
#mshsl
I asked Sid to pose with me several times over the years, when I worked at
@StribSports
and beyond. This one might be my favorite. Look at that man's smile.
Congratulations to
@GopherWBB
coach Lindsay Whalen
@Lindsay_13
. The gym at Hutchinson High School will be named in her honor during a Nov. 27 ceremony.
#mshsl
Football recommendation has been made to start practice Sept. 28 with 10-week season, four- to five-game regular season, postseason format to be determined, postseason ending by Nov. 28.
#mshsl
board of directors votes to start volleyball on Sept. 28 with 10 days of preseason practice. First competition on Oct. 8. 11-week season, 14 dual competitions.
Board now moving onto football.
Greenway, you ask? There is no town by that name on the Iron Range. Greenway High School is named for John Campbell Greenway, one of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. He oversaw the first mine in Coleraine, raised $100,000 in 1908 to build the school that bears his name.
#mshsl
I don’t know this Mom,
@kzmomx3
, or her kid. Her post about a role on a team is a must read. A hard part about being a varsity coach is keeping everyone happy. We simply can’t. We are charged with winning. Doesn’t mean some of us don’t try and provide a great experience for all.
When 4-foot-4, 86-pound LeRoy-Ostrander senior Brody Larson put on a uniform for the first time and scored a touchdown Friday, it was the most important play of the year in Minnesota. I've talked with Brody, his parents and his coach. Story coming to John's Journal tomorrow.
Congratulations to Minnesota high school football alums who today became Super Bowl champions with Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
--Tyler Johnson, Minneapolis North
--Joe Haeg, Brainerd
--Jack Cichy, Hill-Murray
*Antoine Winfield Jr., Eden Prairie
*Freshman season
@mfca_now
#mshsl
A personal note...
I have arrived home from the girls state basketball tournament. I won't be there tonight, Friday or Saturday. I'm not ill but I am fearful since I am in a high-risk group for this virus (over 60 with a chronic condition...diabetes). More thoughts to come...
A tremendously sad loss for all of us involved in Minnesota high school activities. John Schumacher, teacher, coach and activities director at Park Rapids for 31 years, died this evening. Schu was diagnosed with throat cancer 10 years ago and lived every day to the fullest.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, is named after a Confederate brigadier general and head of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan. It must be renamed for American hero John Lewis, who died today after a lifetime of service to us all.
Congratulations to Hopkins High School sprinter Joe Fahnbulleh, who has been named the National Senior Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association. He is the first Minnesota athlete to win the award
#mshsl
@TrackTownMN
@HopkinsRoyals
Hurray for the talented, hard-working kids on the field with
@jtimberlake
at
@SuperBowl
... they're members of Minnesota high school dance teams.
#mshsl
Bob McDonald, the iconic son of Chisholm and basketball coach who won more games than any coach in any sport in Minnesota high school history, has died. McDonald, who had tested positive for Covid-19, passed away this morning in Hibbing. He was 87.
#mshsl
board has approved all three winter/spring calendar models. If state shutdown is not extended, winter sports will start practice Dec. 21. If shutdown is extended, start date will be either Jan. 4 or Jan. 18. Lots of details remain, including postseason format/dates.
Lots of good discussion by
#mshsl
board members about what's best for students re holidays, gatherings, practices, games, mental health, support, safety, health.
Rosemount High School has an
#mshsl
enrollment of 2,408 students and 1,300 of them are here
@usbankstadium
to watch the Irish boys soccer team vs. Duluth East in the Class 3A state semifinals.
A high school softball coach had quite an interesting Tuesday. She coached her team in two playoff games, went into labor, jumped in the car with her husband and assistant coach (an OB nurse) and raced to the hospital. The baby was born IN THE CAR. Story coming to John's Journal.
Phenomenal postgame scene. Thanks
@AJFeldmanTV
for sharing this video.
Watch this, share this and appreciate the value of high school activities.
#mshsl
As
@MSHSLJohn
noted, after JCC's loss to Pierz, Rudy Voss (
@VossRudy
) and Bradley Buhl Jr. (
@TheBradBuhl
) with an emotional response on how much football and their team has meant to them.
🎥"Football has been a blessing in my life....wins and losses don't define my team."
Here's my list of schools where stadium lights are being turned on at night as a beacon of hope for students, staff and community members.
#BeTheLightMN
Blooming Prairie
Cambridge-Isanti
Centennial
Dawson-Boyd
Hayfield
Minneota
Montevideo
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown
Waseca
Reminder to coaches and athletes: the summer no-contact period starts June 30 and extends through July 6. Take a break, read a book, ride a bike, volunteer, travel, relax, have fun!
#mshsl
#summer
Brayden Weber, Becker HS wrestler whose life was saved after he collapsed at state tournament, has been cleared to play football and other sports. During surgery this week a misfiring heart circuit was corrected and a monitor was implanted. He told me: "The surgery went well!"
Well in excess of 1,000 wrestling matches were held this weekend at the
@MSHSL
State Wrestling Tournament at the
@XcelEnergyCtr
. A winner in each and every match. That means well over 1,000 hands were raised. They all paled in comparison to the sight of this hand being raised.
Important reminder: The
#mshsl
board deals with
#mshsl
activities and always does what it thinks is best for all high school participants. Club sports, junior programs, etc., are not part of the
#mshsl
equation.
A long time ago, Keith Jackson answered a junior high kid's letter and offered advice: study hard, be curious, be a good friend, explore life. That kid was me. Thanks Mr. Jackson.
The referee (white cap) for tonight's college football national championship game between Alabama and Clemson will be Mike Cannon, who lives in Hutchinson and is a graduate of Campbell-Tintah High School. He will lead a Big Ten crew.
#ThankARef
#mshsl
@MSHSL_Officials
#mshsl
board has approved all three winter/spring calendar models. If state shutdown is not extended, winter sports will start practice Dec. 21. If shutdown is extended, start date will be either Jan. 4 or Jan. 18. Lots of details remain, including postseason format/dates.