BASEBALL IS BACK! IT’S OPENING DAY!

I don’t care who drafts whom in the NFL draft. Tell me in October who is playing for whom, and that’s soon enough for me. Why do I need to know in April?

I don’t care if Michael Jordan lives or disappears from the planet. Why are people still talking about him? I care even less about LeBron James. If you’ve seen one dunk, you’ve seen ’em all. And I don’t even care where he goes to chase a ring next season.

Finally baseball is back. The Astros are still defending world champions, and the Dodgers and the Yankees are not.

Spring is here, and the baseball season—the only sport that really matters—begins today. Don’t bother me till the first of November.

Today’s games to whet your appetite:
• Cubs-Marlins, 11:40 a.m., ESPN.
• Twins-Orioles, 2:05 p.m., FSN.
• Astros-Rangers, 2:35 p.m., ESPN.
• Giants-Dodgers, 6:08 p.m., ESPN.
• Indians-Mariners, 9:10 p.m., ESPN.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.”
— Ziglar.com

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Track—Thursday, @ Brookings indoor meet, 1 p.m.; Tuesday, home (vs. Lyman and Potter County), 1 p.m.; April 6, @ Huron invitational, 3:30 p.m.; April 10, @ Miller quadrangular, 4 p.m.
Boys tennis—Tuesday, home triangular (vs. Rapid City Central and Mitchell), 11 a.m.; April 7, @ Huron quadrangular, 9 a.m.; April 9, @ Huron (vs. Sioux Falls Christian and Harrisburg), noon; April 10, @ Spearfish triangular, 2 ;p.m.; April 12, home triangular (vs. Aberdeen Central and Rapid City Stevens), 10 a.m.
Girls golf—April 12, @ Harrisburg invitational, 10 a.m.

Boys track: At the indoor meet in Brookings last weekend, the Governors placed fourth in team standings. Casey Williams was the winner of the triple jump, and Erick Colman won the shot put. Caleb Lusk placed third in the 800-meter run. The Pierre 4×400 relay team of Barry Browning, Justin Dowling, Lusk and Williams placed third.

Girls track: The Lady Govs were the third-place team at the Brookings indoor meet. Mac Rath won the shot put. Kenzie Gronlund was third in the 300-meter hurdles, Sophie Bullard third in the pole vault, Emily Mikkelsen fourth in the 400 and Jessica Lutmer fourth in the 800. The 4×400 relay team of Addy Smith, Miah Kienholz, Kenzie Gronlund and Mikkelsen placed second in their event.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Track—April 7, @ Bill Pistulka invitational, Winner.

Boys track: At the indoor meet in Brookings Shay Van Den Hemel placed third in the 32000-meter run and fifth in the 1600. The 4×800 relay team of Van Den Hemel, Logan Kennedy, Ryan Habeck and Cale Meiners was third. Brady Hoftiezer placed seventh in the shot put and J.D. Carter seventh in the long jump.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Track—April 5, @ Mobridge earlybird meet.
Golf—April 6, @ Class B Classic, Mitchell.

Girls basketball: The South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association has named Sully Buttes High’s Rachel Guthmiller as Player of the Year among Class “B” girls. This week she was also named to the first-team All-State team. Rachel, who played in five state tournaments during her basketball career at Sully Buttes, this season averaged 21.2 points, five rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the Chargers.

STRANGE FACTS ABOUT THE U.S.

A highway in Lancaster, Calif., plays “The William Tell Overture” as you drive over it, thanks to some well-placed grooves on the road.

COUNTDOWN

3 days: Easter Sunday (April 1).
3 days: “Jesus Christ Superstar” in concert, NBC-TV (April 1).
3 days: NCAA Division I women’s basketball championship game (April 1).
4 days: NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship game (April 2).
7 days: NCAA Division I men’s hockey Frozen Four, St. Paul (April 5, 7).
8 days: Pierre high school baseball openers (April 6).
8 days: Hayes play (April 6-8).
12 days: Elton John tribute concert, CBS-TV (April 10).
15 days: Riggs High School Evening for the Arts (April 13).
16 days: Stanley County High School prom (April 14).
22 days: Pierre Legion Relays (April 20).
23 days: Riggs High School prom (April 21).
29 days: Pierre Players’ “Cookin’ with Gus” (April 27-29, May 3-5).
30 days: All-State Jazz Band concert, Aberdeen (April 28).
35 days: Pierre Educational Foundation’s Evening of Excellence (May 3).
36 days: South Dakota State Arts Conference, Sioux Falls (May 4-5).
49 days: State boys tennis tournament, Rapid City (May 17-19).
51 days: High school baseball regional (May 19).
53 days: Voter registration deadline for June 5 primary and local elections (May 21).
56 days: NCAA Division II men’s/women’s track and field championships, Sioux Falls (May 24-26).
57 days: State track meets, Rapid City (May 25-26).
58 days: Pierre Trappers baseball home opener (May 26).
59 days: High school baseball state tournament, Sioux Falls (May 27).
67 days: State ‘B’ boys/girls golf tournament, Watertown (June 4-5).
67 days: State girls golf tournaments, ‘A’ Dell Rapids, ‘B’ Aberdeen (June 4-5).
68 days: Primary and local elections (June 5).
70 days: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion (June 7-10).

COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

South Dakota women (Chloe Lamb, Ciara Duffy): After wins over Houston and Colorado State, the USD women entered the third round of the WNIT at home vs. Michigan State of the Big 10. Ciara had a career-high 25 points, shooting 10 of 16 in field goals, with seven rebounds, three assists and no turnovers. Chloe was 5-of-6 in field goals, including 4-of-4 in three-pointers, and 4-of-4 in free throws for 18 points with two rebounds and two assists. Down by 16 points in the first quarter, USD was still down by seven with 8:28 left in the game, but Lamb scored five straight points. Duffy’s three-pointer with 0:22 to go tied the game at 76-76 to force overtime. With the Yotes down by two, Lamb’s cool three-pointer with 0:23 to go in the first overtime put USD ahead by a point, 84-83. Monica Arens got a defensive rebound and was fouled. She made one of two free throws for a lead of 85-83, and Michigan State could not get the tying or winning basket. USD marched on to the quarterfinals at home against TCU of the Big 12. USD led at halftime 42-39, but TCU started the second half with an 8-0 run in front of 3,885 fans in Vermillion. USD was down 59-55 after three periods and eventually fell short 79-71 as the season came to an end with a 29-7 record. Jaycee Bradley led USD with 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Ciara was 4-of-9, including 4-of-5 in threes, for 12 points with six rebounds and an assist. Chloe was 2-of-8, including 1-of-6 from downtown, for five points with one steal. It was only the third home loss in 33 games over the two-year existence of the new arena. USD loses Kate Liveringhouse, Caitlin Duffy and Jasmine Trimboli to graduation.

Northern men: Having won their quarterfinal in the national Division II tournament in Sioux Falls last week, the Wolves advanced to the semifinals against Queens (N.C.). Northern was down by five with 1:22 left in regulation time but tied the game at 74-74 to force overtime. In the first extra period NSU was again down by five with only 27 seconds left. D.J. Pollard, fouled in shooting a three-pointer, made his first two free throws. He missed the third, but Gabe King got the key offensive rebound, passed out to Bo Fries, who shot a pass to Pollard on the left side out deep. He fired a three-pointer to miraculously tie the game at 89-89. Pollard thus scored five points in a four-second span on the clock. Pollard then went wild with 12 points by himself in the second O.T., and NSU won 105-99. Pollard’s second O.T. included 3-of-3 in field goals, including 2-of-2 in threes and 4-of-6 in free throws. Ian Smith scored 22, Darin Peterka 20, Pollard 17, Logan Doyle 18 and Carter Evans 12. The national championship game Saturday saw NSU outshoot Ferris State (Mich.), the #1 seed, shooting 49%. NSU outrebounded Ferris with 33 boards and scored 52 points in the paint. Yet the game went down to the last possession, and the Wolves’ dream season ended with a 71-69 disappointment. Evans scored 20 points, Peterka 14, Doyle 14 and Smith 12. NSU loses Pollard, Peterka, Evans and Doyle to graduation. This year’s team finished with a 36-4 record, setting a school record for wins in a season. NSU won the regular-season conference title, the conference tournament and the Central Region tournament.

South Dakota men: The price of success is that your coaches leave for greener pastures. Craig Smith is headed to Utah State as head men’s basketball coach for that Mountain West Conference school.

COLLEGE WRESTLING ROUNDUP

South Dakota State: On that same theme, the Jackrabbits have lost their coach, too. Chris Bono is leaving SDSU to coach the Wisconsin wrestling team.

THE BLONDES ARE BACK

A blonde was out for a walk when she came to a river and saw another blonde on the opposite bank. “Yoo hoo! How can I get to the other side?” called the first blonde.

The second blonde looked up and down the river, then shouted back, “You ARE on the other side!”

COLLEGE HOCKEY ROUNDUP

Division I men’s West Region: Played in Sioux Falls, the West Region crown was won by Minnesota-Duluth, which won in overtime over Minnesota State, 3-2, in the semifinals and edged Air Force, 2-1, in the championship game. Top-seeded St. Cloud State lost in the semis to Air Force, 4-1.

Frozen Four: The national championship will be decided in St. Paul with April 5 semifinals featuring Minnesota-Duluth vs. Ohio State and Notre Dame facing Michigan. The championship game is April 7 at 6:30 p.m. CDT.

COLLEGE GOLF ROUNDUP

Northern Michigan women (Karissa Guthrie): The NMU women placed second of seven teams at the Snowflake Open in Columbus, Ohio, Monday. Karissa was 11th with a scorecard of 85-77=162. The tournament at Perry Park, Ky., scheduled for last Saturday was cancelled. NMU plays next on April 9 at the NC4K Classic in Blacklick, Ohio.

South Dakota women (Katie Bartlett): The Coyote women were 14th among 16 teams at Northern Arizona’s tournament in Sedona. Katie had USD’s best round, placing 38th with a scorecard of 80-79-81=240, 24 over par. USD plays next April 9-10 at the Kansas City Intercollegiate played in Raymore, Mo.

WORTHLESS FACTS

On the Amazon River there are no bridges.

COLLEGE TRACK ROUNDUP

Liberty (Cortney Dowling): At Florida State’s meet in Tallahassee, Cortney anchored Liberty’s 4×100 relay team to a fourth-place finish in :46.19. The Flames are competing today through Saturday at the Texas Relays in Austin and the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina.

Mary (Jack Wollman): The Marauders cancelled their trip to the Black Hills State meet last weekend. Next up they go Friday to the Southwest Minnesota State Open in Marshall.

South Dakota Mines (Theron Singleton): Theron placed 19th in the 5000 meters at Black Hills State’s meet last weekend. His time was 17:16.36. The Hardrockers compete Saturday at Northern Colorado’s meet in Greeley.

Black Hills State (Kelsey Van Den Hemel, Allan McDonnell): At a home meet in Spearfish Kelsey placed sixth in the 1500 meters in 5:11.19. Allan won the high jump at 6’6 3/4″ and was sixth in the triple jump at 42’7″. BHSU athletes go to Greeley to Northern Colorado’s meet Saturday.

COLLEGE BASEBALL ROUNDUP

South Dakota State (Landon Badger, Quinn Reimers): Weather cancelled all but one game of a weekend series at Western Illinois. SDSU won it in 12 innings, 6-3. Landon went 3-of-6 at the plate as he was returned to his starting position in center field. Landon’s one-run single in eighth gave the Jacks a temporary 3-1 lead. His two-run double in the top of the 12th broke a tie, scoring the potential winning runs. SDSU continues Summit League play with three games at Omaha this weekend, then hosts DWU out of the league next Wednesday.

Minnesota (Nolan Burchill): The Gophers took two of three vs. Nebraska, winning 5-1 and 2-0 and losing 8-2. Now 16-9 overall and 2-1 in the Big 10, Minnesota hosts St. John’s for three non-conference games this weekend, then plays two more at St. Louis Tuesday and Wednesday.

Northern (Spencer Sarringar): The Wolves split a pair with Southwest Minnesota State, winning 4-0 and losing 12-2. Two other games vs. SMSU were cancelled by weather. Northern, after playing two vs. St. Cloud State yesterday, goes to Northwest Missouri State for three non-conference games this weekend.

RECOMMENDED READING

“Songs for Children” by Barbara Blacksheep

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, March 29:
Jace Jerome, Nancee Johnson, Derek Gustafson, Peggy (Marshall) Engstrom, Michael Bumann, Aaron Bumann, Joseph Kean, Sydney Hackett, Graden Barnes, Connor Barnes.
— 4th anniversary, Clay/Katelynn (Lamb) Pottorff.

Friday, March 30:
Jack Magee, Grey Zabel, Nathan Mikkelsen, Emily (Goeden) Decker, Eric Harris, Patrick Snyder, Mary Hove, Lindsey (Brown) Osterkamp, Patty Williams, Liz Stewart, Doug Smith, Abel Haas.
— Anniversary, Craig/Charlene Keller.

Saturday, March 31:
Gable Uhrig, Jenny (Ness) Hofer, Chad Gusso, Annie (Fuller) BonneCarrere, Jennifer Merkwan, Brandon Heckenlaible, Brittany Mehlhaff, Brady Goff, Mia Ellefson, Linda Brooks
— 1st anniversary, Scott/Katrina (Reimnitz) Hesla.

Sunday, April 1:
Paul Williams, John Knox, Caden Blair, Leon Blumhardt, Reagan Haefner, Steve Wegman, Andrew Murphy, Justine Berven, Lindsey (Suedkamp) Griffith, Meghann (O’Day) Kjolsrud, Mildred Adams, Bronson Blow, Steve Maciejewski, Justin Gilmore, Shelley (Marone) Locken. And we fondly remember Tate Senftner on his birthday.

Monday, April 2:
Aaron Rumpca, Dalila Deal, Dustin James, Olivia Deffenbaugh, Stephanie Wells, Greta Deffenbaugh, Brandon Kucker, Laurie Kelley, Sandra Peterson, Susanne Harmon, Reece Mohlman, Emerson Mohlman, Joyce Koistinen, Sasha Kean, Joni Lingle, Krista (Schmidt) Sarvis.

Tuesday, April 3:
Scott Decker, Frank Pautz, Roseanna Ogan, Lori (Stulken) Blom, Charlotte Gustafson, Jesse Scharnweber, Whitney (Palmer) Flottmeyer, Tom P. Maher, Ava Williams, Erin Maher, Dawn (Garrett) Haggerty, Seth Parsons, Charles Edelen, Bryan Palmer, David Jensen.

Wednesday, April 4:
Madyson Mitchell, Marinda Aracher, Avery Williams, Blaine Nicholas, Sandra O’Day, Hattie Ann Stofferahn, Thad Bauer, Blaine Harrowa, Tyler Mattheis, Noah Wulf.
— 4th anniversary, Eric/Missie Schmidt.

Thursday, April 5:
Jon Herman, April Chicoine, Jo Mikkelsen, Landon Badger, Angie (Huxford) Pfleger, Chase Cooper, Troy Docken, Marlin McKenney, Ian Rounds.
— 43rd anniversary, Doug/Pam Peterson.
— 43rd anniversary, Frank/Kathy Pautz.

Friday, April 6:
Laura Mehlhaff, Ashley (Pries) Brewer, Lacy Nielsen, Heather (Nystrom) Klinger.

Saturday, April 7:
Brian Mills, BryAnn (Becker) Knecht, Crystal (Boehmer) Lindekugel, Eric Unkenholz, Brian Hosman, Jayden Madden, Adam Chick, Anthony Johnson, Vivian Asmussen, Sandee Smith, Judith Smith.
— 39th anniversary, Bob/Kris Schneider.
— 34th anniversary, Kevin/JoAnne Hipple.

Sunday, April 8:
Wilson Jordre, Linsey (Peterson) Robbins, Katie Larson, Eric Bresee, Ruth Kilber, Greg Axtman, Lexi Anderson.
— 1st anniversary, Josh/Aimee Parsons.
— Anniversary, Donny/Kori (Verhelst) Rolfes.

Monday, April 9:
Kai Segrud, Matt Brakke, Kellie (Sutton) Yackley, Rob Nill, Kellie Weinheimer, Wesley Joy, Arthur Olson, Spencer Eich, Aaron Comer.
— Anniversary, Shaun/Sara (Sperry) Thomas.

Tuesday, April 10:
Katherine Van Gerpen, Brady Smith, Brandon Louder, Lucas Oehlerking, Ken Fanger, Kory McKay, John Jordre, Nolan Nielsen, Jason Livermont.
— 8th anniversary, Tyson/Jenny (Miller) Goehring.

Wednesday, April 11:
James Bobby, Eric Hillestad, Amy Burger, Austin Lucas, Lillian Campbell, Mike Haas, Teresa (Sprinkel) Gillaspie, Terry Barber, Jan Larson, Jessica Kost, Sheena Carlisle, Amber LeFaive.

Thursday, April 12:
Darby (Warne) Boyd, April (Thompson) Schroeder, Austin Neilan, Nathan Bishop, Amanda (Stewart) Shindle, Brandt Becker, Colton Carter, Mike Eaton, Frank Turner, Luke Nelson, Stacie Suedkamp, Terry Nelson, Brian Grunewaldt, McKenna Yach, David Volk, Meleta DeJong, Lee Fosheim, Trent Withers, Cheri Bartlett.
— 15th anniversary, Aaron/Laura Scheibe.

RED SKELTON’S RECIPES FOR THE PERFECT MARRIAGE

I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary. “Somewhere I haven’t been in a long time,” she said, so I suggested the kitchen.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Rapid City Rush: Rapid City was swept by Idaho, losing 2-1, 5-0 and 5-2. The Rush’s last home games of the year are Friday and Saturday vs. Quad City.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd has clinched a playoff spot. Last week the Stampede lost to Tri-City, 2-1, then beat them, 43. Sioux Falls is fourth, one point behind third-place Omaha and three points behind first-place Waterloo and Fargo with seven games left in the regular season. In the best-of-three opening playoff round, #3 plays #6 and #4 plays #5. Sioux Falls is home Friday vs. Waterloo and Saturday vs. Tri-City.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild defeated Nashville, 4-1, Saturday but lost two narrow and costly games—2-1 in overtime to Boston and 2-1 in a shootout to Nashville. Minnesota hosts Dallas tonight (7:00 NBCSN) and goes to Dallas Saturday (7:00 FSN+). Then the Wild is home vs. Edmonton Monday (7:00 FSN) and goes to Anaheim Wednesday (9:00 FSN).

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour: At the Rapiscan Systems Classic at Biloxi, Miss., Tom Byrum finished in a tie for 38th place with a 2-over-par round of 72-72-74=218. He earned $8,160 in this tournament, bringing his total for the season to $81,890. The next stop on the Champions Tour will be at Duluth, Ga., for the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in three weeks.

THOUGHTS ON GETTING OLDER

These days “on time” is when I get there.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Timberwolves: Minnesota defeated New York, 108-104, but lost to Philadelphia, 120-108, and to Memphis, 101-93. After playing Houston last night, the Wolves go to Dallas Friday (7:30 FSN) and host Utah Sunday (6:00 FSN).

Toyama Grouses (Sam Willard): The Grouses defeated Ryukyu, 69-62. Sam played 15 minutes and had one two-pointer, one three-pointer and two free throws for seven points with six rebounds and one assist. In a 92-80 loss to Ryukyu he played nine minutes, didn’t score but had two rebounds. Now 19-27, Toyama played Niigata last night and takes on Yokohama BC (11-35) Saturday.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The season ended with two losses at Northern Arizona, 125-114 and 141-137 in overtime. Sioux Falls finished in seventh place with a 25-25 record but three games out of sixth place. Only the top six teams in the conference qualified for the playoffs.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Storm: The Storm rallied to win at Green Bay, 39-23. The next game is at Nebraska April 7.

TOM SWIFTS

“Let’s play a C, E and G,” said Tom’s band in accord.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons lost to the New York Red Bulls, 3-0, and now stand at 2-2. Minnesota is home Saturday at 7 p.m. vs. Atlanta.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre high school baseball schedule:
April 6: Douglas, 4 p.m. (@ Rapid City).
April 6: @ Rapid City Central, 6 p.m.
April 12: home vs. Huron, 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
April 14: home vs. Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
April 20: @ Brookings, 2 and 4 p.m.
April 27: @ Harrisburg, 3 and 5 p.m.
April 29: home vs. Watertown, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
May 5: home vs. Sioux Falls Washington, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
May 6: @ Mitchell, noon and 2 p.m.
May 12: home vs. Brandon Valley, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
May 13: @ Rapid City Stevens, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Colorado Rockies (times MDT):
Thursday: @ Arizona, 8:10.
Friday: @ Arizona, 7:40 (MLBN).
Saturday: @ Arizona, 6:10.
Monday: @ San Diego, 8:10.
Tuesday: @ San Diego, 8:10.
Wednesday: @ San Diego, 8:10 (MLBN).
Thursday: @ San Diego, 1:40.

Chicago Cubs:
Thursday: @ Miami, 11:40 (ESPN).
Friday: @ Miami, 6:10.
Saturday: @ Miami, 6:10.
Sunday: @ Miami, 12:10.
Monday: @ Cincinnati, 3:10 (MLBN).
Tuesday: @ Cincinnati, 5:40.
Thursday: @ Milwaukee, 7:10.

Minnesota Twins:
Thursday: @ Baltimore, 2:05 (FSN).
Saturday: @ Baltimore, 6:05 (FSN).
Sunday: @ Baltimore, 12:05 (FSN).
Monday: @ Pittsburgh, 12:05 (FSN).
Wednesday: @ Pittsburgh, 5:05 (FSN).
Thursday: Seattle, 3:10 (FSN).

FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS ONLY

A mixed metaphor walks into a bar, seeing the handwriting on the wall but hoping to nip it in the bud.

WEDDING DAYS

April 7: Scott Pavlisick/Tonya Reed.
April 14: Greg Peters/Lavonn Voita.
April 14: Kai Hanson/Kayla Saxe.
April 28: Chris Pope/Morgan Peterson.
April 28: Connor McKittrick/Amanda Deiss.
June 2: Ethan Fife/Heather Mangan.
June 2: Cole Cruse/Kadence Feininger.
June 16: Matt Blaseg/Taryn Wolf.
June 16: Brandon Vockrodt/Kayla Nuese.
June 29: Jack Markel/Eileen Leong.
July 7: Matt Tetzlaff/Korie Lebeda.
July 14: Shawn Hlavacek/Rebekah Hartmann.
Aug. 11: Steve Long/Cassie Amundson.
Aug. 18: Jason Noyes/Micki DeCurtins.
Aug. 19: Derek Berman/Danea Duxbury.
Aug. 25: Steven Gordon/Katelynn Engh.
Sept. 29: Tyler Arbach/Rachel Hartmann.
Oct. 6: Rodd Bauck/Megan Vockrodt.
Oct. 6: Cale Pell/Sarah Lihs.

LIFE IN GENERAL

I got tasered picking up my friend at the airport. Apparently security doesn’t like it when you shout, “Hi, Jack!”

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: orange.
Friday-Saturday: strawberry butter.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• The next Midweek Update will show up in your inbox two weeks from today on Thursday, April 12. Happy Easter to one and all!
• At least some of next year’s men’s basketball NCAA tournament games will be within geographical (if not financial) reach. The Final Four will be in Minneapolis in the Vikings’ stadium. Earlier than that, one of the eight sites for first- and second-round games will be Des Moines. And the Midwest Region returns to Kansas City (so KU will once again have only a bus ride to their “home” regional).
• The men’s Division I hockey West Region that was in Sioux Falls last week will be in Fargo. It would help if the UND team would cooperate by qualifying.
• Where will South Dakota state tournaments take place next February and March? The combined wrestling tournaments will be in Rapid City Feb. 22-23. The girls “B” tournament will be in Huron March 7-9 and the boys “B” in Aberdeen March 14-16. In Class “A” the girls and boys tournaments will be combined in Sioux Falls March 14-16. The Class “AA” combined tournaments will be in Rapid City March 14-16.
• This was one of the best college basketball seasons South Dakota has ever seen. Making it even more interesting is how many “local” athletes were integral parts of their respective teams (“local” meaning from South Dakota and adjacent states). There’s no better example than DWU’s national champion women’s team whose roster boasted players from De Smet, Draper, Plankinton, Alexandria, Avon and Ethan as well as a crucial pair of twins from Anoka, Minn. The DWU men reached their national tournament with players from Madison, Dell Rapids, Lennox, Sturgis, Brandon, Rapid City and Volga. Northern’s phenomenally successful men’s team which missed their national championship by the margin of one basket had players from Irene, Langford and Miller as well as St. Louis Park, Alexandria, Rochester and Champlin Park across the border in Minnesota. The Northern women nearly matched their male counterparts in wins with players from Lemmon, Aberdeen, Wagner and Redfield in this state and Detroit Lakes and Lino Lakes in Minnesota. Down at Augustana the women’s team which came within one game of their national tournament had a strong South Dakota presence with players from Summit, Sturgis, Brandon and Letcher as well as Jamestown and Bismarck. The Augie men had Sioux Falls and Rapid City representation as well as players from Hopkins, Minn., and Orange City, Iowa. Out at Black Hills State the women reached the playoffs for the first time in Division II with players from Onida, Pine Ridge, Elk Point and Lemmon as well as Gillette, Cheyenne and Worland across the border in Wyoming. The competition which SDSU and USD faces in basketball now that they are in Division I demands at least some players be recruited from afar. Yet the Jackrabbit men had roster members from Pierre, Clark and Mitchell as well as Sac City in Iowa and Kimball in Nebraska. The SDSU women had Letcher, Mitchell and Pierre athletes as well as Minnesota players from Chaska and Apple Valley. The USD women won the Summit regular season with Onida and Rapid City players leading their charge along with Nebraskans from nearby Crofton, Norfolk and Bellevue as well as Erskine in Minnesota. The Coyote men had Minnesotans from Lino Lakes and Rochester as well as Norfolk in Nebraska. What a season it was, and attendance at college games was through the roof this year!

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

In last week’s Update your careless editor skipped entirely the March 27 birthdays, instead listing the March 28 birthdays under the March 27 heading, the March 29 birthdays under March 28, and the March 30 birthdays under March 29. So belated birthday greetings to those who celebrated Tuesday, March 27, who were omitted last week—Quinn Eschmeyer, Penny Unruh, Wyatt Gran, Marcia Murphey and Casey Ortbahn.

The 65th annual Hayes Drama Club play will be performed April 6-8 at the Hayes Hall. Curtain time for “Hillbilly Hankerin'” is 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5.

Jason and Jessica Rumpca of Beresford became parents for the first time on March 24. Their daughter, Kinley Rose Rumpca, weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Jason is an attorney, and Jessica is a registered nurse at Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital.

At the annual 3-Class Shootout basketball all-star event in Salem last weekend, Peyton Zabel of Pierre was named most valuable player on the Class ‘AA’ boys team with 27 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. His team, however, lost to the Class ‘A’ boys, who later defeated the ‘B’ boys team, 130-98. Lincoln Jordre of Sully Buttes was named MVP of the ‘B’ boys with 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Cormac Duffy, son of John and Patti Duffy of Fort Pierre, was the state champion in the 14-year-old boys division of the Knights of Columbus free-throw competition, sinking all 25 of his free throws. He is an eighth grader at the Stanley County middle school.

The Zonta spring crafts show at the Northridge Plaza mall will take place April 7-8. Saturday hours are 10 to 6; Sunday hours are noon to 4.

Two men with local connections were inducted yesterday into its Hall of Fame by the South Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. One is Marlin Goldhammer, who coached track and basketball and was athletics director at Onida High School in 1958-60 and at Todd County from 1960 to 1973. He was superintendent at Irene from 1973 to 1979, then served as executive director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association from 1979 to 2001, headquartered in Pierre. Another inductee is Charlie Sizer, who spent 35 years as a teacher-coach at Miller, including 21 years as athletic director, retiring in 2013.

The 54th annual Kiwanis movie, which raises funds for a myriad of youth activities and scholarships which the Pierre-Fort Pierre Kiwanis Club sponsors, will be shown at the State 1,2,3 Theater at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday, April 7. This year’s movie is “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie.” Admission is $3.

Our sympathy to Jo Chandler and her family. Her husband of 60 years, Mel Chandler, passed away at the age of 90 March 23 at Avera Maryhouse. A service of remembrance was held Tuesday at First United Methodist Church. Mr. Chandler came to Pierre with his family when he was a child and graduated from Pierre High School where he was part of Paul Marschalk’s 1944 state “A” basketball championship team. After serving during World War II in the Army Air Corps, he attended the University of Nebraska. He and Jo were married in 1957, and they made their home in Pierre. He owned Chandler Auto Glass for many years. Later he served as sergeant-at-arms for the South Dakota state Senate, retiring in 2016. In addition to his wife, he is survived by their daughter, Laurie Robideau and her husband Dave of Northfield, Minn.; three grandchildren; one great-grandchild, and his brother, Harold Chandler of Madison.

Mark next Thursday, April 5, on your calendars for supper at the annual Countryside turkey and biscuit supper. It will be served at First United Methodist Church from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at a cost of $8 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under.

Former Pierre student Maddie Sutton, now of Sioux Falls, has been nominated for the honor of Sophomore Student of the Year at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. From among 600 sophomores, Maddie came out of the interview process as one of four students to be voted on by all Carlson students. The winning honoree will be announced at a banquet later this month.

Rodger Hartley, Jason Knox and Holly (Knox) Perli are among 67 performers who will be onstage for a one-night staged reading of “The Laramie Project” at Black Hills Community Theater. The event will take place on the evening of Thursday, April 12. Rodger has more immediate stage duties as well, taking the lead role of Sweeney Todd in that musical, which opens with Friday and Saturday night performances this weekend at the Firehouse Brewing Company Theatre in Rapid City. This show continues Friday and Saturday nights through May 5. Get tickets for “Sweeney Todd” online at www.firehousewinecellars.com.

Riggs High senior Claire Mohr has signed a letter of intent to attend Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and participate on the speech team. Claire was an outstanding oral interpretation participant during her years at Riggs High.

High school student councils around South Dakota raised more than $27,000 for Children’s Miracle Network this year, and Riggs High raised the most.

At the state student council convention in Rapid City this week, the Sully Buttes student council was one of the recipients of the Outstanding Student Council award. One of its members, Jett Lamb, was elected sergeant-at-arms for the Upper Missouri Region.

Connor McKittrick (’06) and his fiancee, Amanda Deiss, were both matched on March 16 to their first choice for their residencies at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for family medicine in Connor’s case and in anesthesiology for Amanda. They will both receive their M.D. degrees from the University of Kansas Medical School on May 13. In between all of this, they will exchange wedding vows April 28.